The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Timing: 1:38 (98 min)

7.723/10
8477

7.995/10
98701

7.8/10
469000

All about film

Video 21

Photo 122

Actors and characters

Release date

1985-02-15

Country

United States

Production

Universal Pictures, A&M Films, Channel Productions

Genre

Comedy, Drama

Budget

$1 000 000

Revenue

$51 530 442

Website

Director

John Hughes

Actors

Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Paul Gleason, John Kapelos, Perry Crawford, Mary Christian, Ron Dean
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

John Hughes

Producer

John Hughes, Ned Tanen, Gil Friesen, Andrew Meyer

Operator

Thomas Del Ruth

Composer

Keith Forsey

Artist

Audition

Editing

Dede Allen, Richard Hashimoto
All team (52)

• The title of the film came about after Hughes accidentally overheard the words of a friend's son. At New Trier High School, the "Breakfast Club" was the name given by students to a disciplinary procedure common in the American education system, where misbehaving students were left in the school building for an entire weekend day to reflect on their actions.
• Anthony Michael Hall's mother and sister played Brian's mother and younger sister in the film.
• The library set, where the main action 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 bought the building and converted it into a police station.
• John Hughes insisted that the entire film crew eat in the school cafeteria.
• Looking at the prom queen nominees, you can find the name Michelle Manning, who was a co-producer of the film.
• Brian's father's car license plate is EMC 2.
• Most of the teen films scripted by John Hughes take place in the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois.
• Claire's clothes were bought at Ralph Lauren.
• Initially, Nicolas Cage was supposed to play John Bender, but he asked for too high a fee. After that, John Cusack was considered for the role, but at the 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 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 in two days (July 4th and 5th, 1982).
• 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 scene in which the main characters sit in a circle in the library and talk about why they had to come to school on Saturday was not in the script and is an improvisation by the actors.
• 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.
• Judd Nelson personally invented 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 original length of the film was two and a half hours. At the studio's insistence, the film's duration was reduced to 97 minutes, and all negatives of the deleted scenes were destroyed. According to John Hughes, only he possesses the original version of the film.
• 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.
• According to Entertainment Weekly magazine, the film ranked first on the list of "50 Best High School Movies".
• 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.
• At the beginning of the film, as we see various shots of the school's interiors, you can notice what happened to Brian's locker. You can also see a photograph of a former student of the school who was named "Man of the Year." The photograph depicts the janitor, Carl Reed.
• The film's title came about after Hughes accidentally overheard the words of his friend's son. At New Trier High School, the 'Breakfast Club' was the name given by students to the punishment procedure common in the American education system, where misbehaving students were left in a schoolroom for an entire weekend to reflect on their actions.
• The set for the library, where most of the film's action takes place, was built in the gymnasium of Maine North High School. This school was closed in 1982, two years before filming began. Subsequently, the Illinois state police bought the building and converted it into a police station.
• John Hughes insisted that the entire film crew eat in the school cafeteria.
• 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 screenplay so that it could be staged as a play in school theaters.
• The scene in which the main characters sit in a circle in the library and talk about why they had to come to school on Saturday was not in the script and was 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-camera. However, Paul Gleeson was able to convince Hughes that Nelson was a talented actor and was simply trying to stay in character.
• 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.
• 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 was named 'Man of the Year.' The photograph depicts the janitor Carl Reid.
• 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.