Latest news with #Pee-weeasHimself
New York Post
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Pee-wee Herman' actor Paul Reubens hid shocking secret from documentary director until his death
Paul Reubens did not tell his director, Matt Wolf, that he was dying from cancer. The actor and comedian, who famously starred as Pee-wee Herman in the 1980s, passed away in 2023 at age 70. Advertisement Before his death, he gave over 40 hours of interviews on camera about his life and career for a two-part documentary, 'Pee-wee as Himself,' now streaming on HBO Max. 'I was scheduled to do a final interview with him the week after Paul Reubens passed away, and we had a conversation a week before he died,' Wolf told Forbes on Monday. 'I could tell something was up with his health, but I didn't understand the gravity of it,' the filmmaker shared. 'I had no reason to believe he was terminally ill, but we had a meaningful private conversation that gave me the assurances I needed to move forward with this film.' 'I left that conversation feeling like it was intense but not thinking too much about it,' Wolf continued. 'I found out on Instagram that he [had] died, along with the rest of the world; only a very small group of close friends were aware that he was dying.' Advertisement According to Wolf, they spoke about everything — Reubens' childhood, his complicated relationship with fame, his ambitions, his commitment to his alter-ego, his sexuality, his arrest — except the fact that he had been battling cancer for the past six years. Wolf told the outlet that from the beginning, Reubens was eager to tell his story. 4 Paul Reubens is known for playing Pee-wee Herman in the 1980s. Photograph by Dennis Keeley/HBO 'When Paul and I met, he started the conversation the same way the film starts, saying, 'I want to direct a film myself, but everybody's advising me against it, and I don't understand why,'' Wolf recalled. Advertisement 'I said, 'Well, I'm here to talk to you about directing a film, so why don't we get to know each other and see if we can conceive of an approach that would appeal to you.' That began a very long and involved process of communication, but in that initial meeting, I didn't relate to Paul as a fan.' While Wolf admitted that he did not know at what point he felt Reubens trusted him, the star later remarked, 'At some point, you just have to take a leap of faith.'' 4 Paul Reubens died on July 30, 2023. Photograph by Getty/HBO 'He took a leap of faith with me, and I'm grateful for it,' Wolf added. Advertisement Wolf told the outlet that he had a question that was never fully answered by Reubens during their lengthy sit-downs. 'It wasn't that I wanted an answer, but I was working chronologically through Paul's life in this epic interview, and we stopped before the arrest in Florida,' he explained, referring to the entertainer's 1991 detention for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater. At the time, Reubens was handed a small fine, but the damage was incalculable. In 2001, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography, which was reduced to an obscenity charge with probation. These are covered in the documentary's second part. 4 Reubens gave over 40 hours of interviews on camera about his life and career for a two-part documentary, 'Pee-wee as Himself.' Photograph by Courtesy of HBO 'Paul anecdotally discussed that because we had a digressive conversation for over 40 hours, but I wanted to go in more detail through his arrest step by step,' Wolf told the outlet. 'At the end of the film, I wanted to reflect with him, not only about his late career work, but also about how he felt having gone through the full interview about this process, if he did have all the perspective he thought he had, or if he had learned something about himself through the course of telling his full story. He had also been on the record and in the media discussing his second arrest.' Wolf noted that it was important for the film to have Reubens' last words in his own voice, as well as for the film to end in his voice. 'The day after Paul Reubens died, I started reading the 1,500-page transcript of my interview with him, and I found significance and meaning and all sorts of things that I wouldn't have understood before,' said Wolf. 'I did encounter what are the last words of 'Pee-wee as Himself,' which were profound and moving to me, and they actually were the last things Paul said in the interview.' Advertisement 4 Reubens never told the director of his documentary that he was dying from cancer. AP '… All these different emotions, all these different influences and factors, stuff that I saw when I was little, I felt like I could somehow give that back,' Reubens reflected in the documentary. 'I felt like a good collector of it all. I was like a good vessel for it all.' 'Nothing would stop me,' he shared. 'Nothing would deter me that it would be pure in every way. And I think that's what it was. It's part of why I feel so proud of it. Because I delivered that. I've lived up to that. Not just for you, but for myself.' Wolf told The Associated Press that in looking back at their final conversations, it was clear that Reubens was 'privately contemplating mortality.' Advertisement 'I was aware that this was an extraordinary situation that was part of the story of the film and that the stakes were the highest I had ever experienced,' said Wolf. 'Pee-wee as Himself' premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Japan Today
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Paul Reubens tells his story in ‘Pee-wee as Himself.' Here's how it came together after his death
