John Hughes (filmmaker)

John Wilden Hughes Jr. (February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American filmmaker. Hughes began his career in 1970 as an author of humorous essays and stories for the '' National Lampoon'' magazine. He went on to Hollywood to write, produce and sometimes direct some of the most successful live-action comedy films of the 1980s and 1990s such as '' National Lampoon's Vacation''; ''Mr. Mom''; '' Sixteen Candles''; '' Weird Science''; '' The Breakfast Club''; '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off''; ''Pretty in Pink''; '' Some Kind of Wonderful''; '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles''; ''She's Having a Baby''; '' Uncle Buck''; ''Home Alone''; '' Dutch''; ''Beethoven'' (co-written under the pseudonym Edmond Dantès); '' Dennis the Menace''; and '' Baby's Day Out''.

Most of Hughes's work is set in the Chicago metropolitan area. He is best known for his coming-of-age teen comedy films with honest depictions of suburban teenage life. Many of his most enduring characters from these years were written for Molly Ringwald, who was Hughes's muse.

While out on a walk one morning in New York in the summer of 2009, Hughes suffered a fatal heart attack. His legacy after his death was honored by many, including at the 82nd Academy Awards by actors with whom he had worked such as Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, Anthony Michael Hall, Chevy Chase, and Macaulay Culkin, among others. Actors whose careers Hughes helped launch include Michael Keaton, Hall, Bill Paxton, Broderick, Culkin, and members of the Brat Pack group.

Early life

Hughes was born on February 18, 1950, in Lansing, Michigan, to Marion Crawford, who volunteered in charity work, and John Hughes Sr., who worked in sales. He was the only boy, and had three sisters. He spent the first twelve years of his life in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where he was a fan of Detroit Red Wings #9 Gordie Howe. Hughes described himself as "kind of quiet" as a kid.

In 1963, Hughes's family moved to Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. There, his father found work selling roofing materials. Hughes attended Grove Middle School, later going on to Glenbrook North High School, which gave him inspiration for the films that eventually made his reputation. He met Nancy Ludwig, a cheerleader and his future wife, in high school. As a teenager, Hughes found movies as an escape. According to childhood friend Jackson Peterson, "His mom and dad criticized him a lot (...) She arionwould be critical of what John would want to do". Hughes was an avid fan of the Beatles, and according to several friends, he knew a lot about movies and the Rat Pack.

Career

After dropping out of the University of Arizona, Hughes began selling jokes to well-established performers such as Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers. Hughes used his jokes to get an entry-level job at Needham, Harper & Steers as an advertising copywriter in Chicago in 1970 and later in 1974 at Leo Burnett Worldwide. During this period, he created what became the famous Edge "Credit Card Shaving Test" ad campaign.

Hughes's work on the Virginia Slims account frequently took him to the Philip Morris headquarters in New York City, which allowed him to visit the offices of '' National Lampoon'' magazine. Soon thereafter, Hughes became a regular contributor; editor P. J. O'Rourke recalled that "John wrote so fast and so well that it was hard for a monthly magazine to keep up with him". One of Hughes's first stories, inspired by his family trips as a child, was "Vacation '58", later to become the basis for the film '' National Lampoon's Vacation''. Among his other contributions to the ''Lampoon'', the April Fools' Day stories "My Penis" and "My Vagina" gave an early indication of Hughes's ear for the particular rhythm of teenspeak, as well as for the various indignities of teenage life in general.

His first credited screenplay, '' National Lampoon's Class Reunion'', was written while still on staff at the magazine. The resulting film became the second disastrous attempt by the flagship to duplicate the runaway success of '' National Lampoon's Animal House''. Hughes's next screenplay for the imprint, however, ''National Lampoon's Vacation'', would become a major hit in 1983. This, along with the success of another Hughes script that same year, ''Mr. Mom'', earned him a three-film deal with Universal Pictures.

Teen films

Hughes's directorial debut, '' Sixteen Candles'', won almost unanimous praise when it was released in 1984, due in no small part to its more honest depiction of navigating adolescence and the social dynamics of high school life in stark contrast to the '' Porky's''-inspired comedies made at the time. It was the first in a string of efforts about teenage life set in or around high school, including '' The Breakfast Club'', '' Weird Science'', and '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'', all of which he wrote and directed, and ''Pretty in Pink'' and '' Some Kind of Wonderful'', which he wrote.

