Paul Rust recognized right away what creative opportunities Netflix could offer that most broadcast and cable networks could not. Working as a staff writer on the reboot of "Arrested Development," Rust hoped he could one day work with the company that seemed to have "really good tastes" and gave its talent great support without too much interference.
That opportunity came a couple years later when Netflix picked up the movie "Pee-wee's Big Holiday," co-written by Rust and Paul Reubens, who reprises his iconic role as Pee-wee Herman. The 34-year-old actor-writer was only 4 when the last Pee-wee movie, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," premiered in 1985, but producer Judd Apatow handpicked him to work with Reubens on the script.
"I think it was Judd recognizing that Pee-wee Herman is one of the great comedy creations and one that we still have living with us today," Rust told HNGN exclusively about Apatow's enthusiasm for the project. "The thing that excites Judd more than anything is if he believes in something and thinks it's funny, he wants to do what he can to make sure people get to see it."
A lot of shows focused on modern day relationships take place in New York City. How does your show differ being set in Los Angeles?
As far as relationships go, New York is a sexier city. You can meet somebody and you can hop in a cab and stay together and go to their place. In L.A., you meet someone and say, "OK, get in your car and follow me two and a half miles to my house," and then you get there and [you have to find] street parking. Back in my single days, there were so many times that street parking was going to be the thing that could f--k up everything because the person would be like, "You know, it's hard to find a spot. I'm just going to go home." I think there's an aspect of that. I'm not the first person to talk about this, but L.A. is just sort of a weird city because it's just a bunch of little towns put together under the umbrella of L.A. So people feel disconnected from each other and far apart, and in a relationship that can also be a thing. "I met this person and they're great, but they live on Venice Beach and I live 15-20 miles away. So whose house do we spend the night at and where do we go?" I guess there's a weird way L.A. rears its head.
"Pee-wee's Big Holiday" and the complete first season of "Love" are now available for streaming on Netflix.