This image released by HBO Max shows Paul Reubens in a scene from the documentary "Pee-Wee As Himself." (HBO Max via AP) By LINDSEY BAHR Paul Reubens did not tell his director that he was dying. On July 31, 2023, the news of Reubens' death came as a shock to documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf, who had spent a year trying to convince him to make the ambitious two-part documentary 'Pee-wee as Himself,' now streaming on HBO Max, and over 40 hours interviewing him on camera. But in 2023, the project was in danger of falling apart: The two had been at an impasse for a while over the issue of creative control and they'd finally found a way forward. He had one last interview scheduled, set for the first week of August. Then the texts started coming in. Wolf sat there shaking. They'd spoken about everything — Reubens' childhood, his complicated relationship with fame, his ambitions, his commitment to his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, his sexuality, his arrest — except the fact that he'd been battling cancer for the past six years. But after the initial shock, a renewed purpose set in. 'I went to work the day after Paul died. I started to read the 1,500-page transcript of our interview through the night and was struck by the significance and meaning that came by understanding that he was privately contemplating mortality,' Wolf said. 'I was aware that this was an extraordinary situation that was part of the story of the film and that the stakes were the highest I had ever experienced.' For the next year, Wolf would wake up and say to himself, 'You cannot drop the ball. Rise to the occasion.' It was, he said, 'the most challenging and involved and emotional process of filmmaking that I've ever gone through and maybe that I'll ever go through again.' Reubens wanted to direct his own documentary. He'd always prized creative control and couldn't fathom why he would cede it in telling his own story for the first time. But everyone around him seemed to think that was a bad idea. It would take over a year of getting to know Wolf, whose film credits include documentaries about cellist Arthur Russell and news archivist Marion Stokes, to consider letting go. Even after Reubens had agreed to let Wolf direct the project, he continued to push back and resist at times. Early on, they decided to record their phone conversations as well, recognizing that their dynamic illuminated something true about Reubens. 'Right away, Paul was sort of rebelling against the process, blowing off steam, procrastinating, teasing me, sometimes being adversarial, but in a funny wink-wink way,' Wolf said. 'I was frustrated. I thought, how am I ever going to get through this? This is the most resistant interview subject I've ever encountered. Then I realized this is actually a pretty significant form of portraiture. This is showing Paul's discomfort and uncertainty about really showing and sharing himself.' The result is a collaboration, Wolf said, but one in which he also had editorial control. It wasn't going to be a hit piece, but it wasn't going to be a puff piece either. Wolf, 43, was part of the generation of kids who grew up with the children's television series 'Pee-wee's Playhouse.' It was, he said, the first time he'd felt viscerally moved by a work of art. Still, he wasn't approaching the project as a fan. He was coming as a filmmaker who makes documentaries about gay artists and unconventional visionaries who 'beg for reappraisal.' Unlike most of his subjects, however, Reubens was an icon and a cult figure. 'I was determined not to make a film that fell into the traps of the celebrity biopic with platitudes from other famous people and manufactured self-reflection,' Wolf said. 'I wanted to make portrait of an artist.' Much of the film focuses on the prehistory of Pee-wee, showing how his childhood, his artistic awakening, his early improv days and his 'Saturday Night Live' rejection would converge into the commitment to this alter ego. Part of that involved engaging with Reubens' sexuality in a direct way. In the film, Reubens speaks about living openly as a gay man, and then going back in the closet. 'He had always intended to come out but was very ambivalent about that,' Wolf said. 'And I saw myself as a younger gay person who could help somebody achieve that and also to give a sense of nuance and depth to his artistry that one could appreciate, and to understand the personal sacrifices that were required for him to do that.' Reubens' career was derailed when he was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater in 1991. He was handed a small fine but the damage was incalculable. In 2001, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography, which was reduced to an obscenity charge with probation. These are covered in the documentary's second part. 'He wanted to set the record straight, particularly about the unfortunate footnotes of his arrest, which to some extent have overshadowed his artistic accomplishments,' Wolf said. 'That to me felt like the easy part and also the least interesting part of the film.' 'Pee-wee as Himself' premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where Wolf got to see emotional responses from audiences, no matter if they came to it as fans or out of some curiosity around the controversies. That emotional intensity was what he hoped they'd feel. 'I wanted to make a film with a big range of emotions, from joy and delight to tragedy and sorrow,' Wolf said. 'Paul contains that big spectrum of feelings. And I wanted the viewer to feel it, to have a lasting connection to him. When a film can affect you emotionally it becomes unforgettable.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