Beyond teen movies

To avoid being pigeonholed as a maker of only teen movies, Hughes branched out in 1987 by writing, directing, and producing the hit comedy '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' starring Steve Martin and John Candy. His later output was not so well received critically, though films like '' Uncle Buck'' and ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' proved popular. His final film as a director was 1991's '' Curly Sue''. By that time, in 1991, his John Hughes Entertainment production company had signed various deals with 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros.

Hughes's greatest commercial success came with ''Home Alone'' (1990), a film he wrote and produced about a child accidentally left behind when his family goes away for Christmas, forcing him to protect himself and his house from a pair of inept burglars. Hughes completed the first draft of ''Home Alone'' in just 9 days. ''Home Alone'' was the top-grossing film of 1990 and remains the most successful live-action family comedy of all time. He followed up with the sequels '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' in 1992 and '' Home Alone 3'' in 1997. Some of the subsequent films he wrote and produced during this time also contained elements of the ''Home Alone'' formula, including the successful '' Dennis the Menace'' (1993) and the box office flop '' Baby's Day Out'' (1994).

He also wrote screenplays under the pseudonym Edmond Dantes (or Dantès), after the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas's novel '' The Count of Monte Cristo''. Screenplays credited to the Dantes ''nom de plume'' include '' Maid in Manhattan'', '' Drillbit Taylor'' and ''Beethoven''.

Collaboration with John Candy

Actor John Candy created many memorable roles in films written, directed or produced by Hughes, including '' National Lampoon's Vacation'' (1983), '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' The Great Outdoors'' (1988), '' Uncle Buck'' (1989), ''Home Alone'' (1990), Career Opportunities (1991) and '' Only the Lonely'' (1991).

Over the years, Hughes and Candy developed a close friendship. Hughes was greatly shaken by Candy's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. "He talked a lot about how much he loved Candy—if Candy had lived longer, I think John would have made more films as a director", says Vince Vaughn, a friend of Hughes.

Unproduced screenplays

* ''Jaws 3: People 0'' – a parody sequel to the popular film series (1979)
* ''The History of Ohio from the Beginning of Time to the End of the Universe'', also known as ''National Lampoon's Dacron, Ohio'' (1980; with P. J. O'Rourke)
* ''The Joy of Sex: A Dirty Love Story'' (1982; some drafts with Dan Greenburg)
* ''Debs'' – a satire on Texas debutantes (1983; Aaron Spelling Productions)
* ''The New Kid'' 1986
* '' Oil and Vinegar'' – a soon-to-be-married man and a hitchhiking girl end up talking about their lives during the length of the car ride (1987)
* ''Bartholomew Vs. Neff'' – a vehicle that would have starred Sylvester Stallone and John Candy as feuding neighbors (1991)
* ''Black Cat Bone: The Return of Huckleberry Finn'' (1991)
* ''The Nanny'' (1991)
* ''The Bugster'' (1991)
* ''Ball 'n' Chain'' (1991)
* Live-action ''Peanuts'' film – Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to make a live-action Charlie Brown film, with Hughes set to both produce and write (1993)
* ''The Bee'' – a feature-length Disney film that actor Daniel Stern was attached to direct (1994)
* ''Tickets'' – Teens wait overnight for free tickets to a farewell concert (1996)
* ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' - Hughes pitched a film version of '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' to various studios before it was adapted into the 2000 live-action film (1998)
* ''The Grigsbys Go Broke'' – a wealthy family lose their fortune, forcing them to move to the other side of the tracks. (2003)

Later years

In 1994, Hughes retired from the public eye and moved back to the Chicago area. The following year, Hughes and Ricardo Mestres, both of whom had production deals with Walt Disney Pictures, formed the short-lived joint venture production studio ''Great Oaks Entertainment''. Hughes worked in Chicago, while Mestres was based in Los Angeles. The company produced the films '' Jack'', '' ''101 Dalmatians'''', and '' ''Flubber'''', but Hughes and Mestres ended their partnership in 1997. The 1998 film '' Reach the Rock'', which was produced as part of the partnership between Hughes and Mestres, was subsequently credited as "a Gramercy Pictures release of a John Hughes and Ricardo Mestres production".

In the following years, Hughes rarely granted interviews to the media, save a select few in 1999 to promote the soundtrack album of '' Reach the Rock''. The album was compiled by Hughes's son, John Hughes III, and released on his son's Chicago-based record label Hefty Records

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