BroadwayWorld.com Logo
 
 
LOG IN | REGISTER NOW!
Broadway Tours
Off-Bway London
Help, Pick Me a Show
Latest News
CDs/Books/DVDs
Grosses 2/05 
Photos
Reviews
TV/Video
Web Radio
Broadway   Off-topic 
West End   Student 
Auditions - Equity
Auditions - Non Equity
Books Database
BWW Junior
Classifieds
College Center
High School Center
Tony Awards
Upcoming CDs
Videos Database
Event Calendar
NYC Guide
Hotel Finder
Restaurant Guide
Classroom / Education
Photo IQ
Twitter Watch
Your Settings
Advertising Info
Contact Us
Forgot Login?
Logo Archive
Merchandise
RSS/XML Feeds
Submit News

Sofa Snark: Remembering John Hughes

James Sims hasn't figured out what's more entertaining, Hollywood buzz or Broadway chatter. So he's decided to start blogging about both. Sofa Snark is an entertainment biz blog covering everything from prime-time TV to Broadway reviews. If you can figure out anything that falls in between, he's bound to have an opinion about that too. As a Senior Editor at BroadwayWorld.com, and with gigs at "Entertainment Tonight" and the Hollywood Reporter under his belt, he's ready to unleash his wit on the world, one blog at a time.

Visit http://www.simsscoop.com/blog/ for daily blogging and follow James on Twitter at @columbiajames.

hughesjDirector John Hughes hadn’t been on my mind for quite some time. My insanely large DVD collection is stocked with his complete collection of films, and I never hesitate to tune in whenever a Brat Pack movie comes on HBO or Showtime, but I haven’t brought up his name for a while. Then I saw the news wire spit out a headline stating Hughes had died yesterday. My heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t that he was only 59 years old — far too young — rather it was a sense that the rug had been pulled out from underneath my childhood.

Like any true-blooded American that grew up in the 1980’s can attest, films like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off set the standard for sentimental teenage fare. Surprisingly Hughes only directed eight films, the last being Curly Sue in 1991, but he wrote many more, including the popular Vacation films, Weird Science, Uncle Buck and Home Alone. All of these are must-watch movies for film buffs. The stand-out, for me, has to be his 1987 movie Planes, Trains & Automobiles as my father worked with Hughes on that production. He still considers Hughes a “cool guy.”

Deservedly, Hughes is remembered today by many journalists and film critics across the world. Here are a few highlights:

David Kamp, Vanity Fair

As huge and as popular as he got, Hughes never became cool; the '80s arthouse crowd, besotted with the deadpan Jim Jarmusch and Alex Cox, tittered condescendingly at Judd Nelson's nostrilly pathos and Molly Ringwald's dewy exasperation. But Hughes made good, emotive mainstream movies. If you were alive and of a certain age when they first came out, they got to you… More

Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter

Although embraced by fans, Hughes remained something of an outsider to the film industry, which sometimes regarded him as difficult and demanding and didn’t shower him with awards. One of his few honors was a Producer of the Year award he picked up at ShoWest in 1991. While he worked within the studio system, he avoided Hollywood and raised his family in the Chicago area, where he also set and shot many of his films… More

David Hinkley, New York’s Daily News

In contrast to raucous 1980s teen comedies like the “Porky’s” series, Hughes films were sweet, often sentimental. Their heroes and heroines, who started out feeling like misfits, were rewarded for the basic virtues of good hearts and decency. He kept them from being simply throwbacks to some romanticized earlier age by effective use of realistic teen dialogue… More

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

Of all of his films, there are two that will forever be quintessentially Hughes for me: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” absolutely swimming in attitude, which captured brilliantly and irritatingly the kind of cockiness that you envy as a teen, hate as an adult, recognize no matter what age you are, and “The Breakfast Club,” life deconstructed in high school detention, the archetypes and the anxiety playing out in real time. I will light 16 candles and remember… More

Leave Comments




James Sims is the Senior Editor at BroadwayWorld.com. Beyond his duties on this website, James also contributes as a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.

Having grown up in Los Angeles, California, James spent time working as an entertainment reporter on the west coast before heading to New York City to attend Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. For more information, visit SofaSnark.com and follow James on Twitter at @SimsJames.

