This is a sad, sad day for fans of young love, adolescent hijinx and fine film. John Hughes, the filmmaker behind such enduring classics as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Breakfast Club," has died. The word came from TMZ at 4:31pm EST that Hughes suffered a heart attack while on a morning walk in New York City, where he was visiting family. He was 59. Hughes' lawyer confirmed to MTV soon after that this is indeed the tragic state of affairs.
My heartfelt condolences go out to Hughes' family and friends, and to his legions of fans scattered across the globe. It's not an exaggeration for me to say that his work had a significant impact on my childhood, and that the bulk of his films are chestnuts that I continue to return to time and again as comfort viewing. That's not going to ever change, but I am grief-stricken at the thought that new Hughes will never again grace the silver screen.
Please share your own reminiscences in the comments below. There's enough sadness to go around right now, so hit the jump if you want to crack a grin. More to come, so stay tuned.
For additional John Hughes coverage, head over to MTV.com for the initial report, a career retrospective, celebrity reactions and Kurt Loder's heartfelt farewell.
It’s not every day that a high school prank hits the newswire. A high school senior in Shaker Heights, Ohio, made headlines by designing a yearbook cover that hid an a F-bomb of a farewell salute. He was forced to apologize and the school quickly recalled the yearbooks, but most seniors are holding onto their obscene copies in salute to their artistic prankster. At Shaker’s graduation ceremony last week, he was hailed as a hero of the senior class, receiving loudest applause and the most cheers of any student as he accepted his diploma.
So, to salute the hero of Shaker Heights and every other senior prankster, I’ve compiled five of the best high school movie pranks. It’s hard to narrow it down to just five because they’re a staple of comedies, drama and horror alike. Keep that genre-spanning in mind if you’re dreaming of pranking your school because for every Jeff Spicoli, there’s a Carrie White. Read more...
If you grew up in the '80s, you remember John Hughes' classic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." You almost certainly saw and probably love it still. For a child of the '80s, it's an easy short list pick for one of the most quotable movies of all time. If you somehow missed it, or never had an older sibling or parent introduce you to the wonder of Ferris's class-skipping ways, peep this clip.
There's a reason I picked that specific clip. Note the garage that that once-beautiful Ferrari is (temporarily) parked in. The garage is attached to a house in Chicago, a house located at 370 Beech St in Highland Park, IL. A house that is now for sale. It's the truth. Anyone can now own a piece of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Provided you're willing to drop $2.3 million in this particularly unsteady real estate market. Anyone... anyone...
