When Molly Ringwald paid tribute to the late John Hughes in the pages of the New York Times, fans rejoiced not only at her beautiful words, but in her return to reflection on the movies that launched her career in the mid 80s.
It was with great surprise and celebration that Ringwald came to New York to screen both The Breakfast Club in a 25th Anniversary reunion and Pretty in Pink amongst her fans.
This past Sunday’s screening was the first time she had seen Pretty in Pink since 1986, with the exception of catching a few moments on TV. “It was very emotional to see it again,” stated Ringwald after the show.
“I’ve sort of been waiting to watch it with my daughter when she’s old enough. But chances are she’s just gonna want to watch it at a slumber party with her friends.”
We’re glad she revisited the 80s classic with us, and especially giddy over these tidbits about Pretty in Pink…
Why actors loved John Hughes…
John was the only writer I have ever worked with who was so unprecious about his lines. Sometimes you wanted to add to his lines and make things more natural, and he would be absolutely delighted. Same with Anthony Michael Hall. John Cryer’s stuff was improvised. When you have that confidence with a director or writer, he just makes it go so much further.
Howard Deutch drove the bus…
Howie Deutch was definitely the director, though John was there about every day on set. But Howie really did direct it. This movie was the only movie that John actually wrote for me. It was written because I played him the song “Pretty in Pink.” But then Paramount had a big success with “Flashdance” and said they thought Jennifer Beals should be Andie. And when I found that out it was like somebody is going to be wearing my lingerie. But it was actually saved by Howie, who said to John, ‘it has to be Molly.’ So John called and said, ‘we know what were doing and we’re gonna be in the back seat, but just let somebody else drive.’ Which, I don’t really know what he meant by that, but it kind of made sense at the time. So that’s what we did. Howie was really enthusiastic and let us try what we wanted to do.
Who is Andie really…
I really do think PIP was based on me and my life. I come from a very middle class background, and lived with my parents at the time this movie was made. He had seen my bedroom, and the collages I made. In fact, one of the collages that you see in Andie’s bedroom you can see on the wall is something I made for my real room. The photo of my runaway “mother” in the movie is actually my mom’s high school picture.
Harry Dean Stanton…
… was amazing and we had a real connection. There was something about the lines though he had a problem with, so I would run lines with him. There was some real affection there. Actually, there was one take of the confrontation scene with Andie and him that Howie didn’t use for the final film which was darker and more emotional. He felt it was too intense and didn’t fit with the rest of the movie. I wish he had used that version of the scene.
Not Another Teen Movie
I never spoke to John Hughes about my cameo in “Not Another Teen Movie”, so I don’t know if he saw it. I know I never saw it.
How she really felt about the prom dress…
The prom dress was my least favorite. In fact, I kept all of my clothes from PIP except the prom dress because I detested it so much. And now of course it’s the only thing I want. I love it. It’s so of that time and different from what everyone else was wearing. Maybe one day I’ll bid on it at Christie’s or something.
The truth about Duckie…
I have a really good friend who was the production assistant on PIP and John used to come up and say to him, ‘you know you’re really Duckie, you’re her Duckie.’ And, you know, he happens to be gay. And whenever I see this movie, all I can think about is that Duckie’s really gay and he just doesn’t know it yet. Jon Cryer is not gay, but Duckie is gay. I think he loves her in a way that a young man absolutely idolizes his female friends. So it’s not that kind of charisma. We shot the ending and every audience across the board disliked it. You can’t have a Cinderella story and not have her end up with the Prince. We just didn’t belong together.
The truth about the ending…
In the original script, I ended up with Duckie. In the original casting, Robert Downey Jr. was lined up for Duckie, and he is originally who I wanted. John Hughes wanted Michael J Fox, but he got stuck on “Back to the Future. ” And then Howie went after Jon Cryer, and I think Cryer is outstanding in the movie, and I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part now. But it did really change the dynamic of the relationship, and we really just seem like friends.
The truth about Molly’s nostalgia…
I loved these movies. I loved every script I read, especially Breakfast Club, I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of these movies. It also got me out of school, which I loved. I loved working with John. I never knew that they would have the impact that they would have. I never thought over 20 years later I would be sitting here with all of you watching the film. To be honest, I really thought that PIP was gonna bomb bad. I thought people were done with me. This one was actually the biggest hit of the three I did for John.
