The Breakfast Club
They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Production
Budget
$1 000 000
Revenue
$51 525 171
Director
Scenario
Composer
Keith Forsey
Producer
Actors
Emilio Estevez
Andrew Clark
Judd Nelson
John Bender
Molly Ringwald
Claire Standish
Anthony Michael Hall
Brian Johnson
Ally Sheedy
Allison Reynolds
Paul Gleason
Richard Vernon
John Kapelos
Carl
Perry Crawford
Allison's Father
Short description
Five students at a suburban Chicago high school report for Saturday detention, each sent for a different reason. They have little in common: a rebellious troublemaker, a popular girl, a withdrawn outsider, a high-achieving student and a wrestler. The assistant principal supervising them assigns an essay asking who they think they are. Over the course of the day, arguments give way to conversation as the teenagers discover more common ground than they expected, and begin to reconsider how they see one another and themselves.
John Hughes wrote and directed the film, which followed his directing debut Sixteen Candles a year earlier and was one of several teen films he made in the mid-1980s. Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy play the students, with Paul Gleason as the school administrator. Made for about 1 million dollars, it took roughly 52 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 7.8 out of 10 from around 470,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.7 out of 10 from more than 8,700 votes. A critics' rating of 7.8 out of 10, based on 114 reviews, sits close to those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Brian's father's car license plate is EMC 2.
- Claire's clothes were bought at Ralph Lauren.
- Deleted scenes: 1) Vernon watches girls swimming in the school pool. 2) Allison imagines what other students actually look like. 3) Janitor Carl muses about what will happen to the film's characters in 20 years. 4) After Allison says, “I can write with my toes,” she actually does so. 5) Initially, the scene in which five students walk to Bender's locker was longer: along the way they meet Vernon, who is standing with his back to them and trying to get something out of a vending machine. While Vernon curses and bangs on the machine, the students sneak past him unnoticed. However, Allison stops behind him, turns around, and seemingly waits for Vernon to notice her. Claire says to the others: “She’s crazy, but so cool!” After that, Allison unnoticed by Vernon, joins the other students.
- The following titles were considered for the film – “The Lunch Bunch” and “Library Revolution”.
- Parmesan cheese was used as dandruff that Allison sprinkled onto her drawing.
- Initially, it was planned for the film to have several sequels, set ten years after the events in "The Breakfast Club".
- Kate Forsyth and Steve Schiff wrote a song specifically for the film. Both were fans of the band Simple Minds and wanted them to perform the song for the movie. However, they initially refused. Brian Ferry and Billy Idol also turned it down, as did other artists. Ultimately, the record company, the wife of Simple Minds’ lead singer, and Kate Forsyth himself, who expressed admiration for the band, managed to convince them to record the song. More than 30 years later, Jim Kerr, the lead singer of Simple Minds, recounted that the band didn’t want to record the song because they preferred to perform only their own material. Furthermore, they weren’t even managing to get significant airplay for their own songs. They recorded the song in just three hours in the studio, believing it would be an obscure track for a film few people would see. But thanks to the film’s success, the song topped charts abroad.
- All the scenes in the film were shot in chronological order.
- The film's script was partially based on the director's school memories. The image of Vice Principal Vernon had much in common with the wrestling coach from his school.
- The character of the janitor Carl emerged after filming had begun. Comedic actor Rick Moranis auditioned for the role. Taking the initiative, he suggested playing the role with a strong Russian accent and appeared at the audition with fake gold teeth. Such liberties provoked a sharply negative reaction from the producers. Moranis’ audition was not successful, although Ned Tanen had initially insisted on his candidacy. Hughes defended the necessity of the janitor’s role, and it ultimately went to John Kapelos.
- Initially, it was planned that the film would have several sequels, set ten years later.
- The character of the janitor, Carl, emerged after filming had begun. Actor Rick Moranis auditioned for the role. He proposed playing the part with a strong Russian accent and appeared at the auditions with fake gold teeth. Such liberties provoked a sharply negative reaction from the producers. Moranis' audition was unsatisfactory, although Ned Tanen initially insisted on his candidacy.
- The film's title came about after Hughes overheard the son of a friend using the phrase. At New Trier High School, "The Breakfast Club" was a term students used to refer to a disciplinary procedure in the American education system, where misbehaving students were left in the school building for an entire weekend day for reflection.
- Anthony Michael Hall’s mother and sister played Brian’s mother and younger sister in the film.
- The library set, where most of the film takes place, was built in the gymnasium of Maine North High School. The school was closed in 1982, two years before filming began. Subsequently, the Illinois State Police purchased the building and converted it into a police station.
- John Hughes insisted that the entire film crew eat in the school cafeteria.
- On the prom queen election poster, you can see the name Michelle Manning, who was a co-producer of the film.
- The action in most teen films scripted by John Hughes takes place in the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois.
- Originally, Nicolas Cage was supposed to play John Bender, but he asked for too large a fee. After that, John Cusack was considered for the role, but at the very last moment, John Hughes preferred Judd Nelson.
- According to John Hughes, the actors who played the main roles rehearsed the entire film several times as if it were a stage play. After the film became a hit, John Hughes specifically rewrote the script so that it could be staged as a play in school theaters.
- John Hughes wrote the screenplay for the film in two days (July 4th and 5th, 1982).
- The scene where the main characters sit in a circle in the library and talk about why they had to come to school on a Saturday was not in the script and is an improvisation by the actors.
- Judd Nelson came up with many unusual terms used in the film, including Neo-Maxi Zoomdweebie.
- John Hughes almost fired Judd Nelson due to the latter's extremely negative attitude towards Molly Ringwald off-set. However, Paul Gleeson was able to convince Hughes that Nelson was a talented actor and was simply trying to stay in character.
- The initial length of the film was two and a half hours. At the studio's insistence, the film's length was reduced to 97 minutes, and all negatives with the deleted scenes were destroyed. According to John Hughes, only he has the original version of the film.
- According to Entertainment Weekly magazine, the film ranked first on the list of “50 Best High School Movies.”
- At the beginning of the film, when showing various shots of the school's interior, you can notice what happened to Brian's locker. You can also see a photograph of a former student of this school who received the title of “Man of the Year.” The photograph depicts the janitor, Carl Reed.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
