Sadly, the writer/director of such 80's teenage angst classics as Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The BreakFast club, has died of a heart attack aged 59.
Hughes made it cool to be a geek. His coming of age flicks usually had underdog social outcasts outwitting their bitchy rivals. 1985's Weird Science, in particular, celebrated technology in a fun and risqué way, even throwing in a moral story to boot. I still have that image of Kelly LeBrock's first appearance etched in my brain, along with Oingo Boingo's annoyingly infectious theme song. And how many of your teenage selves ever tried to pull a Bueller stunt?
As a kid, I had a few core favorite films including Explorers, The Last Star Fighter, and Weird Science. While they all shared a sense that technology can let amazing things happen to anyone—even me—they also showed that every geek can have their day. [Chicago Tribune]