‘The Breakfast Club’ Reunites Publicly for 1st Time In 40 Years

When you think of a movie from the ’80s, the first director who comes to mind is always John Hughes. Sure, he also made a star of Macaulay Culkin with 1990’s Home Alone. But many GenXers will always think of him as the one who brought the angst and struggles of their teenage years to the screen. It was easy to relate to the feelings of embarrassment and confusion shown vividly in Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club. For its 40th anniversary, the entire cast appeared together at Chicago’s C2E2 convention. They shared gossip, film facts, and their love of Hughes.

Emilio Estevez Hasn’t Joined Them Since ’85: ‘It Was Time’

Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, and Anthony Michael Hall have come together many times in the past. One notable absence has always been Emilio Estevez. “I feel really very emotional and moved to have us all together,” Ringwald told the C2E2 crowd. “We don’t have to use the cardboard cutout anymore because he’s here,” she joked. “I feel really moved that we’re all together.”

“This was something that finally I felt I needed to do just for myself,” Estevez responded about deciding to come. “This one felt special, it’s here in Chicago where we made the film. It’s obviously the 40th anniversary, and it just felt like it was time. I heard this, somebody told me that Molly said, ‘Well, does Emilio just not like us?’ And that broke my heart. And I thought, ‘No of course I love all of them.’ And that just made sense, so here I am.”

They Don’t Think The Movie Could Be Made Today — Or Should Be

“Movies today are concept-driven, they’re not character-driven,” Estevez explained when talking about if The Breakfast Club could be made today. The beauty of John is that he focused on characters first. And when you think about trying to pitch this movie today — it’s about five kids sitting in a library all day in detention. The studio executives would march you right out the door and say, ‘Where are the monsters? Where’s the car chases? Where are the big effects?'”

“It’s also important to remember that we made this movie for $1 million, which at the time was still a lot of money but by Universal standards was not,” he explained. “It was not thought of as a big, giant tentpole film as they make today. So there was a lot of risk involved, but by today’s standards, this movie I don’t think would ever get made.”

Ringwald agreed, emphasizing that she also doesn’t think The Breakfast Club should be remade. “I personally don’t believe in remaking that movie, because I think this movie is very much of its time. It resonates with people today but I believe in making movies that are inspired by other movies, but build on it and represent what’s going on today.”