Why John Hughes Left Public Life

John Hughes, center, with John Candy, left and Steve Martin

Following the death of John Hughes, a blogger by the name of Alison Byrne Fields has written about her time as a pen pal of John Hughes. The most fascinating tidbit from the writing stems from a phone conversation she had with Hughes in 1997. Fields sheds some light on why Hughes left public life at the peak of his career in the early 90s:

John told me about why he left Hollywood just a few years earlier. He was terrified of the impact it was having on his sons; he was scared it was going to cause them to lose perspective on what was important and what happiness meant. And he told me a sad story about how, a big reason behind his decision to give it all up was that "they" (Hollywood) had "killed" his friend, John Candy, by greedily working him too hard.

You can read the whole blog post here.

New John Hughes Documentary in the Works

A new documentary is in the works about the life of John Hughes. Don't You Forget About Me The Movie has been in development for over three years and is nearing completion. Here is the trailer:

Two of the filmmakers were interviewed by CNN following the death of John Hughes. You can watch it here:

The filmmakers have lots of interviews by cast and crew members of John Hughes films but they have not revealed if they were able to get an interview with John Hughes himself before he passed away. Visit the film's website or check out the blog for more information.

Top 10 John Hughes Tribute Videos

YouTube has an excellent collection of video tributes to the great John Hughes. Here are my picks for the top 10 John Hughes tribute videos as found on YouTube:

#10: My John Hughes Tribute
Simple but well done slide show featuring the music of Simple Minds



#9: Horrible, Last-Minute Tribute to John Hughes... we're sorry.
Not as bad as the title suggests, this video features re-enactments from the films Weird Science, Uncle Buck, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller



#8: john hughes dead at 59 tribute
Another simple but well done slide show showing Hughes films, Simple Minds music



#7: John Hughes 80s Montage *RIP* - Teenage Wasteland (Baba O'Riley)
Video montage in sync with The Who's Teenage Wasteland



#6: John Hughes Tribute
Slide show featuring an amazing cover version of Don't You Forget About Me



#5: John Hughes Tribute by SPAINE
Slide show with hands down the best music. Featuring the music of Killing Joke, The Revillos, Wang Chung, Oingo Boingo and OMD



#4: John Hughes Tribute Award Film 1991
As the title would indicate, this segment was put together in 1991, when Hughes was at the peak of his career. Cameos include Steve Martin, Ed O'Neil, Edie McClurg, Chevy Chase and many more



#3: John Hughes - A Tribute
Slide show featuring the music of Dream Theatre, Simple Minds, The Thompson Twins and The English Beat



#2: John Hughes Tribute - Breakfast Club Channelling
Goofy video featuring awkward white guys re-enacting dancing scene in The Breakfast Club. Music by Karla DeVito



#1: Through The Eyes Of John Hughes
Video montage featuring the music of Simple Minds

John Hughes (1950-2009)

John Hughes, one of the greatest writers and directors of all time, died on August 6th, 2009 at the age of 59. In early September of 2009 I set out to pay tribute to his life and his works by taking pictures of locations in and around Chicago highlighting famous scenes in his movies, which includes the films Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Home Alone. I then developed these photos into a video tribute now found on YouTube. This blog will function as a repository for these works and as a collection of works done by others to further pay tribute to the late John Hughes. Enjoy!