Andrew McCarthy shades Judd Nelson for mixed messages about appearing in ‘Brats’ doc
Apparently, he forgot about him.
Andrew McCarthy, 61, who created and directed the Brat Pack documentary “Brats,” has revealed that Judd Nelson, 64, originally was enthusiastic about participating before he declined to appear in it.
“At the beginning when I am calling everyone up, there’s one moment where I’m saying to someone, ‘Don’t tell me now … I want to get this all on film,’ and that was Judd I was talking to,” McCarthy revealed on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live.”
McCarthy, who was himself a member of the Brat Pack, having appeared in “Pretty in Pink” and “St. Elmo’s Fire,” added about Nelson, “When I called Judd up, he was the most excited of anyone … and he just launched in about all the Brat Pack.”
McCarthy added, “And that’s when I said to him, which is in the movie, you know, ‘Don’t tell me now. I want to get this all on film. Just slow down, Judd. I’ll come to LA, and we’ll sit down.'”
According to McCarthy, Nelson said to him: “‘Great. Call me when you’re ready. I’m here.’”
Now streaming on Hulu, the documentary is about the titular group of ’80s stars.
In it, McCarthy, who also directs it, tracks down his former compatriots such as Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore and Ally Sheedy and asks them about their experiences, and how they felt about the “Brat Pack” label.
Onscreen, Estevez shared that he felt being called “the Brat Pack” created “the perception that we were lightweights, that we didn’t take it seriously,” while Lowe said he initially thought the label was a “f–king disaster” but now has “nothing but goodwill.”
The doc has some notable absences, such as the Brat Pack queen, Molly Ringwald, and her “Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles” co-star Anthony Michael Hall.
Nelson, who was most notably in “The Breakfast Club” and “St. Elmo’s Fire,” does not appear in the doc — except seemingly via a phone call in the final scene, when McCarthy is shown saying, “Hello, Judd?” on his phone, implying that Nelson is at the other end of the line. However, his voice isn’t heard on screen to confirm that it’s him.
Before the doc premiered, Nelson seemingly scoffed about it, and told Us Weekly, “It seems strange to have that subject matter be something for edited entertainment.
“Also, like, [McCarthy’s] a nice guy,” he continued, “but I hadn’t seen him in 35 years. And it’s like, I’m not going to [be] like, ‘Hey!’ No, dude.”
According to McCarthy, however, Nelson “became like a unicorn” after initially showing interest in the project.
“We couldn’t find him for months and months and months,” he added. “And then finally, he just said, ‘I don’t want to do it.’ Yeah, he just changed his mind, which is fine.”
Cohen replied, “Wow. That’s so annoying.”
Anthony Michael Hall, 56, has also spoken out about why he turned down “Brats.”
“I was asked to be a part of it, but you know what, I’ll tell you my attitude is you have to wish everyone success. It was just something I chose not to do because I’m always trying to move forward and make new things and do new stuff,” Hall told TV Insider.
Nevertheless, McCarthy said those not “wanting to do it” are still “in the movie quite a bit.”
“You know, they’re in interviews and the archival stuff of them being, you know, intelligent and sensitive as I know them to be, but even people choosing not to participate, that says something,” McCarthy told Cohen.
“This is 40 years ago almost. It still touches whatever it touches with people. It’s like, ‘Wow. Okay, interesting.’ And so that’s saying something too.”
