50 Fun Facts About John Hughes

Which 1984 film was John Hughes's directorial debut?

Its honest picture of high school life stood out against the Porky's-style comedies of the time and won near-unanimous praise.

In which Chicago suburb did Hughes spend his teenage years, attending Glenbrook North High School?

He met his future wife Nancy Ludwig, a cheerleader, at the school that inspired his most famous films.

Before films, Hughes sold jokes to which comedian, among others?

The jokes got him an entry-level advertising job in Chicago, where he later created the Edge "Credit Card Shaving Test" campaign.

Which magazine did Hughes write for before films, publishing the story that became Vacation?

Editor P. J. O'Rourke said he wrote so fast and so well that a monthly magazine struggled to keep up.

Which 1983 comedy, Hughes's first hit screenplay, sends the Griswolds cross-country to Walley World?

It grew out of his magazine story "Vacation '58", based on his own family trips as a child.

Which actor got his first lead role in Mr. Mom, written by Hughes in 1983?

The success of Mr. Mom and Vacation in the same year earned Hughes a three-picture deal with Universal.

In his 1984 debut film, Hughes's heroine Samantha Baker has a crush on which high school senior?

Molly Ringwald's Sam is meanwhile pursued by Anthony Michael Hall's freshman Ted, known as The Geek.

In The Breakfast Club, what does Vice Principal Vernon assign the five students to write?

Brian ends up writing it for everyone, declaring each of them a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal.

The Breakfast Club is set in which fictional Illinois town that recurs across Hughes's films?

The whole film was shot at the closed Maine North High School in Des Plaines between March and May 1984.

Which Scottish band recorded "Don't You (Forget About Me)" for The Breakfast Club?

Producer Keith Forsey and guitarist Steve Schiff wrote it; several other acts also turned it down first.

Weird Science was based on a 1951 pre-Comics Code comic story by which writer?

The story "Made of the Future" appeared in the magazine of the same name; Oingo Boingo wrote the title song.

Which new wave band wrote and performed the title song of Weird Science?

The film grossed $38.9 million on a $7.5 million budget and became a cult classic.

Ferris borrows which prized car belonging to Cameron's father?

The mileage disaster on the way home sets up the film's most famous act of rebellion.

Which two songs does Ferris lip-sync on a parade float in Chicago?

Broderick said the Wayne Newton number was choreographed but the Beatles song was made up on the spot.

Cameron's Red Wings jersey in Ferris Bueller's Day Off had belonged to which player, a hero of Hughes?

Hughes spent his first 12 years in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and the star later sent him one of his own jerseys.

Alan Ruck was cast as Cameron after Hughes remembered his audition for which Breakfast Club role?

The part went to Judd Nelson; Ruck was in his late twenties when he played the 17-year-old Cameron.

Ben Stein's monotone lecture in Ferris Bueller's Day Off concerns which piece of legislation?

The scene was not in Hughes's script; Stein improvised the economics lecture.

Pretty in Pink takes its title from a song by which band?

The band re-recorded the track for a soundtrack that has been called among the most brilliant in modern cinema.

Why was Pretty in Pink reshot so that Andie does not end up with Duckie?

Cryer said he was shocked, since he felt the whole film had been built around Andie and Duckie getting together.

Who directed Some Kind of Wonderful and Pretty in Pink, both written by Hughes?

Deutch also directed The Great Outdoors for Hughes; the Wonderful cast was Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson and Lea Thompson.

Which three Hughes films made Molly Ringwald a teen idol?

In 2026 she said Hughes did not want his films remade, and that she agreed.

The term "Brat Pack" for Hughes-era young stars was popularised by a 1985 cover story in which magazine?

David Blum wrote it after seeing young actors mobbed by fans at the Hard Rock Cafe in Los Angeles.

Which two actors star as the mismatched travellers in Planes, Trains and Automobiles?

Hughes made the film partly to avoid being pigeonholed as a maker of teen movies.

Neal Page in Planes, Trains and Automobiles is trying to get home to Chicago in time for which holiday?

The film has become a staple of American Thanksgiving-week viewing.

Which 1988 Hughes-directed film stars Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern as newlyweds?

