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Paul Reubens may have passed away, but the Hollywood Theatre is keeping his playful spirit alive with several 35 mm screenings of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure on Aug. 19 and 20.
Released in 1985, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure stars Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, the bicycling man-child character who defined much of his career. It was a massive hit for Warner Bros., cementing debuting director Tim Burton as an eccentric auteur (he directed Beetlejuice and Batman shortly after).
In light of Reubens’ death, you can expect each screening to be a hot ticket. The Hollywood has scheduled six showings, some of which have already sold out.
Reubens passed away July 30 at age 70 after a yearslong battle with cancer (a struggle he kept out of the public eye). He remained active until his death, working on two Pee-wee screenplays and developing a TV Western titled Fancypants.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page after his death, Reubens wrote, “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’m been facing for the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
Burton, his Big Adventure director, weighed in, calling Reubens “a great artist.”
“I’ll never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career,” he wrote on Instagram. “It would not have happened without his support. I’ll miss him.”