In Memoriam: John Hughes

Scott Myers

07 Aug 2009 • 4 min read

I’ve received so many emails, phone calls, and comments about the death of John Hughes, I figured I’d post the best of the remembrances I could find online.

First off, a tiny anecdote from my own past. Universal bought the spec script K-9 in January, 1987. And when it did, I knew next to nothing about The Biz. So I decided to do something about that — by watching, reading, and learning everything I could about movies.

It was in that spirit that I drove to Westwood in LA on February 27, 1987 to be part of the opening day crowd of the John Hughes’ movie Some Kind of Wonderful (he wrote the screenplay). It was a fascinating experience as I sat surrounded by young teens (I was in my 30s at the time). In particular, I was seated next to four teenage girls. And as I watched the movie, in between checking my watch to track the timing of various plot points, I kept one eye on the girls’ faces, tracking how dialed in they were as the movie unspooled. And they were all totally locked in. No chit chat between them. An occasional sideways glance and smile or head shake, depending upon what was happening on screen — but they were absolutely connected to the stories of those youthful characters on screen: Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz), Watts (Mary Stuart Masterton), and Amanda Jones (Leah Thompson).

Afterward introducing myself as a film student (at this point, I still couldn’t get my mouth to actually form the word ‘screenwriter’), I asked this group of girls some questions about the movie. And they excitedly dissected the story and the characters. Then they had a heated discussion about where the movie landed in the pantheon of Hughes’ movies: Not as good as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, about on par with Sixteen Candles.

Then I asked this question: “What is it about John Hughes movies that works for you guys?”

One of them said, “He just gets us.”

And that for me was a huge early lesson in screenwriting: If you want to write for a specific audience, you have to know that audience.

One of the most remarkable aspects about John Hughes as a screenwriter is that he could ‘know’ so many audiences. Here is how I’d break down just some of his writing credits:

Teens — The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Kids — Home Alone, Beethoven

Family — Vacation, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck

Young adults — Class Reunion, She’s Having a Baby

Adults — Mr. Mom, Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Here are John Hughes’ writing credits per IMDB.com:

Drillbit Taylor (2008) (story) (as Edmond Dantes)
Beethoven’s 5th (2003) (V) (characters) (as Edmond Dantes)
… aka Beethoven’s 5th: Big Paw (USA)
Maid in Manhattan (2002) (story) (as Edmond Dantès)
… aka Made in New York (USA: poster title)
Home Alone 4 (2002) (TV) (characters)
… aka Home Alone: Taking Back the House (USA: DVD title)
Beethoven’s 4th (2001) (V) (characters) (as Edmond Dantès)
Just Visiting (2001) (screenplay)
… aka Les visiteurs en Amérique (France)
Beethoven’s 3rd (2000) (V) (characters) (as Edmond Dantès)
American Adventure (2000) (TV) (characters)
… aka National Lampoon’s American Adventure (USA: complete title)
Reach the Rock (1998) (written by)
Home Alone 3 (1997) (written by)
Flubber (1997) (screenplay)
… aka Disney’s Flubber: The Absent Minded Professor (promotional title)
101 Dalmatians (1996) (screenplay)
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) (screenplay)
Baby’s Day Out (1994) (written by)
Beethoven’s 2nd (1993) (characters) (as Edmond Dantès)
Dennis the Menace (1993) (written by)
… aka Dennis (UK)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) (characters) (written by)
… aka Home Alone II (USA: short title)
Beethoven (1992) (written by) (as Edmond Dantès)
… aka Beethoven: Story of a Dog (Australia: cable TV title)
Curly Sue (1991) (written by)
Dutch (1991) (written by)
… aka Driving Me Crazy
Career Opportunities (1991) (written by)
… aka One Wild Night
Home Alone (1990) (written by)
Christmas Vacation (1989) (written by)
… aka National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (UK: complete title) (USA: complete title)
… aka National Lampoon’s Winter Holiday (UK)
Uncle Buck (1989) (written by)
The Great Outdoors (1988) (written by)
She’s Having a Baby (1988) (written by)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) (written by)
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) (written by)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) (written by)
Pretty in Pink (1986) (written by)
Weird Science (1985) (written by)
European Vacation (1985) (screenplay) (story)
… aka National Lampoon’s European Vacation (UK: video box title)
The Breakfast Club (1985) (written by)
Sixteen Candles (1984) (written by)
Nate and Hayes (1983) (written by)
… aka Savage Islands (UK)
Vacation (1983) (screenplay) (short story “Vacation ‘58”)
… aka National Lampoon’s Vacation (UK) (USA: complete title)
… aka American Vacation (Europe: English title: video title)
Mr. Mom (1983) (written by)
… aka Mr. Mum
… aka Perfect Daddy (Philippines: English title)
Class Reunion (1982) (written by)
… aka National Lampoon’s Class Reunion
“Delta House” (5 episodes, 1979)
- The Matriculation of Kent Dorfman (1979) TV episode (written by)
- Campus Fair (1979) TV episode (written by)
- The Deformity (1979) TV episode (written by)
- The Lady in Weighting (1979) TV episode (written by)
- The Shortest Yard (1979) TV episode (written by)