Heartbeeps
Encyclopedia
Heartbeeps is an American
romantic
sci-fi comedy film about two robot
s who fall in love and decide to strike out on their own. It was directed by Allan Arkush
, and starred Andy Kaufman
and Bernadette Peters
as the robots. The film's soundtrack was composed by John Williams
,
), a robot designed to be a valet
with a specialty in lumber
commodities, meets Aqua Com 89045 (Bernadette Peters
), a hostess companion robot whose primary function is to assist at poolside parties. At a factory awaiting repairs, they fall in love and decide to escape, stealing a van from the company to do so. They embark on a quest to find a place to live, as well as satisfy their more immediate need for a fresh electrical supply. They assemble a small robot, Phil, built out of spare parts, whom they treat as their child, and are joined by Catskill, a mechanical standup comic (which is seen sitting the entire movie). A law-enforcement robot, the Crimebuster, comes after the fugitives, but with the help of humans who run a junkyard, and using Catskill's battery pack, they are able to resolve their problems successfully.
, filming was shut down in July 1980 (along with numerous other motion picture and television series). The strike ended at the beginning of October 1980 (filming had started in June). (The New York Times, July 31, 1980)
The box office gross was USD
$2,154,696, with an estimated budget of $10,000,000.
wrote, in a negative review in the New York Times, that it was "unbearable" and a "dreadfully coy story."
Bob Zmuda, in his book Andy Kaufman: Revealed, wrote that Kaufman and Zmuda had "pitched" the screenplay of Kaufman's The Tony Clifton Story, a movie about the life and times of his alter-ego Tony Clifton, to Universal Studios. The Universal executives were concerned that Kaufman had not acted in films, except for a small role, and arranged for him to star in Heartbeeps to test whether he could carry a movie. Because the movie was "a box office disaster", plans for making the Clifton movie were cancelled.
Kaufman felt that the movie was so bad that he personally apologized for it on Late Night with David Letterman
, and as a joke promised to refund the money of everyone who paid to see it (which didn't involve many people). Letterman's response was that if Kaufman wanted to issue such refunds, Kaufman had "better have change for a 20 (dollar bill)".
, which was the winning film (Rick Baker).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
romantic
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
sci-fi comedy film about two robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s who fall in love and decide to strike out on their own. It was directed by Allan Arkush
Allan Arkush
Allan Arkush is an American cult film and television director and frequent collaborator of Joe Dante....
, and starred Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
and Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
as the robots. The film's soundtrack was composed by John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
,
Plot summary
Val Com 17485 (Andy KaufmanAndy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
), a robot designed to be a valet
Valet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
with a specialty in lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
commodities, meets Aqua Com 89045 (Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
), a hostess companion robot whose primary function is to assist at poolside parties. At a factory awaiting repairs, they fall in love and decide to escape, stealing a van from the company to do so. They embark on a quest to find a place to live, as well as satisfy their more immediate need for a fresh electrical supply. They assemble a small robot, Phil, built out of spare parts, whom they treat as their child, and are joined by Catskill, a mechanical standup comic (which is seen sitting the entire movie). A law-enforcement robot, the Crimebuster, comes after the fugitives, but with the help of humans who run a junkyard, and using Catskill's battery pack, they are able to resolve their problems successfully.
Cast
- Val – Andy KaufmanAndy KaufmanAndrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
- Aqua – Bernadette PetersBernadette PetersBernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
- Charlie – Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
- Catskill – Jack CarterJack Carter (comedian)Jack Chakrin , known by his professional name of Jack Carter, is a Jewish-American comedian, actor and host. Brooklyn Born Carter had long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid pace contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam...
(voice) - Phil – Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
of the Grateful DeadGrateful DeadThe Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
(voice) - Crimebuster – Ron GansRon GansRonald Kenneth Gans , sometimes credited as Ron Kennedy, was an American voice-over artist and character actor, known for portraying Sebastian the alley cat on The Disney Channel's Dumbo's Circus and the voice of Eeyore on Welcome to Pooh Corner. He also voiced the Stunticon Drag Strip in The...
(voice) - Max – Kenneth McMillanKenneth McMillan (actor)Kenneth McMillan was an American actor. McMillan was usually cast as gruff, hostile and unfriendly characters due to his rough image...
- Susan – Melanie MayronMelanie MayronMelanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for portraying the role of photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama Thirtysomething.-Biography:...
- Calvin – Christopher GuestChristopher GuestChristopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
Crew (selected)
- Theadora Van RunkleTheadora Van RunkleTheadora Van Runkle was an American costume designer. The first films she designed costumes for was Bonnie and Clyde , The Thomas Crown Affair and The Arrangement . Theodora Van Runkle designed the gown Faye Dunaway wore to the 1968 Oscars...
– costumes for Ms. Peters - Zoltan Elek – makeup artist-Aqua
- Vince Prentice – makeup artist-Val
- Stan WinstonStan WinstonStanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...
– special makeup effects
Production
Because of a strike by the Screen Actors GuildScreen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
, filming was shut down in July 1980 (along with numerous other motion picture and television series). The strike ended at the beginning of October 1980 (filming had started in June). (The New York Times, July 31, 1980)
The box office gross was USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$2,154,696, with an estimated budget of $10,000,000.
Adaptions
John Hill adapted the screenplay into a novel, Heartbeeps, published by Jove Publications in December 1981 (ISBN 0-515-06183-2).Reception
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
wrote, in a negative review in the New York Times, that it was "unbearable" and a "dreadfully coy story."
Bob Zmuda, in his book Andy Kaufman: Revealed, wrote that Kaufman and Zmuda had "pitched" the screenplay of Kaufman's The Tony Clifton Story, a movie about the life and times of his alter-ego Tony Clifton, to Universal Studios. The Universal executives were concerned that Kaufman had not acted in films, except for a small role, and arranged for him to star in Heartbeeps to test whether he could carry a movie. Because the movie was "a box office disaster", plans for making the Clifton movie were cancelled.
Kaufman felt that the movie was so bad that he personally apologized for it on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
, and as a joke promised to refund the money of everyone who paid to see it (which didn't involve many people). Letterman's response was that if Kaufman wanted to issue such refunds, Kaufman had "better have change for a 20 (dollar bill)".
Awards and nominations
Heartbeeps was nominated for an Academy Award in 1982 for Best Makeup (Stan Winston). This was the first year the award was offered, and it was actually created because the Academy was so impressed by the makeup effects in An American Werewolf in LondonAn American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....
, which was the winning film (Rick Baker).
External links
- Heartbeeps on TheMakeupGallery
- Heartbeeps on BadMovies.org