Textos Mastigados: ‘Sixteen Candles,’ ‘Breakfast Club’ director Hughes dead at 59

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by Todd Leopold

A seção “Textos Mastigados” traz matérias extraídas, com a devida autorização, do site da CNN. As palavras e expressões menos comuns são traduzidas para facilitar a compreensão. Os links escondem armadilhas já esclarecidas no Tecla SAP. Bons estudos e até o próximo texto!

(CNN) — John Hughes, the producer, writer and director whose 1980s films such as “Sixteen Candles” [Gatinhas & Gatões], “The Breakfast Club” [Clube dos Cinco] and “Some Kind of Wonderful” [Alguém Muito Especial] offered a sharp-eyed look [olhar crítico] at teenagers [adolescentes] and their social habits, has died, according to a statement [comunicado; declaração] from his representative [representante]. He was 59.

Hughes died of a heart attack [infarto] while taking a morning walk in Manhattan, according to the statement.

Hughes, who was also a prolific screenwriter [roteirista] and producer, was at his peak [auge] in the 1980s, when his films — which starred [que tinham como estrelas] young actors such as Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall and Jon Cryer — dominated the box office [bilheteria] and were hailed [saudados; bem recebidos] by critics for their thoughtful [inteligentes; com profundidade] teen [adolescentes] protagonists, rarely portrayed [retratados] with such sympathy in comedies at the time.

Ringwald, in particular, became a star, thanks to her performances as the lead [protagonista, ator/atriz principal] in “Sixteen Candles,” “Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink” [A Garota de Rosa Shocking].

“I was stunned [chocada] and incredibly sad to hear about the death of John Hughes,” Ringwald said. “He was and will always be such an important part of my life. He will be missed [sentiremos saudades dele] by me and by everyone that he has touched [conheceu; emocionou; tocou (lit.)]. My heart and all my thoughts [pêsames] are with his family now.”

For a time during the decade, the writer and director was behind [trabalhou; foi responsável; esteve por trás (lit.)] two or three films a year. Among his other credits were “National Lampoon’s Vacation” [Os Pilantras] (1983), “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” [Curtindo a Vida Adoidado] (1986), the Thanksgiving [Dia de Ação de Graças] classic “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” [Antes Só do que Mal Acompanhado] (1987) and “Home Alone” [Esqueceram de Mim] (1990).

“He was such a great writer who created so many enduring [duradouros; eternos] characters [personagens] for film, both as a director and a writer. His real gift [talento; dom] was in creating these identifiable characters,” actor, writer and comedian Steve Martin, who starred in “Planes” with John Candy, told CNN.

Actress Ally Sheedy, one of the stars of “The Breakfast Club,” said “I loved John Hughes. He was brilliant, he was lovely and he was kind [gentil]. John handed [deu, ofereceu] me the chance of a lifetime [oportunidade única] and changed my world forever. What more can be said? I am eternally grateful [grata] to him and he is already terribly missed.”

“I am truly shocked and saddened [triste, entristecido] by the news about my old friend John Hughes,” said actor Matthew Broderick, who starred in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” in a statement. “He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family.”

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John Hughes was born February 18, 1950, in Michigan. He started his career as an advertising copywriter [copydesk, redator de propaganda/publicidade] in Chicago — the city was later the setting [cenário] for many of his films — and by the end of the 1970s was a frequent contributor to National Lampoon magazine.

His first screenwriting credit, according to the Internet Movie Database, was as a writer for the “Animal House” TV spinoff [programa de TV derivado de outro; “filhote”], “Delta House.”

But Hughes quickly moved over [foi, partiu; mudou-se (lit.)] to the big screen [cinema, telona (inf.)], writing 1982’s “National Lampoon’s Class Reunion” [A Reunião Dos Alunos Loucos],  followed the next year by [que teve sua sequência no ano seguinte] “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” based on a story he had written for the magazine [revista].

Though [embora] critical reception to Hughes’ films could be mixed [dividida] — such works as “She’s Having a Baby” [Ela Vai Ter um Bebê] (1988) and “Curly Sue” [A Malandrinha] (1991) were slammed [execrados; marretados (lit.)] by reviewers [críticos] — Hughes had a knack [talento especial] for classic movie lines [falas, diálogos] and images.

Such scenes as Anthony Michael Hall holding [segurando] Ringwald’s panties [calcinha] up high [no alto] to the stunned appreciation of his friends in “Candles”; Steve Martin’s harangue [bronca; sermão (inf.)] of a rent-a-car clerk [atendente de locadora de veículos] in “Planes”; and Ben Stein‘s economics teacher asking, monotonously, “Bueller? … Bueller?” in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” have become pop culture touchstones [referência; pedra de toque (lit.)].

Film critic Roger Ebert praised [elogiou] Hughes’ empathy in a “Great Movies” appreciation of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” “What can be said for [Hughes] is that he usually produces a real story about people he has clear ideas about,” Ebert wrote, observing that “Planes” “is the only movie our family watches as a custom, most every Thanksgiving.”

“The script [roteiro] for ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles’ was the best script I had ever read,” Martin told CNN. “I asked John how long it took to write it, he said, ‘I wrote it over the weekend.’ The weekend. That shows you what he was able to do.”

In recent years, Hughes had stepped back [se afastou] from the movie business to spend more time with his family, as well as “maintain a functioning farm in northern Illinois and support independent arts,” the statement said.

Hughes is survived by [deixa] his wife of 39 years, Nancy; two sons and four grandchildren.