On this date in 1986, Pretty in Pink premièred. Pretty in Pink is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film commonly identified as a "Brat Pack" film.
It was directed by Howard Deutch, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, and written by John Hughes. He wrote the story on the urging of Molly Ringwald, who asked him to write a film based on her favourite song of the time, Pretty in Pink by The Psychedelic Furs.
Andrew McCarthy wasn’t the first choice to play Blane. Charlie Sheen was considered, and James Spader, who plays Steff, was originally offered the role. He chose to play Steff because he thought playing the villain was more fun. It was Molly Ringwald who persuaded the producers to cast McCarthy. Anthony Michael Hall turned down the role of Duckie because he didn't want to be typecast. Ringwald wanted Robert Downey Jr. to be cast but agreed that Jon Cryer made sense in light of the film's revised ending.
Several others were considered for the role of Andie, including Jennifer Beals, Jodie Foster, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Tatum O'Neal. Anjelica Huston was considered for the role of Iona, as was Tracey Ullman, but she hadn’t quite perfected her American accent at that point.
Pretty in Pink was filmed at same Los Angeles high school where Grease (1978) was made.
The ending was originally very different, with Andie ending up with Duckie and not Blane. However, test audiences booed this ending, so John Hughes re-wrote it so that Andie and Blane get together instead. The new ending was shot several months later. When called back to film the new scene, Andrew McCarthy had lost weight and cut his hair for a stage role, so he was fitted with a wig. Jon Cryer has said he was shocked that audiences didn’t like the original ending as the plot seemed to be leading to Andie and Duckie getting together all the way through. Still, it did seem as if there was a happy ending for his character, too: another girl at the prom shows interest in him. She is played by Kristy Swanson in her first theatrical film role and is credited as "Duckette".
When Andie and Duckie are in the car driving home, Duckie is changing radio channels. The song If You Leave by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark comes on; Duckie says he hates the song and re-tunes. This is the same song that plays at the end of the film, when Andie chooses Blane over Duckie at the prom. This. It’s said, could be seen as foreshadowing what would happen at the end; although surely it was filmed before they changed the ending?
Andie's car is a 1958 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Coupe.
Jon Cryer didn’t get on very well with McCarthy and Ringwald on set. He has said that they found him irritating because he was outgoing and they were reserved.
Molly Ringwald hated the Pink prom dress she had to wear.
Annie Potts' character answers the phone at the record store, "Trax, what do you want?" Her character in Ghostbusters (1984) answers the phone at headquarters, "Ghostbusters, what do you want?"
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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