Early manuscript of 'The Breakfast Club' found in high school filing cabinet

September 20, 2010. (L-R) Actors Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, and Judd Nelson arrive for the Film Society of Lincoln Center celebration of the 25th anniversary of "The Breakfast Club" and remembrance of filmmaker John Hughes in New York City. (Reuters)

An original screenplay of “The Breakfast Club” was recently discovered in a filing cabinet at a Chicago high school. District 207 Superintendent Ken Wallace revealed to the Chicago Tribune a Maine North High School assistant came across the screenplay while packing up boxes for a move. 

"One day a few weeks ago, one of the assistants was going through a filing cabinet and found a file that had a manuscript from 'The Breakfast Club' dated Sept. 21, 1983," Wallace said. "It's a first draft of the screenplay by John Hughes."

It makes sense that the screenplay was found inside of the school, since much of “The Breakfast Club” was filmed there. The school's gym served as the library where the five central characters spent an all-day Saturday detention. The film, released in 1985, starred Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, and Ally Sheedy.

The cover of the script reveals it was reviewed and approved by then-superintendent John Murphy who signed off on it. Wallace told the Tribune it is typical for school district officials to approve scripts whenever a building is requested for filming.

The found manuscript revealed that Ringwald's character was originally named Cathy Douglas, not Claire Standish. Documents found with the script also show that the film was titled "Saturday Breakfast Club" early on.

Another set of documents discovered with the screenplay revealed the Maine North High School space was rented by Universal Studios for $48,000. The movie eventually grossed more than $50,000,000 worldwide. 

The script also has something else that adds to its charm.

"In the upper left, there is what appears to be pizza grease," Wallace said told the Tribune. "I can imagine somebody taking this out over lunch and saying, 'I wonder what this is all about.'"

“The Breakfast Club” recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

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