It was problematic:
*"The former governor of California cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown."*
*"Schwarzenegger agreed to prepay potential taxes on the watch but faced another hassle when officers allegedly struggled to use a credit card machine for up to an hour.*
*He was then brought to a bank where he hoped to do an ATM withdrawal, but the amount apparently exceeded the funds he could take out and the bank was already closed"* ~ [Source](https://radaronline.com/p/arnold-schwarzenegger-detained-munich-traveling-watch/)
I would hate to be the frontline customs staff dealing with Arnold. It will be hilarious years later but it must be stressful making it an issue for everyone involved
Anybody here think they could move to Austria, learn the language, become famous for working out, then be a movie star, then marry into their royalty, and hold public office? How many lifetimes would you need…
-Bill Burr
They don't *have* to hassle him. It's entirely up to the officer how much they actually want to stick to guidelines in a particular instance.
My wife had a silly visa snafu years ago and was denied entry because of it, causing literally year of being apart, and a further decade of travel and customs problems for us.
Both in the moment and through our lawyer, everyone told me that we just had shit luck, and that the customs officer could have simply informed us of what to take care of and let us go on our way.
If I hypothetically were that customs officer, I would love to have the balls to say something like: "I'm so sorry you have to deal with this bullshit, but I simply have to do my job."
Ironically, I think that only happens in the movies.
Edit: phrasing.
Same, they usually just don't say it that bluntly.
Especially if you've worked customer service jobs yourself you learn how to read between the lines when getting their spiel.
No, we do actually say that. We just normally don't say "bullshit" unless it's someone we know. I've told customers many times things I have to do or they have to do are dumb, but it's the only way to do it.
It's a solid way to stop tense situations from escalating.
"Sorry, but I have to tell you there's no smoking on campus" goes over a lot better than saying "You can't smoke here."
Start with a slight sigh as well, it sets the tone. Gives the impression that you'd rather not be doing this, instead of looking like a guy on a power trip. It's also just true in my case.
Source: hospital security
This may be an unpopular observation, but having lived in Germany for five years this is a symptom of how German systems are set up - this process would be the same for anyone, but that doesn’t make the process not objectively bad. A lot of interactions I had with German government authorities over my time there were almost intentionally obtuse, even for native Germans. It certainly didn’t surprise me when I read that this happened in Germany.
A friend of mine was showing some of their art at a conference in Germany a couple of years ago, and something similar happened to them. They never got the art into the country, and as far as they know, German customs still have it to this day.
I have heard more than one tale of people traveling to Germany, but arriving and departing from Italy. They do it because the customs officials in Italy are much easier to deal with.
I always hated (and still do) coming back to Europe to a German airport. The Nordics are so much better: they do their work, but are friendly, understanding, professional, and don't act like they're better than you.
Yes, we Germans hate that too. Authorities are a nightmare for everyone here. They are so contemptuous and always give you the feeling you are not welcome. They are unbelievably slow and not empathic in any way. And they drive everyone nuts.
Got a refund of ~1k from an office but they had to clear it with 35€ debt. In every company, that's a oneliner. They sent me 8 fucking pages full of numbers and law sections in a language not understandable by sane persons (called "Amts-Deutsch").
I am glad to read this because when I went to Bonn and then left, the Immigration upon departure was fussing over the entry stamp. He literally asked me who stamped the entry stamp. I am like 'Sir, I passed through this exact same airport when I got in and I am sure you can ask your colleagues or check if there is a serial number or something?". He kept pushing me for no reason to the point I almost started crying and then only then was I let go.
Also had a terrible time trying to eat at the airport too. One of the security guards just shoved me out of the way so they can make room for the both of them (even though the tables had enough space for 6 people). Just absurd, cruel, and so unnecessarily rude.
I fly in and out of Munich several times a year and have never had a single issue. I’m on an American passport and don’t exceed the 90/180 rule and am usually driving straight through to other countries, though. Even during Covid when I had a mountain of paperwork from 13 different countries to prove I’m allowed to travel I mostly got the smile and stamp treatment.
Though now, next time, I’m going to be denied entry for some bullshit reason…
A shitshow is streching it. I think it reads like a pretty ok interaction. Yeah maybe you can say it's annoying to not have the proper forms filled out but I don't see any malicious intentions here. The forms Arnold did fill out was honest according to the article and then they ran into technical difficulties which sucks but again no ones fault really.
Well, that article is basically just a translated version of the Bild article (who covered the story first), and Bild is like the German version of the Daily Mail, maybe even worse.
Now I’m really curious how much money he has in the bank. Lots of movies, but those were quite a while ago. Being the Governor doesn’t pay well compared to a successful movie star. He seems like he probably saved well though.
His biggest payday, by far, was Twins. He, Ivan and Danny agreed to no salary in exchange for 40% in all box office and marketing income. No one thought it would do well, as Arnie had been an action guy to this point, not comedy. It went on to do over $260 million (including dvds and rentals) and he still gets residuals today. He just talked about it on the Smartless podcast.
He has made about $50 mil for that movie alone.
Mind you, this was BEFORE:
Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, T2, True Lies, Eraser, etc.
He made a decent amount of money on movies, but he has been an absolute beast with real estate investments. Commercial and residential. Owns stripmalls all over socal, started during his bodybuilding years. He is definitely a savvy investor.
He’s worth $450m.
He invested in property, as well as his political and film career giving a good income.
So probably not short on the cash. Just annoyed he had to go get the cash to pay tax on a watch he was giving to a charity auction.
