PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE - Large Marge Sent Us!

In Episode 42 of Secret Level, we delve into the whimsical world of Tim Burton and Paul Reuben's iconic 1985 comedy, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. A film that never fails to tickle the funny bone, this classic comedy remains a joy to revisit time and again. We uncover the intriguing backstory of its journey to the silver screen, unearthing delightful tidbits that even the most hardcore fans might not know. Join us as we offer our silly commentary, share insights, and celebrate the humor and magic of this beloved film. Join the fun in this latest episode of Secret Level!

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Transcript

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And then the trash guy, he threw the peanut in her face and yelled, eat it. And it was the weirdest thing that I think I've seen this summer. I mean, you gotta hand it to the guy. He doesn't wanna see people waste food. I guess not right. I guess not. Well, hello everybody. Hi. I'm Joey Parr with geek tarant.com. And joining me on this podcast is Billy Ballou Fisher. You know I got the bear necessities for this podcast. You do. And you got the bear beard. You got the bear beard going? Yes. Um, you've even got like that slightly grayish purple in it a a little bit. Yeah. Everybody else goes gray, gray. I go gray purple. Yeah. Yeah. It's really interesting. I love it though. Should try it. Yeah. Well, it's good. I don't grow beards. I can't do it. I can't get past the scratchy phase. There's just this phase where I just wanna like tear the world apart. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't function. I. Really messes with me. So it's like you're kryptonite. Yeah. I can't get past that phase of the beard. Hmm. But anyway, yeah. Uh, welcome to secret level. Everybody. We're back. Yeah. It's been a while. Uh, we kind of took a unexpected break from secret level. The summer hit and things just got insane. There's a lot going on guys. So much. Billy's got kids. I got kids. Things happened. Geek Tyrant was going crazy. There was some weird stuff going on with an ad agency and. You know, there was a lot of stress and a lot of, aggravation, frustration, and aggravation all over the place. So there was a lot of time spent in dealing with certain aspects of the geek tyrant business. That was not fun at all. We are still going through this madness, but, you know, we're doing, we're on our way. We're doing what we can do. It's just so much, so much happening and in the middle of all this stuff, one of our good friends passed away and that was rough. Uh, had a hard time dealing with that'cause it's completely unexpected. I got a kid going off to college. Billy's got kids that just needed attention. That's true, that's true. For the summer we had Comic-Con in San Diego that we attended. Yes. So this summer has just been 100% complete madness. And we just, we just couldn't find the time to get together and record. Here we are, we are back. And I think we're just gonna call this season two a secret level, season two, and we're starting off with probably the most important podcast of season two. Yeah, well, which is crazy. Well, it's the first pod. It's the only episode of season two. Yes. That's why it's the most important. Okay. Oh, and and for other reasons. For other reasons too. Yeah. Yeah. So we, we worked on this episode before summer hit. This has been sitting around forever. And while I was prepping for this podcast, for this episode, Peewee Herman passed away. Yeah, that was rough. I'm sitting there reading, old interviews of his, and all of a sudden I get this thing, this, um, looking through my news feed and all of a sudden I see that Peewee Herman died. And that was. Crazy because this guy, I mean for me, he played like this big part of my childhood. Right. So before we get into it, PeeWee's Big Adventure. This is the movie we are talking about today. This, is the one that, it's like probably one of the first comedies as a kid. Like that just like went wacky. Right, right. Just went the imagination just like exploding. You're like, wait, you can do this kind of stuff in movies, right? You can be this stupid and this funny and this corny and this ridiculous and people are just gonna laugh and have a good time watching it. Yeah. But the, the, the best part about PeeWee's Big Adventure is that when you're a kid, like my kids love this movie, they are just. Uh, over the moon when it comes on or when I turned it on to, you know, to get notes for this. Um, it was funny for them'cause there's a lot of visual gags and a lot of, you know, I know you are, but what am I? But it's the, it's the darker undertone jokes for adults that make it even better. Well, even, even it's so much fun. So yeah, you've got the darker undertone stuff, but also, also you've got those just stupidly funny scenes where he is pour cereal on his pancakes and he is saying, I pity the food and don't eat my cereal. Right. Or the pool fight. Yeah. Two adult men pool fighting. Yeah. Fantastic. And I'm watching this guy, this, this, this silly guy on the big screen as a kid and I'm like, wait a second. He's an adult. Mm-hmm. Can I grow up and be like that? Yeah. Can I be that crazy and that ridiculous And live in a house like that and own a bike like that, right? Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Can I be that when I grow up? Is that an option? For me? It's an option, but I mean, for Peewee, for Paul Rubin's, Peewee, it was a lifestyle, like it was coming out from inside. Sure. It was down to the core, and I wish I had that in me. I wish I could have been that kind. Sure. But as a kid, it's like this opened your mind to like, wait, like your, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like you were just absolutely thinking like. Is this real? Mm-hmm. Can this be a real thing? Please. Right. And it really was a real thing. It was, it wasn't my real thing, but I enjoyed what, Paul Rubins brought to the character. I loved his Peewee Herman. I loved that character. It was so much fun. Oh, it absolutely was. It still is. Um, like I said, it's transcended, you know, our generation into the newer generations, and my kids were just as heartbroken The day that Paul Rubins died as I was, it was, it was a sad moment. There was something your daughter said that your wife put up on Facebook. Really? Like, it was kind of like, kind of deep and like, it like made me like my heart swell. Do you what? Share that quote, dude. Yeah. when the kids found out that Paul Rubin's died, my daughter said, I guess PeeWee's going on his last adventure. And, and it's like, you wanna like, you know, you