Will Arnie be back to save Great North Leisure Park?

The Terminator star and former California governor visited the Finchley venue in 1996 for a film premiere, now campaigners are asking him to return to help controversial development plans reports David Floyd

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited Finchley in 1996. — Arnold Schwarzenegger has been asked to help save the Great North Leisure Park – (Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Campaigners are calling on Arnold Schwarzenegger to honour his pledge to return to Finchley to help save the cinema he opened nearly thirty years ago.

The Terminator star, who also had a spell as governor of the state of California, visited what is now the Vue Cinema at the Great North Leisure Park (GNLP) in North Finchley in 1996 for the premier of the film Eraser.

During the visit, reported on at the time by GMTV, he used the phrase “I’ll be back” which he popularised in his role as the the Terminator.

Now campaigners against plans to demolish the cinema as part of a controversial development approved by the deputy mayor of London in May are urging Schwarzenegger to come back and back their cause.

In their open letter to the no nonsense former bodybuilder posted on Change.org, the campaigners say: “We are residents of Finchley and nearby areas in North London. Thirty years ago, in August 1996, you opened a large movie theatre in our suburb for the premiere of your film ‘Eraser’. It was a momentous event for the community, who turned out to give you a big welcome. People here still remember your visit!”

They add: “You told us: ‘I’ll be back!’. Well, now we are asking you to come back. We need your help to save the movie theatre that you opened. It would be wonderful if you could come in person to sort things out, as you do in your movies.”

However, they note that an in person visit may not be necessary with the acknowledgement that “California is a long way from here, so we’d understand if you came back to us on social media instead” while requesting a message of support.

The letter point out the important of the cinema to the community: “The Vue is the last big-screen movie theatre in our part of London. We want to keep our giant screens and super sound so we can continue to enjoy great movies like yours.”

While also raising the issue of its environmental impact: “While the the new development also threatens protected species in a nature reserve next door. As the former governor of California, you’ll know how important it is to balance property development with the social needs of a community and preserving the environment. We haven’t seen that balance here, and we are very angry about that.”

Barnet Post approached Schwarzenegger’s representatives to ask whether he had any plans to visit Finchley in the near future, while also asking what his views are on the future of GNLP. We have not yet received a response.

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