New York Post
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
HBO debuts new documentary about Pee-wee Herman — How to watch live and on Max
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. A new documentary airing on HBO tonight will serve as the definitive portrait of Paul Reubens and his comedic alter-ego Pee-wee Herman. 'Pee-wee as Himself' was primarily filmed prior to Reubens' death in July 2023 and includes voice recordings done the day before he passed. The comedian, 70, died following a private battle with cancer. The candid documentary will reportedly show Reubens and director Matt Wolf sparring over creative control, something Reubens wanted more of despite ceding the director's chair to Wolf. The doc, a 2025 Sundance Film Festival selection, traces Reubens' comedic origins as he left his Florida hometown for California, began performing with the storied Groundlings improv group, and created the character he would become known for: Pee-wee Herman. It will also discuss the effects that his 1991 public indecency arrest at a porno movie theater had on his career going forward. Advertisement Ultimately, in this set of emotional final interviews, Reubens reflects on his life as a closeted gay man who made the decision to conceal his private life entirely behind the Pee-wee Herman persona. 'Pee-wee as Himself' streaming release date: 'Pee-wee as Himself' premieres tonight, May 23, at 8 p.m. ET. The two-part documentary will air back-to-back on HBO linear premium cable channel with the episodes dropping on the Max streaming service at the same time. How to watch 'Pee-wee as Himself': If you don't have HBO through traditional cable, you'll need a Max subscription to watch 'Pee-wee as Himself.' Advertisement Max, which you can subscribe to via Prime Video, starts at $9.99/month with ads and costs $16.99/month ad-free. That's not the only way to subscribe, though. Sling TV is among the best value for money among live tv streaming services, thanks to some great offers. You'll need Sling's Blue plan with a Max add-on to watch HBO live. And when you subscribe to Max through Sling, the money-saving never stops! You'll get 50% off your first month, plus $5 off your bill every month after that. 'Pee-wee as Himself' episode guide: Both parts of 'Pee-wee as Himself' will air back-to-back tonight, May 23. Advertisement Part One ( 8:00-9:40 p.m. ET ): 'Part one details Reubens' childhood and desire to be an actor, inspired by such television shows as 'Howdy Doody,' 'Captain Kangaroo,' and'I Love Lucy.' He finds acceptance at CalArts, where he hones his performance art skills. At the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings, Reubens creates the alter ego of Pee-wee Herman and puts on a live late-night show that becomes a cult sensation and evolves into a popular tour. The hit 1985 film 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' made him a global sensation. Subsuming himself into the character of Pee-wee, Reubens hides his personal life, and recognizes too late that fame makes for a complicated companion.' 'Part one details Reubens' childhood and desire to be an actor, inspired by such television shows as 'Howdy Doody,' 'Captain Kangaroo,' and'I Love Lucy.' He finds acceptance at CalArts, where he hones his performance art skills. At the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings, Reubens creates the alter ego of Pee-wee Herman and puts on a live late-night show that becomes a cult sensation and evolves into a popular tour. The hit 1985 film 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' made him a global sensation. Subsuming himself into the character of Pee-wee, Reubens hides his personal life, and recognizes too late that fame makes for a complicated companion.' Part Two (9:40-11:20 p.m. ET): 'Reubens' profile continues to grow with an Emmy®-winning weekly Saturday morning television show 'Pee-wee's Playhouse,' which unabashedly celebrates diversity and nonconformity. The episode explores the casting, production design, and creative process of the show that ran for five seasons. Reubens talks candidly about his fame as a pop culture icon and the lows he endured as he faced rumors, vilification, and the vitriol of the media. Reemerging as a cult figure with cameo roles in films and TV shows, a Broadway revival of his Pee-wee stage show, and a final Pee-wee film, Reubens refuses to have his legacy be defined by media scandals based on false rumors. He shares final words with the public, reinforcing his lifelong dream to bring joy, creativity, and acceptance to everyone.' 'Pee-wee as Himself' trailer: Who will appear in the 'Pee-wee as Himself' documentary? In addition to footage from over 40 hours of interviews and over 1,000 hours of archival material, the following people sat for interviews that will be featured in the documentary: Reubens' sister Abby Rubenfeld; artists Gary Panter and Wayne White; actors Lynne Stewart, John Moody, Alison Mork, Natasha Lyonne, S. Epatha Merkerson, Laurence Fishburne, Debi Mazar, David Arquette, Laraine Newman, and Cassandra Peterson; and filmmakers Tim Burton and Judd Apatow. Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Writer/Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping and New York Post's streaming property, Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on each streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she's also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paul Reubens tells his story in ‘Pee-wee as Himself.' Here's how it came together after his death