kind of get choked up just thinking about that. Like, when I read that, when I read when on Facebook, I was like, I was just like, oh, it's so true. And it's so, you know what I mean? It's like, it really hit me for real. No, absolutely. And, and that was the thing too, is that, if you don't know my daughter, you, you, she doesn't express that kind of emotion very much. But that was a truly su moment in her life. He was, she was just like, uh, a childhood, uh, favorite of hers Yeah. Is gone. And that was the most profound thing. That was the, her way of swallowing a bitter pill is putting it out like that, that his adventures will go on, but, We just won't know about it. Exactly. So unless someone makes a movie about it. But I mean, yeah. I don't see, I just, I mean, maybe Crispin Glover could play No, I'm joking. I'm joking. Just, I'm gonna think about this the rest of the time we're talking. Oh, great. Who could play? Ruben Ruined it. Just ruined it. It Dang it ruined it, so, okay. Uh, well, like you said, Usually we start with pleasantries, but you pretty much gave us a rundown of what happened over the last couple months. Yeah, we just had to get through that, you know, it's been crazy. Yeah, it's been crazy. And we're back and we're hoping to start pumping these out more. So. Yep. Uh, we're glad you guys could be here with us on these adventures and we're glad that we can express our feelings. I know there's fans out there that feel the same way we do on this, uh, subject. And if you've never seen this movie, um, what the hell is wrong with you? I guess that's one way to put it. Yep. Yeah. Go, go watch it right now. You'll not be disappointed. So, PeeWee's, big adventure, everybody. This is Tim Burton's directorial debut released in 1985, and it's a delightfully bizarre and wildly imaginative film that has become a beloved classic over the years. Yes, with its unique blend of humor, whimsical characters and fantastical settings, the movie stands out as a testament to Tim Burton's distinct artistic vision. But also Paul Rubins, let's not forget, this is his baby. Right. So this podcast is going to dive into what makes PeeWee's Big Adventure, such an insanely wild movie and explores the reasons behind its enduring popularity. It's true, yeah. As much as we like to go on segues and things of that sort, this one kind of is a little bit more heartfelt.'cause like Joey said, this was our first foray into comedy, adult comedy. It was, yeah. You know, and it kind of set the tone for what our humor was gonna be like for the rest of our lives. Like the things that we're gonna find funny. I mean, no matter what, I've been quoting Peewee Herman since I saw the movie. Yes. Absolutely. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like it's, it's one of these movies that I have quoted throughout my entire life. Mm-hmm. Which is madness to me to think about. So, and it also caused a Pavlovian response in all of us. Whenever we hear the song tequila, we know exactly what to do. We know exactly what to do. Yes. There's no other way to experience that song. I mean, it's the best way. Yes, it's true. Now, PeeWee's character isn't eccentric man child full of childlike wonder and boundless energy. His peculiar mannerisms, distinctive laugh, and iconic red bow tie make him instantly recognizable and endearing to audiences PeeWee's. Innocent, yet mischievous nature provides a unique lens through which the film's extraordinary offense unfold. It takes viewers on a wild ride filled with unexpected twists and turns. The narrative centers around PeeWee's Quest to find his stolen bike, leading him on a cross country adventure that defies all logic and reason. It really makes no sense. He's just going to find a bike. His bike, yeah. His awesome bike. That is in the basement of the Alamo, by the way. Yeah, the plot takes on a whimsical and episodic structure incorporating various bizarre encounters and memorable set pieces that keep audiences engaged and entertained throughout the movie. Tim Burton's film is populated by a delightful cast of characters who leave a lasting impression from the haunting large Marge to the, I love large Marge guys. Yes. That scene in that truck, when she tells that story and then ends it, That was the scariest piece of film in my life. It is terror. The first time I saw that, it is terrifying. That was simply awful. Which she looks at peewee and then just like, and he looked like this and her face just turned into this grotesque istic monster of death. Made me so happy. So happy I screamed. Yes. Yeah, I am. I'll freely admit that now. When I was a kid. No, that didn't scare me. No, I can draw you that face just with, with my eyes closed. I could draw you that face'cause it's so etched in my memory. It's so good though. It's a core memory. It's so good. So good. Makes me so happy. Oh, absolutely. Ugh. Yes. Each character in the film has their own unique quirks and contributes to the film's surreal atmosphere. The memorable and imaginative character designs coupled with the talented performances create a world that feels simultaneously outlandish and strangely relatable. Lemme ask you, bill. Yes. Can you relate to anything in this movie? I absolutely can. Um, so if you ever think about Peewee and his bike, we all had that one toy, that one thing that we loved above everything else. Yes. And there was always a friend. That wanted it badly. Yes. And you would do anything you could to keep it safe. I think this is just the writer's version of that, making sure that his prize possession is taken care of and we would all go to these links to make sure that they were taken care of. Now it's family, but before it was things, know what I mean? It was, yeah, it was. It was toys. So I totally get where Pew was going on this one. Sure. Especially in the interrogation scene in the basement. Phenomenal. I dunno, what's this, Jimmy, too late. That might be one of the greatest interrogation scenes ever put on film, let's be honest. Absolutely, absolutely. I still crack up. The best part was is that everybody showed up for it. Everyone.'cause everyone knew Peewee and they're like, guys we have to go because this is gonna be better than any movie or TV show. We could be watching at this moment in our lives. This is gonna be the best entertainment we could possibly get. Yes. Which really kind of struck me now that you said that,'cause I was gonna say this later on, but earlier Joey was talking about our buddy who passed away and that's how it felt every time you hung out with him. Yeah, there was gonna be an epic moment that you're gonna remember forever that you never saw coming, and it was fantastic. Yep. Nothing but good times. Nothing but good times. And