The sheriff of a small border town stands in front of a notorious drug cartel leader, blocking his path across the bridge that will take him safely out of the country.  Wanting to avoid a physical confrontation with the much larger man, the cartel leader attempts to buy him off. The sheriff responds by discarding his gun belt and shedding his jacket, dropping it to the ground.  The men rush each other.  They trade blows, neither getting the upper hand until the sheriff lifts the man into the air and prepares to slam him to the asphalt.  Director Kim Jee-Woon calls cut and sheriff Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) slowly lowers cartel leader Gabriel Cortes (Eduardo Noriega) to the ground with the assistance of the actor’s stunt wires.

It’s late October 2011 and we’re on set of The Last Stand, Schwarzenegger’s first starring role since leaving the governorship of California and his triumphant return to the big screen.  While we’ll have interviews with the cast and crew of the film later on this week, you can hit the jump right now to view our “20 Things to Know” for The Last Stand.  Also starring Forest Whitaker, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzman, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford and Genesis Rodriguez, The Last Stand opens January 18th, 2013.

After directing hit films A Tale of Two Sisters; The Good, The Bad, The Weird; and I Saw the Devil, Korean director Kim Jee-woon makes his American debut with The Last Stand (watch the new trailer here).  The stylized Western stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as retired LAPD officer turned sheriff, Ray Owens, who settles in the peaceful border town of Sommerton Junction.  When cartel leader Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) escapes from the FBI and makes a run for the border, Owens and his small-town sheriffs department are the only things standing in his way.

During our set visit to The Last Stand, Kim Jee-woon (and his translators) took the time to participate in a round-table interview to talk to us about the film, the difference between Korean filmmaking and the American studio process, the style he brings to The Last Stand, whether he ever intended on coming to Hollywood, his physical directing style and how it feels to have Schwarzenegger starring in his American debut.  Hit the jump to check out our interview with Kim Jee-woon from our set visit to The Last Stand.

You’ll see a little bit more of Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Expendables 2 than you did in the first film, but once The Last Stand rolls in next January, the whole screen belongs to the former Governor.  We previously brought you the first image from the film, but now we’re happy to share an official synopsis and poster.  The actioner from director Ji-woon Kim stars Schwarzenegger as the aging sheriff of a border town, which happens to be the last hope of keeping a drug cartel leader from fleeing the country.  The Last Stand, also starring Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Genesis Rodriguez and Zach Gilford, opens January 18th.  Hit the jump for the official synopsis and poster.