TMZ reports that Director John Hughes passed away today aged 59.
Hughes began his career as an ad exec, before graduating to joke writer for the likes of Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers. He then moved into screenwriting with National Lampoon’s Vacation.
His first outing as director – Class Reunion, saw the beginning of an era-defining catalogue of work that included Pretty In Pink, Weird Science and Sixteen Candles.
This is sad news indeed for film fans – especially of a certain generation – and Hughes leaves a big nostalgia-shaped hole in film history. Anyone who grew up, spending their childhood or adolescence during that weird, Reagan and McDonalds-coloured era will have many of his films stamped on their consciousness, whether they loved the foul-mouthed, pot-smoking tearaways he portrayed, or even if they tired of his occasional drift into all-out sentiment. Either way, Slashing The Seats salutes a cinema great.
Whether you were a Breakfast Club fan, preferred to quote all Duckie’s lines in Pretty In Pink, felt that Ferris Bueller was the greatest movie ever made or felt his masterwork was the pinnacle of High School Geek movies, Weird Science – you’ll remember him well.
John – we’ve got your films for the rest of our natural born lives. If you don’t watch your step.
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Broke my heart this morning, that news did. Hughes was easily the most important cinematic influence for me growing, and looking back over his IMDB filmography makes me realise just how many of his films – even the direct the video ones no-one remembers – I watched on my second hand VHS player.
I even wrote my dissertation at university on his films, I called it ‘An Essay on Who You Think You Are.’
I find it comforting, though, that right now across the world a whole generation are feeling the same way, that we’ve lost a genuinely influential figure who may never be as critically revered as Spielberg or Hitchcock, but will always be loved and thanked by those who grew up with his work.
There’s a beautiful article here that I encourage all to read, written by a former penpal of his that pretty much sums the whole thing up…
http://wellknowwhenwegetthere.blogspot.com/2009/08/sincerely-john-hughes.html
We realised we issued two posts on here, one from Interceptor and one from myself – so we merged the two. Sort of shows that he meant a lot to us when we were wee.
I think the best tribute I can offer is the fact I can quote his early movies, almost line for line. I bet lots of people reading this can too.
MY BALLS ARE HALFWAY UP MY ASS BUT APART FROM THAT I’M FINE.
Every podcast (only 4, but still) we’ve done so far has had a high Hughes content… The man has created a legendary body of work, that has become a huge part of film, and general culture.
That penpal thing gave me a bit of a lump in the throat. Beautiful.
Very sad news to wake up to this morning
Perhaps we’ll never know what’s up with that bit in the Breakfast Club where Emilio Estevez screams and the pane of glass in front of him shatters…
Anyway, RIP.
He made mostly bloody awful films. The Breakfast Club stinks. Ferris Bueller stinks. Pretty In Pink stinks. Home Alone really stinks. Weird Science stinks.
Good riddance!
Oh Nappers, you old softie – we know you’re weeping inwardly and endlessly re-watching 16 Candles really.