that's what Peewee is. I mean, you're gonna go hang out with Peewee. It's nothing but good times. Even when he is being serious. It's hilarious. Even when he's being serious and he's mad and angry, so yes. Yep. The film's production design and Burton's use of vibrant colors, exaggerated proportions and gothic undertones infuse the film with a dreamlike quality blurring the line between reality and fantasy. Everything was so vibrant and yes, fantastical. And I love that about this movie. It was so bright and like inviting, you know? Well, yeah, it, it worked well. E even the biker bar was, well, you know, it was Tim Burton all the way. Sure. And when I saw that biker bar mm-hmm. I was like, as a kid, like, I need to go to a biker bar. Right. Maybe we shouldn't at that age, but we really wanted to because that looks like a good time right there. These are the kind of guys I wanna be hanging out with. But that's, that was the thing is that I, I looked at it this way. We were looking at the world through PeeWee's eyes. That's how Peewee saw the world. Bright, vibrant. Even the darkest moments in life are still fun. They still have a light side. Yeah. So I, I thought that was a great way of filming that movie through his lens. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Right. Perfectly put. I just love the offbeat and absurd humor. Oh my gosh, yes. I mean, you just don't see that kind of comedy anymore. It's like people are afraid to step outside the box now and do something as wacky and silly and just not give a crap. You know what I mean? Right. Like just, Hey, I'm just gonna have some fun with this. I don't even care. You don't see characters like peewee anymore? No. I mean, the closest thing I think, oh, I'm really excited to hear what you're saying. This one.'cause I have one too. Oh, go. Well, I was just gonna say, the closest thing I think we've come to, like someone as wacky and crazy as peewee is Mr. Bean. Yes. Yeah. I'll give you that. but other than that, it's like, I. But even you don't, well, you do get a silly voice outta Mr. Bean. He doesn't talk a lot, but when he does talk it, it is like, it is, it is silly, you know? So he's like, for me, like, I think that would be the closest comparison. But you don't have a lot of these type of characters. Can you think of one? I can, I can't think of other than Mr. Bean. Probably not. I mean there's old man Greg, but we'll get into that later on. Um, but I think as far as filmmaking goes, like just a free for all of every imaginable thing you can think of. Like PeeWee's, big adventure, everything everywhere, all at once is the only thing that really comes close to this. No holds barred. Let's go as wacky as possible. Yeah. And make it work. Yep. And that, that's it. I mean, I could definitely see hotdog fingers in a peewee movie. Hotdog Fingers. Yep. So, yeah. But I just wanna tell you, after listening to everything that you just said, I'm like, this guy needs to start writing advertising for things you had me sold. I've seen the movie. I love the movie. But the way you went through it, I was like, I, I wanna see the movie he's talking about. You should watch it. I should. I can't believe you haven't watched PeeWee's. Big Adventure, Billy. Never once. Never once. Oh man. So again, this was Tim Burton's directorial feature debut before he made this movie. He was doing animated shorts films. He was working for Disney, he was doing, uh, animation for them. And. An interview with, this is a past interview with Paul Rubins. He talked about bringing Tim Burton, into the film. He said tim went to Cal Arts. You know, I kind of wanna do this in PeeWee's voice, but I'm not going to. Yeah, I can. I can't. I wish I could. I know. All right. Tim went to Cal Arts strangely enough, but he was there after me and we didn't know each other. I turned in the script of the movie with a list of about 200 directors that I had gotten out of a director's book who I thought were good. The studio then settled on one director who wasn't on my list, and that I thought was absolutely wrong. I made a stupid stink to my manager about it, and my manager said, are you crazy? You have a green light approved movie. If you go with this guy they're asking for. I said, I'm sorry, it's not the right guy. I spent 15 years getting to this point. I gotta have the right director, someone who can put their own stamp on it. So I went to a party and someone at the party had just seen Frankenweenie when his short film, it wasn't the feature film he did later on, right. Tim Burton short film that he made for Disney. Shelly Deval was in Frank and Weenie, and I knew Shelly. And so I called Shelly and she said, oh my God, Paul, you and he are so perfect together. When I screened the short film the next day, I knew in the first six shots that I wanted him to do it. It was absolutely incredible. It was the biggest piece of luck early on in my career that I could have had. We were completely simpatico. He was 26 years old at the time. My friends would come, my friends would come on the set and go, which one's the director? And I'd point'em out and they'd go, come on. No. Which one's the director? Man, but I mean, he was perfect for it. I don't think anybody could have caught, dude, no one else could have caught that imagination. No. Only Tim Burton. Absolutely. Like I'm really curious to know who the director was, the studio on it. I couldn't find any details on that. Yeah. I was looking, I couldn't find anything. But all I know is that I think that happens a lot where like, Hey, this is green that you need to use this guy. I think the artists, whoever wrote it, whoever came up with it, need that input to be like, no, the vision needs to be like this. Yeah. Because there's been lots of movies that we've seen that if somebody else would've been at the helm, it would've been so much better. Yeah, exactly. So when he settled on Tim Burton was like, Hey, this is the guy I want to direct my movie. Uh, Ruben took it to the studio and when he pitched the idea to the studio, they said, oh, he won't do it. And Ruben's explained, this is how Ruben explained it. Oh, he won't do it. We've sent him all these projects and he's turned everything down. He won't even read it. My manager somehow got it to him and he agreed very, very quickly. So it was a perfect situation. Working together was like two people who could speak in shorthand. We were very simpatico. Again, he used that word with e He likes the word simpatico. Yeah. And very kind of on the same page with everything. I mean, we have a lot of similarities in our style and what we like and how we saw things. It was a lot of fun working with him. So, I mean, he had a great time with him. Yeah. And