Thursday, August 6
Eighties writer/director mastermind John Hughes died early today of a heart attack while taking a morning walk. A National Lampoon writer from the rag's glory days, his work on the screnplay for National Lampoon's Vacation brought him his first screen success and soon after he was directing his own script, the coming-of-age classic Sixteen Candles. The movie was a success and set down what it meant to be a Hughes film, filled with contemporary alt rock, teenage angst, and a stunning clarity for what it felt like to grow up in America.
Following his first success, Hughes continued in the same pattern with Pretty In Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and his masterpiece Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Though he skipped between writing, directing, and producing, his films still felt like Hughes regardless of what role he was playing in their production.
In the late 80s Hughes broke out of his comfort zone, with Planes, Trains & Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, and She's Having a Baby. Though the movies weren't the unqualified successes of his earlier works, there was still clearly an artist at work in the background. Hughes slowed his prodigious work rate down, but still had box office success with the Beethoven and Home Alone series during the 90s before oddly dropping out of Hollywood.
Even with only a few years of work, Hughes became one of the most popular directors of his generation. Though his works are steeped in the age they were made in, they're still timeless and have remained touchstones for teenagers ever since their release. He will be missed.
Posted 8/6/2009 by reelz
Related: John Hughes | Sixteen Candles | Planes, Trains and Automobiles | National Lampoon's Vacation | Pretty in Pink | She's Having a Baby | Some Kind of Wonderful | The Great Outdoors | Home Alone | Beethoven | Weird Science | Home Alone 3 | Ferris Bueller's Day Off | The Breakfast Club | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Home Alone 4
Tuesday, May 26
The house made famous for a Ferrari shooting out of one of its plate glass windows is up for sale for $2.3 million. Sounds like a lot, but only a fraction of the nearly $11M a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT sold for last year.
Posted 5/26/2009 by reelz
Related: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Thursday, May 8
How much can you expect to pay for your favorite movie ride and what options might that package include?
In the market for a Deloreon with a pre-installed Flux Capacitor? Want a car that kills off your enemies? Need oil-slick deployers or bulletproof windshields to thwart a drive-by? Maybe there's a massive staircase that would be the perfect shortcut to work if only your darn car would fit. Or perhaps you're just looking for a ride with a decent stereo to cruise the town while head-banging to some "Bohemian Rhapsody?"
Any way you look at it, ReelzChannel.com has you covered with our Movie Car Buyer's Guide.
Posted 5/8/2008 by reelz
Related: Back to the Future | Herbie: Fully Loaded | Ferris Bueller's Day Off | Speed Racer
Tuesday, September 4
The amazing success of Superbad has everyone looking to capitalize on the high school movie craze, including the websites that cover them.
ReelzChannel has done its own Countdown of our favorite high school teachers and now MSN is joining in on the high school fun with their "10 Best High School Movies and Five Worst Ones" List. A few highlights include Dazed and Confused, Rebel Without a Cause and Rushmore as the three best and the worst include She's All That, She's the Man and, wait a second... Pretty In Pink??? Okay, not sure about the last one there, but check it out for yourself.
Posted 9/4/2007 by reelz
Related: Pretty in Pink | Rushmore | Ferris Bueller's Day Off