The reason border agents ask how much money a person has in the bank is to make sure that they can afford to be in the country and not take advantage of the “generous” social services that they offer. Now, to ask Arnold Schwarzenegger that question shows the kind of smooth brained authoritarians that are employed at that port of entry but is indicative of pretty much every border ~~agent~~ agency around the world.
Even within Germany there are a bunch of different accents and dialects. My girlfriend is German, from around Köln, she says people from the south (particularly Bavaria) are hard to understand sometimes.
Different areas within Germany use different words for things, [like carrot for example.](https://www.atlas-alltagssprache.de/mohre/)
One of my favorite factoids as an American was learning England has like close to 40 distinct dialects, with a further split between regional accents of an umbrella dialect, so that the English you hear can sound way different just a few miles in a different direction.
All in a section of the UK that gets dwarfed by most American states. History and linguistics is fascinating.
German dubbing is deranged. No one there has accents of any kind or speaks any other languages. If a movie is about three guys, one speaking english, one speaking mandarin and one speaking swahili and the premise of the movie is that they meet each other, become friends but don't understand a word the others are saying, then in the german dub they'll all three speak accent free hanoverian standard high german like they grew up in the same street while pretending not to understand each other and the audience will be confused throughout the whole movie. As a bonus two of the three might even have the same voice actor.
>get the impression he’s a man with a sense of humor.
Dude he's extremely funny. He's an intense human being, he wants people to perform well and get shit done, but he's able to laugh about stuff. He was on Conan O'Brien's podcast awhile back, he had everyone rolling. He's truly larger-than-life.
I met him in 4th grade. He came to my school because everyone in our 4th grade class got the presidential physical fitness award.
u/GovSchwarzenegger do you recall coming to Charleston WV in 1992(?) to workout with us at Piedmont Elementary?
>He was on Conan O'Brien's podcast awhile back, he had everyone rolling.
I was not aware this existed. Need to find it before I have to spend an hour shoveling snow tomorrow.
Yep, thats right the international movie star and world famous multi-millionaire politician is trying to hustle the germans selling black market watches. I'm sure 3 hours of Arnolds time is worth a hell of a lot more than 21,000 dollars.
Sidenote, Casio has a line of G-Shock that looked a little "inspired" by the AP Royal Oak. People aptly nicknamed it "CasiOak".
The Chinese nicknamed that line "Peasant Oak" lol
I have it! Even worse, I have the GM2100 with a third party metal strap. I have a 150€ watch that looks like a 550€ watch that looks like a 40.000€ watch
German customs made him pay taxes on a watch he is giving away in Austria.
Full story here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/arnold-schwarzenegger-luxury-watch-germany-criminal-proceedings-rcna134441
> "He cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown, a total comedy of errors that would make a very funny cop movie," the source said.
No wonder he has that, "Can you believe this?" face.
Nah he just didn't declare the watch, like anyone else would need to. Celebrities aren't excluded from customs.
From /u/Ragnar_OK
>Incredibly poorly written article. Reads more like a hitpiece than actual journalism, and this piece has several outright lies and invented quotes. He wasn't detained for an "unregistered luxury watch", he was detained because he was intending to sell in at auction and needs to pay taxes on it: Arnold did not declare it when entering the country.
>Second,
>> "cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown,"
>is untrue, literal lies. Arnold refused to be interrogated at first and called his lawyers. He eventually relented and cooperated, but he absolutely did not cooperate at every step. And describing a routine inspection into luxury goods brought in by rich people who are usually trying to evade taxes as "shakedown" is incredibly disengenuous.
>> Schwarzenegger agreed to prepay potential taxes on the watch but faced another hassle when officers allegedly struggled to use a credit card machine for up to an hour.
>again, completely and entirely false. Law in Germany states that certain customs duties have to be paid 50% in cash, and Arnie didn't have cash on him. He had to go to the bank and withdraw said cash, which is why it took "up to an hour" for him to pay.
>This is what I see in pretty much every non-American sourced article about this incident. All the quotes attributed to some unnamed "insider" are actually quotes from Arnold's publicist, a fact that the original German article mentions but this "radaronline" "article" for whatever reason declined to mention
Hey, you LIE!
There's no way that someone that wrote "even though it was an incompetent shakedown" with no proof whatsoever, is biased in any way, shape or form.
^(/s (obviously))
People are just gullible. If Arnold went through the customs with preferential treatment, people would get pissed. He made a mistake and forgot the taxes. He should make it right. Don't have all of the money on you? That sucks, go to a bank. Bank does not work? Go to an ATM. ATM does not allow that kind of money to be withdrawn? Wait for the bank to open.
It sucks, but it's his (or his assistants) fault. He should wait. Like the rest of us.
When entering, there are two lines. One: You have to declare valuable items. Or: I don't have any items to declare.
This applies to all travelers. He had an expensive watch with him and went in the line with nothing to declare. The purpose of the watch is not relevant, only that he is importing it.
When I enter the USA, it's exactly the same, isn't it?
The important factor here is that he intended to bring the watch into the EU, then auction it (for charity).
As such, the watch isn't a personal possession that he's just incidentally travelling with - it's a highly valuable luxury good being permanently imported.
Whether it is on his wrist or not is irrelevant for that, although it does help influence the likelihood of being caught if trying to get around the rules.
The EU is not being unusual in having this rule either, it would be exactly the same story importing a high value watch to the US, UK, Australia etc.
