Latest news with #Brats
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Brats' director Andrew McCarthy reflects on Brat Pack legacy, reuniting with '80s icons, and possible ‘St. Elmo's Fire' revival
"The movie is really about the passing of time," Brats director Andrew McCarthy tells Gold Derby. "I turned 60 not that long ago and I realized that I had begun to look at events of my life in a different way than I used to." For the first time in decades, McCarthy reunites with fellow Brat Packers Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, and Ally Sheedy, along with other stars of that era like Jon Cryer, Timothy Hutton, and Lea Thompson, to discuss their rise to stardom in the 1980s and how the term "Brat Pack" — coined by journalist David Blum in an article for New York Magazine — impacted their careers. More from GoldDerby 'Karate Kid: Legends' knocked as 'uninspired' and 'unnecessary' by critics 'There's no skimming a Wes Anderson script': 'The Phoenician Scheme' cast on working with the director 'The worst has already happened, so now I have everything to gain': Meagan Good on love, loss, and empowering women in 'Forever' Reflecting further, McCarthy says his fascination lies less with the Brat Pack itself and more with how perspectives on life evolve with time. "When I was 22, we hated it — all of us," he says. "We felt stigmatized — it was very limiting. It was long before it became this soft and fuzzy, incredibly affectionate moniker that it is now. Somewhere along the line, I realized this was perhaps the best professional blessing of my life and nothing had changed except my relationship to it. I wanted to go seek out the other guys and gals and see if their experience was similar." McCarthy says the greatest surprise in making the movie was realizing how much affection the actors had for each other. "It was not the case back in the day," he reveals. "We were all very young, scared and competitive. Now, so much time has gone by so, who cares? We were the only ones in this club we never asked to join. All we had to do is look at each other and we had this recognition. Someone asked me, 'Do you want to send me a list of questions first?' and I said, 'I don't have any questions. I just want to come talk to you. I imagine when we just look at each other we will have a lot to say.' I didn't want to make a talking heads movie — I wanted to just go see these people and talk to them." Hulu The director's goal was to show what the Brat Pack felt like from the inside — a very different perspective from what outsiders perceived. "I wanted viewers to nod and think, 'I don't have the Brat Pack, but I can substitute [my own group or experience] in my life.' I was hoping to create that identification with the viewer by making the film a subjective and open experience." According to McCarthy, time hasn't fundamentally changed anyone in the group. "They had become themselves, only more so," he says with a chuckle. "Rob, at the beginning, was no more of a fan of it than any of us, but Rob is a very savvy guy. He realized sooner than a lot of us that this is a beautiful thing. We had become the avatars of youth for a certain demographic and a certain generation. That's a beautiful thing. When people come up to me and talk about Pretty in Pink or St. Elmo's Fire, pretty quickly their eyes glaze over. They're talking to themselves in their own youth — they're not really talking to me anymore. What I can do for them and for myself is just receive them. It took me a long time to realize what a gift that was." Hulu McCarthy recalls that Demi Moore was the first person to agree to participate in the film. "It was very uncomplicated," he recalls. "With other people it was a bit like herding cats. When I called the writer of the article, David Blum, who I had never had any contact with, his first question was, 'What's your agenda?' I said, 'I don't have an agenda. My agenda is to find out what your experience was.' He, in a certain way, was like the fifth Beatle. It affected his life and his career as drastically as it affected ours." Not everyone from the Brat Pack wanted to participate in the film, which McCarthy acknowledges. For instance, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson are absent from the project. "It was proof of concept," McCarthy says. "This really affected our lives. Forty years later, some people still don't want to talk about it. That's really interesting." McCarthy says he's not sure if Ringwald or Nelson watched his film, but he has spoken to them since. "I didn't ask, 'Hey, did you see the movie you didn't want to be in?' That's their business. The movie was made with love for everybody. If they didn't want to do it that's fine." With the renewed spotlight on the Brat Pack and