"The Breakfast Club" is 30!

SPECIAL COVERAGE:

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Credit: Jennifer Brett

To celebrate turning 30 the movie - starring Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy,  Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez and Judd Nelson as the princess, oddball, brain, jock and rebel thrown together for a day of detention - will be re-released in theaters across America this Thursday, March 26, and next Tuesday, March 31, Fathom Events, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and BY Experience have announced.

To find a screening near you check this web site.

Check out this retro trailer:

In addition, Universal Home Entertainment has announced the release of a 30th anniversary edition Blu-Ray/DVD version of the film, packed with all sorts of extras including commentary with Nelson and Hall.

Georgia boasts a unique connection to the beloved teen classic. Andy Meyer, a film and TV professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design, served as the movie's executive producer. He and co-producer Michelle Manning are the only two surviving members of the creative team behind "The Breakfast Club."

Legendary screenwriter/director John Hughes, known for iconic projects such as "Pretty In Pink," "Sixteen Candles," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and the "Home Alone" movies, has passed away, as have executive producer Gil Friesen and producer Ned Tanen.

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Credit: Jennifer Brett

All these years later, Meyer appreciates the movie's timeless appeal, even if nobody associated with the project would have predicted its incredible staying power.

"It’s such a relatable movie," Meyer said during a recent interview at SCAD in Savannah. "It was one of the first movies which treated kids seriously, with respect. John made a career of 'kids against parents.' That’s a big theme in this movie. No one plays that instrument better than John Hughes."

At the time, Meyer was president of A&M Films, and came across Hughes' screenplay for "National Lampoon's Vacation."

"I called my agent and said, 'Who is this guy? This is really funny,'" Meyer recalled. "They said, 'His name is John Hughes.' I said, 'I gotta meet this guy.'"

When the two met, Meyer asked Hughes if he had anything else cooking.

"He said, 'I do, but I need to direct it,'" Meyer recalled. He read the script and was sold immediately.

"We’ve got to buy this," he told his studio. "We were going to make it independently for $1 million in Chicago."

Then Universal called. Their offer to buy the film came with a $12 million budget, still modest but rich enough to build the high school library set from scratch. The entire movie takes place basically in that one room, so designing it with filmmaking it mind was key.

"It was the perfect design," Meyer said.

The production went smoothly, he said, "because everybody was going to one location and because everyone was the best in the business. There weren’t a lot of script changes. (Hughes)  didn’t take notes."

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Credit: Jennifer Brett

The actors, who would become known as part of Hollywood's "Brat Pack," worked together beautifully. Meyer's favorite scene in the movie comes after the characters have let their guards down and discuss the stresses they're dealing with. As moving as that scene is, it was hard to forecast how deeply it would resonate with audiences.

"This is the thing about making movies: You can go on set and have the best time and have everybody love each other and the movie doesn’t work at all, or you can go on set and it’s a disaster but it’s a huge hit," Meyer said. "There’s no way when you’re in that bubble what’s going to happen."

He doesn't recall much being left on the cutting-room floor.

"John wrote a script and shot a script," he said.

Meyer, who recently appeared at the SWSX re-premiere of "The Breakfast Club" with Sheedy and Ringwald, lectures all over the world and notes the movie's international, indelible appeal.

"I could show this movie to anybody in any country," he said. "It’s a universal theme."

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Credit: Jennifer Brett

He cringed at the idea of a remake, noting "the kids would be sitting around texting and not talking to each other. It could be a fool’s errand to try."

And he wouldn't presume to imagine what might have happened to the characters after their day of bonding over detention. Would the jock and the oddball find true love? Would the princess and bad boy go to the prom together? Would the brain outgrow his geekiness? Would the principal or their parents come to appreciate the issues kids go through?

Meyer is content to appreciate his role in one of modern history's most cherished cinematic gems.

"Watching John work and watching John write, watching the way he was able to write such original content" are memories he treasures. "He had a run like nobody’s had a run. That kind of genius you’re not around very often. It’ll never happen again in my lifetime."