R.I.P. John Hughes, He Probably Took Your Career With Him
__________________________________________________________________________The 82nd Annual Academy Awards Ceremony was held last night and what stood out to me the most, beyond James Cameron’s Avatar being robbed in favor of political red-button darling The Hurt Locker, was a special tribute during the ceremony that was dedicated to the late John Hughes.
For those of you who don’t know, and bless my heart I was one of them, John Hughes was the brilliant writer, director, and producer who was the mastermind behind a handful of timeless cult classics such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and Home Alone.
With a resume that was indeed, to say the very least, impressive Hughes’ body of work is not what stood out to me during this particular part of last night’s broadcast. The bodies standing on the stage in tribute to the legendary filmmaker, however, did stand out to me.
Forget the cult classic films, just look at the sad scene:
Macaulay Culkin? Molly Ringwald? Anthony Michael Hall? This live advertisement for obscurity read like a who’s who of hasbeens. In one swift pan of a camera, a John Hughes tribute went from a tribute to a public service announcement of why none of these, ahem, stars should have taken a phone call from such a mad genius.
The fallen stars standing tall on Hollywood’s grandest stage were a testament to the brilliance of John Hughes. Hughes’ legacy stood in front of a who’s who of Hollywood, that Legacy being the simple fact that John Hughes made great movies but at what cost? Apparently your career.
The above mentioned former celebrities who temporarily won their way into our hearts showed me what Fruit Stripe Gum would be like if it could talk. Because that’s exactly what I was looking at during what should have been John Hughes’ moment. I was looking at living, breathing, fruit stripe gum: Flavorful in its prime, yet unusable and devoid of such flavor by the time you manage to swallow your first and only fruitful gulp of spit.
I also found it interesting that at one point during this tribute, the camera panned on to current young ‘flavor of the month’ superstars sitting in the audience including Taylor Lautner of Twilight fame. The young stars, especially Lautner, looked noticeably uncomfortable while viewing this ceremony within a ceremony as if to say to themselves “Is that where I’m gonna be in 15 years?!‘
Perhaps greatness can be measured by the impact one leaves when they are not around. The Chicago Bulls never won a championship without Michael Jordan. The Celtics were never the same after the departure of Larry Bird. And The New England Patriots folded like a French Quilt in the playoffs this past year just one week after losing their pro bowl wideout Wes Welker to an ACL/MCL injury.
The loving tribute given to John Hughes by some of his most memorable subjects didn’t need to be done with words. No script. No teleprompter. Hughes’ legacy could have been better explained by all the parties involved just standing in front of a camera as if to say ‘NOW look at us…’
Rest in Peace, John Hughes. You are dearly missed and secretly hated all at the same time all by the same people. May your legacy live on.
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Tags: Am I going to Hell now?, I thought I was at a telethon for struggling actors, John Hughes 82nd Annual Oscars, John Hughes Oscar Tribute, Just look at all those hasbeens, Those poor kids
