THE actors made famous by writer-director John Hughes were yesterday extolling his talents after his death, calling him “one of the giants” for capturing the youth market in the 1980s and 90s.

Film director John Hughes has died of a heart attack in New York, a spokeswoman said today.

BITTERSWEET movies about teenagers’ quests to be cool reigned at the MTV Movie Awards on Saturday, with high school comedies Napoleon Dynamite and Mean Girls picking up many of the event’s quirky awards.