cult films

“a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse. before the day was over, they broke the rules…”

dir.: john hughes
comedy / drama
1985

facts:
- the film’s title comes from the nickname invented by students and staff for detention at new trier high school, the school attended by the son of one of john hughes’ friends. thus, those who were sent to detention were designated members of “the breakfast club”. “the breakfast club” at that school probably took its name in turn from the title of american radio’s longest running network entertainment show, broadcast from chicago, 1933 to 1968.
- the library in which this movie takes place was actually constructed in the gymnasium of maine north high school specifically for the film. the school closed down in 1982, two years before filming began. the building had been used for park district purposes and the chicago blitz before the illinois state police bought it, turning it into a police station, which it still is to this day.
- claire’s entire ensemble was purchased specially for the character from a ralph lauren store, the only one in chicago at the time. hughes had rejected the original costume on the grounds that it wasn’t sophisticated enough. 
- john hughes insisted that the entire cast and crew eat their meals on location in the maine north high school cafeteria.
- john hughes wrote the screenplay to this movie in just two days (4 and 5 july 1982).
- shot entirely in sequence.
- the joke that bender tells but never finishes (while crawling through the ceiling) actually has no punchline. according to judd nelson, he ad-libbed the line. originally, he was supposed to tell a joke that would end when he came back into the library and said, “forgot my pencil”, but no one could come up with a joke for that punchline.
- the license plate on brian’s mothers’s car is emc 2. the license plate on andrew’s fathers’s car is ohiost.
- the scene in which all characters sit in a circle on the floor in the library and tell stories about why they were in detention was not scripted. john hughes told them all to ad-lib.
- judd nelson made up many of the terms used in the movie, including ‘neo-maxi zoomdweebie’.
- the theme song, “don’t you (forget about me)”, was written for the film by keith forsey. it was a number one hit for simple minds, and both billy idol and bryan ferryturned down offers to record it first (although in 2001, billy idol recorded don’t you (forget about me) as a bonus track for his greatest hits album). the song was also turned down by chrissie hynde of the pretenders who then suggested they offer it to the band fronted by her husband at the time, simple minds. 
- the david bowie quote at the beginning of the movie is pulled from his song ‘changes’. it can be found on the 1971 album, ‘hunky dory’.
- the song which judd nelson hums the guitar riff to at the beginning of the movie is the opening tune to “sunshine of your love” by cream.
- before john bender says: “oh, shit - what are we supposed to do if we have to take a piss? “, he begins to hum a song while playing an air guitar. the song was “sunshine of your love” by eric clapton.
- the switchblade used in the movie actually belonged to judd nelson. he explained that he had it for protection purposes.
- alison does not speak until 33 minutes into the film.
- what they ate for lunch: andy (andrew): a bag of chips, chocolate cookies, three sandwiches, milk, a banana and an apple. claire: sushi (rice, raw fish and seaweed). allison: a sandwich with pixie stix and cap’n crunch cereal. john: nothing. brian: soup, sandwich with peanut butter and jam and apple juice.