Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday (March 18 @ Netflix)

What should you get a Pee-Wee Herman fan for the holidays? How about a subscription to Netflix, which is nearing a deal to distribute the Pee-Wee Herman movie that Judd Apatow is producing, multiple individuals familiar with the project have told TheWrap.

While a Netflix spokesperson cautioned that there’s no deal in place yet, an individual close to the project told TheWrap “it moved to Netflix a gazillion months ago.”

The Pee Wee Herman movie had previously been set up at Universal, though a studio spokesperson told TheWrap the “Pee-Wee project is no longer with Universal.”

The one-and-only Paul Reubens will return to reprise his beloved Pee-Wee character, and he also co-wrote the script with comedian Paul Rust. Apatow will produce via his Apatow Productions banner.

Like the film’s director, plot details remain unknown, though Reubens has said that there is a filmmaker in place and production could start as soon as February.

In an interview with the A.V. Club in November, Reubens said “we now have such an amazing company involved, and that’s the really big announcement that hasn’t been made yet.”

The “amazing company” Reubens was referring to was Netflix — a strong fit for the Pee-Wee Herman Movie given its limited theatrical upside and the character’s rabid fan base.

BREAKING: Some 30 years after he first brought his bow-tied eternal boy character Pee-wee Herman to movie screens in the superb Tim Burton-directed Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Paul Reubens will be reviving the character in a movie for Netflix. The streaming service has announced it will release globally Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, a film that producer Judd Apatow has been cooking up with Reubens for some time.

Said Reubens (channeling Pee-wee): “Judd and I dreamt up this movie four years ago. The world was much different back then— Netflix was waiting by the mailbox for red envelopes to arrive. I’ve changed all that. The future is here. Get used to it. Bowtie is the new black.”

Reubens and Paul Rust wrote the script, and making his feature directing debut is John Lee, whose credits include Inside Amy Schumer (with whom Apatow teams on the upcoming comedy Trainwreck). This becomes the latest feature project to bypass theaters for a straight run on a streaming service, with a slate that includes Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend and four film starring vehicles for Adam Sandler that starts with The Ridiculous Six, which stars Sandler, Terry Crews, Lost‘s Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, Luke Wilson and Nick Nolte, with Wedding Singer’s Frank Coraci directing.


Apatow, a catalyst for so many comic careers, has been long interested in reviving Reubens, whose career momentum was interrupted by off-screen issues even as his character creation has remained a cult favorite, with the TV kid show Pee-wee’s Playhouse winning 22 Emmys over its five-season run. Reubens has occasionally reminded the world of his comic talent in stints like Murphy Brown, but this will be the biggest thing for him in a long time. He revived the Pee-wee character in a stage run that started in Los Angeles in 2010 and moved to Broadway and got rave reviews.

Given the 30-year time lapse since the first film, it’s questionable how a new film would fare in theaters. Netflix seems an ideal venue to ensure it is widely viewed, without the burden of a big P&A spend. In Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, a fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger inspires Pee-wee Herman to take his first-ever holiday in this epic story of friendship and destiny.

“We didn’t hesitate for a moment knowing that Pee-wee’s Big Holiday was such a passion project for Paul and Judd and we are delighted by the opportunity to introduce such a beloved character to a new generation,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos.

Said Apatow: “As a fan of Pee-wee Herman since he first appeared on The Dating Game, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the brilliant Paul Reubens on this film. It is a dream come true.”

Tyger wrote:I remember Pee Wee, watched the show and the movies. I'll check it out, but I'm not super excited. Reubens is capable of so much more though.

True Blood regular Tara Buck has joined Paul Reubens in Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday, the Judd Apatow-produced revival that will be released globally by Netflix and is now ramping up.

Buck played barmaid Ginger on HBO’s vampire drama, and was a series regular by the time it ended its run last year after seven seasons. She becomes the latest True Blood star to sink their teeth into new projects: Stephen Moyer has joined Kurt Sutter’s FX pilot The Bastard Executioner in a major role, Anna Paquin is set to star in the HBO period miniseries Madame X and Rutina Wesley as been cast as one of the four leads in ABC’s period female-cop procedural drama pilot Broad Squad.

That too-small suit. That candy-wrapper bow tie. That nasal bray. It can mean only one thing: Pee-wee Herman is back. 


