Famous actor and former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger of the famed movie The Terminator, is the celebrity voice for Google’s crowd sourced navigation app, Waze! This is part of a promotion for his upcoming movie, “Terminator Genisys”, which releases on July 1st.
In his Facebook page, Schwarzenegger posted, “No matter where I go, fans ask me to say their favorite lines. Something about my charming Austrian accent. So I am excited that now, as the voice of Waze you can bring me (as Terminator) right into your car. Do it now!” He even has this caption in the attached photo: “Download Waze and have The Terminator guide you.”
Schwarzenegger started out as a bodybuilding enthusiast who, beginning in 1970, dominated the sport of competitive bodybuilding winning five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles and, with it made himself a major sports icon. He started his acting career in 1969 by appearing in the movie Hercules in New York. He had several movie appearances after this but the real kick-starter was Conan the Barbarian which he did in 1982 followed by its sequel Conan the Destroyer in 1984. Also in 1984, Schwarzenegger starred in the high voltage action/science fiction thriller The Terminator which was incredibly successful worldwide and began one of the most profitable film franchises in history. This movie catapulted his career to greater heights and is responsible for the very famous bylines, “I’ll be back” and “Hasta la vista, Baby”.
We will be hearing more “Hasta la vistas” and Schwarzenegger’s thick yet charming Austrian accent as he lends his character as the Terminator from the movie franchise to the community-based traffic and navigation app, Waze. In an article by Bryan Alexander on USA Today, he said that “To land Schwarzenegger, Waze formed a partnership with Paramount Studios that could give it a leg up in the battle against competitors such as Google Maps and Navigon”.
Waze started out as a venture capital firm project funded and developed in Israel. It was later purchased by Goodle in 2013 and has since grown from 15 million users in 2012 to the current 50 million users worldwide. It is a road navigation app that uses crowd-sourced data from drivers for constant updates and has an audible voice option to give instructions to the driver. The new update featuring Schwarzenegger’s voice is expected to be rolled out on Monday and will last through mid-July.
Using the voices of big stars such as Schwarzenegger’s has become a popular method for navigation apps to try to stand out from the competition. The Terminator version begins with a greeting that says, “I’m a Terminator Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, and you’re coming with me.” The Terminator tell motorists how to find their way around town and ends with the infamous “Hasta la vista, Baby” when they reach their destination. In doing the voice over, Schwarzenegger required a one-hour recording session to provide the automated prompts for Waze.
In his Interview with USA Today, Schwarzenegger said, “It is an added entertainment. Where I come in, I’m bringing the Arnold twist. Even in the recording studio, people were laughing at every single line when I put the Arnold spin on it.” He said he’s a fan of the app and will be switching to Terminator mode once it’s rolled out.
