The Daily Dish: August 11

-- John Hughes doc finds distributor
After the tragic and sudden passing of seminal '80s director John Hughes last week, the once-uncertain future of Canadian documentary Don't You Forget About Me - named after a song used in Hughes' 1985 masterpiece The Breakfast Club - started to look rather promising. That's because the doc's subject is Hughes himself, or rather Torontonian filmmaker Matt Austin Sadowski's search for the reclusive director in his native Illinois. Along with producers Kari Hollend, Mike Facciolo and Lenny Panzer, Sadowski hops into a van in an effort to locate the writer-director of such generation-defining films as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and countless others. According to Variety, Sadowski awoke last Friday morning, a day after Hughes' death, to an interview request from CNN and by noon his film had been snagged by Alliance. Best-known as an actor from TV’s “Power Rangers: S.P.D.” and the playwright behind In Between, the multi-talented 31-year-old revealed that Hughes made an impact on him that’s never waned: "He inspired me as a person, going through an awkward adolescence, as many people do. He took affairs of the heart very seriously, and no other director gave teenagers that sort of treatment at that time." The doc features interviews with key players in the story of Hughes, including actors Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Mia Sara and Andrew McCarthy - although Molly Ringwald refused to participate in the film - and fellow filmmakers Kevin Smith and Jason Reitman.

-- Gob is back! Will Arnett reteams with "Arrested Development" alum
Mitch Hurwitz, whose inspired, off-kilter and much-loved Fox show "Arrested Development" was prematurely cancelled almost three years ago, hasn't stopped flexing his creative muscles. Though his recent animated comedy “Sit Down, Shut Up” was uneven at best, albeit with small flourishes of genius, Hurwitz is returning to the small screen with “Arrested” alum Will Arnett (who played narcissistic playboy Gob Bluth), and co-executive producer Jim Vallely. All three will share writing duties on the comedy, which follows a rich, pompous Beverly Hills blowhard (played by Arnett, obvs) who falls for a tree-hugging do-gooder opposed to his values or lifestyle. Arnett gave an hysterical performance when he guested on the hit show "30 Rock" and is really at his best when he's playing a loathsome dimwit who's too arrogant to see past his own nose, which can only mean good things for this happy reunion.

-- The return of Pee-Wee
Paul Reubens, aka Pee-Wee Herman, has long hinted that we haven't yet seen the last of his wonderfully weird creation, claiming he has at least two films in the can. But instead of heading back to the big screen - who among us didn't love the truly bizarre-o Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? - Reubens has announced that he will be bringing the man-boy with a bow tie to the stage, Hollywood-styles, and it promises to be "re-imagined, re-invented, and nuttier than ever." But don't worry, according to /film, beloved characters from the bygone TV show will be there too, including Chairry, Pterri the pterodactyl, Miss Yvonne, Cowboy Curtis and more. Of course, bringing Pee-Wee to the stage makes perfect sense, since Reubens originally debuted his wacky character in 1981 at The Groundlings Theatre. And, as most will recall, the theatre (this time one of the adult movie variety) was also the place where Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure back in 1991. It all comes full circle November 2009.