David Blum Coined the ‘Brat Pack’ — and He Stands by It

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( about that night … [I Called Them Brats, and I Stand by It]( Forty years and a doc later, I still don’t know why my words “Hollywood’s Brat Pack” caused so much agony. Photo: Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Most people credit me with the birth of the Brat Pack. That’s flattering, but not really true. What happened was, I destroyed the Brat Pack. The Brat Pack was left for dead on the night I named them in 1985. I didn’t set out that evening with premeditated murder in mind, just excitement over the possibility of a cover story. I was 29 years old and restless for success in my new job at New York Magazine when young actors Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, and Rob Lowe agreed to join me for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, presumably so confident in their capacity to charm that they neglected to notice my murder weapon: a notebook and pen. While the St. Elmo’s Fire stars amused themselves for hours by repeatedly toasting “na zdorovye!” with vodka shots, shamelessly flirting with an endless parade of eager women, and boldly cutting lines at nearby after-hours nightclubs, I quietly scribbled what I saw. It didn’t take long to land on a line that would perfectly capture the narrative I’d stumbled on — a story vastly more interesting than the one I’d set out to write. Here was [Hollywood’s Brat Pack](. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Top Chef: Wisconsin: [Fish Food]( • The Boys: [Toys for Our Amusement]( • Bridgerton: [On the Clock (Episode 5)](, [It’s Just Gossip (Episode 6)]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [The Emmys in the Age of Gourmet Cheeseburgers What will the awards show look like as the streaming era matures?]( By Josef Adalian and Joe Reid [Hollywood’s Brat Pack They’re Rob, Emilio, Sean, Tom, Judd, and the rest—the young movie stars you can’t quite keep straight. But they’re already rich and famous.]( [Notes on L’Affaire Paramount With Skydance out, what happens now?]( By Josef Adalian [Are You Ready for 40% More Cinematrix? Weekend editions arrive this Saturday. Two extra games, eighteen more squares, still nine guesses.]( [What Rachel Maddow Is Listening To “There is a part of me that’s still in grad school.”]( By Nicholas Quah [House of the Dragon Schemes Its Way to Third Season The plots to take the Iron Throne never cease.]( By Zoe Guy [Emma D’Arcy Is Thrilled With Queen Rhaenyra’s New Trousers “You start to think about what one craves from clothes.”]( By Fran Hoepfner [Everybody Hurts, Even Bill Berry The R.E.M. drummer admits he “sort of regretted” leaving the band when he did.]( By Devon Ivie [Tig Notaro on Her Favorite and Most Expensive Jokes “When I would try and stick it into a regular set, it didn’t do well. It just needed me to have cancer.”]( By Jesse David Fox [Which 2024 Indie Game Should You Play? Let’s sift through all of indie gamings’ new, shiny things.]( By Ashley Bardhan [Idina Menzel Is Venturing Into the Redwood And, even more importantly, into the 2025 Best Actress in a Musical Tony race.]( By Jason P. Frank [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 10-Across, Eight Letters: “Crunchwrap Supreme” fast-food chain Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images, Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images, Amy Sussman/Getty Images [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name a George Clooney movie with a number in the title? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Steven Ferdman/WireImage, Taylor Hill/WireImage, Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis via Getty Images A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved