Remembering John Hughes

The recent death of director John Hughes got me thinking about his significance and his tremendous contribution to the last two decades of 20th century American cinema.

Hughes' most significant film was certainly The Breakfast Club, which, like Rebel Without a Cause thirty years earlier, gave a voice to the contemporary American teenager and offered both a humorous and sobering exploration of their angst, issues, and culture. The Breakfast Club expertly walked the line between comedy and drama -- something very few films are able to do effectively.

The Breakfast Club also served as a launching pad for young stars Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, and Emilio Estevez, and though only mildly successful at the box office when it was released in February of 1985, the film nevertheless marked the start of Hughes' (and the rest of Hollywood's) heightened interest in producing teen movies -- ultimately resulting in a sort of "High Renaissance" of the genre. The Breakfast Club became even more iconic a year after its release when it gained wild popularity among teens after it began appearing on cable television. As a result, The Breakfast Club has forever secured a place in pop culture history as THE defining movie for Gen X-ers. (For more on these topics, be sure to read my three part series, The Evolution of the 80s Teen Movie: How Bob Clark, Gen X, and Home Video Changed the Landscape of American Cinema.)

Hughes of course also wrote and/or produced and directed several other terrific 80's teen coms (and dramedies) including Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Weird Science. The prolific director also gave us Uncle Buck; Planes, Trains and Automobiles; and the underrated She's Having a Baby. In the nineties, Hughes was the writer of the little-known gem Career Opportunities, Disney's 101 Dalmations remake, and the hugely successful Home Alone.

And of course prior to The Breakfast Club, Hughes' big break came as the writer of National Lampoon's Vacation, which earlier this year, celebrated its 26th anniversary. (Maxim magazine published an interesting article, an oral history of this film, in one of its recent issues.)

Hughes' deserves a large degree of respect and remembrance for The Breakfast Club by itself. Throw in all the films listed above, plus the Vacation and Home Alone sequels, and the fact that Hughes helped assemble movie soundtracks that included some of the most hip, eclectic and evocative music of the 80's (e.g., Yello's "Oh Yeah", Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me") and it's no wonder that this filmmaker was, and will remain, one of our most beloved.

Watch the John Hughes tribute from the 2010 Oscars.

Related Posts:
The Evolution of the 80s Teen Movie: How Bob Clark, Gen X, and Home Video Changed the Landscape of American Cinema

The Evolution of the 80s Teen Movie: How Bob Clark, Gen X, and Home Video Changed the Landscape of American Cinema - Part II 

Airline Magazines, Godfather III, and Madonna... What's the Connection?

Was flipping through an in-flight travel magazine (Departures) and came across this cool ad for Louis Vuitton, featuring five-time Academy Award winner Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter Sophia.

I met Francis Coppola in the early 90s. I was at a really nice movie theater (at least it was back then) –- Loews Ridgefield Park, which is in northern NJ, very close to Manhattan. This theater had ten screens, which back in those days was a lot. It was an odd night because all of the auditoriums were open to the public except one that was hosting a non-publicized special screening of Frankenstein, starring Kenneth Branagh and Robert DeNiro. I look over and there, by the concession stand, is the film’s producer, Francis Ford Coppola himself. He was doing nothing in particular, so I walked over and told him what a fan I was of his films (the three Godfather movies, The Outsiders, and The Cotton Club, in particular.) The greatest living American director (sorry Spielberg, Allen, Tarantino, and Scorsese) was then nice enough to autograph my popcorn bucket. 

As for  Sophia, back in 1990 she was bashed quite a bit for "ruining" The Godfather Part III. The criticism isn't really fair but I will say that when you watch the film, it’s painfully clear that Sophia's part was too much for her. Her father and others should have recognized this and recast the role. 

Few realize that the pivotal role in question, that of Mary Corleone, was supposed to be played by Winona Ryder. But Ryder was suffering from exhaustion -- she had just shot Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael, Edward Scissorhands and Mermaids back-to-back-to-back. What's more, the actress had experienced some very long work days shooting the last of these films because the production had fallen behind schedule after the original director (Lasse Hallstrom) was fired. When Mermaids did finally wrap, Ryder began shooting G III in Rome, but her then boyfriend, Johnny Depp, reportedly wanted her back with him in the US. Ryder claimed exhaustion and dropped out a month into the shoot. Sophia, who had almost no acting experience, was cast by her father (who had creative control of the picture) as a replacement. The part was rewritten to better suit Sophia and the sexuality of the character was toned down. And again, all of this took place after principal photography had already begun. So all of this considered, it's amazing Godfather Part III turned out as good as it did.

