Here's what we do in entertainment news when we get word someone famous dies:

1) Put out calls and e-mails to confirm what we are hearing

2) Gather all the related video and information about how they died and their body of work

3) Put out calls and e-mails to the publicists of those also-famous folks who may have known or have worked with the person who has died, to sort of put the reporting in larger perspective.

Usually, the publicist will return our official request with a short "statement" from the celebrity they represent. We get the star's words as filtered through the media handler.

About an hour ago, the publicist for Steve Martin wanted to know if it would be alright if Steve called me personally to reply to my inquiry and share his recollections and thoughts. Now, I realize he wasn't calling ME - Rachel - he was calling CNN, but suddenly don't I feel special? "Steve Martin will be calling me himself!", I bragged to my colleagues. "See if he'll play the banjo for you," someone said.

Then, came the call (number was blocked from caller ID of course), and I realized I was talking to a guy, who was rather shocked and saddened to hear that someone he really personally respected had passed on. At CNN we're not only often the first to break the news on air, but sometimes we're breaking news to those you wish you didn't have to tell - famous and not.

I think Steve called personally because he wanted to know what I knew, or what CNN knew, about John Hughes' death.

Here's what he shared with me and what we're reporting:

“He was such a great writer who created so many enduring characters for film, both as a director and a writer. His real gift was in creating these identifiable characters.”

“The script for ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles’ was the best script I had ever read. When I asked John how long it took to write it, he said, ‘I wrote it over the weekend’. The weekend. That shows you what he was able to do.” (Martin says the script for “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” still holds as the best script he has ever read and only film on which they worked together)

“He was funny from the start. You know he began his career writing for ‘National Lampoon’…. A piece called ‘My Vagina’. Very funny. Right from the beginning. If you haven’t read it, you should find it.”

Thanks, Steve. I just read it. He's brilliant. Thanks for taking the time.

Every time I go home and drive around, it’s like a John Hughes movie. Hailing from the North Shore of Chicago –- Glenview specifically -– I can pause a Hughes movie at any point and show you where it was filmed. And now that he’s passed on, I think about my area through the lens of his movies.

Take "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Some scenes from the quintessential ‘80s flick were filmed at Glenbrook North High School, sister high school to my alma mater, Glenbrook South. I remember walking the grounds of the Northbrook school after weekly district orchestra rehearsals on Wednesdays. Sure, my boyfriend at the time didn’t pull up in a rad ride to pick me up, but I still stood on those steps.

Or "The Breakfast Club," which used the library of Maine North High School in Des Plaines. While the school has been closed for a number of years, fans can still drive down Harrison Street to catch a glimpse of the ‘80s-movie site. It is home to various state agencies and the Illinois State Police now.

And when I was about 7 years old, my parents made a short excursion to see the original house from “Home Alone,” a multimillion dollar property that sits in the upscale suburb of Winnetka. It was adorned in twinkling Christmas lights and the ground was covered in snow, much like it was in the movie.

Wherever I cruise around in suburbs of Chicago, I think of all those classic hits. Hughes’ films have certainly made me proud to say I’m from the North Shore.

How about you? How did Hughes’ movies affect your life? Which one’s your favorite? Tell us at iReport.com.

John Hughes' publicist, Paul Bloch, just released this statement:

“John Hughes, prolific director of such culturally significant films such as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Home Alone has died suddenly of a heart attack while taking a morning walk during a trip to Manhattan to visit family. John Wilden Hughes, Jr., born on February 18th, 1950 in Michigan, was a self-made man whose career began as an advertising copywriter in Chicago.  His films helped launch countless careers and revealed to a global audience the humor, sensitivity and nuances of everyday people in the suburbs of Chicago. In the last decade, he stepped back from the legacy he created to enjoy time with his family, maintain a functioning farm in northern Illinois and support independent arts. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Nancy, two sons, John and James, and four grandchildren.”

If Michael Jackson was central to the soundtrack of the '80s, John Hughes was the decade's teen movie master.