like I said, it, it shows in the, in the film their, their good time is felt on the screen. Yeah. They're very simpatico. Simpatico. That's, we're gonna use that, that's the word of the week. Ah, oh man. When everyone's, when anyone says the secret word, when everyone says, says the secret word, everybody scream simpatico. Ah, beautiful. I'm gonna miss that. I know. Okay. All right. Here we go. The script that was written is a nod to the Italian classic bicycle thieves from 1948. Mm-hmm. The main characters in that film, the film story follows a prized bicycle that is stolen. The police don't take the crime seriously nor do, uh, the guy's friends, and they don't offer really any help. And as a re, you know, uh, last resort ends up consulting a fortune teller, which Peewee ends up doing in the movie. Yes, he does. Some of the actresses that were up for the role of Dottie in the movie mm-hmm. Include Lori Laughlin. Mm-hmm. Laura Dern, Phoebe Kates. Leah Thompson and Jennifer, Jason Lee. That's crazy. That's insane. Out of those, out of those, I mean, who they cast was perfect in the role. Yeah. Elizabeth Dailey was perfectly cast as Dottie, I think. Who do you think, who would you have cast as a runner up? Just curious. Um, I think out of those names, Leah Thompson was probably the best out of those. Um, but yeah, I think she might've fit the role pretty well. Yeah. But, uh, Elizabeth Daley did a great job. Yeah. Paul Rubins wrote the script with Phil Hartman and Michael Var Hall. Mm-hmm. And they, this is the first film that they had ever written together before they started writing the script. They bought a book by SSID Field on how to write screenplays and did pretty much exactly what the book said. I've read that book. I know the exact book that they're talking about. That's awesome. I read it in a screenwriting class in college. Yep. Uh, as a result, the movie is sometimes used in screenwriting classes because it fits the screenwriting paradigm perfectly. The film is 90 minutes long and the script is 90 pages long. The first act ends at page 30, 30 at the 30 minute mark. The second act ends at page 60, at the 60 minute mark, et cetera, et cetera. That's awesome. Yes, I would, I would love to go to a class where like you wanna see the most perfectly written movie ever. PeeWee's. Big adventure. Yes. Seriously. That would be fantastic. You, we have to study this script. Yes. Good God. Father the Godfather too. Poppycock. We will study PeeWee's. Big adventure. Perfection. Perfection. Ah, yes. Simpatico. Simpatico. Ah. Burton and Rubens's asked Denny Elfman to compose the movie because Rubens's was a big fan of Oingo. Boingo. Mm-hmm. You know,'cause Elfman was the lead singer. Yes. And songwriter. Mm-hmm. And Burton agreed after, you know, going to some concerts and. At first, Elfman didn't really wanna do it. He is kind of apprehensive because he has like, you know, he didn't have any formal music training or anything and he, right, at first, he declined the offer. He is like, nah, I'm, I can't, like, I'm not, I'm not prepared for this kind of thing. But his manager ended up telling him to tell Burton that himself'cause he wasn't gonna do it. Right. Elfman ended up calling up Burton. Mm-hmm. And at the last moment, he changed his mind and decided, decided to accept the job. Dude, can you believe that, like, this is the launching point of Danny Elfman being one of the most prolific movie scorers in the world. Yeah, exactly. Crazy. So crazy. And you can listen to this soundtrack now and you hear. You can listen to it. And if you listen to his stuff now, like his newer stuff, it, it all, like, you can hear just that style, that distinct style. He still has it. Right. You know? Yeah. That vibe that he puts into the movies. You, you know, that Elfman making the, the songs. Yes. Very quirky, very fun, playful music for sure. Um, Elfman later said that hearing his music performed by an orchestra for the first time was one of the most thrilling experiences of his life. Fantastic. Yes. Uh, Elfman actually talked about how he believed his score on PeeWee's Big adventure, would never see the light of day. In an interview with Yahoo, he said, who'd wanna hire me after this? In fact, I thought the score would get thrown out. I assumed Warner Brothers would listen to the score, toss it, and hire a real composer to do it right. Boy was he wrong? Very wrong. Now, Elfman believed that he was not the right person for the project, and uh, was just very confused as to why Ruben's and Burton kind of fought for him to be, uh, brought on, brought onto the project. Right. But he obviously, everything worked out and he was super grateful for basically launching this whole new career for, right, right. Like he did the band and now he gets the score. Awesome Movies. And he's so good at it. I know. Oh my goodness. Tell me a bad Elfman score. I don't know. I know some of our listeners will probably hit me up with something, but as far as I can, I got nothing. I don't know. Did he score Planet of the Apes, the remake, the Burton did? I believe so. I don't, I don't even remember that score, so I can't say that it's bad, but I can say that it's not memorable. Not memorable. Yes. So that would be the one that I choose. As for the wonderful, colorful red and white bicycle, there were 10 to 12 bicycles that were built for the movie by the pedal pusher bike shop in Newport Beach, California, which specialized in vintage and classic bicycles and parts. I love that bike. They were offered$10,000 and no screen credit. or screen credit only. Hmm. The shop. What do you take At that point, the shop chose the money. Of course the bike shop had an autographed eight by 10 photo of Paul Rubins that said to Mike at Pedal Pusher A You do that so well from Pey Herman. Yeah. I like it. What would you have taken the money or the credit? Um, I don't know why they couldn't do both, like Right. That doesn't seem, it doesn't seem fair. No, not at all. Give them both. Give'em both. I mean, give them the$10,000. Yeah. What's it gonna hurt to put the credit in? I think you and I are the only people that actually read people's names in the credits and nobody else does. I always like to pick out one name that I think is funny and I remember it. Yeah. Like, um, Sam Sinkton. Yes. Good old Sam. All right, on we go. Ruben's mentions in the commentary that during the scene in the movie where he is wheeled out of the bike shop on a gurney, Elizabeth Dailey's face went completely white. After filming the scene, he asked her what was wrong. Apparently she was having flashbacks of her boyfriend being wheeled off of a set on a gurney. He accidentally shot himself while filming a movie called Coverup in 1984. Whoa. Have you ever heard that story? Uh, no. Um, this was the first time right here is when I was doing, this is the first time that I even heard anything like that, but go, yeah. Um, he was trying to prove that blanks weren't dangerous. Hmm. And he shot himself. Isn't that crazy? Blinks aren't dangerous at a distance, but close up you have an explosive device next to your head that you blow up. Yeah. That, that doesn't work. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's probably not the smartest thing to do. No. Hmm. Gun safety, everybody. Gun safety please, please be safe if you're gonna own a gun. Please be safe. Paul Rubins was sick from the flu when he filmed the return to the bike shop after his bike is stolen where Peewee falls on the bikes. This is mentioned in the commentary of the D V D, I guess if's gonna add the flu. That's gonna be the scene to do it right? Because I mean, he looks pale and um, outta sorts, so that works. Yep. Inside the magic shop, by the front entrance is a picture of Elvira. Played by Cassandra Peterson. She also has a role in the film is Biker Mama. I hadn't, after I read that, I had to go back and watch it and I was like, holy crap. I'd never noticed that before. That whole situation happened so fast, but now that I know it, I can see it. Yeah. I didn't even realize who that was until after this research took place. Right. I was like, wait, what? It's cool, man. There's a lot of people I didn't know that. Yeah. There's a lot of people involved in this movie. Yeah. So apparently Corey Feldman was originally offered the role of Francis in the movie. I don't know if that would've been funnier or creepy. I don't know. Uh, it, you know, going through the notes, it says that he turned down the role because of scheduling conflicts with the Goonies, which came out the same year. So that makes sense. Uh, Peewee or Paul Rubins did visit the set of the Goonies, once both films were shot on the same lot at the same time. Right. But once again, it comes down to Mark Holton was perfectly cast as Francis. Sure. Sure. But Corey Feldman was younger at the time. Right. Like, he was a, he was a kid. Right. So the whole dynamic would've shifted into this different thing. You know what I mean? Right. Like, it wasn't like this older guy. It was actually a kid. I don't know. It would've, it would've changed the dynamic between the two characters a little bit. But with Corey, the way Corey Feldman was acting in the eighties and the way his personality was and stuff like that, like, you could just see him being that like, little shit of a kid. Yep. You know what I mean? Absolutely. So it would've worked, but it would've been different. Mm-hmm. In the end, everything worked out, but, right. Yeah. I, I don't know. I'm, I'm glad it was the way it was. actress, Jan Hooks is said to have improvised the dialogue for her scene as the Alamo tour guide. Fantastic. Which is great. Yes. Like, if that's true. Awesome. She did a wonderful job. She makes that scene as he's looking for the basement. So the large marsh sequence Yes. Is based close to verbatim on the story in Phantom 3 0 9, which was written by Tommy Fa and sung by red sine. That's crazy. I did not know that. I didn't know it either. I love that. That makes it even better. Isn't that wild? Yes. Like, I don't even know, like that's just so weird to me because this, this is the thing, this is why we do this podcast'cause there's stuff we just never, never, like we didn't know before, and now it's like knowledge. And now we're giving you knowledge, pointless trivia to share with your friends. I love it. So if you haven't listened to that song, check it out. Kind of funny. Absolutely. And did you, have you noticed that during that scene with large Marge, as she tells her story, she never blinks? Yeah, it's creepy. She's just wide-eyed the whole time until the very end where her eyes pop out of her head. I love it. Another thing Ruben said on the D V D commentary was that he told actress Alice Nunn, who played large margin in the movie, that no matter what the film made in the theaters, her character of large Marge would be the one remembered. He said that he met her shortly before her death and told him that she was glad Paul told her because she would've been completely shocked otherwise. Yeah, dude completely, like I said before, large Marge, that whole scene is burned in my brain. For the rest of my life, forever and ever. Yeah. I I, I swear to you that there are times where she will pop up in my dreams. Yes. You know? Oh, yeah. I, that happens. It's weird. It's so weird. But that, that's just one of those images, you know how images from movies just get like burned into your brain, right. There's just certain things, visuals that just will never leave. And that image of large Mars, that whole scene right up until the end where she turns into that grotesque, ghostly monster just is like, it is there in my head always. Right dude. And like, Anybody from our generation. I know my kids do it'cause I do it to them all the time. But if you are in a crowded room and you turn to somebody and go tell'em large Marge sent you tons of people start laughing. Yeah. They know. They'll turn and look and they'll be like, okay, I get, I get where you're coming from. Yep. So it's that iconic that people around the world, we'll be able to know exactly what you're saying. Exactly. And now a word from our sponsor. Are you tired of boring medan dreams? Do you long for excitement and thrills even while you sleep? Well, we have got a solution for you. Introducing the all new nightmare pillow. Ha ha. That's right, folks. The Nightmare Pillow is here to guarantee you all your loved ones, the most S spine, chilling, hair raising nightmares you've ever experienced. Say goodbye to those Do forgettable dreams and say hello to Terror Error. Our team of sleep scientists has worked day and night to create the ultimate, nightmare inducing technology. 