Editing That Was Then... This Is Now (section)

==Production==
In 1982, Emilo Estevez co-starred in the film version of S.E. Hinton's ''[[Tex (film)|Tex]]''. During filming, Estevez read ''[[That Was Then, This Is Now]]'', also by Hinton, and enjoyed the book so much he drafted several screenplays before purchasing the rights. Estevez described the book as "a very intense, dark piece. It's kind of like the old [[Pat O'Brien (actor)|Pat O'Brien]]-[[James Cagney|Jimmy Cagney]] movies where O'Brien becomes the priest and Cagney becomes the gangster". Estevez did a rewrite of the film during the making of ''The Breakfast Club'', staying up all night to write after the typical 12 hour filming day. After speaking with Hinton, who recommended he also play one of the characters, Estevez attempted to sell the screenplay, but studios were reluctant.<ref name="Caulfield">{{Cite news |author=Caulfield, DEBORAH |date=February 20, 1985 |title="BREAKFAST CLUB": FOOD FOR THOUGHT ON A YOUTH FILM A YOUNG TURK NAMED ESTEVEZ |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-20-ca-479-story.html}}</ref>

Estevez' father [[Martin Sheen]] bought the rights to ''That Was Then, This Is Now'' in 1982.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Smith, D.|date=Jul 15, 1982|title=Hinton: What boys are made of|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |id={{ProQuest|153190542}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 8, 1982 |author=Christian Williams |title=Hinton on the scene |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/10/08/hinton-on-the-scene/341ba4c6-a12e-45f8-879c-7d5ab72776d7/}}</ref> "I knew it would be hot", said Estevez of the novel, who said in 1983 he wanted to star along with [[Tom Cruise]].<ref>{{Cite news|author=Deans, L.|date=Apr 8, 1983|title=LA CLIPS thomas howell: An outsider who feels left out|work=The Globe and Mail|id={{ProQuest|386670534}}}}</ref> Estevez found two Midwest producers interested in making the film and they succeeded in raising the finance. One of them, Gary Lindberg, ran a production company that mostly made TV commercials, based in Minnesota.<ref name="min" /> The film was shot in the summer of 1984 in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]], without a distributor. It was later advertised as "the first Minnesota movie".<ref name="Caulfield" /><ref name="min" />

Sheen recommended his son play Bryon Douglas, but Estevez, wary of being typecast, chose to play what he saw as the "sympathetic bad guy".<ref name="Caulfield" /> Estevez said: "There's probably a lot of him in me, the alter ego screaming to get out every once in a while. Fortunately, I was able to vent it in a film and not in real life".<ref>{{Cite news |author=Blau, R. |date=Oct 31, 1985 |title=EMILIO ESTEVEZ: A HOT YOUNG ACTOR VENTURES INTO RISKY NEW ROLES |work=Chicago Tribune |id={{ProQuest|290878425}}}}</ref>

Estevez said that they have been able to learn from the other Hinton adaptations: "We made it very contemporary, hired a brilliant cinematographer. The cast is primarily unknowns so it has a real feel – you're not watching movie stars. The emotional content is so rich, so full, it's absolutely draining. It's a terrific movie".<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1985 |author=Paula Span |title=Emilio estevez, seriously |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/06/26/emilio-extevez-seriously/217a670b-a74e-4fcc-8e3d-83e2945d7c2b/}}</ref>