That decade was high school and college for my generation, and there wasn't anyone whose movies we quoted more to each other than Hughes'.  He tapped into our feelings and fears with humor and heart, knew how we talked and related to each other (or didn't), and portrayed us as smart and sensitive, even when we screwed up.

To me, The Breakfast Club was his best work, as he gave souls to stereotypes, but that entire decade was an amazing run.  Just look at some of the films he wrote, produced, and/or directed over a five-year period:

• 1983: Mr. Mom, Vacation
• 1984: Sixteen Candles
• 1985: The Breakfast Club, European Vacation, Weird Science
• 1986: Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• 1987: Some Kind of Wonderful

Hughes had many more credits, of course, including writing Home Alone and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, but say his name to anyone from that generation, and it's the Brat Pack films and their characters that will fill the conversation: Bender and Claire, Andie and Duckie, Gary and Wyatt, and "Save Ferris!"  More than 20 years later, those films still delight me and resonate with me, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with my own child someday.

What are your favorite moments and memories from John Hughes movies?

We just confirmed that director and writer John Hughes died. He had a heart attack while walking in New York City today.

All I can think, is "Wow". I strangely owe this man so much. "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Pretty in Pink", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Genius. I can honestly say Hughes is single-handedly is responsible for most of my personal cultural touchstones and so many sayings woven into my permanent vernacular... "Beuller.. Anyone? ... Beuller?"  Hilarity. Still.
If you came of age in the 80's you have them too.
What are your favorite lines or unforgettable moments from a John Hughes film?

Miley Cyrus fans have a chance to be her "roadie for a day." The popular "Hannah Montana" star is auctioning off that honor as well as outfits she's worn at premieres, on movie sets and for the cover of US Weekly's Power Girls cover.

All of the proceeds will benefit her family charity, The Pappy Cyrus Foundation, named after her grandfather. The foundation supports children's causes and programs.

The charity auction on ebay starts tonight at 7pm ET and runs though August 13th at www.ebay.com/miley .

The actor-singer-author has been busy. She just wrapped up filming on "The Last Song" and her 45 city tour starts September 14th in Portland Oregon.

The upcoming thriller, "A Perfect Getaway," starring Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Kiele Sanchez, and Timothy Olyphant, centers on a honeymoon couple who face a multitude of dangers while on a remote hike in Hawaii. Oddly enough, the film wasn't shot there, but in Puerto Rico - and it was there that the film's two leading ladies encountered something in the wild that left their mark - bugs. I caught up with Sanchez and Jovovich at the movie's premiere at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood tonight and they told me the island's insects did not taking a liking to them.

Timothy Olyphant and Milla Jovovich attend the premiere of "A Perfect Getaway" on August 5.

"I did get attacked by something," Sanchez says. "The dermatologist came and I was covered in bites, so much so that they had to cover me in make-up every day. The dermatologist said it was –whatever the Spanish equivalent of this is - "gringa disease. " She laughed. "They were just basically making fun of me.  Oh yeah, put the cream on it, it'll be better. "

Jovovich had a similiar reaction while holding her baby daughter. "There was a point where I was holding my four month old daughter and I felt stings on my leg and I didn't understand what was happening until they really started stinging really hard and I looked down and saw that I was standing on a red ant hill. There were red ants all over me, stinging me and I started doing this crazy dance with my four month old daughter in my arms just trying to get away - and hold her so she doesn't fall. You do a film you think you're under control, but mother nature is."

For his part, Olyphant says shooting in the wild was a breeze. "It was not that demanding of a shoot," he says with a grin. "We might have been guilty of starting to drink early. There's the beach and the sun's going down and a little rum wouldn't hurt."

And Jovovich had the perfect calorie-conscious cocktail ready. It was her own tropical drink made with Splenda. She called it the “Mojita-vich” of course...

