CHICAGO — A new movie theater opening in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood near Wrigley Field will be dedicated to another city favorite, John Hughes.
Alamo Drafthouse, a Texas-based theater chain, opened its first Illinois location Friday with a location in Wrigleyville. The John Hughes Cinema is located inside the Alamo Drafthouse at 3519 N. Clark St., which is just a four-minute walk from Wrigley Field.
The one-of-a-kind movie theater experience offers six screens and 372 seats and features a lobby that includes Video Vortex, a combination cocktail bar, and a video store offering 13,000 movies on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray. Movies can be rented in threes at no charge with the understanding that they will be returned in five days.
The theater held a private event Thursday where Hughes’ son, James Hughes, was on hand for a screening of the classic film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Alamo officials said it only made sense to name the theater at the Wrigleyville location after John Hughes, who directed favorites like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles.”
“In 1984, I was fourteen years old and shared the same hairstyle, unbuttoned polo shirts, and braces as Anthony Michael Hall in 16 Candles. Maybe I wasn’t the king of them at my school, but I was certainly a jerk,” Tim League League , the Alamo Drafthouse founder said in a press release. “The classic John Hughes films of the 1980s hit me like a sledgehammer. For the first time, I experienced films that truly understood my experience and challenges as a teenager. I am honored to pay tribute to a revolutionary storyteller who positively affected my life but also changed cinema forever.
Alamo Drafthouse officials said the venues provide a unique combination of theater and restaurant, showing first-run movies, independent films and special events with an extensive made-from-scratch menu. Guests order all food and drinks from servers who serve them silently during the movie from inside the theater.
Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the pre-show entertainment. Instead of a barrage of publicity, Alamo Drafthouse shows a curated collection of rare and humorous clips on the theme of each performance.
In addition to the combination cocktail bar and video store, the theater’s lobby also includes a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” photo op, recreating the moment when “Ferris’s reluctant co-conspirator Cameron blows up the his father’s beloved sports car. through a window
“Alamo Drafthouse Wrigleyville is something we have been looking forward to for a long time,” said Shelli Taylor, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse, in a statement. “We are thrilled to be here and excited to show Chicagoans all we have to offer to the movie experience.”
