Arnold Schwarzenegger has a strange deal with Warner Bros — he pays them exactly $1 every year

Sometimes actors tend to get too much under the skin of a character, and this is known to have strange effects on their behavior. One such star is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has been paying Warner Brothers $1 annually for nearly three decades. This is part of a bizarre contract that Schwarzenegger signed to keep a memento from the 1997 film, "Batman & Robin," so that he can preserve it. Former Mr. Olympia played the role of "Mr Freeze" in the film, and the item he held onto is the very suit that he wore in the film.

Sentiment Encapsulated in a Suit

"Batman & Robin" starring George Clooney in the titular role was one of the worst box office debacles among DC movies and was also panned by critics. However, Schwarzenegger who is known for his iconic roles in action franchises such as "Terminator," and "Predator," decided to keep the Mr Freeze suit as something to remember his role by.

This secret was revealed by the film's producer Peter Macgregor-Scott in a 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He shared that it was common for stars to keep props from sets and enter agreements with studios. The character of Mr. Freeze portrayed by Schwarzenegger, was part of the film that followed the success of "Batman Forever." However, it failed to impress the audiences and wasn't well-received by the critics either.

However, Schwarzenegger might have felt a connection to the role, as he has also collected props related to other characters that he played including the iconic sword from "Conan the Barbarian" and guns from the global hit "Terminator." For Schwarzenegger, carrying the huge cryo-suit made of 500 parts of hand-beaten aluminum off the set wasn't easy. Macgregor-Scott explained that the lights on the suits could last for 9,000 hours. "He doesn’t have them on all day long, but he does turn them on quite frequently," he added in the interview. 

Thus, to keep one of the seven impressive suits designed by Master Armorer Terry English, the actor had to strike a deal with Warner Bros. “He (Schwarzenegger) had to sign a contract, and I think he pays $1 per year to borrow the costume," Macgregor-Scott said. The minute sum is a symbolic payment or a "peppercorn," that legally binds the contract between the two parties. By paying the annual sum, he gets to lease the suit acknowledging that the studio maintains ownership of it. This means that the studio will most likely take it back after the actor passes away. 

The suit has now become a piece of history in the actor's collection, as it symbolizes a low in his acting career. Macgregor-Scott further shared other interesting details about Schwarzenegger and what working with him on set was like. He claimed that the set was filled with people wanting to take pictures with him and they reportedly paid about $10,000 to get a picture of him. In another 2024 interview with SlashFilm, musician Jon Bon Jovi shared that Schwarzenegger had him hand deliver his preferred Cuban cigars on set for the role.

While the Former Governor of California cherishes the memory of his role, several of his co-stars have completely disassociated themselves from the film. Most recently, George Clooney, who played Batman said that he would never get back to DCEU.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the Los Angeles premiere of his directorial venture, "The Boys in the Boat", Clooney said, “I don't think there are enough drugs in the world for me to go back again." He had previously joked that he would never show the film to his family or else his wife would lose respect for him.