Perhaps no one portrayed nerds and outcasts on the silver screen better than filmmaker John Hughes. His characters were tortured teenaged souls, troubled by their struggles to find their own identities while dealing with family, friends and lovers. Hughes directed cult classic films, like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles in the very place where he grew up - Chicago’s northern suburbs. Those movies went on to become box office hits, and provide cinematic comfort to the ’80s generation and beyond. Writer Susannah Gora takes her connection to John Hughes’s films a little more seriously than most of us. She’s written an entire book about it called You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes and Their Impact on a Generation. When we spoke with Gora recently, she told us that Hughes’ big break came from an unlikely opportunity.

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1980s Movies: Making memories, one scene at a time

Music Button: Simple Minds, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”, from the CD The Breakfast Club OST, (A&M)