HEAVEN CAN WAIT (but not much longer)

by Linda Segall Anable

          A few months ago, on an ordinary day in my forest-y home in Portland, Oregon, I suddenly became an executive producer on a major Hollywood production. To call this a surprise does not begin to explain how crazy it was. The movie in question is a new remake of Heaven Can Wait, the 1978 movie starring Warren Beatty, about a man who dies in a plane crash but gets a chance to return to earth in another man’s body.

Based on the 1938 play, Heaven Can Wait, written by my grandfather, Harry Segall, the Beatty film was the second movie made from the original play. Harry won an Oscar for Here Comes Mr. Jordan, the first film version of Heaven Can Wait, in 1941. His Oscar sits on the mantel in our living room. I’m looking at it right now.

          For most of my adult life I have been working on and chanting for HCW to become a Broadway musical. When Harry died in 1975 – without leaving a will – I became the executor of his estate, which consisted of the stage rights to HCW and his Oscar. His other properties are in the public domain. The movie rights were another matter, a story I didn’t know, a mystery. Who had those rights? Occasionally, I’d receive inquiries, but had to tell seekers that I didn’t know who had the film rights, but if they found out to please call me.

Harry Segall and his Oscar, 1941

Then, suddenly, in April, this unbelievable deal was presented to me, as I learned that Paramount was going to do a “reimagining” of the 1978 Heaven Can Wait and had signed ultra-hot mega-star Glen Powell for the lead. As if that wasn’t enough, Paramount wanted to both option and purchase the movie rights. From me.         

Me. I had the movie rights, and they were pretty darn valuable. I did not know this. Hence, my full-body shock. After forty years of trying to get HCW to Broadway, without success (so far, but stay tuned), when suddenly, a feature film, a major studio release, landed in my lap. I even have a creative role. As the rights owner, I represent the author, meaning I’ll be working with the screenwriter and other principles, giving notes and input. I’m certainly not the last word, but my thoughts and ideas will be considered. I am chanting to have the best relationships with everyone on this project.

None of this was on my Bingo card.

Fortunately, though, I’m qualified for the position. In addition to being a comedy writer, I spent 25 years as a story analyst, i.e. studio reader. I worked on the development of big films such as Tootsie, Ghostbusters and The Natural. I read at least 7000 screenplays – about 70 of them were great, the rest instantly forgotten. Of course, I’m counting on the screenplay of Heaven Can Wait to be the most fantastic script I’ve ever read.

And I’m expecting great things from Glen Powell, who is currently starring in every movie in circulation, has a new series coming up on Hulu, and is shooting another movie, The Running Man, before he gets around to Heaven Can Wait. He’s a busy guy. With his slick charm, charisma and wide spectrum of talent, I know he’ll make a brilliant Joe Pendleton.

Glen Powell might just be the new Ryan Reynolds, and it’s so funny that I mention that. In 2013 I signed a deal with two bigtime producers, who intended to star Ryan Reynolds in a twelve-week star-run of Heaven Can Wait, the original play, on Broadway. They had given Ryan a bunch of plays to consider, and he chose HCW, which was a huge thrill for me.

I was flown to New York and driven around in a limo with my name on it, which dropped me off at a table read in a conference room at CAA. My mission: to observe Ryan Reynolds in the role of Joe Pendleton, and “approve” of him. Of course that was only a formality, not an actual decision, but for two hours I got to stare at Ryan Reynolds close-up, and no one arrested me.

As boxer Joe Pendleton, Ryan’s reading blew my mind, taking a fun but lightweight character and giving him depth that wasn’t on the page. He made me see Heaven Can Wait in a new light. Yeah, I approved.         

After the reading it was my turn to talk to Ryan and tell him how I felt about his performance. Craig, the producer, escorted me to where Ryan was receiving kudos from the supporting actors at the reading. I stepped up. He waited for me to say something, but he was so tall and gorgeous and overpowering – I lost my ability to be lucid and intelligible and just stood there, dumbstruck. “You were so great,” I kept repeating.

Realizing my catatonic state, Ryan bent over and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which I washed off last Wednesday. Craig stepped in, pulled me aside and said, “Send him an email. I’ll forward it to him.”

What a relief. Email is my medium. Old school. And I did write him that email, expressing everything I would have said if I had been able to talk. Craig told me that Ryan loved my email, and from then on – until the project was aborted in 2014, by the producers, who had too many projects on their plate – he always asked to be remembered to me when they spoke.          

But not to worry about Ryan Reynolds. He told Craig that if he wasn’t going to Heaven Can Wait, he would do this movie he’d been wanting to do for ten years, called Deadpool. Turned out OK for him.         

I hope Glen Powell will be as good in the movie as Ryan Reynolds was at that reading.

Pictured: The room where it happened

There is also a musical of Heaven Can Wait in the works, the development of which commenced in 2019, just before Covid shut down Broadway and threw a wrench into everyone’s Broadway plans. Live theatre is still recovering from its enforced hiatus, including Heaven Can Wait – the musical – but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about working in theatre, it’s that things move at a frustrating, sloth-like pace, though I was recently shocked to discover that sometimes, in the movie business, you can be offered, out of the blue, a fantastic deal with a major studio, including an executive producer job and a big star already signed for the lead, just like that.

It's wild but it seems to be HCW’s time to shine, though the movie will be quite different from the stage show. I’m making sure of that. The plot of HCW is flexible and can accommodate different versions of characters and situations while retaining the premise and plotline. Paramount is “reimagining” the story. The creative team on “Heaven Can Wait – the Musical” has changed some major elements, which I approved. As with the movie, my job is preserving the integrity of the material while allowing for new iterations and perspectives. And I get to advise and give notes. It’s like my job as a script reader happening in real life.

As you can imagine, I’m rarin’ to go. Paramount hired Oscar-winning Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) to write the script, which is intriguing because Stephen Gaghan is not, in any conceivable way, a comedy writer. However, as I am a comedy writer (Laverne & Shirley; material for Norman Lear’s ersatz talk show, America 2Night), I’m hoping to add humor to the screenplay. Not jokes. I dislike jokes. But I love humor. I like the idea of a dark writer doing comedy. The more serious you are with comedy, the funnier it is.

In September I’m headed to Minneapolis to attend a workshop for the musical to see how things are developing. The writer and composer are extremely talented and I’m as excited about the musical as I am about the movie. It’s almost beyond imagination that both things could happen at once.

I am chanting for all elements of this project to unfold at the optimal time. If the movie and musical manifest simultaneously, the two productions can provide mutual promotion. I’m leaving the timing to the Gohonzon, aka my higher self. And I’m confident that, up there in the heavenly realms, my grandfather, Harry Segall, is manipulating things down here. I’m the beneficiary of his mystical powers. And I have Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. We’re all in good shape.

The Gohonzon continues to go beyond my expectations, delivering a benefit avalanche that will keep me going for the duration of this lifetime. If both HCW projects are successful, Heaven Can Wait will be elevated to “beloved classic” status and be enjoyed forever. Wow.

Stay tuned… more to come over the next three years.         

Thank you universe.

I love my mission.