The documentary is structured around questions concerning death and heaven, which appear on title cards that mark the beginning of each section. The questions are presented in the following order: “Are You Afraid to Die?”; “What is Heaven?”; “Do You Believe in Heaven?”; “How Does an Expert View Heaven?”; “Can Heaven Be Here on Earth?”; “Have You Had a Vision?”; “What is God Like?”; “Is There Love in Heaven?”; “Is There Sex in Heaven?”; “What Are the Rewards of Heaven?”; “Can You Prove There’s a Heaven?”; and, “How Do You Get to Heaven?” The title card “Are You Afraid to Die?” appears repeatedly throughout the film. In addition, the picture concludes with onscreen text reading: “Hell”; “Heaven”; and, “Goodbye.”
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, actress Diane Keaton began developing the project in the summer of 1982, after a trip to Salt Lake City, UT. There, she toured the Mormon Temple’s “Visitor’s Center” and watched a promotional movie that promised eternal life in heaven for true believers. The film’s visualization of the afterworld prompted Keaton to start a collection of motion picture clips that depicted life after death, with a particular focus on Hollywood’s early cinematic representations of heaven.
       In 1980, Diane Keaton published Reservations (New York), a book of original photographs shot in hotel lobbies, and several years later she compiled film stills for Still Life (New York, 1983), a book that she co-edited with writer and photography curator Marvin Heiferman.
       Since Keaton’s “Heaven” picture collection was primarily composed of moving images, she transformed the project from a book into a documentary. According to a 22 Apr 1987 Washington Post article, the movie was also initially developed as a short film for television release, but the abundance of content resulted in a larger production. Heaven marked Diane Keaton’s debut as a feature film director.
       First time producer Joe Kelly, who had worked as a consultant on Still Life, was an early champion of the documentary and secured a $1 million budget from Lightyear Entertainment. At the time of the deal, Lightyear was the video production subsidiary of RCA Video Productions, Inc., and both Lightyear and RCA are credited onscreen. However, RVP Productions was listed as the documentary’s producer in contemporary sources. The film’s 30 Mar 1987 DV review explained that RVP Productions was formerly known as RCA, indicating that the name change was made sometime between fall 1986, when Heaven was complete, and its release on 17 Apr 1987.
       Although early interviews were shot on video in Diane Keaton’s New York City apartment, production was centralized in Los Angeles, CA, in Nov 1984 and Feb 1985. The NYC interviewees included a sampling of Keaton’s friends and their children, her housekeeper, the doorman of her building, and a mannequin salesman named “Charlie.” Before relocating to the West Coast, the filmmakers secured footage for the montage sections of the documentary by sourcing content from religious film suppliers. In addition, historian William K. Everson helped curate clips from classic foreign releases, and collectors Richard Prelinger and Pierce Rafferty provided clips from their archives.
       According to a 12 Feb 1987 HR article, principal photography took place on set in the Venice Beach neighborhood of Los Angeles, at a studio facility that was previously owned by producer Roger Corman. The filmmakers recruited over 120 individuals from churches, streets, and restaurants in Venice, Hollywood, and other areas of Los Angeles, to answer Keaton’s questions about heaven. None of the participants were identified onscreen during their interviews, but an elderly woman bids farewell to many of her fellow interviewees by referring to their first names in the final “Goodbye” section of the film.
       Among those interviewed were Keaton’s parents, Jack and Dorothy Hall, her sister, Dorrie, and grandmother, Mary “Grammy” Hall, who was characterized in Woody Allen’s 1977 breakout feature, Annie Hall (see entry). The family matriarch was one of the few people in Heaven to firmly disbelieve in the afterlife, and she died before the film was complete.
       Post-production extended eighteen months past the end of principal photography. The project was temporarily suspended three times to accommodate for Keaton’s acting in the films Mrs. Soffel and Little Drummer Girl (1984, see entries), and Crimes of the Heart (1986, see entry).
       On 12 Feb 1987, HR announced that Island Pictures had acquired domestic distribution rights and was preparing the documentary for release in spring 1987. Six months after the film’s national opening in fifty markets, a 5 Oct 1987 HR article announced that Lightyear Entertainment had filed a $10 million lawsuit against Island, alleging that the company breeched their distribution agreement and was guilty of promissory fraud. According to Lightyear, the distribution deal included a minimum guarantee of $600,000, but Lightyear had only been paid $35,000. Lightyear also took issue with Island’s failure to successfully promote the picture. However, Island maintained that it had rescinded its contract, and was entitled to the restoration of their $35,000 investment.
       In response, Lightyear claimed that Island tried to “coerce” its way out of the deal in May 1987, when the documentary’s release was met with disappointing box office receipts. By Jul 1987, Island had reportedly “ceased and abandoned” distribution and informed theaters that the rights to the picture were reverted to Lightyear. According to the case, Island continued to exploit the documentary after asserting that it was no longer its distributor. As of Oct 1987, Lightyear intended to proceed with future theatrical releases as an independent distribution company. Pacific Arts Video acquired video rights to the picture and was planning to make the documentary available in early Dec 1987. The outcome of Lightyear’s case was undetermined at the time this record was written in Oct 2015.
       End credits include the following acknowledgments: “Archival Footage courtesy of: Atlantic-Film AG; William K. Everson; Janus Films; Larry Joachim; Gaumont; London Films; MCA/Universal; MGM/UA Entertainment Co.; Kenneth M. Nail & Dawn Bible Students Association; Paramount Pictures Corp.; Petrified Films, Inc.; Estus Pirkle, Myrtle, Mississippi; Prelinger Associates, Inc.; RKO Pictures; The Rohauer Collecction; Société du Cinéma du Panthéon, Transit Film-Gesellschaft MBH; Turner Entertainment Co.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,” and, “Contains excerpts from a motion picture(s) held under copyright and licensed by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.”
       Also included in end credits are “Special thanks to” the following: “Maureen D. Angelinetta, Elena Asciu, Lisa Barnick, Ethyl Becker, John Barone, Susan Beeson, Michael Binkow, Michael Black, Diana Brown, Dennis Brown, John Burnham, Daniel Bushnell, Marc Chelnik, Sean Coughlin, Margie Crimmins, Pat Crown, Cynosure Films Inc., Jeff Dowd, Johnny Dynell, Leon Falk, Bob Finehout, Tom Fisher, Ted Galiano, Jody Gilberti, Randal A. Goya, Kathryn Grody, Lee Dicks Guice, Anna Gustafson, Bernard Hajdenberg, Jack and Dorothy Hall, Deborah Harry, George Herndon, Barry Hirsch, Bob Huggins, Carol Kane, Cotti Killbanks, Gerald L’Equier, Michael Lembo, Ed London, John Lurie, Jack Lusk, Ileen Maisel, Morgan Mason, Mollie Miller, Matthew and Carrie Modine, Patrick Murphy, Museum of Modern Art, Pet Newcomb, Steve Newman, Ivy Orta, Suzanne Rostock, Michael Schuler, Shangri La Hotel, Jules Shear, Bill Smith, Steven Spielberg, Sue Steinberg, Evelyn Tecotzky, Mario Testani, Frederick Tuten, Lou Valentino, Robert Wallerstein, Al Werthheimer, Frank Yablans, Ruth Zitter.”