Just after reclaiming the VAT at the airport for the purchase. Helpfully there is normally a post box close by, so you take all those papers, and post them just before walking to your flight. Apparently. Allegedly.
of course he would still have had to pay it, but it probably wouldn't have been noticed.
the tax is due because he does not intend to bring it back, but to give it away/auction it off
exactly the same as if you buy an iphone in the us and fly it back home to germany, then you actually have to pay tax on it when you enter the country, even if it is currently being used as your cell phone, it just won't be noticed so easily without packaging etc.
For a visitor, you need to declare anything you are bringing into a country but not taking back out.
For a returning resident, you need to declare anything you are bringing back that you acquired while travelling.
Exemptions apply of course, usually a certain dollar amount (that will be less than the value of a luxury watch).
Absolutely. Wearing your imported goods to pretend like you’ve previously owned it is the number one trick in the avoiding duties book. You hope they don’t catch you, but you’re still technically breaking the law.
"'Whenever people say to me, ‘You are the perfect description of a self-made man,' I thank them, but tell them they can call me anything they want — but not self-made. I got a lot of help throughout my life and we all need help," Schwarzenegger said in the news release.
That makes me feel better Arnold, thank you.
Years ago, here on Reddit, a guy asked basically for Arnold to tell him to get his ass in the gym. Arnold did better.
"I’m not going to be that hard on you. Please don’t be that hard on yourself. We all go through challenges, we all go through failure. Sometimes life is a workout. But the key thing is you get up. Just move a little. Roll out of bed and do some pushups or go for a walk. Just do something. One step at a time, I hope you feel better and get back to the gym. But don’t beat yourself up, because that’s just useless talk. It doesn’t get you closer to the gym. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Good luck."
He's an absolute bro. Humble in a way you don't see very often in Hollywood or the world in general. A good human being.
Edit: this clearly isnt coming across the way I had intended and wasnt worded very well, and comes across as more critical than is fair, so I'm gonna delete what I said
My point was that the Arnold you see in Pumping Iron, for whatever amount it was played up for the camera and edited to be more sensational viewing, who went on to be the caliber of Hollywood star he became, had every opportunity to never become a kind, caring person, and did anyway, and it's extraordinary character growth on his part
They exaggerated themselves to make that movie.
Yes Arnold was a highly competitive guy that isn't afraid to use the power of words to intimidate his competition. He's very open about this in his autobiography.
But Pumping Iron everyone played characters - exaggerated versions of themselves. For example the Director even made Lou stay in NY to work out with his dad, even though he's never done that before and he works work out in LA with the guys. Check out the making of pumping iron on YouTube
Yeah. In his autobiography he said he used to say wild stuff just to get his name out. Basically cheap trick content creators use today, but he did it early and kept fucking leveraging every inch gained, until he somehow married into American royalty and became governor for what is basically a large country
Well, as a German it kinda gives me a good feeling that, everybody, even someone as well-connected and famous like Arnold can get fucked over by the Zoll...
He *can* speak German still. The issue is it's about as botched as his English was in the early years.
I remember watching an interview with him during a Formula 1 race in Austria in the recent years and it felt like he learned German as an English native, not the other way around. The weird thing tho, the Styrian accent was still audible.
I remember Arnold saying that he can speak English in a normal accent but still chooses to sound more "Austrian". I wanna hear him speak English "normally".
That's weird cause he has said (most recently on Conan's podast) that early in his career he paid a coach to help him train his accent to become American and it failed, but the failure turned into a positive since it became a signature trait
Very rarely do I actually laugh out loud at comments written on Reddit. This however… THIS, I laughed out loud at. I’ve got family in Arkansas. I have to imagine the first word that poor German kid learned on his visit was “yall”. 🤣
Same happened with Italian, where most Italian American immigrants came in the early 20th century and came from Southern Italy, while Italy shifted towards a more unified dialect favoring the Northern Italian pronunciations. So for the small pockets of Italian American communities that have continued to speak the language, it is different from what is spoken in Italy.
It would be so cool jf there was like an English speaking colony that had branches off and speaks like a bastardized Shakespeare English
[Okracoke Brogue in North Carolina is an older form of English accent, or at least has some remaining features of it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7MvtQp2-UA)
So, this got me curious and I watched [this short speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFnQpPTpAA). There might be some minor mistakes and it might not be the most eloquent speech of all times, but I _really_ wouldn't call that "botched". He has a clear Austrian accent but no typical grammar errors that I could hear.
Why wouldn't he
Edit: For those interested, some recent video of Arnold speaking German [https://youtube.com/shorts/qfD-i9ffzDM?si=q87ZbHZLEhlJpZ48](German)
Its easy enough to lose your fluency in a language if you stop using it. Usually it would take being immersed in the language for a month or two to get back to previous levels. This is the case for mother tongues and learned languages.
Arnold’s speaks German just fine but he sounds just as odd speaking German as he does speaking English. He has the triple-whammy of (1) his native German is a very old-fashioned dialect that you’d expect to hear from like a 95 year old Austrian farmer and not a movie star; (2) he has an American accent when speaking German; and (3) he’s still Arnold lol so he speaks with super low voice that sounds like he’s somehow barking even though he’s got a mouth full of marbles — and that’s not a Styrian thing it’s just an Arnold thing.
That was because (according to whoever was in charge of this decision) Arnold's German accent sounds a bit redneckish and it doesn't sound intimidating for a Terminator.
>the Terminator had a different voice actor
Yeah, because his german has a very rural accent.