Paul Reubens did not tell his director that he was dying. On July 31, 2023, the news of Reubens' death came as a shock to documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf, who had spent a year trying to convince him to make the ambitious two-part documentary 'Pee-wee as Himself,' now streaming on HBO Max, and over 40 hours interviewing him on camera. But in 2023, the project was in danger of falling apart: The two had been at an impasse for a while over the issue of creative control and they'd finally found a way forward. He had one last interview scheduled, set for the first week of August. Then the texts started coming in. Wolf sat there shaking. They'd spoken about everything — Reubens' childhood, his complicated relationship with fame, his ambitions, his commitment to his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, his sexuality, his arrest — except the fact that he'd been battling cancer for the past six years. But after the initial shock, a renewed purpose set in. 'I went to work the day after Paul died. I started to read the 1,500-page transcript of our interview through the night and was struck by the significance and meaning that came by understanding that he was privately contemplating mortality,' Wolf said. 'I was aware that this was an extraordinary situation that was part of the story of the film and that the stakes were the highest I had ever experienced.' For the next year, Wolf would wake up and say to himself, 'You cannot drop the ball. Rise to the occasion.' It was, he said, 'the most challenging and involved and emotional process of filmmaking that I've ever gone through and maybe that I'll ever go through again.' The most resistant interview subject Reubens wanted to direct his own documentary. He'd always prized creative control and couldn't fathom why he would cede it in telling his own story for the first time. But everyone around him seemed to think that was a bad idea. It would take over a year of getting to know Wolf, whose film credits include documentaries about cellist Arthur Russell and news archivist Marion Stokes, to consider letting go. Even after Reubens had agreed to let Wolf direct the project, he continued to push back and resist at times. Early on, they decided to record their phone conversations as well, recognizing that their dynamic illuminated something true about Reubens. 'Right away, Paul was sort of rebelling against the process, blowing off steam, procrastinating, teasing me, sometimes being adversarial, but in a funny wink-wink way,' Wolf said. 'I was frustrated. I thought, how am I ever going to get through this? This is the most resistant interview subject I've ever encountered. Then I realized this is actually a pretty significant form of portraiture. This is showing Paul's discomfort and uncertainty about really showing and sharing himself.' The result is a collaboration, Wolf said, but one in which he also had editorial control. It wasn't going to be a hit piece, but it wasn't going to be a puff piece either. Setting the record straight, and coming out Wolf, 43, was part of the generation of kids who grew up with the children's television series 'Pee-wee's Playhouse.' It was, he said, the first time he'd felt viscerally moved by a work of art. Still, he wasn't approaching the project as a fan. He was coming as a filmmaker who makes documentaries about gay artists and unconventional visionaries who 'beg for reappraisal.' Unlike most of his subjects, however, Reubens was an icon and a cult figure. 'I was determined not to make a film that fell into the traps of the celebrity biopic with platitudes from other famous people and manufactured self-reflection,' Wolf said. 'I wanted to make portrait of an artist.' Much of the film focuses on the prehistory of Pee-wee, showing how his childhood, his artistic awakening, his early improv days and his 'Saturday Night Live' rejection would converge into the commitment to this alter ego. Part of that involved engaging with Reubens' sexuality in a direct way. In the film, Reubens speaks about living openly as a gay man, and then going back in the closet. 'He had always intended to come out but was very ambivalent about that,' Wolf said. 'And I saw myself as a younger gay person who could help somebody achieve that and also to give a sense of nuance and depth to his artistry that one could appreciate, and to understand the personal sacrifices that were required for him to do that.' A portrait of the artist, not the headlines Reubens' career was derailed when he was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater in 1991. He was handed a small fine but the damage was incalculable. In 2001, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography, which was reduced to an obscenity charge with probation. These are covered in the documentary's second part. 'He wanted to set the record straight, particularly about the unfortunate footnotes of his arrest, which to some extent have overshadowed his artistic accomplishments,' Wolf said. 'That to me felt like the easy part and also the least interesting part of the film.' 'Pee-wee as Himself' premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where Wolf got to see emotional responses from audiences, no matter if they came to it as fans or out of some curiosity around the controversies. That emotional intensity was what he hoped they'd feel. 'I wanted to make a film with a big range of emotions, from joy and delight to tragedy and sorrow,' Wolf said. 'Paul contains that big spectrum of feelings. And I wanted the viewer to feel it, to have a lasting connection to him. When a film can affect you emotionally it becomes unforgettable.' ___ For more coverage of films, visit:
