John Hughes’ iconic coming-of-age film The Breakfast Club celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and to celebrate the release of a completely restored version of the movie, Universal and SXSW Film hosted the World Premiere and a special Q&A session with two of the movie’s stars, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy.
The Paramount Theatre was crammed early with fans of the 80s film and to make the afternoon session even sweeter, viewers were greeted by a massive array of donuts, cinnamon twists and mimosas upon entry. Prior to the film’s screening and the Q&A, kids from the Barton Hills Choir in Austin emerged on to the stage and performed a wonderful rendition of The Breakfast Club‘s theme, Simple Minds‘ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. The theatre sung along with each lyric, fist pumping with each “Hey, hey, hey, hey!” in unison.
Ringwald and Sheedy described working on the film, being part of such a tight cast and the eventual transition back to normal life following the film’s wrap. “It was sad letting go of being with everyone every single day,” Sheedy commented, while Ringwald remembers being one of the only cast members (aside from Anthony Michael Hall) who had to go back to school after shooting. “I was so focused on making movies,” she admitted, noting it was hard for her to go back to reality when her focus was so heavily with being in films and being an actor.
The actors also reflected on Judd Nelson‘s improvisations on set (the joke Bender tells as he’s crawling through the school’s air ducts, for example) and some favourite and poignant moments; Ringwald noting Alison’s line of “When you grow up, your heart dies.” and Sheedy remembering the weed-smoking scene fondly.
Sheedy, who works with young aspiring actors in New York, laughed at the concept of her students connecting her with her character from The Breakfast Club, the ‘Basket Case’ – Alison. “It’s either one of two things; I either have some sort of cred when they meet me or they’re very nervous!” For Ringwald, who played the role of the ‘Princess’, Claire, viewing The Breakfast Club with her 11 year old daughter last year for the first time brought about some stark realisations, as she found out her daughter related more to Hall’s character of Brian, the teen hampered by pressure to always have good grades and to be perfect. “So much of the movie is about how parents suck,” Ringwald laughed. “I realised I was one!”
The Breakfast Club will see a limited theatrical re-release in the US on the 26th and 31st of March.
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