CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
John Hughes
Film News: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Opens in Chicago’s Wrigleyville on Jan. 27, 2023
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 25, 2023 - 9:15pmCHICAGO – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema … which began 26 years ago as a single screen in Austin, Texas, and has expanded to 38 locations … is opening in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood on January 27th, 2023.
Film News: Anthony Michael Hall to Star in ‘The Class’ in Chicago
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 1, 2021 - 8:54amCHICAGO – With films now in progress ramping up, Chicago is welcoming a new production that will be shooting here this summer. “The Class” will have a back-to-the-past familiarity for actor Anthony Michael Hall. Instead of joining “The Breakfast Club,” he will portray an assistant principal responsible for monitoring a new generation.
Podtalk: Filmed-in-Chicago ‘Solstice’ with ‘Home Alone’ at Chi-Town Drive-In, Dec. 20, 2020
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 18, 2020 - 9:41pmCHICAGO – If you’re itching for some safe holiday cheer outside the confines of home for an evening, a drive-in Christmas film double feature is just the ticket.
Film News: Final Weekend of the Season for Chicago Film Tour
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 27, 2014 - 9:52amCHICAGO – Now is your chance to experience the Chicago Film Tour during its final weekend of the season, guided by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com. Through a special promotion, If you mention the “HollywoodChicago.com Offer” when reserving your seats, you will get half off the regular price of the tour for the weekend of November 29th and 30th, 2014 (details in the graphic below). The tour departs from the “Rock ‘N Roll” McDonalds Restaurant at 600 N. Clark, in the River North neighborhood in Chicago.
Interviews: 1980s Icons Anthony Michael Hall, Louis Gossett Jr.
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 29, 2011 - 12:30amCHICAGO – Two actors who made a mark in film during the 1980s did it at different points in their lives. Anthony Michael Hall was a teen idol, channeling director John Hughes in “The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles.” Lou Gossett Jr. won a mid-career Oscar for his role in 1982’s “An Officer and a Gentleman.”
Slideshow: 34 Exclusive Celebrity Portraits at 2011 Wizard World Chicago Comic Con
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 26, 2011 - 2:50pmCHICAGO – The holidays are a perfect time to remember some of 2011’s great entertainment events, and one of them was the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, which took place August 11th-14th. Celebrities such as Anthony Michael Hall, Lou Gossett Jr., LeVar Burton, Peter Tork and Bruce Campbell were there.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ Continues to Endure
Submitted by mattmovieman on August 10, 2011 - 7:38amCHICAGO – John Hughes’s creative peak in the 1980s was brought about by a great deal of writing in a very small period of time. According to legend, Hughes wrote the script for his 1986 cult classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” in only seven days while under the threat of a writer’s strike. He was gifted at churning out films, but his prolific nature caused him to noticeably repeat himself.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Take Me Home Tonight’ Features String of Bad Decisions
Submitted by BrianTT on July 27, 2011 - 5:14pmCHICAGO – Most comedies feature a few key decisions or even just a few moments where you, the viewer, know someone made the wrong choice. Whether it’s something as small as thinking that a punchline works when it doesn’t or something major like the wrong casting decision, modern movie goers are smart enough to tell when they’re watching something dumb. “Take Me Home Tonight,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD is very, VERY dumb.
Blu-Ray Review: HD Release For Beloved ‘The Breakfast Club’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 10, 2010 - 3:35pmCHICAGO – People LOVE “The Breakfast Club.” It seems to have even jumped generations. While it likely still appeals most strongly to those of us who were at or near the age of the characters on the film’s initial release, John Hughes’ comedy seems to speak to something timeless about the high school experience. The 25th anniversary edition of “The Breakfast Club” on Blu-ray should be a hit.
Interview: 30 Rock’s Scott Adsit Goes Down the ‘Frankenhole’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 1, 2010 - 11:21pmCHICAGO – Last Sunday, June 27th, a new Cartoon Network show on Adult Swim premiered, by the same team that gave us “Morel Orel.” “Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole” is also produced, directed and written by Chicago area native Scott Adsit, who also does time as the harried Pete Hornberger on NBC’s “30 Rock.”