It underperformed, grossing $16 million against a $20 million budget; the Great Outdoors cast cameo in its end credits.

Which future Oscar nominee made her film debut in The Great Outdoors (1988)?

Dan Aykroyd and John Candy play the feuding in-laws vacationing at a Wisconsin lake resort.

In his 1989 comedy, John Candy's bachelor Buck is called in to look after whose children?

The family emergency leaves him minding three kids, including a young Macaulay Culkin.

Hughes suggested Macaulay Culkin for Home Alone because of his work on which earlier Hughes film?

Chris Columbus directed; Hughes wrote and produced and finished the first draft in nine days.

How long did Hughes take to write the first draft of Home Alone?

It was the top-grossing film of 1990 and remains the most successful live-action family comedy ever.

Where is the McCallister family headed when they leave Kevin behind in Home Alone?

The sequel sends the family to Florida and Kevin, alone again, to New York.

Who directed Christmas Vacation (1989), the third Griswold film, which Hughes wrote and produced?

It was the third Vacation film and the last screen role of Mae Questel, the original voice of Betty Boop.

Which 1991 film was Hughes's last as a director?

The James Belushi comedy also gave Steve Carell his film debut and got generally negative reviews.

Which future star of The Office made his film debut in Curly Sue?

The film grossed $33.7 million against a $25 million budget.

Under what pseudonym, borrowed from a Dumas hero, did Hughes write scripts such as Beethoven?

The name belongs to the hero of The Count of Monte Cristo; his last credit, Drillbit Taylor, also used it.

Beethoven, co-written by Hughes under his pseudonym, is about what kind of dog?

The 1992 film earned $147.2 million worldwide and spawned a franchise including an animated series.

Which 1994 Hughes-written film about kidnappers chasing a toddler through Chicago was a box-office flop?

Both it and Dennis the Menace borrowed elements of the Home Alone formula, but only Dennis was a hit.

Which 2002 Jennifer Lopez rom-com was based on a story by Hughes, credited under a false name?

Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson co-starred; it grossed $154.9 million against a $55 million budget.

Which 2008 comedy was Hughes's final film credit, based on his original story?

Judd Apatow produced and Seth Rogen co-wrote the screenplay about three boys hiring a bodyguard.

Which collaborator's sudden death in 1994 deeply shook Hughes and, friends believe, curbed his directing?

Vince Vaughn later said that had the actor lived longer, Hughes would have made more films as a director.

Which short-lived Disney-affiliated company did Hughes co-found with Ricardo Mestres in 1995?

It produced Jack, 101 Dalmatians and Flubber before the two ended their collaboration in 1997.

Hughes died in August 2009 of a heart attack while doing what?

He was 59 and visiting his new grandson in New York; the 2010 Oscars featured a tribute with Ringwald, Broderick and Culkin on stage.

Which 2001 parody film is set at the fictional John Hughes High School?

The pilot of Community, aired a month after his death, was dedicated to him and ended with a cover of the Breakfast Club song.

In which Michigan city was John Hughes born in 1950?

He spent his first 12 years in Grosse Pointe before the family moved to the Chicago suburbs.

As an ad copywriter, Hughes created the famous 'Credit Card Test' campaign for which brand?

He worked at Needham, Harper & Steers from 1970 and later at Leo Burnett in Chicago.

Which cigarette account took Hughes to New York, letting him visit the National Lampoon offices?

The Philip Morris headquarters trips led to him becoming a regular Lampoon contributor.

What was Hughes's first credited screenplay, a flop follow-up to Animal House?

His next two scripts, Vacation and Mr. Mom, earned him a three-film deal with Universal.

Whom did the 20-year-old Hughes marry in 1970, staying together until his death?

The couple, who met at Glenbrook North High School, had two sons.

Where is John Hughes buried?

Matthew Broderick and Vince Vaughn were among those at the private funeral.

Which sitcom's 2009 pilot was dedicated to Hughes and ended with a cover of 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'?

The episode aired a month after his death and included several Breakfast Club references.

Which director cited Ferris Bueller's Day Off as an inspiration for the tone of Spider-Man: Homecoming?

Hughes's films have also influenced Jon M. Chu and Kelly Fremon Craig.