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So if you're tired of snoozing through the same old, boring dreams, grab your nightmare pillow today and prepare to experience nightmares like you've never experienced them before. Caution, not recommended for the faint of heart, sleepwalkers or anyone with an aversion to terrifying creatures. Remember, dreams do come true, and with nightmare pillow, your darkest nightmares are just to snooze away Order Now, if you dare, the Nightmare Pillow is a fictional product intended for comedic purposes. Please do not attempt to create a real nightmare pillow or seek out terrifying nightmares. Intentionally sweet dreams are the best dreams. Perfect. I forgot about Nightmare Pillow. Yeah, that was great dude. First take and everything. Good job. Uh, that was a fun one. I like it. Alright. Nightmare Pillow. Oh man. you know, I do now, now I just have to talk like this the rest of the time. Nightmare Pillow. Near the beginning of PeeWee's Big events. Or Peewee buys a loud horn for his bike from Chuck's bike Orama and three. That guy from Nightmare Pillow, right? Oh man. Seriously though. Seriously though. Okay. All right, here we go. Real quick, real quick. Peewee buys a loud horn for his bike from Chucks bike Orama, and three items from Mario's jokes truck, one trick gum, two headlight glasses, three. A red boomerang bow tie. Peewee uses each of these items later in the movie, with the exception of the boomerang tie. Why are you just staring at me? Because it's funny, I, I keep thinking you're gonna come out with a nightmare pillow voice. Oh, yeah, dude. They're closing Pickwick. What? I read that today. They're closing Pickwick. Oh, crazy. Yeah. That's wild. That makes me sad. What a very strange tangent we just took. Yeah. Yeah. Lots of good memories there at Pickwick, huh? Yeah, there were. All right. Um, moving on. Moving on. when we talk about, you know, Peewee getting his bike back and they make the movie of PeeWee's big adventure, you know? Yes. The meta, the whole meta aspect of the movie. Yeah. Um, you talk about having dreams about, um, large Marge, I randomly will come out with what I think sounds like the peewee voice from the movie. Okay. The movie, inside the movie where he plays the bellhop, where he can't stop looking at the camera. Paging Mr. Herman. Mr. Herman, you have a call at the front desk? Yep. Paging Mr. Herman. Mr. Herman, you have a call at the front desk. I love that. I say it all the time. Well, and it's just so funny in the movie'cause just how his, his whole facial expressions during that scene. It's fantastic. He's so out of his element in the movie, in movie, within the movie, and it just is so funny. Yeah, I love that. Uh, the, the drive-in sequence where that they had the big screening for that movie within the movie was, uh, shot at the studio drive-in, that was located in Culver City, California. Okay. The studio is built in 1930s and was the first drive-in theater constructed in California. It served as a set for several films, including Greece, and it was closed in 1983 and demolished in 1998. No trace of this drive-in remains to this day. The only place you can visit it is in your nightmares. Oh man. Nightmare pillow. Ah, all right. Uh, Ruben's appears in Tim Burton's Batman returns, right. he also was in Gotham, right? So at each, he plays different versions of the Penguin's Father. Which is cool. I love that. Very cool that he's, that was a great callback, you know, and honestly mm-hmm. I mean, I get why he was the father, but, but hear me out. No, I know exactly where you're going with this. And I freaking agree with you. He could've played the Penguin Penguin so well. He could've played the penguin guys. Danny DeVito did a great job. He did. But Paul Rubins would've put so much, such a nuanced twist to the whole penguin character. Oh, it would've been great. Very interesting. Yeah. Very interesting indeed. Uh, dinosaurs are a reoccurring theme in the film, right? They're all over the place. They are in PeeWee's bedrooms. When he is lifting weights. His five pound weights, he's five pound weight. I don't even know what they're five pound. They might have been like two and a half. I have no idea. Yeah, there was a toy tyrannosaurus Rex on the window. Behind him. at one point Peewee is pushing his toy firetruck around just before it runs over Mr. Potato head with it. There's a giant dinosaur head to his left, of course, when he slides down the pole in his house. Because we nearly all need fire poles in our house. Let's just be honest, uh, there's a silhouette of a brontosaurus in the translucent glass. Yep. There's a toy pterodactyl on a clothesline string that carries the bread to a toaster. Yes. There's a toy tyrannosaurus rex that squeezes an orange to make his orange juice. Mm-hmm. At PeeWee's house, a silhouette of a dinosaur can be seen on the glass next to the sliding pole. Mm-hmm. Then, then there's the one everyone knows about, which is that tourist attraction between, uh, Los Angeles and Arizona. Yep. Now at the Cabazon exit, you've got the two dinosaurs. Two dinosaurs, which they have the, the tyrannosaurus Rex has now been painted with their bow tie, the red bow tie and peewee suit. Yep. They like repainted it in honor. Of Paul Rubin's character. That's amazing, dude. But we stopped there almost every single time. And I, I think about that, him and Simone sitting up there on the top, which really messes me up because if you've been there, you know that the, the Tyra source, Rex is facing west and they're watching the sunrise. So Peewee even has control over the sun rising and setting. He can do it where he wants. It's so funny. It's so funny. Yep. But yeah, it's really, I saw pictures of it. It's really cool. We should throw them on the site so everybody can see'em. It's, it's funny because every time I do go there, like I, when I, whenever I go visit Billy, I am like, oh look, it's the dinosaurs. And I stopped to the Burger King to get some food. Right. Yeah, it's good. And when my kids were younger, we always stopped and took pictures, you know? Right. It's just one of those things, it's just, and whenever you do stop, there's two movies that I think of when I stopped in that location. PeeWee's Big Adventure and The Wizard. Yes, the Wizard. Which we previously spoken about. Yeah, we did talk about that one. If you haven't listened to that one, you should listen to it. Everybody. California. Yeah. That got annoying after a while. Cheese and crackers. Yep. Well, we'll check that out. So I'm with the show. Here we go. When Peewee first steals back his bike, he rides around a corner to find himself face to face with two elephants, a red elephant and a blue elephant. Originally there was a third elephant. But that elephant got stuck in traffic and the scene had to be shot with only two elephants. Of course it did. And I wanna know how that turned out. Right? I want to, hear that story of an elephant stuck in traffic because that's something you just don't see every day. Absolutely. And I wish I could have been there for it in the biker bar scene, when Peewee is dancing, Ruben's actually does hit his head, so the reaction that he has is real. Oh, that's cool. Is it? I'm sure he really enjoyed that, I'm sure. Oh, oh yeah. He didn't like that. That's right. It's kind of funny though. Yeah. Just a little tidbit. We're kind of getting to the tidbit part of the context. Yeah, we we're in that area. When Peewee slides down the pole in his