Chicago, IL – January 26, 2023 – Austin-based cinema-eatery Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is dedicating the new Alamo Drafthouse Wrigleyville, their first theater in Illinois, to iconic Chicago filmmaker John Hughes. The dedication ceremony will take place a day before the theater opens to the public on Friday, January 27,th during its Grand Opening Celebration.
The private event will feature the reveal of a plaque proclaiming the theater to be the John Hughes Cinema, which will read:
JOHN HUGHES CINEMA
Director John Hughes has left an indelible mark on our collective consciousness with witty, charming, and heartfelt films like “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” In “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” he perfectly captured youth’s mischievous and carefree spirit through one teen’s epic day playing hooky, cementing Chicago as a cinematic playground in the process. Because of his incalculable influence on cinema, as of Thursday, January 26th, this Alamo Drafthouse Cinema shall hereby and forevermore be known as the John Hughes Cinema.
The late John Hughes’ son, James Hughes, will attend the event and introduce a classic Hughes film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” screening with Tim League, Alamo Drafthouse Founder, and Executive Chairman.
“In 1984, I was fourteen and shared the same hairstyle, untucked Polos, and braces as Anthony Michael Hall in ‘Sixteen Candles.’ I maybe wasn’t the king of them at my school, but I was undeniably a dork,” says League. “The classic ‘80s John Hughes films hit me like a sledgehammer. For the first time, I experienced movies that truly understood my teenage experience and challenges. I am honored to be paying tribute to a revolutionary storyteller who positively affected my life and changed cinema forever.”
All six of Alamo Drafthouse Wrigleyville’s screens will be playing some of Hughes’ most beloved films, including “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “Pretty In Pink,” and “Weird Science.” Each theater will have exclusive merchandise themed around the films for guests to keep. A custom, John-Hughes-themed drink menu will also be available, with cocktails like the Save Ferris with Jameson Irish Whiskey and Jeppson’s Malört or the Pretty & Pink with Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The event will also be the first reveal of the cinema’s lobby photo op recreating the iconic moment from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” when Cameron sends his father’s 1961 Ferrari 250GT California flying through the window.