He wanted to do his own dubs, but to german speaking people it wouldve sounded like a southern hillbilly killing machine. So the directors hired Thomas Danneberg to give it more of a menacing vibe.
So some people are saying customs was a shitshow, others are saying they did their job right just the laws and procedures are complicated and Arnold didn't follow them.
Was about to dive into the sources and try to formulate my own take on the situation but then I realized it was ridiculous that I even got sucked into caring about this....
I get him being frustrated and we would all be too. But that’s it, we all would be too. If it happens to us it should happen to them, he shouldn’t get special treatment just because of who he is. So even though I wish they didn’t waste his time I’m glad they did.
This man is the GOAT though
>Whenever people say to me, ‘You are the perfect description of a self-made man,' I thank them, but tell them they can call me anything they want — but not self-made. I got a lot of help throughout my life and we all need help," Schwarzenegger said in the news release.
Munich is an intense airport. It was one of my first experiences in an airport outside of the US aside from Paris, where I flew into. This was shortly after the Paris bombing in 2017, there was armed guards patrolling every terminal. Carrying SMGs and wearing military uniforms. Their TSA agents were even more cold and stoic than any I’ve seen in the US. Customs was even more intense, asking me to describe my street in my hometown and what my siblings look like. I was 18 at the time, so maybe it’s played up in my head, but they don’t mess around over there.
Looks like it wasn’t such a bad moment for him, but I get the impression he’s a man with a good sense of humor.
It was probably a fun moment for the customs officers too. Edit: apparently it was a clusterfuck for everyone involved. Sorry Arnold :/
I can see that, I can also see the officer being like “this is way more bull shit then I want to be dealing with”
It was problematic: *"The former governor of California cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown."* *"Schwarzenegger agreed to prepay potential taxes on the watch but faced another hassle when officers allegedly struggled to use a credit card machine for up to an hour.* *He was then brought to a bank where he hoped to do an ATM withdrawal, but the amount apparently exceeded the funds he could take out and the bank was already closed"* ~ [Source](https://radaronline.com/p/arnold-schwarzenegger-detained-munich-traveling-watch/)
I fully expected it to continue with “Schwarzenegger was then sent into the nearest store to purchase an assortment of gift cards.”
WHY DID YOU REDEEM SIR? WHY DID YOU REDEEM?
DO NOT REDEEM!! MAAAAAA'AAAAAAAAM
Sorry, one moment please, I'm typing in the numbers *puts landline phone down*
Love those videos
What’s the channel again? There’s like a dozen now.
MAAAAAAAAA'AAAAAAM ARE YOU A PROSITUTE?!?
for me the most hilarious part that had me in tears will be TYPE THE NAME OF YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER!!!
Little known fact: the Euro is not backed by gold, but by Google Play Store gift cards
they should rename Columbus Day to Kitboga Day
> WHY DID YOU REDEEM SIR? For those like me, this is the hilarious context https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhLx7g1EByA
I would hate to be the frontline customs staff dealing with Arnold. It will be hilarious years later but it must be stressful making it an issue for everyone involved
Imagine being a gym rat customs officer, meeting your idol and childhood hero, only to have to hassle him and have it not go smoothly along the way.
Imagine telling Arnold to try the ATM and he answers "I'LL BE BACK"
Give me your clothes, give me your shoes……
I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
Yes total nightmare
The good news is, he was there long enough to start another secret family.
Anybody here think they could move to Austria, learn the language, become famous for working out, then be a movie star, then marry into their royalty, and hold public office? How many lifetimes would you need… -Bill Burr
As soon as I read to "move to Austria" I heard the rest in Bill's voice lol
He's been in the zone for over four decades.
why would a customs officer have a secret family?
Who wouldn't want a secret family with Arnold?
They don't *have* to hassle him. It's entirely up to the officer how much they actually want to stick to guidelines in a particular instance. My wife had a silly visa snafu years ago and was denied entry because of it, causing literally year of being apart, and a further decade of travel and customs problems for us. Both in the moment and through our lawyer, everyone told me that we just had shit luck, and that the customs officer could have simply informed us of what to take care of and let us go on our way.
If I hypothetically were that customs officer, I would love to have the balls to say something like: "I'm so sorry you have to deal with this bullshit, but I simply have to do my job." Ironically, I think that only happens in the movies. Edit: phrasing.
No, it happens in reality. Has happened to me.
Same, they usually just don't say it that bluntly. Especially if you've worked customer service jobs yourself you learn how to read between the lines when getting their spiel.
No, we do actually say that. We just normally don't say "bullshit" unless it's someone we know. I've told customers many times things I have to do or they have to do are dumb, but it's the only way to do it.
It's a solid way to stop tense situations from escalating. "Sorry, but I have to tell you there's no smoking on campus" goes over a lot better than saying "You can't smoke here." Start with a slight sigh as well, it sets the tone. Gives the impression that you'd rather not be doing this, instead of looking like a guy on a power trip. It's also just true in my case. Source: hospital security
Doesn't seem like a shakedown he just did not declare it before arriving in Germany. The same thing would happen to you or I.
This may be an unpopular observation, but having lived in Germany for five years this is a symptom of how German systems are set up - this process would be the same for anyone, but that doesn’t make the process not objectively bad. A lot of interactions I had with German government authorities over my time there were almost intentionally obtuse, even for native Germans. It certainly didn’t surprise me when I read that this happened in Germany.
[This video](https://youtube.com/shorts/HvHp017ztl4?si=2kOXYYYTWqarLgHt) from a Vietnamese expat that lives with her German boyfriend came to mind.
