Director Case Study

John Hughes

John Hughes (February 18^th 1950- August 6^th 2009) was an American director, screenwriter and producer. Hughes is famous for his comedy films and coming of age drama films, often working with teenagers and young people in his films, helping launch them into the industry, including Michael Keaton, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Bill Paxton, Matthew Broderick, and Macaulay Culkin.

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club is a drama about a group of teenagers, who meet in detention. They are seemingly very different but begin to see their similarities and they open up about themselves. The film is somewhat overdramatic, which is seen in many other of his films. The film’s main cast were Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and John Kapelos. The location for the film was Maine North High School, which he later used as the set for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Some of the posters in the set can also be seen in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. ‘’Don’t You (Forget About Me)’’ was used in the opening sequence, and became very popular.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The film follows a teenager, Ferris, who skips school for a day by tricking his parents into thinking he’s sick. Cast included Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller, Alan Ruck as Cameron Frye, Mia Sara as Sloane Peterson, and Jeffery Jones as Edward R. Rooney, Dean of Students, and Jennifer Grey as Jeannie Bueller. The first cut of the film was 2 hours and 45 minutes. The lack of costume change throughout the film meant that they were able to freely edit in post. Hughes thought that the characters were the main part of the film, as with his other films. He saw the narratives in his films were not seen as important as the characters themselves. Hughes wanted to show the spirit and the atmosphere of Chicago in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off so he used locations which were personal to him, including The Art Institute of Chicago.  As a fan of the Beatles, Hughes made reference to John Lennon in the film.

Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles follows a teen as she struggles through her sixteenth birthday. Hughes wrote the role of Sam after auditioning and casting Molly Ringwald for the role. Ally Sheedy was also considered for the role, but Hughes though Ringwald fitted better for Sam. However, both girls were later cast in The Breakfast Club.

 Learning Comments:

John Hughes reused actors and set locations through several of his films. Throughout his career, he stuck to a similar genre, comedy, and mostly created coming of age films. Hughes referenced personal pleasures in his films, e.g. music preferences and locations which had meaning in his life, growing up, for example many of his films were set in Chicago. I really like this concept and it has inspired me to use it in my own film opening. Hughes often wrote his scripts on the spur of the moment, as soon as he had inspiration, he would continue to write until he had finished. The passion and drive he had for film making is truly inspiring.