“I asked Arnold Schwarzenegger if he would do it, and he said ‘Only if you get the best band in the world’”: How Guns N’ Roses teamed up with a Hollywood megastar to make one of the most iconic videos of the 1990s
In 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day's producers sought a major music video to promote the blockbuster film. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to star in it on one condition: that they secured Guns N' Roses, the world's biggest band at the time. This pairing of two cultural titans resulted in one of the most iconic music videos of the 1990s and perfectly encapsulated the era's blockbuster-driven marketing strategy.
The song "You Could Be Mine" had been in development by Guns N' Roses since before their breakthrough 1987 album Appetite For Destruction, and was originally titled "Cocaine Talking." Schwarzenegger was so insistent on working with the band that producer Larry Kassanoff recalled, "If you get Guns N' Roses I'm in." To secure their participation, Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver invited the band to dinner at their home, an invitation that led to the band's agreement to feature in the video.
- Schwarzenegger insisted on Guns N' Roses for Terminator 2 music video
- Song was existing band track from earlier album sessions
- Personal dinner invitation from Schwarzenegger sealed the collaboration