house, He goes from his pajamas to his signature gray outfit and red bow tie. That was written as an obvious nod to the 1966 TV series. Batman? Yes. Yep. And Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson would slide down the poles into the bat cave beneath Wayne Manor. They arrive as Batman and Robin all decked out in costume. Tim Burton would go on to direct two Batman films. Mm-hmm. So that's fun. How does that work? I mean, throw logic out the window, but they're sliding down a pole. Mm-hmm. And they're changed into a whole new set of clothes. And I just, I mean, I just. I'm just gonna let it go. Alright. I mean, yes. I mean, I could sit here and talk to you'cause I've thought about this in deep detail and it's all about Velcro. It's Velcro, so the pajamas have Velcro on the sides and you go through a certain part of the level and your clothes rip off and then you're at another part. All the clothes are sitting like wrapped around the pole and when you hit it, they like vacuum seal up on you with the Velcro and you're ready to go. Alright, I like it. Yeah, I'll take it. We're gonna patent that. Yep. During the Magic Shop thing, Mario shows peewee heads, giant heads, different size. Yes. The largest head that Mario shows Peewee. Mm-hmm. Is of Alistair Crowley. And this is kind of interesting. I was like, who is that? And then Billy's like, oh, he is a Satan worshiper. And I'm like, no, he is not. And he is like, no, it's true. And so I looked it up and yeah. So he's an OC cultist, a philosopher. Mm-hmm. A ceremonial magician, a poet, a painter, a novelist, and of course a mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thema and identified himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the eon of ours in the early 20th century. Mm-hmm. So, Right on. So that's, that's that, that's, that's, that's who that giant head was of. Yeah. So I told you it's deep and dark in that one. Yep. Yeah. The rock band whose video shoot peewee rides his by Through is a Twisted sister. Mm-hmm. It started when Dee Snyder and Rubens met at the M T V New Year's Eve party and realized they had a mutual admiration for each other's work. And so he's like, Hey, come on in. The water's fine. Which is amazing. Many of the movies, props came from the personal belongings of Paul Rubins. So a lot of that stuff was, was his, the magic shown. The magic shop owner. Mm-hmm. Uh, Mario is named after Mario Bava, who is one of Tim Burton's favorite and most inspirational filmmakers. When Peewee turns around while looking for his bike and there are wheels speeding behind his head. Mm-hmm. It is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock. I definitely can see that. PeeWee's phone number in the movie is mm-hmm. 3 4 5 8 5 6 7, which is different than the customary five. Five. Five. Yes. Beginning. So that's kind of interesting so much to try and call that number, see what happens. Um, considering they're in Burbank, should I use 8 1 8 and see what happens? I mean yeah, sure. Why not? Okay, here we go. There is a theory stating that peewee makes his money by selling his own designs for Rube Goldberg machines. Right. Because the one he uses in his house is freaking amazing. Yeah, of course. He's gotta make his money somehow. Right. And he owns a nice house with a lot of nice things. He's gotta make, he's gotta have like, have a decent job, right? Absolutely. And of course he's got spec which spec? Fantastic. Phil Hartman is the voice of the rodeo announcer. Okay. So that's something I just didn't, didn't click till I did the research. Mm-hmm. There is a deleted dream sequence. It was originally in the film that involved a bear and Francis on a tightrope. Mm-hmm. Which is would've been a funny visual, I guess. Right? Yeah. It would've been fun, but obviously not pertinent to the story. Right. The film is the screen debut of Darla the Dog. Although she is uncredited as one of the pets escaping from the Pet Store Fire, she has been featured in numerous films, including the role of Queenie in the Burbs and Precious in The Silence of the Lambs. Aw, that's a dog's had quite a career. Yeah. It's amazing when Peewee is at the pet shop, he frees a chimpanzee and then enlists his help. He even tells the chimp, you can help me. Peewee is also afraid of the snakes and is very reluctant to save them, which he does. But he screams then passes out after doing so, in reality, Tim Burton has a phobia of chimpanzees. I mean, have you seen what they can do? And that's the punchline. Okay. PeeWee's female disguise was influenced by olive oil from the Popeye cartoons, which is very apparent. There are some scenes in the movies that you can call bloopers, but they could also be editing mistakes when Peewee is locking up his bike near that giant creepy clown. Mm-hmm. You know that thing? Yes. The long chain that he uses can be seen, being fed through the bottom of the Saddleback on the bike. Have you ever noticed that before? Yes. I remember noticing that when I was in high school and I was like, oh my gosh, look at that. Do you see that? I was like, telling everybody, there's no internet at the time, so you just have to like tell people, like talk to them and stuff. So yeah. I think you and I were together when we noticed that because that's something I've done for a while. Yeah. While Peewee is driving Mickey's car and Mickey is asleep, the signs that he's passing are riding on a track past the camera and you can clearly see that track. Ah, yes. So in and interview, a past interview with Ain't It Cool News. Mm-hmm. Paul Rubins and Tim Burton were interviewed. And they talked about a little bit about this movie, so I'm just gonna kind of read through some of these,'cause some of them are interesting and just kind of give you insight, the personalities and like insight on, how they were feeling while they were shooting the film, stuff like that. So Reubens was asked what it was like working with Tim Burton on his first feature length film. And he said, I noticed that he was very meticulous about everything. He had a really keen eye, he was very detailed and with wardrobe, everything was very perfect and he was very clear about his picture, which is amazing because the picture was so animated. Everything he does is very animated in a weird way. It's very artistic, like a piece of art. The fact that he's so detail oriented makes his projects like art pieces, that's what PeeWee's big adventure was. He was this kind of. I for visuals, and that's so great for PeeWee's big adventure because that had to recreate some of the childlike surroundings in an adult world, and it worked. Burton was asked, what did you think of Paul Rubins when you first met him? Burton said he was really interesting