Heaven Can Wait

Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American sports fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry about a young man (played by Beatty) being mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel, and the resulting complications of how this mistake can be undone, given that his earthly body has been cremated. It was the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's play of the same name, the first being Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, with Beatty becoming the first and only person to be nominated for producing (Best Picture), directing (Best Director with Henry), writing (Best Adapted Screenplay with May) and acting (Best Actor) for the same film, and the film won for Best Art Direction. The cast includes Beatty, Julie Christie, and Jack Warden, all of whom had appeared in Shampoo (1975). In 2001, a third film adaptation of the play was done, titled Down to Earth, sharing its name with the sequel to Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). Plot Joe Pendleton, a backup quarterback for the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams, is looking forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl. While he is riding his bicycle through a tunnel, an overzealous guardian angel on his first assignment, known only as The Escort, sees a large truck heading into the other end of the tunnel towards Joe. The Escort plucks Joe out of his body early in the mistaken belief that Joe was about to be killed in order to save him from any suffering.