Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading back to the 1970s with a brand new project called Pump. On Wednesday, Showtime announced that The Last Stand actor and former California governor has sold a project to the subscription cable network that will follow the “origins” of the fitness industry and look at the “culture of body worship” through the eyes of one fitness center in Venice Beach, California.
Not only has Shwarzenegger sold the hour-long project to Showtime, if Pump moves forward to series, the actor also has plans to recur, which should be a big draw for the network. According to THR, Barney’s Version writer Michael Konyves is signed on to pen and executive produce the project. He brought the project to Two and a Half Men and We Are Men executive producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, who also signed on to executive produce Pump. Finally, Schwarzenegger came on board to swap bodybuilding stories and executive produce, as well.
Pump is clearly in the early stages over at Showtime, but things are looking pretty good for the project for numerous reasons, the first of which is that Schwarzenneger is involved. The man has been pretty open about his bodybuilding past and even put together a 30 for 30 documentary for ESPN that discussed the famous bodybuilders past in California. Secondly, the project was pitched exclusively to Showtime and the subscription cable network was interested in buying in, which means it didn’t even need to be shopped around. While the network has yet to order a pilot for the project, I’m guessing—and maybe hoping—that Showtime will move forward with the project, soon.
