Actor and director Andrew McCarthy will be a special guest at the 11th annual Macon Film Festival, which will be held July 21-24, 2016. Mr. McCarthy will kickoff the festival with an appearance and special screening of “Pretty in Pink” on Thursday, July 21 at the Douglass Theatre, located at 355 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
In the film directed by Howard Deutch, Mr. McCarthy portrays Blane, a rich preppy high school senior who falls for Andie (Molly Ringwald) a working-class girl from the wrong side of the tracks and both encounter resistance from their perspective social circles. The special screening will follow a Q&A with Mr. McCarthy that will begin at 6 p.m.
“‘Pretty In Pink’ has had a life beyond anyone’s imagination. It captured something about being young and searching that resonates through generations,” said Andrew McCarthy.
“Pretty in Pink” is a 1986 John Hughes film about love and social cliques in American high schools starring Ringwald, McCarthy, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts and James Spader. The film, written and produced by John Hughes, is commonly referred to as one of the “Brat Pack” films. As with other Hughes films, “Pretty in Pink” featured a soundtrack composed mostly of post-punk, new wave music. The film’s soundtrack has been rated as one of the best in modern cinema and Rolling Stone named it one of “The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time.”
“We are excited to bring Andrew McCarthy and ‘Pretty In Pink’ to the 2016 Macon Film Festival,” said festival spokesperson, Terrell Sandefur. “We’ve been wanting to bring one of the 80s Brat Pack movies to the film festival for years, and with ‘Pretty In Pink’s’ 30th anniversary this year, it seemed like the right time.”
Andrew McCarthy made his professional acting debut at 19 in Class. He has since stared in such iconic movies as “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Less Than Zero,” and cult favorites “Weekend At Bernie’s” and “Mannequin.” He has also appeared in numerous TV shows, including “The Family,” the first season of which aired on ABC March-May, 2016.
McCarthy is also a highly regarded television director, with “Orange is the New Black,” and “The Blacklist” among his many credits.
Simultaneously, Andrew is an award winning travel writer. He is an editor-at-large at National Geographic Traveler. He has been named Travel Journalist of the Year by The Society of American Travel Writers and his travel memoir, The Longest Way Home, became a New York Times Best Seller. Algonquin will publish his fiction debut, Just Fly Away in the Spring of 2017. He lives in New York.
Macon Film Festival is July 21-24. Passes are now available on the festival’s website: www.MaconFilmFestival.com.