His creator, Paul Reubens, along with producer Judd Apatow and Netflix, announced in February a deal to make and distribute an entirely new film about the lovable man-boy. Pee-wee’s Big Holiday will be the character’s first feature film in more than two and a half decades. (More recently, the outfit was brushed off for the 2010 Broadway revival of the character’s original stage show.) We talked with Reubens, now 62, about his return and the plans for the movie. Excited? I know you are, but what am I?

EW: When was this movie first conceived?
PAUL REUBENS: We’ve been writing it for five years almost, on and off. It was just announced, but the offer from Netflix came a year ago. It took a really long time to get from there to where we are now. I went on Jimmy Fallon before Halloween—the announcement was going to be made on his show—and at the last minute they weren’t ready. I just thought people had stopped believing me when I told them it was happening. Now people are like, “Oh my god, you weren’t a liar!”


What can you tell me about Big Holiday?
It’s a road-trip movie across the country. It’s very similar in style and tone to Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. But it’s not about a bicycle. I never really thought of Big Adventure as a family movie, but I didn’t try to make an adult movie or a kid movie. We wanted to make something that appealed to a wide age range, and I think that’s the case with this movie also.


You’ve hired John Lee, the man behind very odd, subversive shows like Wonder Showzen and The Heart, She Holler, as your director.
I love John Lee. I didn’t know him at the time but I certainly knew Wonder Showzen and his work. It’s super-exciting working with him. He totally gets it. Anyone who knows who John is and who is a fan of mine is going to be really excited he’s the director. Because—I hate to say this and I don’t know how to say this the right way—he’s arty. He’s in the art world. That’s why I hired Tim Burton to direct Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Not to be too pretentious. We don’t think we’re making an art film, but you know what I mean.


Sure. I mean, you had Gary Panter doing the sets on Playhouse. Speaking of which, will stuff be coming out of storage for the movie or is everything going to be made anew?
It’s all new. And we’re shooting in locations all over, in a 60-mile radius of L.A. We start [this month]. They’re putting the finishing touches on my suit—my new suit—and I’m getting new Pee-wee shoes made. The bow ties aren’t done yet, though, and the clock is ticking.


Are there any folks we might recognize from Pee-wee’s past?
I think there may be an actor returning, someone who’s familiar, but not as the same character. None of the characters are recurring ones.


This August marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Will it be strange to put the suit on so many years later?
I don’t think it’s real different. But it can’t be the same because nothing’s the same. I’m older—physically, mentally. But I want to rise to the occasion. I don’t want it to be a movie where people go and say, “Wow, should he have made this movie?” I haven’t put the suit on other than for costume fittings, but that’s been the amazing thing about Pee-wee Herman over all the years, even right from the get-go when I first did it: It’s just something that’s inside me somewhere, and I’ve always been able to switch it on and switch it off. So it feels the same way to me in that respect. I put that suit on, I make a certain face and get in a certain mind frame, and there he is.


I imagine you’ve had a lot of people who grew up on your work, saying “I’m weird because of you.” What has been Pee-wee’s legacy for you?
It’s been really really gratifying and exciting, and it’s kept me going. The kid’s show went back on the air on Netflix right before Christmas. I did not realize the show being on Netflix would be like being back on television. Every day I get hundreds of notes from people on Facebook and Twitter, all over the place, “My 3-year-old, my 4-year-old…” and that’s super exciting to think that kids are going to see it now who didn’t know about it before.

EXCLUSIVE: Magic Mike XXL star Joe Manganiello has just joined Paul Reubens in Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, the road movie that’s underway for Netflix. They’d been keeping this under wraps, but Manganiello started work today. In the pic-written by Reubens and Paul Rust, Pee-wee takes his first holiday, the journey of a lifetime in an epic story of friendship and destiny. Production began last month and the film premieres exclusive in all Netflix territories. Judd Apatow and Reubens worked together to bring the project to fruition and Apatow is producing the film with Reubens. John Lee is making his feature film directorial debut.

Said Reubens (as Pee-wee): “Joe’s already my friend – and he’s tremendously talented and a terrific person. I am so glad we are finally going to get to work together. This totally makes up for being cut out of Magic Mike and Magic Mike 2!”

Said Mangianello: “Paul Reubens is one of the great comic geniuses of our time. Growing up, my Saturday mornings were all about Pee-wee Herman. I saw everything he did. I can’t believe that I’m going to get to share scenes with one of the iconic figures of my childhood.”