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
Paul Reubens tells his story in ‘Pee-wee as Himself.' Here's how it came together after his death
Paul Reubens did not tell his director that he was dying. On July 31, 2023, the news of Reubens' death came as a shock to documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf, who had spent a year trying to convince him to make the ambitious two-part documentary 'Pee-wee as Himself,' now streaming on HBO Max, and over 40 hours interviewing him on camera. But in 2023, the project was in danger of falling apart: The two had been at an impasse for a while over the issue of creative control and they'd finally found a way forward. He had one last interview scheduled, set for the first week of August. Then the texts started coming in. Wolf sat there shaking. They'd spoken about everything — Reubens' childhood, his complicated relationship with fame, his ambitions, his commitment to his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, his sexuality, his arrest — except the fact that he'd been battling cancer for the past six years. But after the initial shock, a renewed purpose set in. 'I went to work the day after Paul died. I started to read the 1,500-page transcript of our interview through the night and was struck by the significance and meaning that came by understanding that he was privately contemplating mortality,' Wolf said. 'I was aware that this was an extraordinary situation that was part of the story of the film and that the stakes were the highest I had ever experienced.' For the next year, Wolf would wake up and say to himself, 'You cannot drop the ball. Rise to the occasion.' It was, he said, 'the most challenging and involved and emotional process of filmmaking that I've ever gone through and maybe that I'll ever go through again.' Reubens wanted to direct his own documentary. He'd always prized creative control and couldn't fathom why he would cede it in telling his own story for the first time. But everyone around him seemed to think that was a bad idea. It would take over a year of getting to know Wolf, whose film credits include documentaries about cellist Arthur Russell and news archivist Marion Stokes, to consider letting go. Even after Reubens had agreed to let Wolf direct the project, he continued to push back and resist at times. Early on, they decided to record their phone conversations as well, recognizing that their dynamic illuminated something true about Reubens. 'Right away, Paul was sort of rebelling against the process, blowing off steam, procrastinating, teasing me, sometimes being adversarial, but in a funny wink-wink way,' Wolf said. 'I was frustrated. I thought, how am I ever going to get through this? This is the most resistant interview subject I've ever encountered. Then I realized this is actually a pretty significant form of portraiture. This is showing Paul's discomfort and uncertainty about really showing and sharing himself.' The result is a collaboration, Wolf said, but one in which he also had editorial control. It wasn't going to be a hit piece, but it wasn't going to be a puff piece either. Wolf, 43, was part of the generation of kids who grew up with the children's television series 'Pee-wee's Playhouse.' It was, he said, the first time he'd felt viscerally moved by a work of art. Still, he wasn't approaching the project as a fan. He was coming as a filmmaker who makes documentaries about gay artists and unconventional visionaries who 'beg for reappraisal.' Unlike most of his subjects, however, Reubens was an icon and a cult figure. 'I was determined not to make a film that fell into the traps of the celebrity biopic with platitudes from other famous people and manufactured self-reflection,' Wolf said. 'I wanted to make portrait of an artist.' Much of the film focuses on the prehistory of Pee-wee, showing how his childhood, his artistic awakening, his early improv days and his 'Saturday Night Live' rejection would converge into the commitment to this alter ego. Part of that involved engaging with Reubens' sexuality in a direct way. In the film, Reubens speaks about living openly as a gay man, and then going back in the closet. 'He had always intended to come out but was very ambivalent about that,' Wolf said. 'And I saw myself as a younger gay person who could help somebody achieve that and also to give a sense of nuance and depth to his artistry that one could appreciate, and to understand the personal sacrifices that were required for him to do that.' Reubens' career was derailed when he was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater in 1991. He was handed a small fine but the damage was incalculable. In 2001, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography, which was reduced to an obscenity charge with probation. These are covered in the documentary's second part. 'He wanted to set the record straight, particularly about the unfortunate footnotes of his arrest, which to some extent have overshadowed his artistic accomplishments,' Wolf said. 'That to me felt like the easy part and also the least interesting part of the film.' 'Pee-wee as Himself' premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where Wolf got to see emotional responses from audiences, no matter if they came to it as fans or out of some curiosity around the controversies. That emotional intensity was what he hoped they'd feel. 'I wanted to make a film with a big range of emotions, from joy and delight to tragedy and sorrow,' Wolf said. 'Paul contains that big spectrum of feelings. And I wanted the viewer to feel it, to have a lasting connection to him. When a film can affect you emotionally it becomes unforgettable.'
