TCA: Pee-Wee Says Apatow Undecided on Directing New Movie

Script is well underway, says the man sometimes known as Paul Reubens

Judd Apatow is still considering whether to direct the new Pee-Wee Herman movie he's producing, the film's star said Friday.

"Judd has not decided, I guess he's waiting to read the script, which is not completed yet," Paul Reubens, appearing in character as Pee-Wee, told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.

He appeared onscreen in Pasadena from New York City, where he had just finished recording a special taping of his Broadway show for HBO. He followed the cast of "Mildred Pierce" and its director, Todd Haynes.

"Maybe Mr. Haynes could use a little change of pace," Reubens said. "Shake it up from 'Mildred Pierce.' It would be more like Velvet Goldmine," the 1998 film Haynes directed.

He also said the film would stay true to the lighthearted tone of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and "Big Top Pee-Wee."

"The dark Pee-Wee movie probably won't be happening until things get a little darker," he said. "Judd very much wanted to do a reality-based film that's very much more like 'Big Adventure.' So this is a road picture is what we're writing right now."

He said he and co-writer Paul Rust (the actor-comedian star of "I Love You Beth Cooper") have already turned in the first act.

Reubens said the HBO version of his Broadway show should include angles viewers have never seen in past broadcasts of plays. The show was shot with cameras on-stage, allowing viewers to feel more a part of his splashy, spectacular Playhouse.

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