Opting for light entertainment after the critical satire of Shampoo (1975), producer-director-writer-star Warren Beatty remade the 1941 comic fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Dimly amiable L.A. Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is prematurely called to Heaven by an over-eager escort (Buck Henry, who co-directed) after a traffic accident. When archangel Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers the error, he offers to return Joe to his body, only to find that it has been cremated. On the verge of playing in the Super Bowl, Joe demands a fit body rather than the old about-to-be-murdered industrialist Farnsworth he has been offered, but he reconsiders when he sees environmentalist Betty Logan (Julie Christie) in Farnsworth's house. Assuming Farnsworth's body while keeping his sweet self, Joe hires his beloved coach Max Corkle (Jack Warden) to get him in shape (after convincing Max who he really is), sets Farnsworth's business on an eco-friendly path, and romances Betty. Farnsworth's homicidal wife (Dyan Cannon) and secretary (Charles Grodin), however, are still determined to succeed in their plan to kill him. When Mr. Jordan finally finds the Super Bowl body Joe wanted, Joe has to trade his old self for the new life -- but will he remember his love for Betty? Heaven Can Wait offered contemporary yet old-fashioned escapism and tapped into the late-1970s vogue for nostalgic fun, becoming one of 1978's most popular summer movies after Grease. Updating the original while following its blueprint, Beatty and co-writer Elaine May switched Joe's sport and turned Joe into a man of his '70s moment, adoring Betty for her convictions and favoring "green" policies over corporate greed. Gently breathing life into a classic form, Heaven Can Wait found romantic innocence in a jaded time, and it went on to receive nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

eaven Can Wait is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. It is the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's stageplay of the same name, preceded by Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and followed by Down to Earth (2001). Beatty stars in the lead role, playing a football player who, after being killed in a collision accident, is sent back to earth in the body of a millionaire.

Release Date: June 28, 1978 @ Loews State and Loews Tower East

Distrib: Paramount


Boxoffice: $81,640,278 2013: $277,018,700


HEAVEN CAN WAIT is one of the few films where both its original source film (HERE COMES MR. JORDAN) and the remake were nominated for Best Picture Oscars. Name these other Best Picture Remake Nominees by their description:

A) This Best Picture nominee is a remake of a Western. The original was not nominated for Best Picture but its star won Best Actor. The remakes star was only nominated in that category. Name this film and the 2 actors who played the same role?

B) What was the name of the sequel to the original film in the question above?

C) This remake was nominated for Best Picture and saw its star win Best Actor. It was the remake of a foreign film. The original film saw its star win the Best Actor prize at Cannes. Name the film and the 2 stars?

D) Besides HEAVEN CAN WAIT , only one other Best Picture nominee saw its original and remake film make the list. Both starred actors who won Best Actor Oscars for different films, one of them twice. There was a second remake in the 80s with a shortened title that starred an actor who later would become a director and a very controversial man. Name the 2 films with the original title, the 3rd film and each films 3 main matinee idol stars?


E) This remake Best Picture nominee is the only one-thus far-basede on a television series. Name it?

F) This remake of a war film was directed by a man who made very few movies, but the ones he did were celebrated. The original film starred an actor who would be in the remakes directors most iconic film from the 60s that revolutionized scifi films. Name the Best Picture Remake nominee, the director and the actor from the original film?

G) 2 Best Picture remake nominees flipflopped genres. The first remake was first a classic foreign film , but its Best Picture remake nominee was an animated film. The second Best Picture remake started out as an animated film but its remake was live action and also won Best Picture . Name these 2 films?