Hollywood's ongoing obsession with reunions and reboots, McCarthy hints at the possibility of revisiting St. Elmo's Fire."There's been talk about it — picking the characters up before we all die," he jokes. "We'll see if that actually happens or not, but they're talking about it." Brats is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+. This article and video are presented by Disney and Hulu. Best of GoldDerby 'The worst has already happened, so now I have everything to gain': Meagan Good on love, loss, and empowering women in 'Forever' 'The Better Sister': Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks on their 'fun partnership' and the 'satisfying' killer reveal The Making of 'Beast Games': Behind the scenes of Prime Video's record-breaking competition series Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
TV Documentary panel: ‘Brats,' ‘Chef's Table,' and ‘Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band'
Gold Derby recently gathered together four top TV documentary filmmakers to discuss their passion for nonfiction storytelling, the art of translating someone else's life to the screen, and what films and TV shows inspired them to embark on careers in Hollywood. Joining our Meet the Experts: TV Documentary and Nonfiction roundtable panel are Brats director Andrew McCarthy, Chef's Table directors David Gelb and Brian McGinn, and Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band director Thom Zimny. Watch the full roundtable above. Click each person's name to watch an individual discussion. More from GoldDerby 'Big Mouth' says goodbye: cast and creators talk sex ed, celebrity crushes, and what's next Breakout star Owen Cooper admits 'Adolescence' was 'very out of my comfort zone' 'It's just an overwhelming wall of terror': Amanda Marsalis on directing 'The Pitt's' mass casualty episode "You just don't know what the hell is going to happen," says McCarthy, reflecting on the unpredictable nature of documentary filmmaking. He emphasizes the importance of adapting to unfolding realities. "I thought I would know where I wanted to go. Then, being able to see what is actually happening versus what I wanted to have happen — things were most successful when I was able to recognize that and pivot." McCarthy compares the documentary process to narrative filmmaking: "In narrative, you're running out of time, so you have to throw out your shot list and do it as a oner or something. In documentary, it was [finding the truth] and following that, but also bringing it back to the story you know you want to tell. There are a lot of interesting rabbit holes that have nothing to do with the story you're telling." Both Gelb and McGinn started out as aspiring fiction filmmakers. "When we started making Chef's Table, it was the beginning of this era where a cinematic approach — not that different from the narrative universe — could be brought to these subjects that are right outside our door," McGinn says. "One of the great parts of documentary filmmaking is how much you can learn as a filmmaker about yourself and about how other creative people operate. Inspirational role models exist in all walks of life and everyone has something to offer." Echoing McGinn's sentiments, Gelb shares the unique approach Chef's Table takes with its subjects: "Each episode is a life lesson. We've often found that the chefs don't actually know what the lesson is. We sort of disarm them with this four or five hour interview process. Through that, it becomes like a therapy session. There has to be a purpose behind what we're doing, and the chefs are searching for that as well. That synthesis is really meaningful. Every director on the show forms a bond with the chefs they're working with. We've been through this emotional journey together. That's what sets our show apart — the ability to go so deep, build that relationship, and then reflect it on the screen." For Zimny, his journey into documentary filmmaking — particularly projects focused on music — was influenced by his dyslexia and a deep connection to music. "Andrew mentioned letting go of the idea of control, and [Gelb] mentioned five-hour interviews. I relate deeply to that. You're unpacking things, you're in the moment. In the cutting room you're hoping you're not going to have this moment of, 'What did I get?' In the moment, it's five hours of association, being present, and listening." Zimny's background as an editor played a key role in shaping his filmmaking style. "I started as an editor. That was my deep connection with the musical rhythms of both language and cutting — and then just having a true love of music history." After sharing reflections on their creative processes, the filmmakers exchanged questions and complimented each other's work. They then revealed