After being skewered by the critics, Sophia pretty much gave up acting but did go on to write and direct the critically acclaimed The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Despite Sophia’s poor performance, Godfather III is still a must-see that’s better than 99% of the movies out there. It has an intricate, compelling plot; maintains continuity with the two preceding films; features great performances by Andy Garcia, Joe Mantegna and others; and was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture of 1990.

Here’s the extended trailer:

Lastly, if you’re a hardcore fan of The Godfather films, I recommend the The Godfather Companion by Peter Biskind, which has the complete story of the production of the trilogy and lots of interesting details about Part III in particular. For instance:

• Diane Keaton wanted too much money to reprise her role as Kay, so Coppola was forced to cut her part down significantly.
• Mario Puzo wrote the first outline for G III way back in 1978. In it, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is a Howard Hughes-like recluse; the Mafia and the CIA are at war; and the film's climax tales place during a Bicentennial parade. (All of this is drastically different from how the final screenplay turned out.)
• During casting, Julia Roberts was the first choice to play Mary. Madonna was also considered but at 31, it was decided she was too old for the part.
• Later, Madonna was seriously considered for the role of Grace Hamilton, the reporter who sleeps with Vincent (Andy Garcia.) At the time, Madonna was coming off the hugely successful Like a Prayer album and was arguably the biggest name in music. Perhaps partially because of this, she demanded a salary of more than half a million dollars (for what amounted to about 15 minutes of screen time) and the producers passed, eventually giving the part to Bridget Fonda.

Related Links:
The Godfather Companion

Oscar Predictions (Part III)

Here's the last of a 3 part series:

Best Adapted Screenplay
In many ways, this year’s Slumdog Millionaire vs The Curious Case of Benjamin Button face-off is reminiscent of 1995, when the innovative and edgy Pulp Fiction ultimately lost Best Picture to the broader, more audience friendly modern-day fable, Forrest Gump. Back then, in the screenplay category, Gump was competing in the "Best Adapted" category, while Pulp Fiction was an original work by Quentin Tarantino. This year, Button’s epic, sweeping story goes against three dramatically intense (but more intimate) dramas (Doubt, The Reader, and Frost Nixon) and the gritty, cathartic Slumdog. 

Hollywood never seems to tire of Holocaust-related material (as Ricky Gervais alluded to at the Golden Globes this year) which gives The Reader a shot at this one. However, the Doubt script was so emotionally charged and rich with dialog, it could have easily had the most lasting impact on voters. Regardless, the official pick is cleverly-crafted Slumdog, with its finely weaved, poignant flashback-intensive narrative.

Should win: Slumdog
Will win: Slumdog



Best Original Screenplay
Apart from Milk, we’ve got some very unusual nominees this year. Frozen River scribe Courtney Hunt is a relatively new writer-director and she’s in against some very tough competition. Happy Go Lucky’s Mike Leigh was nominated previously for both Vera Drake and Secrets and Lies; and WALL-E co-writer Andrew Stanton previously brought us Toy Story and Finding Nemo (nominated for this award in 1995 and 2003, respectively.) Hunt won’t win against competition of this caliber and neither will Leigh’s script which, despite being a favorite among his fellow nominating writers, could be hindered by the fact that British humor is often not as broad as it needs to be to gain the appeal needed to win (as was the case with 1988’s A Fish Called Wanda and 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral.)

Similar to the 2007 and 2006 winners in this category (Diablo Cody’s Juno and Michael Arndt’s Little Miss Sunshine) Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges is an offbeat comedy that was hard not to appreciate. 

Milk’s only real shot at a major award is in this category but WALL-E has a wry story and an environmentally conscious theme, which Hollywood loves. Really tough call here…

Should win: In Bruges
Will win: Milk



Best Director and Best Picture
Since the nominated directors are all from the best picture nominees, let's cover everything together. 

Milk director Gus Van Sant is the quintessential Hollywood “outsider” that’s gotten to the point where he’s so respected and his films so highly recognized and successful, he’s now actually more of an “insider”. He’d be a fine selection, but once again, this is just not Milk’s year.

As for Ron Howard (winner for 2001’s A Beautiful Mind), Frost Nixon is a fine film, but nowhere near Howard's best work (see Apollo 13, Ransom, The Missing, Cinderella Man and the aforementioned A Beautiful Mind) so it’s a very long shot he wins here.

Deservingly, at this year’s ceremony, Slumdog and Button will be battling it out in several categories and these two categories are the toughest to call. Watch the telecast closely, as the winners in the Best Cinematography, Editing, and Art Direction categories may give an indication of who will take home the big prizes. 

As I mentioned, this year’s Oscars mirrors 1995’s Forrest Gump vs Pulp Fiction showdown when the grittier, edgier film (Pulp Fiction) lost Best Picture and Best Director to the more audience-friendly Gump (and its director Bob Zemeckis.) I’m going out on a limb by saying history WON'T repeat itself this year.

Button director David Fincher has the credentials (Seven, Fight Club, The Game, Zodiac) and a reputation as one of the most talented filmmakers in the business. It’s hard to imagine the Academy would deny him in favor of Slumdog’s Danny Boyle or The Reader’s Stephen Daldry. It's just that Slumdog has had so much more buzz, better legs at the box office, and is clearly the more socially conscious choice. Hollywood is like the rest of America right now and mainly just wants to be entertained and made to feel good again. Button does that quite well, but Slumdog just has too much momentum and will walk away with a Best Picture win.

Best Director 
Should win: Danny Boyle (Slumdog)
Will win: Danny Boyle

Best Picture
Should win: Button
Will win: Slumdog

Related Posts:

Oscar Predictions (Part II)

Oscar Predictions

1990 Academy Awards: A Timely Look Back

The Oscars are this Sunday, so I searched the Pop Culture Fiend Archives and found this -- an episode of Entertainment Tonight from 19 years ago where they cover the Academy Award ceremony. 



The night's big winners were:

Best Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
Best Director Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July)
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot)
Best Actress: Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy)
Best Supporting Actor: Denzel Washington (Glory)
Best Supporting Actress: Brenda Fricker (My Left Foot)

When I dug this up and watched it, the things that stood out to me were:

• How young Daniel Day-Lewis looks.

• How hot Michelle Pfeiffer, Candice Bergen, Raquel Welch, and Lena Olin were.

• That Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Milton Berle, Charlton Heston, Swifty Lazar and Jack Lemmon have all since passed away.

• That Melanie Griffith & Don Johnson, Julia Roberts & Keifer Sutherland, Geena Davis & Jeff Goldblum, and Nicole Kidman & Tom Cruise are no longer together.

• The fact that Edward Zwick's Glory got robbed. The real Best Picture for 1989 (Leonard Maltin agrees with me and comments on this toward the end of the video) wasn't even nominated.

• The smart-alecky answers Leeza Gibbons gets from both Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessica Tandy during their interviews.

Oscar Predictions (Part II)

Best Actor

This is one of the more competitive categories this year, so the list of nominees regrettably does not include Michael Sheen’s turn as desperate yet debonair TV host David Frost in Frost/Nixon, nor Leonardo DiCaprio as resigned to his lot in life (but occasionally raging) husband, Frank Wheeler, in Revolutionary Road.

Sean Penn’s performance as the title character in Milk was heartfelt and compelling and in a lesser year, he might run away with this award. Penn won the statue previously (for 2004’s Mystic River) and Hollywood’s infatuation with films with gay and lesbian themes and characters, and its penchant for handing out Oscars to actors appearing in these types of films (e.g., Charlize Theron in Monster, Tom Hanks in Philadelphia) could work in Penn's favor.

Brad Pitt gave a sensitive portrayal as the title character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but Pitt too often seems to be a bit subdued in his performances (from True Romance, to Sleepers, to Meet Joe Black to the Ocean’s movies). And though in this case, soft-spokeness suits the character of Benjamin well, Academy voters might feel that this performance wasn’t “stirring” enough.

Richard Jenkins, as fine as it he may have been in The Visitor, is handicapped by the fact that probably no one outside of the Jenkins family saw this movie.

