John Hughes

I've come to accept that I will always get a little choked up during the Oscars. This year it happened during the touching tribute to John Hughes — director of one of my all-time favorites, The Breakfast Club. It was especially great to see actress Molly Ringwald take the stage to honor her mentor. Like me, most of you thought Molly looked stunning in her purple Todd Thomas gown. Looking at her on stage, it was hard to believe that she gave birth to twins just eight months ago! The actress shared with People magazine that the key to slimming down for her was to keep everything in moderation.

To find out how Molly lost the weight, read more

• Amanda Seyfried will play the title role in Catherine Hardwicke's The Girl With the Red Riding Hood — The Playlist
• Oscar ratings are up! — People
• In case you missed it, here's Zach Galifianakis shaving his beard during SNL — Zap2it
• Brooke Burke is the new cohost for Dancing With the Stars — Inside TV
• Robert De Niro to do a sequel to Midnight Run — Collider
• Should someone make John Hughes's final movie, Grisbys Go Broke? — MTV Movies Blog
• Marion Cotillard teams up with Franz Ferdinand for this Dior ad — Stereogum
• The top 10 Oscar hosts of all time (come back, Billy!) — TV.com
• Fringe gets renewed for a third season — Watch With Kristin
• Check out these Oscar odd couples (Jessica Simpson and Anderson Cooper?) — TresSugar

Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick played beloved characters in John Hughes movies (Ringwald played multiple, in fact), and the actors took the stage to honor the life of the acclaimed director. After sharing a few memories, we were treated to a montage of some of Hughes's most famous movies from Ferris Bueller's Day off to The Breakfast Club and beyond. Afterward, more actors including Macaulay Culkin, Jon Cryer, and Ally Sheedy took the stage to add to the love. Check out the touching tribute below.

We've been counting down the biggest headlines of 2009, and we'll be revealing more throughout the month of December. Read on to take a look back at some of the stories that created the most buzz throughout the year.

This year, we lost many stars, both old and young. Michael Jackson stole headlines over the Summer due to his passing, but we also spent the last 12 months mourning other public figures.

Just two days into the year, John Travolta and Kelly Preston suffered the devastating loss of their son, Jett Travolta, after complications from a seizure. Michael Jackson's highly publicized death almost overshadowed the passing of Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon, who died within days of each other at the end of June. Beloved actor Patrick Swayze lost his battle with cancer in September, after a lengthy and courageous fight. Bea Arthur, meanwhile, passed in April at the age of 86, and director John Hughes suffered a fatal heart attack in August. Legendary senator Ted Kennedy also died that month after his own fight against cancer.

Two deaths seemed particularly out of the blue — DJ AM overdosed in August after surviving a plane crash and overcoming drugs during a previous battle with addiction, and Natasha Richardson died in March after a tragic ski accident. The most recent star to be gone too soon is Brittany Murphy, who died last weekend at her LA home. Our hearts go out to all of those who lost a loved one this year, and the memories of these celebrities will certainly live on through their work.

Director John Hughes, who passed away Thursday at age 59, made a big impact on those of us who grew up watching his films and crushing on his characters. But he made an even bigger impact on Alison Byrne Fields: he was her pen pal.

As she recounts on her blog, We'll Know When We Get There, Fields and Hughes sent letters back and forth between 1985 and 1987, after Alison poured her heart out to Hughes praising The Breakfast Club. Initially, she got a form letter back and wrote Hughes again, chiding him. Find out what happened next.