which TV shows or movies inspired them to become filmmakers. "Gilligan's Island," McCarthy quickly remarks. "I used to watch when I was a little kid and then I would go outside and pretend that there were cameras everywhere. My life was a television show. I remember being in my front yard thinking, 'There's a camera behind that tree over there.' It didn't last long, but it was certainly a moment a lightbulb went off." McGinn cites Apocalypse Now as the movie that first inspired him to make him films, but says Errol Morris influenced both him and Gelb the most as documentarians: "Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control and later Tabloid, because I love the way that people, through interview, almost by accident, would reveal the truth about themselves in his films." Gelb says Star Wars also had a huge impact on him, perhaps more so because of the toys associated with the film than the movie itself. "You could make up your own stories in your own little off-shoots and act them out," he explains. Zimny reveals he was obsessed with classic "Warner Bros. noir" films like Angels With Dirty Faces. "It had a narrative of good and bad," he explains. "I took my cassette player, recorded it against the TV, and would rewind it and listen, and listen — I was editing it in my mind's eye. That was the start of believing in a narrative so much that you feel like you're dropping into it. I was living in my own movie." Brats is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Chef's Table is streaming on Netflix. Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. This article and videos are presented by Disney, Hulu, and Netflix. Best of GoldDerby 'The worst has already happened, so now I have everything to gain': Meagan Good on love, loss, and empowering women in 'Forever' 'The Better Sister': Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks on their 'fun partnership' and the 'satisfying' killer reveal The Making of 'Beast Games': Behind the scenes of Prime Video's record-breaking competition series Click here to read the full article.
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Rob Lowe calls out LA tour guide for confusing him with John Stamos
Rob Lowe calls out LA tour guide for confusing him with John Stamos Show Caption Hide Caption 'Brats' documentary: See Rob Lowe talk Brat Pack with Andrew McCarthy Rob Lowe reflects on how a generation of young actors became known as the Brat Pack in Andrew McCarthy's documentary "Brats." Rob Lowe is giving a Hollywood bus tour guide a less than stellar job review. The "West Wing" alum took to Instagram and posted a video April 15 of a tour guide announcing, "This is John Stamos" as he passed by. In the clip, Lowe walks up to the bus and asks the riders if they know who he is: "OK guys, am I John Stamos? Who am I?" as they loudly responded, "Rob Lowe!" The "Brothers & Sisters" star told the tour guide, "Dude, you gotta get better at your job!" The guide replied that "it's about having fun, you know? I don't expect to run into people," telling Lowe, "Thank you for your cool energy, man." Lowe and Stamos, both 61, rose to fame as actors in a series of buzzy roles in the 1980s and '90s. While Lowe starred in "The Outsiders," "St. Elmo's Fire" and "Wayne's World," Stamos found major success on "General Hospital" and, of course, "Full House." Rob Lowe's son John Owen trolls dad on his 60th birthday with a John Stamos pic Lowe asked his actor son John Owen "Johnny" Lowe, who frequently mocks his famous dad, in the post's caption: "@johnnylowe am I being Punk'd?" "The people have spoken," the younger Lowe, 29, said. Turns out the tour guide may have been in on the joke: Johnny Lowe has long pasted Stamos' head over his dad's face in a series of now-deleted Instagram posts. On a 2023 episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show," "Full House" alum Stamos proved that he's (kind of) a part of the family. The Essentials: John Stamos talks rocking through Beach Boys stage fails, showtime hair, Bob Saget lessons "Johnny, the bit about me being your dad — it's funny and people get a good kick out of it — but it's getting a bit old," Stamos jokingly said during a pre-recorded message that appeared. "I'm tired of explaining that, no, I'm not really his dad, I'm a better looking version. "So, Drew, if it's okay with you, Johnny and I did a 23andMe test and I'd like to read the results live on your show and stop this madness," he said, before having an abrupt change of heart. Here are Rob Lowe's tips for youth: He gets an 'embarrassing amount' of sleep "You know, I don't need to prove anything," he told the father-son duo and Barrymore. "Good luck with the show, guys." Then, he passed the envelope, directing the recipient to "Burn this. Take it. Burn it!"