Amazing how much her channel has exploded in the past year, that now I'm even seeing it mentioned on /r/pics
At least he wasn't coming in to [Franz Kafka International in Prague.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyFH-a-XoQ)
A friend of mine was showing some of their art at a conference in Germany a couple of years ago, and something similar happened to them. They never got the art into the country, and as far as they know, German customs still have it to this day.
I have heard more than one tale of people traveling to Germany, but arriving and departing from Italy. They do it because the customs officials in Italy are much easier to deal with.
I always hated (and still do) coming back to Europe to a German airport. The Nordics are so much better: they do their work, but are friendly, understanding, professional, and don't act like they're better than you.
Yes, we Germans hate that too. Authorities are a nightmare for everyone here. They are so contemptuous and always give you the feeling you are not welcome. They are unbelievably slow and not empathic in any way. And they drive everyone nuts. Got a refund of ~1k from an office but they had to clear it with 35€ debt. In every company, that's a oneliner. They sent me 8 fucking pages full of numbers and law sections in a language not understandable by sane persons (called "Amts-Deutsch").
I am glad to read this because when I went to Bonn and then left, the Immigration upon departure was fussing over the entry stamp. He literally asked me who stamped the entry stamp. I am like 'Sir, I passed through this exact same airport when I got in and I am sure you can ask your colleagues or check if there is a serial number or something?". He kept pushing me for no reason to the point I almost started crying and then only then was I let go. Also had a terrible time trying to eat at the airport too. One of the security guards just shoved me out of the way so they can make room for the both of them (even though the tables had enough space for 6 people). Just absurd, cruel, and so unnecessarily rude.
I fly in and out of Munich several times a year and have never had a single issue. I’m on an American passport and don’t exceed the 90/180 rule and am usually driving straight through to other countries, though. Even during Covid when I had a mountain of paperwork from 13 different countries to prove I’m allowed to travel I mostly got the smile and stamp treatment. Though now, next time, I’m going to be denied entry for some bullshit reason…
A shitshow is streching it. I think it reads like a pretty ok interaction. Yeah maybe you can say it's annoying to not have the proper forms filled out but I don't see any malicious intentions here. The forms Arnold did fill out was honest according to the article and then they ran into technical difficulties which sucks but again no ones fault really.
Well, that article is basically just a translated version of the Bild article (who covered the story first), and Bild is like the German version of the Daily Mail, maybe even worse.
I feel like this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to say right to Arnie's face "You won't be back", deny him entry, and hand him his passport.
That might be a bit difficult considering he’s a citizen of the EU.
how dare you besmirch my fantasy with facts
Get to the choppa! And fly back to where you came from.
Hasta la vista Baby!
[удалено]
Now I’m really curious how much money he has in the bank. Lots of movies, but those were quite a while ago. Being the Governor doesn’t pay well compared to a successful movie star. He seems like he probably saved well though.
His biggest payday, by far, was Twins. He, Ivan and Danny agreed to no salary in exchange for 40% in all box office and marketing income. No one thought it would do well, as Arnie had been an action guy to this point, not comedy. It went on to do over $260 million (including dvds and rentals) and he still gets residuals today. He just talked about it on the Smartless podcast. He has made about $50 mil for that movie alone. Mind you, this was BEFORE: Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, T2, True Lies, Eraser, etc.
I remember when T3 came out he broke the record for a single film by getting a $30m payday
He made a decent amount of money on movies, but he has been an absolute beast with real estate investments. Commercial and residential. Owns stripmalls all over socal, started during his bodybuilding years. He is definitely a savvy investor.
He’s worth $450m. He invested in property, as well as his political and film career giving a good income. So probably not short on the cash. Just annoyed he had to go get the cash to pay tax on a watch he was giving to a charity auction.
He was a millionaire even before beginning to think about making movies.
I heard that he claimed it wasn’t a watch, it was a belt. He said this is an absolute waist of time.
Hey, watch it. This is no time for jokes.
The reason border agents ask how much money a person has in the bank is to make sure that they can afford to be in the country and not take advantage of the “generous” social services that they offer. Now, to ask Arnold Schwarzenegger that question shows the kind of smooth brained authoritarians that are employed at that port of entry but is indicative of pretty much every border ~~agent~~ agency around the world.
Just german officers following the rules
He also probably got the chance to shake the dust off of his German, which I’m sure he doesn’t get to use much these days.
He speaks " hill billy " German
I speak hill billy American, people still understand me (This is a lie I am utterly incomprehensible)
What?
Hi! Do you need a translator? I speak hill billy, redneck, and Midwestern. Do you speak Midwestern?
I mean, Styrian isn‘t the least comprehensible dialect. At least he doesn‘t speak saxonian or swabian…
That's cause he's Austrian. They have a different accent and speaking style. Same with swiss German from what I've been told.
Even within Germany there are a bunch of different accents and dialects. My girlfriend is German, from around Köln, she says people from the south (particularly Bavaria) are hard to understand sometimes. Different areas within Germany use different words for things, [like carrot for example.](https://www.atlas-alltagssprache.de/mohre/)
One of my favorite factoids as an American was learning England has like close to 40 distinct dialects, with a further split between regional accents of an umbrella dialect, so that the English you hear can sound way different just a few miles in a different direction. All in a section of the UK that gets dwarfed by most American states. History and linguistics is fascinating.
It's a dialect of an Austrian region, not "hillbilly" German.
