Demi Moore Recalls How ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ Director ‘Stuck His Neck Out For Me’

By Emma Chance | Celebrity | June 14, 2024 |

By Emma Chance | Celebrity | June 14, 2024 |

Demi Moore reunited with her fellow Brat Pack alum, Andrew McCarthy, for Brats, McCarthy’s new documentary about the circle of young actors they were part of in the ’80s. They reflected on when they met on the set of St. Elmo’s Fire, directed by Joel Schumacher:

“I remember when I first saw you,” McCarthy said to Moore. “We were on the soundstage at Columbia for St. Elmo’s Fire. My memory is Joel kind of brought you in and presented you to the room as this creature that he’s created. And it was just so weird. I just remember [thinking], ‘Why is Joel treating her like that?’”

But Moore said she was thankful for the treatment that McCarthy read as strange.

“But you know what was so beautiful is, he really stuck his neck out for me, because it’s not like I had any box office draw,” she explained. “We were all just beginning. I didn’t have anything to really warrant him sticking by me. They paid to have a sober companion with me 24/7 during the whole shooting.”

Moore is open about her past struggles with substance abuse. She went to rehab right before filming St. Elmo’s Fire, so her sobriety was still fragile at the time.

“They could have easily just found someone else,” she remarked. “Going to treatment, they were like, ‘We want you to check in.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, I’m starting a movie.’ And they said, ‘Yes, but what’s more important for you: the movie or your life?’ And I said, ‘The movie! C’mon, what are you talking about?’ For me, I didn’t have any value for myself. I think I was so fearful of failing, fearful of losing, and desperate to kind of fit in [and] belong. My need to please was definitely on high alert.”

Moore was sober for 20 years after that experience before relapsing and seeking treatment again in 2012. She’s been sober since then, and now she’s experiencing a bit of a renaissance. Get used to seeing her face more, and her dog’s face too.

Brats is now streaming on Hulu.