Everything seems to be setting up nicely for Mickey Rourke. His personal story is the kind everyone loves. Once a slightly dark and brooding but super-talented young actor (in the line of James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Christopher Walken) he earned critical praise early for his roles in Diner, Body Heat, and The Pope of Greenwich Village, then fell into substance abuse, made a seemingly neverending string of crappy movies (Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man, Wild Orchid), slid from the A- to the D-list, lost his looks, and was completely written off in Hollywood before being resurrected first by Quentin Tarantino (who cast him in Sin City) and then by The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky. Further boosting Rourke’s Oscar hopes is the fact that this real-life journey in some ways mirrors that of Rourke’s character in the film, Randy “The Ram” Robinson. 

Frank Langella is a Hollywood veteran who, in Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon, gives a wonderful depiction of the former President and all the dimensions of his personality -- intellectual, cocksure, condescending, bullying, and finally (during his dramatic final confrontation with Frost) cornered, broken, disappointed and sad.

Should win: Langella
Will win: Rourke

Supporting Actress

Historically, supporting actress has been the Oscar category where underdogs have the best shot at taking home the prize. In the past, we’ve seen such unlikely winners as Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite), Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon), Anna Paquin (The Piano) and Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny.) That said, Sophie Okonedo gave the best of many strong supporting performances in The Secret Life of Bees and deserved a nomination for her role as "May" in that film.

By upsetting the far more accomplished Judy Davis, Vanessa Redgrave, and Miranda Richardson in 1993, Tomei probably had the most stunning Oscar win in the last two decades (with the possible exception of Three 6 Mafia who won Best Song in 2006 for for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp”.) Tomei has branched out nicely in her career since, mixing mainstream roles with gritty performances in offbeat films and arty independents like Slums of Beverly Hills, Unhook the Stars, and Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. Though Tomei was solid in The Wrestler, as stripper and object of Mickey Rourke’s affection "Cassidy", her role didn’t have as much meat on it as those of her competitors and Evan Rachel Wood, who played Rourke’s daughter in the movie, was far better.

Taraji P. Henson gives perhaps the most authentic performance in this category in her role as the strong, sassy, nurturing but no-nonsense mother to Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button.

Viola Davis’ strong performance in Doubt could be overlooked because in the movie, she acts alongside heavyweights Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Both she and her co-star and co-nominee Amy Adams would have shined more if Streep and Hoffmann both hadn’t been so great.

Penelope Cruz is a pleasant surprise in the sadly overlooked Vicky Christina Barcelona. But though her acting may be getting increasingly better, doesn't her thick accent and, dare I say, ultra-irritating voice get in the way of her performance?

Again, it’s Supporting Actress, and history has shown anything can happen. Henson is probably the favorite; Tomei has the best pedigree; but the prediction is that Davis sneaks in here, aided by the fact that Doubt is likely to be shut out in all the other major categories and voters will likely want to honor the film somehow.

Should win: Henson
Will win: Davis

Best Editing
A film that’s not “tight” has no shot at winning in this category and The Dark Knight has been fairly criticized for being overlong with a final 30 minutes or so that seemed tacked on.

Editing Frost/Nixon no doubt posed an interesting challenge insofar as the film’s most important scenes consists of a sit down interview between the two title characters in a dimly lit room. Keeping those scenes taunt with tension was certainly an achievement, however, the smaller scope of this picture will prevent it from winning a Best Editing Oscar over a film like Benjamin Button, which traces an 80-year long story across two continents and is filled with wonderfully creative and entertaining flashbacks (such as the scene where Benjamin recounts how Lily had her accident.) Over the course of Button’s two and half hours, never once do you feel antsy, and as it winds down, you truly feel as if you’ve been on a journey. All that spells good editing, my friend.

Despite its eight nominations, Milk will largely be passed over on Academy Award night. That'll certainly prove true in this category.

Slumdog Millionaire is the clear winner here. Like Button, the film has a larger scope and a journey-like feel, as it interweaves the life stories of the three protagonists. The pacing is perfect as well, seamlessly leaping back and forth from gritty action, to tense drama, to tender love story. And of course, Slumdog timeshifts, with the bulk of the story told in flashbacks. And although this is a much more ostentatious example of editor Chris Dickens' prowess, the film demonstrates other, more subtle but no less brilliant editing in the slum scenes that chronicle Salim and Jamal growing up, and also in the very suspenseful final act, when Salim helps Latika escape and then prepares for his confrontation with his boss -- all juxtaposed with Jamal being reinstated and facing the final question.