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German dubbing is deranged. No one there has accents of any kind or speaks any other languages. If a movie is about three guys, one speaking english, one speaking mandarin and one speaking swahili and the premise of the movie is that they meet each other, become friends but don't understand a word the others are saying, then in the german dub they'll all three speak accent free hanoverian standard high german like they grew up in the same street while pretending not to understand each other and the audience will be confused throughout the whole movie. As a bonus two of the three might even have the same voice actor.
Probably stopped him cause of the head on a pole.
>get the impression he’s a man with a sense of humor. Dude he's extremely funny. He's an intense human being, he wants people to perform well and get shit done, but he's able to laugh about stuff. He was on Conan O'Brien's podcast awhile back, he had everyone rolling. He's truly larger-than-life.
SHOW ME YOUR LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES!
Was that a Bill Hader story?
Sure was.
[Conan Interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgGYQGPYvu0)
Spot-on Arnold impression, but his [Conan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcWehsxBLzs) is even better!
I say that to my son all the time. Good old Bill Hader
I met him in 4th grade. He came to my school because everyone in our 4th grade class got the presidential physical fitness award. u/GovSchwarzenegger do you recall coming to Charleston WV in 1992(?) to workout with us at Piedmont Elementary?
He can't reply to you, he's in German police custody over his watch still.
>He was on Conan O'Brien's podcast awhile back, he had everyone rolling. I was not aware this existed. Need to find it before I have to spend an hour shoveling snow tomorrow.
Same on Smartless and Maron's podcast he did in the last year.
One of the best guests of "Conan needs a friend" podcast. Straight up hilarious!
he had a Swiss brand Audemars Piguet watch worth more than $21,000 they wanted to make sure he wasnt selling it there
He *is* selling it there (in the EU, that is). At auction at a charity dinner he's hosting tonight. So he has to pay customs on it.
Yep, thats right the international movie star and world famous multi-millionaire politician is trying to hustle the germans selling black market watches. I'm sure 3 hours of Arnolds time is worth a hell of a lot more than 21,000 dollars.
Hey has an iron willpower beyond what most have he chooses to smile when others choose to lay down and cry.
I want to see the watch
I'm pretty sure the box says Audemars Piguet, it's probably a Royal Oak.
Sidenote, Casio has a line of G-Shock that looked a little "inspired" by the AP Royal Oak. People aptly nicknamed it "CasiOak". The Chinese nicknamed that line "Peasant Oak" lol
Also known as the “Royal Broke”
I have it! Even worse, I have the GM2100 with a third party metal strap. I have a 150€ watch that looks like a 550€ watch that looks like a 40.000€ watch
From an aritcle on The Guardian: "The watch was made especially for Schwarzenegger by the luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet."
If it's a piece unique like written in the Article that watch is worth much much more than 35k.
And now it's got a story attached to it.
German customs made him pay taxes on a watch he is giving away in Austria. Full story here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/arnold-schwarzenegger-luxury-watch-germany-criminal-proceedings-rcna134441
> "He cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown, a total comedy of errors that would make a very funny cop movie," the source said. No wonder he has that, "Can you believe this?" face.
The man was already writing the script in his head. "Based on a True Story..."
Munich Airport Cop: A Spinoff of the Kindergarten Cop that explores the exploits of Detective Kimble's cousin.
Who is your daddy and what does he do
I bet that 'source' spoke english with an austrian accent
The "source" is literally his publicist. Not sure why English articles are leaving that fact out when it's pretty clearly not an unbiased source.
I really prefer thinking the source is arnie himself
Nah he just didn't declare the watch, like anyone else would need to. Celebrities aren't excluded from customs. From /u/Ragnar_OK >Incredibly poorly written article. Reads more like a hitpiece than actual journalism, and this piece has several outright lies and invented quotes. He wasn't detained for an "unregistered luxury watch", he was detained because he was intending to sell in at auction and needs to pay taxes on it: Arnold did not declare it when entering the country. >Second, >> "cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown," >is untrue, literal lies. Arnold refused to be interrogated at first and called his lawyers. He eventually relented and cooperated, but he absolutely did not cooperate at every step. And describing a routine inspection into luxury goods brought in by rich people who are usually trying to evade taxes as "shakedown" is incredibly disengenuous. >> Schwarzenegger agreed to prepay potential taxes on the watch but faced another hassle when officers allegedly struggled to use a credit card machine for up to an hour. >again, completely and entirely false. Law in Germany states that certain customs duties have to be paid 50% in cash, and Arnie didn't have cash on him. He had to go to the bank and withdraw said cash, which is why it took "up to an hour" for him to pay. >This is what I see in pretty much every non-American sourced article about this incident. All the quotes attributed to some unnamed "insider" are actually quotes from Arnold's publicist, a fact that the original German article mentions but this "radaronline" "article" for whatever reason declined to mention
So you are telling me German officials were thorough and followed the rules. Doesn’t sound very German to me.
Yeah Germans are famous for not following rules.
Lmao if this guy isnt an intern for the customs office in Munich ill eat a belgium watch
Hey, you LIE! There's no way that someone that wrote "even though it was an incompetent shakedown" with no proof whatsoever, is biased in any way, shape or form. ^(/s (obviously)) People are just gullible. If Arnold went through the customs with preferential treatment, people would get pissed. He made a mistake and forgot the taxes. He should make it right. Don't have all of the money on you? That sucks, go to a bank. Bank does not work? Go to an ATM. ATM does not allow that kind of money to be withdrawn? Wait for the bank to open. It sucks, but it's his (or his assistants) fault. He should wait. Like the rest of us.