Past Articles by This Author:
ANYTHING GOES
Save up to 50%!
SEMINAR
Save Over 40%!
Click Here to Register for More Special Offers!
Groundbreaking Musicals
17
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG First Performance...
124
"Buenos Aires" Lyric Question
20
Favorite book of a musical?
16
What MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG recording do you all su...
6
Robert Diamond's Blog BWW Launches Non-Equity Audition Center
BWW Joins Google +
2012 Regional Expansion - Find Shows, Restaurants & More
Michael Dale's Broadway Blog
Myths and Hymns & Ballyhoo
BroadwayGirl NYC Blog
Picks for February
Roundabout Theater Company Blog
From the Artistic Director: Look Back in Anger
MamaDrama NYC
FRECKLE FACE THE MUSICAL
Sound Off Broadway Blog
Special Interview: Kim Smith & MISFIT
Submissions Only
Submission's Only on BWW BWW TV Exclusive:
SUBMISSIONS ONLY
Season 2
understudies - understudies: Don't miss wonderstudy @JuliaMat and... more...
Now Playing:
Now Playing on Broadway Web Radio 'Well, De Beque, I Take Off Pretty Soon For Marie Louise' from South Pacific on Carnegie Hall Concert.
Top Stories You Missed on BWW This Weekend
Stephen Schwartz on Whitney Houston's Death: 'Shocked and Saddened'
Photo Coverage: Remembering Whitney Houston
AUDIO: First Listen- Katherine McPhee & Megan Hilty Sing 'Call Me' & 'Crazy Dreams' on 2nd Episode of SMASH!
The 2012 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album Goes to THE BOOK OF MORMON!
Photo Coverage: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Celebrates 10,000 Performances!
Photo Coverage: Elaine Paige Performs for Lincoln Center's AMERICAN SONGBOOK Series!
BWW TV Exclusive: Seth's Broadway Chatterbox With PORGY & BESS' Joshua Henry, NaTasha Yvette Williams and Nikki Renee Daniels!
BREAKING: Lea Michele in Talks for SPRING AWAKENING Film! BREAKING: Lea Michele in Talks for SPRING AWAKENING Film!
CLYBOURNE PARK Sets Broadway Dates; Opens April 19 for Limited Engagement CLYBOURNE PARK Sets Broadway Dates; Opens April 19
Photo Flash: Chita Rivera Visits SILENCE! THE MUSICAL Photo Flash: Chita Rivera Visits SILENCE! THE MUSICAL
Alexis Bledel, Richard Topol & More Lead MTC's REGRETS; Opens Mar. 27 Bledel, Topol & More Lead MTC's REGRETS; Opens Mar. 27
TDF's Autism Theater Initiative To Host Autism Friendly B'way Performances MARY POPPINS, LION KING Host Autism Shows
THE LION KING to Return to Sydney, December 2013 THE LION KING to Return to Sydney, December 2013
DISNEY'S THE LION KING Iconic Musical Smash Plays The Arsht Center DISNEY'S THE LION KING Iconic Musical Smash Plays The Arsht Center
STAGE TUBE: Inside the Making of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER's Logo! STAGE TUBE: Inside the Making of STARCATCHER's Logo!
STAGE TUBE: Ellen Helps Jim Parsons Prep for HARVEY! STAGE TUBE: Ellen Helps Jim Parsons Prep for HARVEY!
HARVEY's Jim Parsons Set to Appear on 'Ellen' Today HARVEY's Jim Parsons Set to Appear on 'Ellen' Today

SMASH ON NBC RENT FOLLIES WIT CARRIE ANNIE ROCKY GODSPELL EVITA GLEE WICKED MEMPHIS CHICAGO HARVEY ZORBA more...