Should win: Slumdog

Will win: Slumdog

Oscar Predictions

The Academy Awards are February 22nd. Here are some predictions you can bank on:

Best Actress

Though she’s previously won a supporting actress statue for Girl Interrupted, Jolie is still somewhat underrated because of her looks and high-profile life with husband Brad Pitt. She shows off her acting chops in The Changeling, which should have replaced The Reader as a Best Picture nominee. But the there’s so much going on in the film and it’s not as dialed in on Jolie’s character as it needs to be to elevate her performance above those of her competition.

Now speaking of The Reader, try and follow this: Kate Winslet gets a Golden Globe best supporting actress nomination for her role in the movie and a best leading actress nomination for Revolutionary Road. She wins in both categories. Kate then gets a nominated in the same two categories for the same two roles at the SAG awards. She wins supporting actress but loses lead actress to Streep. Then the Academy Award nominations come around and Winslet gets nominated as lead actress for The Reader (which finally gets it right because she’s clearly the lead in that film) but then gets completely ignored for Revolutionary Road, which is actually the stronger performance. In The Reader, Winslet is sober, somber, and pensive, and while she’s excellent in the film, in RR, as tortured suburban housewife April Wheeler, we get to see her character’s angst, lust, wrath, and anguish explode on the screen. It was obviously a much more demanding role and Winslet not getting nominated for it was baffling. Academy voters will no doubt feel the same way, giving Winslet a great shot at being honored (if for nothing else) her combined work in the two films.

With her role in Rachel Getting Married (as well as her 2007 film, Becoming Jane) Ann Hathaway is just now starting to gain her reputation as a “serious” young actress.

Melissa Leo’s nomination for her quirky role in Frozen River was one of the Oscars annual change-up pitches, designed to show that Academy members are independent thinkers and not slaves to the Hollywood establishment or the studios’ publicity machines. Unfortunately, nominations like Leo’s usually come off as manufactured attempts to shake things up just for the hell of it.

Should win: Winslet (for Revolutionary Road, for which she wasn’t nominated)
Will win: Winslet (for The Reader)

Best Supporting Actor

Michael Shannon had two scene stealing appearances in Revolutionary Road, and was irritatingly good in his role as a slightly unbalanced dinner guest who gets under the skin of reluctant suburbanites Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. But a lack of screen time (maybe 15 minutes total) is bound to hurt Shannon’s chances here.

2008 was a comeback year for Robert Downey Jr. He was perfectly cast as Tony Stark in Iron Man, but his comic turn in the mix-reviewed Tropic Thunder is just not Oscar material.

Phillip Seymour Hoffmann has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most reliable and versatile actors. Unfortunately, his performance in Doubt may be unfavorably (and unfairly) measured against his Oscar-winning role as the title character in 2005’s Capote.

In The Dark Knight, Ledger gives an unforgettable performance as the maniacal Joker, in the spirit of how the character was reworked in Frank Miller’s graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, which by the way was the inspiration for Tim Burton's Batman movie back in 1988. And of course, Ledger died just before his film's release, making him a virtual lock in this category.

After fine performances in No Country for Old Men, American Gangster, W, and now Milk, Josh Brolin has reached a point where he will now be on the short list (along with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and a few others) for every plum leading actor role that comes along. If not for Ledger, he’d be the winner here.


Should win: Ledger
Will win: Ledger

Best Cinematography

No nomination for Baz Lurhmann’s Australia was a surprise, as he’s known for stunning visuals (his Moulin Rouge was a nominee in this category back in 2002) and the photography in Australia was Out of Africa-esque. The Reader’s stark, barren look nicely complemented the film's subject matter and the bleak circumstances of the two protagonists, but nothing about the photography in The Changeling seemed exceptional.

So what we’re left with is pretty much a three horse race. Slumdog Millionaire was maybe the most visually exciting of the nominees, but are folks tiring of steadicam shots that follow characters as they race through crowded streets?

The Dark Knight’s cinematography may have been the best part of the movie, but too many people will only remember the heavy use of CGI and pyrotechnics.

That leaves The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which has the sweeping, majestic photography of a Titanic or a Reds (both previous winners in this category) combined with state-of-the-art rotoscopy and other visual effects. Throw in some wonderfully moody and shadowy (sometimes sepia-esque) camerawork in and around the New Orleans, and you've got yourself a winner.

Should win: Button

Will win: Button

Related Posts:
Oscar Predictions (Part II)
Oscar Predictions (Part III)