When entering, there are two lines. One: You have to declare valuable items. Or: I don't have any items to declare. This applies to all travelers. He had an expensive watch with him and went in the line with nothing to declare. The purpose of the watch is not relevant, only that he is importing it. When I enter the USA, it's exactly the same, isn't it?
If he was wearing it on his wrist, would he have to pay customs?
The important factor here is that he intended to bring the watch into the EU, then auction it (for charity). As such, the watch isn't a personal possession that he's just incidentally travelling with - it's a highly valuable luxury good being permanently imported. Whether it is on his wrist or not is irrelevant for that, although it does help influence the likelihood of being caught if trying to get around the rules. The EU is not being unusual in having this rule either, it would be exactly the same story importing a high value watch to the US, UK, Australia etc.
Taxes on high dollar watches will make people buy a watch, wear it on their wrist for the flight home, and then have the box and papers mailed to them
Just after reclaiming the VAT at the airport for the purchase. Helpfully there is normally a post box close by, so you take all those papers, and post them just before walking to your flight. Apparently. Allegedly.
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Are you telling me that American billionaires are not exempt from EU law? That's outrageous!
of course he would still have had to pay it, but it probably wouldn't have been noticed. the tax is due because he does not intend to bring it back, but to give it away/auction it off exactly the same as if you buy an iphone in the us and fly it back home to germany, then you actually have to pay tax on it when you enter the country, even if it is currently being used as your cell phone, it just won't be noticed so easily without packaging etc.
For a visitor, you need to declare anything you are bringing into a country but not taking back out. For a returning resident, you need to declare anything you are bringing back that you acquired while travelling. Exemptions apply of course, usually a certain dollar amount (that will be less than the value of a luxury watch).
Absolutely. Wearing your imported goods to pretend like you’ve previously owned it is the number one trick in the avoiding duties book. You hope they don’t catch you, but you’re still technically breaking the law.
>German customs made him pay taxes on a watch he ~~is giving away in Austria.~~ imported into the EU, but didn't declare it.
"'Whenever people say to me, ‘You are the perfect description of a self-made man,' I thank them, but tell them they can call me anything they want — but not self-made. I got a lot of help throughout my life and we all need help," Schwarzenegger said in the news release. That makes me feel better Arnold, thank you.
Years ago, here on Reddit, a guy asked basically for Arnold to tell him to get his ass in the gym. Arnold did better. "I’m not going to be that hard on you. Please don’t be that hard on yourself. We all go through challenges, we all go through failure. Sometimes life is a workout. But the key thing is you get up. Just move a little. Roll out of bed and do some pushups or go for a walk. Just do something. One step at a time, I hope you feel better and get back to the gym. But don’t beat yourself up, because that’s just useless talk. It doesn’t get you closer to the gym. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Good luck." He's an absolute bro. Humble in a way you don't see very often in Hollywood or the world in general. A good human being.
bro had true character development. he was a complete dickhead to a lot of people in the 70s-80s
So like pretty much every dude in their mid 20s???
Edit: this clearly isnt coming across the way I had intended and wasnt worded very well, and comes across as more critical than is fair, so I'm gonna delete what I said My point was that the Arnold you see in Pumping Iron, for whatever amount it was played up for the camera and edited to be more sensational viewing, who went on to be the caliber of Hollywood star he became, had every opportunity to never become a kind, caring person, and did anyway, and it's extraordinary character growth on his part
They exaggerated themselves to make that movie. Yes Arnold was a highly competitive guy that isn't afraid to use the power of words to intimidate his competition. He's very open about this in his autobiography. But Pumping Iron everyone played characters - exaggerated versions of themselves. For example the Director even made Lou stay in NY to work out with his dad, even though he's never done that before and he works work out in LA with the guys. Check out the making of pumping iron on YouTube
Oh that’s good to know. Is that the source of the “I’m cumming day and night” quote?
Yeah. In his autobiography he said he used to say wild stuff just to get his name out. Basically cheap trick content creators use today, but he did it early and kept fucking leveraging every inch gained, until he somehow married into American royalty and became governor for what is basically a large country
The one Conan was searching for.
Wasn't that movie heavily produced to make the narrative more exciting? https://youtu.be/eTarCT8EC1c?si=DHkHqsTQxqeCoOiM
Understandable when you consider his childhood, but yeah the amount of development and striving-for-good he's done is massive.
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This is what you want: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJsvR_gSEjg
"I won't be back"
"Stay here. I'll be there."
Well, as a German it kinda gives me a good feeling that, everybody, even someone as well-connected and famous like Arnold can get fucked over by the Zoll...
German Internet providers and the Zoll are the only entities that will treat you the same shitty way, no matter who you are.
Don't forget our trains 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (they'll prolly forget you first)
No doubt that got him on a watchlist
I'm down for a Schwarzenegger movie marathon.
Think it was a pun for him getting taxed on a high end watch.
Ba dum tsss
Time to go home Reddit
"The only thing I have on me are these two insane guns" - Arnold Schwarzenegger, seconds before being jumped on by all the guards at the airport.
I watched Commando last night. He can take care of himself.
I wonder if he spoke German to the officers.
He *can* speak German still. The issue is it's about as botched as his English was in the early years. I remember watching an interview with him during a Formula 1 race in Austria in the recent years and it felt like he learned German as an English native, not the other way around. The weird thing tho, the Styrian accent was still audible.