Here's what's going on in the world of entertainment this morning:

• Reaction to Paula Abdul's announcement to leave "American Idol" continues to come in: The Los Angeles Times reports that Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer of "So You Think You Can Dance" (and former executive producer of "American Idol") is interested in hiring Abdul to be a judge on his show. Meanwhile, "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest is "shocked" and fellow judge Randy Jackson "couldn't believe it."

• The ensemble cast of the upcoming film "Machete," co-directed by Robert Rodriguez reportedly includes Lindsay Lohan.

• Leonardo DiCaprio and director Ridley Scott are teaming up to bring the literary classic "Brave New World" to the screen, says The Hollywood Reporter.

• Jay Leno confirms: no desk for his new show, but of course, there will be a monologue.

• "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" just surpassed "Finding Nemo" as the highest-grossing animated title ever overseas, according to Variety.

• The Chicago Tribune reports that its own film critic Michael Phillips, and the New York Times' A.O. Scott will replace Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz as hosts of "At the Movies," one year after Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper were replaced as hosts of the program.

• Oscar-winning screenwriter Budd Schulberg ("On the Waterfront") has died at the age of 95.

Wednesday night's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" offered up plenty of surprises as the final four dancers performed for an audience of 3,000 in Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, the biggest of which was the emergence of a dark horse as a real contender.

Here's a look at each of the remaining dancers and their chances of taking the big prize of "America's Favorite Dancer" Thursday night:

Brandon Bryant: He immediately became the front-runner after Janette was voted off two weeks ago, and hasn't missed a beat since. Last week's solo was probably his biggest moment so far, he did another exemplary solo this week and he was in two of the most memorable couples dances of the night: the extraordinary Broadway routine with Kayla and the smoking paso doble with Jeanine. Looking back on the season as a whole, there are just too many high points for him to count. Judge Mary Murphy warned him about his lack of confidence, and that may be the only thing standing between him and victory. Well, maybe not the only thing (see below)... Odds of winning: 3-to-2

Jeanine Mason: Not only did Jeanine seem to be a long shot to win this competition, she seemed unlikely to make the final four just two weeks ago. She has peaked at exactly the right time, delivering a pirouette-filled solo (in which she "tangoed" with herself) which had the judges and the audience on their feet. Solos always seemed to be her weakness but she really delivered this week. She held her own in the contemporary routine with Kayla, and continued to get high praise after dancing with Evan and Brandon. Of all of the dancers, she seems to "want it" the most this week. Odds of winning: 3-to-1

Evan Kasprzak: Well, this is the search for "America's Favorite Dancer," is it not? The judges acknowledged time and time again how popular and gosh-darn-likable the show's first Broadway dancer has been in his time on the show. But they made it very clear that he was far from their favorite to win. They were pretty harsh with Evan, and even his solo, which always wows them, was met with respectable comments at best. At one point, the thousands in the theater almost turned on the judges, chanting "Evan! Evan!" This certainly wasn't Evan's best night by any means, but don't count him out. Odds of winning: 2-to-1

Kayla Radomski: She finally came out of her shell tonight and gave us some personality, said executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. Of course, the dancers with a personality deficit have a history of coming in second, or worse, on this show ("Twitch" notwithstanding). There's no doubt that she gave it her all dancing to "Bye Bye Love" with Brandon, and just plain out-dancing Evan in the jive. But her solo didn't show off who she really is, according to Shankman, and that may have sealed "White Lightning's" fate. Odds of winning: 4-to-1

A few more observations:

- Kudos to Lythgoe for actually naming names when asked by host Cat Deeley who might win (Jeanine or Brandon), as opposed to his fellow judges.

- I'm not exactly sure what Wade Robson, creator of some of the most ingenious, yet twisted dances in the show's history, was thinking with that group routine, sorry. Are we sure that was actually a Robson routine? Just checking.

- Someone decided to overuse the spotlight in the Kodak Theatre and it was distracting. A little less of that during the live finale, okay?

- Does this mean we'll never get to see Mia Michaels choreographing Brandon (the group routine doesn't really count)? What a bummer.

Who are you pulling for in the finale?