“Certainly, a lot of today’s young filmmakers must have grown up watching Hughes’ films, and I wondered if he noticed an unfluence. “I haven’t seen a lot of them,” Hughes admits. “I’m not avoiding them, I just don’t watch many movies. I saw Rushmore, which I really liked. I couldn’t imagine smaller footsteps than mine.”

I brought up Kevin Smith, writer/director of Clerks and Chasing Amy, who has more than once mentioned Hughes as an influence, even going so far as to base his upcoming Dogma around a quest by his recurriong characters, Jay and Silent Bob, to find Shermer, Illinois (a mythical Chicago suburb where many of Hughes’ teen films were set). “Someone mentioned that to me,” Hughes says. “I saw Clerks, and it made me a little jealous. I wanted to do something similar. I like how he stays in New Jersey and retains that regional flavor. I admire what he’s doing.” [INK 19]