  • BROADWAY
  • NATIONAL TOURS
  • ALABAMA - Birmingham
  • ALASKA - Anchorage
  • ARIZONA - Mesa
  • ARIZONA - Phoenix
  • ARIZONA - Tempe
  • ARKANSAS - Little Rock
  • CALIFORNIA - Costa Mesa
  • CALIFORNIA - Los Angeles
  • CALIFORNIA - Sacramento
  • CALIFORNIA - San Diego
  • CALIFORNIA - San Francisco
  • CALIFORNIA - Santa Barbara
  • COLORADO - Denver
  • CONNECTICUT
  • CONNECTICUT - Hartford
  • DELAWARE
  • FLORIDA
  • FLORIDA - Ft. Lauderdale
  • FLORIDA - Jacksonsville
  • FLORIDA - Orlando
  • FLORIDA - St. Petersburg
  • FLORIDA - Tampa
  • GEORGIA - Atlanta
  • HAWAII
  • IDAHO - Boise
  • ILLINOIS - Chicago
  • INDIANA - Indianpolis
  • INDIANA - South Bend
  • IOWA - Des Moines
  • KANSAS - Wichita
  • KENTUCKY - Louisville
  • LOUISIANA - New Orleans
  • MAINE
  • MARYLAND - Baltimore
  • MASSACHUSETTS - Boston
  • MICHIGAN - Detroit
  • MINNESOTA - Minneapolis
  • MINNESOTA - St. Paul
  • MISSISSIPPI - Jackson
  • MISSOURI - Kansas City
  • MISSOURI - St. Louis
  • MONTANA
  • NEBRASKA - Omaha
  • NEW HAMPSHIRE
  • NEW JERSEY
  • NEVADA - Las Vegas
  • NEW MEXICO - Albuquerque
  • NEW YORK - Buffalo
  • NEW YORK - Central New York
  • NEW YORK - Long Island
  • NEW YORK - Rockland
  • NEW YORK - Westchester
  • NORTH CAROLINA - Charlotte
  • NORTH CAROLINA - Raleigh
  • NORTH DAKOTA - Fargo
  • OHIO - Cincinnati
  • OHIO - Cleveland
  • OHIO - Columbus
  • OHIO - Dayton
  • OKLAHOMA - Oklahoma City
  • OKLAHOMA - Tulsa
  • OREGON - Portland
  • PENNSYLVANIA - Philadelphia
  • PENNSYLVANIA - Pittsburgh
  • RHODE ISLAND
  • SOUTH CAROLINA
  • SOUTH DAKOTA - Sioux Falls
  • TENNESSEE - Memphis
  • TENNESSEE - Nashville
  • TEXAS - Austin
  • TEXAS - Dallas
  • TEXAS - Houston
  • TEXAS - San Antonio
  • UTAH - Salt Lake City
  • VERMONT
  • VIRGINIA - Norfolk
  • WASHINGTON - Seattle
  • WASHINGTON, DC
  • WEST VIRGINIA
  • WISCONSIN - Appleton
  • WISCONSIN - Madison
  • WISCONSIN - Milwaukee
  • WYOMING - Casper
  • LONDON - WEST END
  • ARGENTINA
  • AUSTRIA
  • AUSTRALIA
  • BELGIUM
  • BRAZIL
  • CANADA - OTTAWA
  • CANADA - QUEBEC
  • CANADA - TORONTO
  • CANADA - VANCOUVER
  • CHINA
  • FINLAND
  • FRANCE
  • GERMANY
  • HUNGARY
  • INDIA
  • INDONESIA
  • IRELAND
  • ISRAEL
  • ITALY
  • JAPAN
  • LUXEMBOURG
  • MALAYSIA
  • MEXICO
  • NETHERLANDS
  • NEW ZEALAND
  • NORWAY
  • PHILIPPINES
  • POLAND
  • PRAGUE
  • RUSSIA
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • SOUTH KOREA
  • SPAIN
  • SWITZERLAND
  • TURKEY
  • CABARET
  • OFF-BROADWAY
  • OFF-OFF BROADWAY
  • BOOKS
  • CELEBRITY
  • CLASSICAL MUSIC
  • COMEDY
  • CONCERTS
  • DANCE
  • FASHION
  • MOVIES
  • MUSIC
  • OPERA
  • REALITY TV
  • TV
  • VISUAL ARTS
  • Contact us. All Materials Copyright 2011 Wisdom Digital Media.

    Privacy Policy.