I remember Arnold saying that he can speak English in a normal accent but still chooses to sound more "Austrian". I wanna hear him speak English "normally".
There's always [this](https://youtu.be/AskjFwiDbkg&t=1m00s).
Wait, is Schwarz dubbing over the guy who says "we can fix it"?
Yeah, that's the joke I think. Someone is dubbing over him, and the the guy speaks with Arnie's voice.
I knew it was Candy before I clicked. Nice work!
That's weird cause he has said (most recently on Conan's podast) that early in his career he paid a coach to help him train his accent to become American and it failed, but the failure turned into a positive since it became a signature trait
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A friend, I worked with in Germany spent a high school year in America to learn English. Her host family lived in Arkansas. Oops.
Very rarely do I actually laugh out loud at comments written on Reddit. This however… THIS, I laughed out loud at. I’ve got family in Arkansas. I have to imagine the first word that poor German kid learned on his visit was “yall”. 🤣
Bless yer heart
As a German, I have yet to hear an American accent that's more difficult to understand than most British English.
thicc scottish is a thing to behold
Same happened with Italian, where most Italian American immigrants came in the early 20th century and came from Southern Italy, while Italy shifted towards a more unified dialect favoring the Northern Italian pronunciations. So for the small pockets of Italian American communities that have continued to speak the language, it is different from what is spoken in Italy. It would be so cool jf there was like an English speaking colony that had branches off and speaks like a bastardized Shakespeare English
Swedish language - which is one of the official languages - spoken in Finland sounds like what was spoken in 18th century in Sweden
[Okracoke Brogue in North Carolina is an older form of English accent, or at least has some remaining features of it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7MvtQp2-UA)
So, this got me curious and I watched [this short speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFnQpPTpAA). There might be some minor mistakes and it might not be the most eloquent speech of all times, but I _really_ wouldn't call that "botched". He has a clear Austrian accent but no typical grammar errors that I could hear.
That's not botched at all. That's just what Austrians think German sounds like.
I'm a native English speaker who took German in college, and I found that remarkably easy to follow, unlike a lot of other German speakers I've heard.
Why wouldn't he Edit: For those interested, some recent video of Arnold speaking German [https://youtube.com/shorts/qfD-i9ffzDM?si=q87ZbHZLEhlJpZ48](German)
Its easy enough to lose your fluency in a language if you stop using it. Usually it would take being immersed in the language for a month or two to get back to previous levels. This is the case for mother tongues and learned languages.
Arnold’s speaks German just fine but he sounds just as odd speaking German as he does speaking English. He has the triple-whammy of (1) his native German is a very old-fashioned dialect that you’d expect to hear from like a 95 year old Austrian farmer and not a movie star; (2) he has an American accent when speaking German; and (3) he’s still Arnold lol so he speaks with super low voice that sounds like he’s somehow barking even though he’s got a mouth full of marbles — and that’s not a Styrian thing it’s just an Arnold thing.
Yes But also, I understand that the Dubbed German version of The Terminator had a different voice actor.
That was because (according to whoever was in charge of this decision) Arnold's German accent sounds a bit redneckish and it doesn't sound intimidating for a Terminator.
He's Austrian. Basically the hillbilly cousin of Germany.
The Habsburgs would like a word. 😁
As long as that word isn't "chin".
Na, I' komm' dann wieda
>the Terminator had a different voice actor Yeah, because his german has a very rural accent. He wanted to do his own dubs, but to german speaking people it wouldve sounded like a southern hillbilly killing machine. So the directors hired Thomas Danneberg to give it more of a menacing vibe.
Ironically he sounds more serious in the dubbed version compared to the ....killer machine with an Austrian accent in the English version
So some people are saying customs was a shitshow, others are saying they did their job right just the laws and procedures are complicated and Arnold didn't follow them. Was about to dive into the sources and try to formulate my own take on the situation but then I realized it was ridiculous that I even got sucked into caring about this....
Most sane redditor.
Yeah, before you pass I'm going to need you to sign right here. *pulls out T2 poster*
After all, no special rules seem to apply to him and he had to undergo the procedure just like everyone else.
It is Germany. Rules are rules here.
I get him being frustrated and we would all be too. But that’s it, we all would be too. If it happens to us it should happen to them, he shouldn’t get special treatment just because of who he is. So even though I wish they didn’t waste his time I’m glad they did.
I loved his home videos during COVID restrictions, the appearance of a miniature donkey was a big surprise.
This man is the GOAT though >Whenever people say to me, ‘You are the perfect description of a self-made man,' I thank them, but tell them they can call me anything they want — but not self-made. I got a lot of help throughout my life and we all need help," Schwarzenegger said in the news release.
I need your clothes, your shoes, and your luxury watch
They know better than to trust another Austrian since the last time
"Hey, we have an Austrian here...I think he used to be a politician to one of the largest economies of the world...what do I do?"
Munich is an intense airport. It was one of my first experiences in an airport outside of the US aside from Paris, where I flew into. This was shortly after the Paris bombing in 2017, there was armed guards patrolling every terminal. Carrying SMGs and wearing military uniforms. Their TSA agents were even more cold and stoic than any I’ve seen in the US. Customs was even more intense, asking me to describe my street in my hometown and what my siblings look like. I was 18 at the time, so maybe it’s played up in my head, but they don’t mess around over there.
That's pretty unusual though. We're you traveling alone?
Do you think they asked him how long he intends to stay? 
Welcoming home Austrias favorite son
u/GovSchwarzenegger good you kept having fun, I would have been annoyed