49 Fun Facts About John Hughes

Which 1984 film was John Hughes's directorial debut?

Sixteen Candles jumped the line: Hughes wrote it in a two-day burst while preparing The Breakfast Club, a script he had finished first.

In which Chicago suburb did John Hughes spend his teenage years?

Northbrook is where the family settled after Hughes's father found work there selling roofing materials.

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

Rodney Dangerfield was one of the comics Hughes pestered with typed-up gags, and the jokes helped him land an advertising job in Chicago.

Which gangster film does Kevin McCallister watch while home alone, scaring off a delivery man?

Angels with Filthy Souls never existed: the one-minute black-and-white noir was shot for Home Alone in a single day, before filming proper began.

In which country has Home Alone on TV become a Christmas tradition?

Poland's Polsat left Home Alone out of its 2010 Christmas schedule, then put it back after tens of thousands of fans protested on Facebook.

Which actor starred as the stay-at-home dad in Mr. Mom, written by Hughes in 1983?

Michael Keaton's Mr. Mom was a 1983 hit, but Hughes had not enjoyed making it and came away eager to direct his own scripts.

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

Jake Ryan is the senior Sam pines for on the 16th birthday her whole family forgets in the rush of her sister's wedding.

What does Vernon order The Breakfast Club students to write?

A 1,000-word essay on who they think they are is the task, but by day's end the five have confessed secrets and found common ground.

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

Shermer, Illinois, was Hughes's homage to the Chicago suburbs where he grew up, and he filmed its scenes at real schools there.

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

Simple Minds turned the song down at first and only agreed after other acts passed, and it became the band's only US No. 1.

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

Oingo Boingo's frontman Danny Elfman wrote the song in his car while driving home, right after John Hughes called asking for one.

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

A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder was the star car, but the wide shots used replicas, and one went flying out the window.

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

Danke Schoen and Twist and Shout were filmed during a real Chicago parade one weekend, with the close-ups shot the following weekend.

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

Gordie Howe was the Red Wings hero of Hughes's Michigan boyhood, which is why Chicago kid Cameron wears his jersey.

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

Bender went to Judd Nelson, but Hughes remembered Ruck and cast him, at 29, as the 17-year-old Cameron.

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

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act lecture was largely Ben Stein's ad-lib: Hughes told him to teach economics off the cuff, and Stein drew on his own training.

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

The Psychedelic Furs song was played for Hughes by his leading lady, and he wrote the screenplay around it.

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

Test audiences booed the original ending, so Hughes had a girl at the prom show interest in Duckie, to protect his character.

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

Howard Deutch fell for Lea Thompson, the star of Some Kind of Wonderful, and they later married.

Which actress became a 1980s teen idol through three John Hughes films?

Molly Ringwald later turned down Hughes's Some Kind of Wonderful, feeling it was too much like the films she had already made with him.

Which Breakfast Club star did the 1985 magazine story that named the 'Brat Pack' call its unofficial president?

Emilio Estevez was also dubbed the group's unofficial treasurer, because he usually picked up the check when they went out.

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

Steve Martin and John Candy starred in the film where Hughes, famous for teen comedies, told a story about grown-ups for a change.

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

Thanksgiving travel chaos was personal: a disastrous holiday trip Hughes took as an advertising man inspired the film.

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

She's Having a Baby's birth scene plays This Woman's Work, a song Kate Bush wrote specially for that sequence of the film.

Which future Oscar nominee debuted on film in The Great Outdoors (1988)?

Annette Bening later co-starred with Warren Beatty in Bugsy, and the two married in 1992.

In Hughes's 1989 comedy, the bachelor Buck is called in to look after whose children?

His brother's three kids land with Buck after their grandfather has a heart attack and their parents rush away.

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

Uncle Buck showed Hughes what young Culkin could do, and Hughes wrote Home Alone's lead role specifically for him.

Which actor played burglar Harry, one of the two Wet Bandits in Home Alone?

Joe Pesci, best known for tough-guy roles, kept slipping into swearing on set, a problem with young Macaulay Culkin around.

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

Paris was only a name on screen: the family's scenes at Paris Orly Airport were filmed at Chicago's O'Hare.

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

Jeremiah Chechik, a director of moody TV commercials, made his feature debut after Chris Columbus quit over clashes with Chevy Chase.

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

Curly Sue was the last film Hughes directed: afterward he turned mainly to writing and producing.

Which future star of The Office debuted on film in a minor role in a 1991 John Hughes movie?

Steve Carell later told Judd Apatow he had always wanted to make a movie about a 40-year-old virgin, and they wrote it together.

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

Edmond Dantes was meant to hide Hughes: leaving Universal, he let it keep the Beethoven script if his identity stayed hidden, but that soon became an open secret.

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

A St. Bernard named after the composer turns hero, foiling the family's own veterinarian, a villain who wants dogs for experiments.

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

Baby's Day Out flopped in the US but became a hit in India, where it opened in both English and Hindi.

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

Maid in Manhattan began as Hughes's The Chambermaid, planned as his return to directing before it was rewritten for Jennifer Lopez.

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 actor, one of Hughes's few Hollywood friends in later years, joined Matthew Broderick at his private funeral?

Vince Vaughn later said Hughes would have kept directing had his close friend and frequent star lived longer.

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

Great Oaks Entertainment made 101 Dalmatians and Flubber before Mestres left for his own Disney production deal in 1997.

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

Taking a morning walk: Hughes was in town visiting his new grandson and collapsed a few blocks from his hotel.

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

Not Another Teen Movie mostly mocked newer teen comedies, but it borrowed its school's name and many scenes from the 1980s Hughes films.

In which Michigan city was John Hughes born in 1950?

Lansing was his birthplace, but the family moved to the Chicago suburbs when he was a teenager, and he set many of his films there.

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

Edge shaving gel's credit card test came from Hughes's ad-agency years, before he gave up advertising to write for National Lampoon.

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

Virginia Slims business trips to Philip Morris in New York let Hughes hang around National Lampoon, which soon published his work.

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

National Lampoon's Class Reunion flopped, but Hughes's next script, adapted from his own magazine story Vacation '58, became the hit Vacation.

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

Nancy Ludwig, his high school girlfriend, married him in 1970, and he became an ad man to support their family while still writing on the side.

Where is John Hughes buried?

Lake Forest Cemetery, Illinois, is near the home Hughes bought after leaving Hollywood, and mourners drove there in procession after his funeral.

Which 2009 sitcom's pilot, full of Breakfast Club references, was dedicated to John Hughes?

Community's creator Dan Harmon had joined a study group of strangers at a community college in his 30s, and that experience inspired the show.

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

Jon Watts was asked by Marvel to give the reboot a John Hughes high school feel, and Hughes's teen films were already his touchstones.