The stars of the John Hughes classic gathered for the 30th anniversary screening at SXSW.
The princess and the basket case together again!
Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy gathered for the 30th anniversary screening of the John Hughes classic The Breakfast Club at South by Southwest on Monday in Austin, Texas. ET sat down with the two stars who shared their fondest memories working on the teen classic over 30 years ago.
Ringwald, a frequent collaborator of writer-director Hughes throughout the 1980s, said he sent her the script for The Breakfast Club as they were finishing Sixteen Candles (1984) and she just couldn't resist the story.
"It was the best script I ever read," Ringwald told ET. "I loved it. I loved everything about it--every character. I knew immediately I wanted to be involved."
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While she was eager to join the project, Ringwald revealed that many elements of the initial screenplay had changed by the time they shot the film.
"By John's own admission he was not a great re-writer," the now 47-year-old actress explained. "He was known for writing things very fast and furious and in two days and very often those were the best drafts."
Among the changes to the script was the iconic group dance sequence in the library, which was originally written as a solo number but Ringwald begged John Hughes not to make her do it alone. “You were the only good dancer,” she told Sheedy on stage during the Q&A. "So he very kindly brought everyone in."
Ringwald also revealed to ET that Hughes received pressure from the studio to make the film more interesting to teenagers since most of the action takes place in one location and rarely featured anything but the five kids in detention talking. To break up the talk fest, Hughes had initially planned a nude scene that was eventually cut from the final screenplay.
"Even though John was doing something really different there was still that obligatory hold over for the kind of ‘naked woman’ scene," Ringwald recalled. "I think after Breakfast Club when that stuff wasn't there they finally realized that that wasn't really necessary."
Despite the lack of irreverent and risqué material, the 1985 film is now considered a classic and applauded for its authentic take on adolescence in the '80s.
"It transcends generations," Ringwald said of the film's lasting power. She later added, "It still speaks to a lot different people because the essential message is we are all outsiders not matter who we are and we all feel alone."
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While the The Breakfast Club is timeless and it's message is universal, both Ringwald and Sheedy agreed that Hollywood should not attempt to remake the '80s classic, as has been a frequent trend in the film industry the last 10 years.
"They should do something that is inspired in some way because when I look back on The Breakfast Club I think it speaks to so many different people but at the same time it's incredibly white," the actress admitted. "I think if there was ever another movie that was inspired by I think it really needs to incorporate racial diversity." She added, "Not just racial but all kinds of diversity."
Watch more of our interview with Molly and Ally to see how well they remember some of the film's iconic lines.
The Breakfast Club 30th anniversary edition is now available on Blu-ray and is also heading to select theaters nationwide for two nights only-- on March 26 and 31.
Follow Denny on Twitter: @DDirecto.
