Back in 1985, three sixth-grade girls from Des Plaines were introduced to \u201cThe Breakfast Club.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would not only highlight their hometown, where it was filmed, but leave an indelible mark on their lives as a generation-defining film.<\/p>\n
Forty years later, thanks to Facebook, the friends reconvened to see the original cast, who were experiencing their own reunion at the 16th Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo<\/a> (C2E2) on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just been a part of my life,\u201d Candace Ward, 51, said of the movie. \u201cEvery time I see it, it reminds me of being 12 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n That nostalgia was felt not only by Ward and her pals, Dawn Chana and Cherie Stone, but a packed room of fans at McCormick Place. They laughed, applauded and cheered during a panel featuring Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Est\u00e8vez and Judd Nelson. Together for the first time in decades, the actors reminisced, honored their late director, John Hughes, and expressed gratitude for the film\u2019s enduring legacy and impact on their lives.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know what a movie is going to turn out to be,\u201d Est\u00e8vez said. \u201cBut this is one of the movies that stands the test of time. It is an extraordinary thing, but it\u2019s never by design. It\u2019s always by accident. We were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to be involved in something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Until now, Est\u00e8vez has been a holdout during gatherings, according to his castmates.<\/p>\n \u201cI skipped all of my high school reunions,\u201d Est\u00e8vez joked. \u201cThis was something that, finally, I felt I needed to do for myself. It\u2019s here in Chicago and it\u2019s the 40th anniversary, and it just felt like it was time.\u201d<\/p>\n (From left) The Breakfast Club actors Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez participate in a 40th Anniversary Reunion panel discussion at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, known as C2E2 at McCormick Place. Estevez has been a no-show at previous events.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The actors shared a wealth of funny memories, including their first read-through of the script, which was followed by a screening of the first cut of Hughes\u2019 film, \u201cSixteen Candles.\u201d But Est\u00e8vez struggled to stay awake, as he\u2019d had his wisdom teeth extracted the night before.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I made it through the opening credits,\u201d he said. \u201cI passed out from the pain pills. I woke up at the end credits and I looked at Judd and Judd said, \u2018I think you\u2019re getting fired.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Filming six days a week, the cast had limited time to unwind, Nelson recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Saturday nights, Emilio and I would drive into Chicago,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cWe could not find a single place on Division or Rush Streets that would let in a guy wearing sneakers and a guy wearing motorcycle boots. We found one place called the Jazz Bulls, which no longer exists. It was the greatest place in the world. They let us in. They didn\u2019t care. And so we enjoyed Chicago, three hours, once a week.\u201d<\/p>\n The actors also mentioned going to the Kingston Mines nightclub, record stores and even a Prince concert. <\/p>\n There were also wardrobe stories. Nelson wore the same clothes from his audition in the film, while Ringwald scrapped her outfit before shooting and shopped for new duds in Chicago. <\/p>\n Ringwald also talked about improvising the pot-smoking scene, which Hughes showed to her mother.<\/p>\n \u201cHe loved the work that I did there so much that he took my mom into the room where they have the dailies,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mom was sitting there watching her daughter pretend like she was high for like 20 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n The cast praised Hughes as a great collaborator.<\/p>\n \u201cHughes meant it when he said he wanted us to participate in the process of making this movie,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cHe liked us.\u201d <\/p>\n Anthony Michael Hall championed the inspirational message of the film.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think that the takeaway from the film for me is this idea of commonality, that we\u2019re more alike than we\u2019re different,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s really powerful. When people watch it, it\u2019s almost like unconscious group therapy. They see themselves. That it continues to find a new generation is a testament to John\u2019s work and his writing.\u201d<\/p>\n Molly Ringwald joins fellow stars of \u201cThe Breakfast Club\u201d on stage to participate in a 40th Anniversary Reunion panel discussion at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Molly](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/ecbbacf\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5684x3791+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F52%2F14%2F8f3c7b6849cdb89433cf9e403539%2Fc2e2-041325-11.jpg\")
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