Arnold Schwarzenegger took to Twitter Sunday to pay tribute to the late Andy Vajna, the producer of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Total Recall.
“Andy Vajna was a dear friend and a revolutionary force in Hollywood,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “He proved that you don’t need studios to make huge movies like Terminator 2 or Total Recall. He had a huge heart, and he was one of the most generous guys around. I’ll miss him. My thoughts are with his family.”
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“Good bye my friend. Thank you for everything. Adios amigo mío. Gracias por todo,” actor Antono Benderes tweeted.
Andy Vajna was a dear friend and a revolutionary force in Hollywood. He proved that you don’t need studios to make huge movies like Terminator 2 or Total Recall. He had a huge heart, and he was one of the most generous guys around. I’ll miss him. My thoughts are with his family.
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 20, 2019
“Andy Vajna was a great friend and collaborator. He believed in me on one of my toughest shoots, Terminator 2. I will miss him, his humor, class and style, but especially the motorcycle rides,” James Cameron, who directed Terminator 2, tweeted.
Vanja died at 74, the Hungarian National Fund announced Sunday on Facebook, reports Variety. The HNF called Vanja a “dominant figure in the Hungarian and international film industry” who helped develop the fund.
Vanja and business partner Mario Kassar founded independent studio Carolco in 1976. The studio hit its stride in the 1980s, launching Sylvester Stallone‘s Rambo franchise with 1982’s First Blood. In 1985, they found success again with Rambo: First Blood Part II.
Vajna left the company in December 1989 after selling his shares to Kassar. After he left, the studio continued to produce blockbusters into the early 1990s, including Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Total Recall with Schwarzenegger. Carolco’s success was short-lived though, as the studio entered bankruptcy after 1995’s Cutthroat Island flopped.
During his tenure at Carolco, Vanja helped establish the American Film Marketing Association. After leaving the studio, he founded Cinergi Productions and InterCom, which became the Hungarian distributor for movies from 20th Century Fox, Sony and Warner Bros.
Vajna was a producer or executive producer on more than 40 movies, including Evita, Judge Dredd, Terminator Salvation, Nixon, The Scarlet Letter, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Renaissance Man, Medicine Man, Rambo III and the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
After his run in Hollywood, Vajna returned to Hungary, where he was named the government commissioner in charge of the country’s film industry in 2011. The Hungarian National Film Fund gave grants to more than 70 productions during Vajna’s tenure, including the Oscar-winning Son of Saul. He was also an owner of the Hungarian broadcaster TV2 Group.
Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
