Synopses & Reviews
"I stumbled into this business, I didn't train for it. I yelled "Action!" on my first two movies before the camera was turned on." - John Hughes
John Hughes wrote 46 movies, produced 23, and directed 8. He never went to film school, never spent time studying film and its history, but was unusually adept in three key areas -- writing, directing and producing.
Classics like Mr. Mom; Sixteen Candles; The Breakfast Club; European Vacation; Weird Science; Pretty in Pink; Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Uncle Buck; Christmas Vacation; Home Alone; and Beethoven will forever live on in the history of film. Launching the careers of Andrew McCarthy, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and James Spader, and working with greats like John Candy and Chevy Chase, John Hughes's influence can still be felt today.
John Hughes: A Life in Film, by Kirk Honeycutt, former chief film critic at The Hollywood Reporter, is the first complete illustrated tribute to the legendary writer and director, and includes fresh interviews with Judd Nelson, Matthew Broderick, Christopher Columbus, Steve Martin, and more.
Synopsis
"There's no way I'm going to end a movie on a negative note." - John Hughes
He allegedly wrote Ferris Bueller's Day Off in four days, Planes, Trains and Automobiles in three days, The Breakfast Club in two days, and Vacation in a week. He never went to film school or studied cinema. And he spent most of his incredible career in the Midwest, far from the Hollywood Hills.
John Hughes was indeed one of the most prolific and successful filmmakers in Hollywood history. He helped launch the careers of Andrew McCarthy, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Macaulay Culkin, and Judd Nelson. He made John Candy a household name.
In this first illustrated tribute to the legendary filmmaker, author Kirk Honeycutt offers a behind-the-scenes look at the genius that was John Hughes--from his humble beginnings in direct mail to his blockbuster success with classics like Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, and Home Alone. Honeycutt also explores the darker side of John Hughes: his extreme sensitivity, his stormy professional relationships, and the devastation Hughes experienced after the death of his closest friend, John Candy.
Featuring fresh interviews with Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Steve Martin, and Jon Cryer, and a foreword from Home Alone director Chris Columbus, this is the must-read for fans of John Hughes.
"This biography is a fascinating portrait of a brilliant, complex, and wonderful man. John Hughes forever transformed my world, and I am grateful for such a wonderful tribute." - Ally Sheedy
"John Hughes always treated me with respect and consideration, and was most generous with his insight. As a result of Mr. Honeycutt's detailed research, we learn John Hughes the person was even more impressive than John Hughes the writer/director. Reading this book was a bittersweet experience, making me feel the size of the loss of his premature passing. But it also confirmed for me that John Hughes was a giant, and under his great shadow I am fortunate to remain." - Judd Nelson
About the Author
Kirk Honeycutt is the owner/editor of the Honeycutt's Hollywood film reviews web site (www.honeycuttshollywood.com) and an adjunct film professor teaching criticism, script analysis and history at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
As the chief film critic at The Hollywood Reporter for many years, Honeycutt reviewed films from its home office in Los Angeles and at major international film festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, Busan, Mill Valley and Toronto. He oversaw the expansion of The Reporter's international reviewing staff and coordinated the reviews for the various festival show dailies around the world.
A member of the prestigious Los Angeles Film Critics Association for over 36 years, he previously reviewed films for the Daily News of Los Angeles. He appears regularly on television and radio shows.
A graduate of the theater arts department of the University of California at Los Angeles, Honeycutt reported on the film industry for The Hollywood Reporter from 1992 to 1999 before being appointed chief film critic, a post he held until he left the publication in December 2011.
In the past, he was a regular contributor to the New York Times, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and wrote for such publications as Cosmopolitan, the Christian Science Monitor, Newsday, Movieline, Premiere and American Film.
In 1992 his screenplay, "Final Judgment," was made into a motion picture starring Brad Dourif, Isaac Hayes, Karen Black and Orson Bean.