Heartbeeps

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Heartbeeps
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	Allan Arkush
Produced by	Michael Phillips
Written by	John Hill
Starring	Andy Kaufman Bernadette Peters Randy Quaid
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	Charles Rosher Jr.
Editing by	Tina Hirsch
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	December 18, 1981
Running time	79 min.
Language	English
Budget	$10,000,000 (estimated)
Box office	$2,154,696

Heartbeeps (1981) is an American romantic sci-fi comedy film about two robots 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, using an electronic and experimental form unlike his more noted works.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Plot summary

Val Com 17485 (Andy Kaufman), 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.

[edit] Cast

• Andy Kaufman – Val
• Bernadette Peters – Aqua
• Randy Quaid – Charlie
• Jack Carter (voice) – Catskill
• Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead (voice) – Phil
• Ron Gans (voice) – Crimebuster
• Kenneth McMillan – Max
• Melanie Mayron – Susan
• Christopher Guest – Calvin
• Richard B. Shull – Factory Boss
• Dick Miller – Factory Watchman
• Kathleen Freeman – Helicopter Pilot
• Mary Woronov – Party House Owner
• Paul Bartel – Party Guest
• Wally Ann Wharton – Party Guest (as Ann Wharton)
• Barry Manilow – Party Guest
• Barry Diamond – Firing Range Technician and Catskil Performer
• Stephanie Faulkner – Firing Range Technician
• Jeffrey Kramer – Party Butler Robot

[edit] Crew (selected)

• Theadora Van Runkle – costumes for Ms. Peters
• Zoltan Elek – makeup artist-Aqua
• Vince Prentice – makeup artist-Val
• Stan Winston – special makeup effects

[edit] Production

Because of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild, 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)^{[full citation needed]}

The box office gross was USD $2,154,696, with an estimated budget of $10,000,000.^[1]

[edit] Adaptions

John Hill adapted the screenplay into a novel, Heartbeeps, published by Jove Publications in December 1981 (ISBN 0-515-06183-2).

[edit] Reception

[edit] Awards and nominations

• Honored with the Winsor McCay Award [for career achievement]

Vincent Canby wrote, in a negative review in The New York Times, that it was "unbearable" and a "dreadfully coy story."^[2]

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.^[3][4]

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)".^[5]

[edit] 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 London,^{[citation needed]} which was the winning film (Rick Baker).

[edit] References

This article has an unclear citation style. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (October 2010)

[edit] External links

• Heartbeeps at the Internet Movie Database
• Heartbeeps at Rotten Tomatoes
• Heartbeeps at Box Office Mojo
• Heartbeeps on TheMakeupGallery
• Heartbeeps on BadMovies.org