and I loved his style, his concept of character. He kind of really embodied peewee and the child thing. I really identified with the child thing, obviously, because I've made a career with doing child things, child voices, rugrats. And my life had been all around kids with kids' voices and kids' shows and cartoons, so he really appealed to me, that whole child thing that he does, like, wow, this is amazing, but it's live action. When asked if he had a favorite scene in the film, he said the basement was fun. Billy basement. Mm-hmm. Because we were all together in this room. We had to keep cutting refilming as if we were in the basement doing that scene for hours and hours and hours. The bike store was fun. All the B M X bike racer kids were there and that was really sweet. The boys were all real fun. And that was when you started to see the beginnings of this funny childlike thing happening. I love that scene. Yeah. That's so much fun. He then asked, is there any secret. Do you think to the longevity of that particular film, PeeWee's Big Adventure, do you have any idea why it struck such a chord with people like me and still works decades later? You know, I have a few thoughts on it and pure guesses, and this isn't a way to avoid answering your question, but I have sort of decided over the years that that's a question I don't really answer. I can't answer that even for myself. This is Reuben speaking. Mm-hmm. It kind of takes something away from what I do. For me to answer that for myself, not even for you. I just think it would be too extreme to say it takes the fun out of it, but it's not quite a question I feel like I should know the answer to. Do you know what I mean? I feel like if I start dissecting my work too much, particularly really old work and go, here's what I think makes big adventure a classic. It just isn't good for me. It's not how I approach what I do and I take it so I dunno. I was going to say, I don't take it very seriously. I don't take it very seriously and yet I take it as seriously as you can take it. Yeah. I don't know how to answer that one. He went on to say, I'm extremely honored and flattered and excited and proud that people still watch big adventure. I mean, I just met a family that has a really seriously freak fan, three year old who knew every line in big adventure. I mean, it's enormously rewarding. I'm really proud of that accomplishment. But that's as far as I go with it. Yeah, I think I'm gonna end it there'cause I think that's like kind of the best place to end it. Way to put it. I think it's, yeah. Yeah. Now I will say, and this might not be the best way to end it, but Gene Cisco of. Famous Cisco and Ber rated this one, uh, the rated PeeWee's Big Adventure as one of the worst films of 1985, and even slammed it in a worst of 85 special on his TV show at the movies and said the following for me, PeeWee's juvenile humor, I guess works better in seven minute skits. That's the only conclusion I can draw from my negative response to this movie that just didn't make it for me. Hmm. Well he was wrong. Uh, Robert Ebert didn't watch the movie. He said it looked funny though, so. Regardless. PeeWee's, big Adventure remains an insanely wild movie that has captured the hearts of audiences for decades. Boom. Done. Thank you for listening everybody to this latest episode of Secret Level. We really appreciate it. We appreciate the time. We're sorry we've been gone for so long. We're back with this episode and we hope to keep pumping'em out. thank you, thank you, thank you. we're, we're glad we're back and we hope you guys enjoy. We have a slate of great movies we're gonna talk about. We're hoping to get them all recorded and out to you guys as fast as possible. Yeah. So, so again, uh, you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Our call sign is at GT secret level. Make sure to go to geek tyrant.com for all of your movie. Video game, tv, streaming services, whatever geek news is out there. Movie stuff. I mean, we're doing it all guys. We're doing it all and well. Do you have any favorite quotes before we move on? Any that you haven't said yet? I have one. Yeah. So what, so what's one of your favorite quotes? My f absolute favorite quote because, okay. Little backstory. This is my favorite quote because I heard it the first time I saw the movie and everyone told me I was wrong. I didn't hear that that didn't happen. But I was like, I swear Peewee said this. So it's when he and Simone are sitting up in the, in the T-Rex. I'm looking out at the View and Simone asks him, do you have any dreams? And he says it very quiet and very fast, but it's the best thing I've ever heard. He said, yeah, I'm all alone and I'm rolling a big donut and this snake wearing a vest. And she says, no, not like that. But I was like, What's the rest of the dream? Why is he rolling a big donut and what's up with the snake? But then when I ask people that question, everybody looks at me like, what the shit are you talking about? But yes, watch it. He says it really fast and very quiet. But it's, it's my favorite, just because I want to know what the dream's all about. You should write a story about the dream, Billy. You should. I should. You should write like a spit off movie about peewee rolling. A giant donut. Okay. I'm on it. You have to do the illustrations. I will do the, the writing. There's so many good quotes, Billy. So many good quotes. Oh, man. But now we can leave it on that. I mean, I mean, unless you got one that really gets too hard. I mean, I'm gonna rattle some off because it just, they're all funny. Like, Because I don't make monkeys, I just train them. Yep. Ah, yes. I mean, there's even like, like the serious ones, like there's a lot of things about me. You don't know anything about Dottie, things you wouldn't understand, things you couldn't understand, things you shouldn't understand. I love it. Or like, it's like you're trying to unravel a giant cable knit sweater and someone keeps knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting, and knitting. I forgot about that one. That's awesome. Go ahead, scream your head off. We're Miles from where anyone can hear you simpatico. Ah, whoever returns the bike is obviously the person who stole it. Everyone I know has a big butt. Let's talk, let's talk about your big butt. Big butt. I love that one. All right, we'll end it there. All right. Oh, man. All right, everybody. Thank you very much. And tune in. Tune in the next time we got a podcast posted. Should be, yeah, should be coming soon hopefully. Thanks for listening to everybody. Those things. Thanks guys. Good journey. Good, good journey everybody, And don't forget, buy your night. Better pillow. Ah, oh man. That was good.