There was an internet sensation briefly this month when it was discovered by baseball researchers that Ferris Bueller’s day offoccurred exactly 30 years ago. Meanwhile, another 1980's staple, The Breakfast Club, also turned 30.
What these two films have in common is their director, the late John Hughes. Hughes was a committed Midwesterner. He was born in Lansing, Michigan and later moved to the Chicago area, where he spent most of his life.
Hughes was involved with many popular films – either as writer or director, including Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. He was able to capture the essence of a generation, an accomplishment not many other directors were able to do.
"It's interesting that he listened to the same music that his teenaged characters would have listened to in his films," film contributor Dave Luhrssen says. "He seemed some how plugged in and sympathetic to the generation that he was writing about."
