Fans are mindblown after realising something about the black and white movie
Home Alone fans are losing it after they have made a realisation about the movie within the movie within the Christmas classic.
It is hard enough to find new things to talk about for any film nowadays with the prevalence of social media, but even harder than that is finding something new to say about one of the most talked about films of all time.
As such, when someone finds something new to say about Home Alone, fans were always going to lose it.
Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone (20th Century Studios)
One such fan took to TikTok to share some facts about the film, and they really range in interest.
‘Fuller is actually Macauley’s younger brother’ is a sentence that should be offensive to any Succession fans, and Joe Pesci avoiding Macauley on set to appear meaner is a very well-known story nowadays.
Alas, one slide blew fans away, as they revealed the black and white movie in the film isn’t even real.
Angels with Filthy Souls is the name of the black and white movie that Kevin watches in the film and eventually uses to scare off both a pizza guy looking for payment and the Wet Bandits.
Here’s a reminder of the scene in case you forgot:
LAD: Home Alone Film Angels With Filthy Souls
Credit: Home Alone/20th Century Fox
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The iconic ‘keep the change you filthy animal’ unfortunately isn’t from some gruff 60s or 70s gangster film, it is an actual fact entirely made up for Home Alone.
One fan commented: “It broke my heart when I found out the gangster movie wasn’t real.
“I thought it was some classic movie from the black and white era.”
Another commented: “IT’S NOT A REAL MOVIE???”
A third said: “I’m actually disappointed that the movie Kevin put on isn’t real”.
A screen grab from the fake film in Home Alone (20th Century Studios)
Seth Rogen even tweeted: “My entire childhood, I thought the old timey movie that Kevin watches in Home Alone (Angels With Filthy Souls) was actually an old movie.”
Christopher Columbus, the film’s director who went on to helm the first Harry Potter film, said in an interview with Business Insider that he believes that the lighting contributes to why people think it’s a real film.
He said: “Home Alone’ is one of the last films shot with an old carbon-arc lighting system that was popular back in the 1940s through 1960s for Technicolor films.
“We also shot the ‘Angels with Filthy Souls’ scene the same way.
“That richness of black and white made it look like a movie from that era and I think that’s why some people think it’s a real movie”.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Columbus even revealed that they shot the entire set of scenes for the fake gangster film in just one day.Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros
Topics: Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin, TikTok, Film, Seth Rogen, TV and Film
Michael Slavin
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Updated 14:12 15 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 12:44 12 Dec 2024 GMT
Fans notice blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in Home Alone decades later which reveals why Kevin was left behind
It’s a tiny but important moment
For years people watching Home Alone have asked the same question: “Wait, how on earth do they leave a whole child behind when they leave for the airport?!”
Fans of the 1990 festive classic have been wondering why for years and now, whether it’s because of the advent of the internet revealing what people maybe have already known or just because streaming allows us to interrogate more closely, it’s been revealed why.
Two separate hidden details found in the film have revealed the reason why Kevin McAllister, played by Macaulay Culkin, is left behind.
Macaulay Culkin as Kevin in Home Alone (20th Century Studios)
Both were noticed in the subreddit for r/moviedetails, which is a hotbed for people infinitely more perceptive than me noticing secret little bits in films.
Personally, I just always thought it was the family’s complete incompetence and a lack of care about Kevin that led to it, but the two posts have pointed out two moments that contributed to him being left behind.
The first explains what happened to Kevin’s plane ticket in the film.
The post was titled: “Ever wonder what happened to Kevin’s plane ticket in Home Alone?” and the video shows how, after the fight in which Kevin and Buzz knock over drinks over passports, Kevin’s dad Peter picks up all the paper towels that have been soaked and throws them in the bin. Take a look:
Why Kevin was left behind in Home Alone
Credit: 20th Century Studios
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Yes, in the process, Peter picks up a plane ticket labelled ‘Kevin’ and throws it in the bin.
The blink and you’ll miss it moment shows why, when looking through all the tickets for a final check as they leave for the airport, they don’t notice they don’t have Kevins.
Secondly, another post says: “In Home Alone (1990) when they counted the people for the trip they say there’s 17 people in total. An odd number between two vans means they will be split 8/9.
“Since Kevin was missing both vans had 8 people instead, making each group assume they were on the 8-people van, not suspecting a thing.”
Fans were shocked at the realisation which seems to have unlocked one of the film’s core questions decades.
The kids in Home Alone being counted (20th Century Studios)
One comment on the first post pointed out another detail that contributes, saying: “This along with the power going out which explains why their alarms didn’t go off are nice, small details I never noticed until some 20 years later.”
A comment on the second read: “This is a fun detail just because the writer (John Hughes) was extremely worried about having a bulletproof plot to answer ALL questions of but how did they forget Kevin? with reasonable explanations.
Just fun that he covered tracks I haven’t even picked up on”.
And another said: “I like that people are arguing over this. The point was that the mistake was believable. The other details don’t change this fact.”Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
Topics: Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin, Film, TV and Film
Michael Slavin
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Published 10:40 24 Dec 2024 GMT
Home Alone 2 director explained the real reason Donald Trump was in the film
Home Alone 2 director Chris Columbus has lifted the lid on Donald Trump’s inclusion
Award-winning director Chris Columbus has revealed the real reason why Donald Trump’s cameo was kept in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
The 1992 sequel, watched around the world at Christmas time, sees Macaulay Culkin return as Kevin McCallister, who accidentally boards the wrong flight during a family trip to Florida.
‘Home Alone 2025’ parody trailer
Credit: VJ4rawr2 via YouTube
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He famously ends up in New York City, all on his own, with his father’s credit card.
After checking in to the Plaza Hotel, owned by Donald Trump, Kevin yet again crosses paths with Harry and Marv (played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), who have freshly escaped from prison.
The second movie also sees Catherine O’Hara and the late John Heard return as Kevin’s parents, as well as Tim Curry and Rob Schneider, starring as hotel staff.
We all remember the scene (20th Century Fox)
But perhaps the most memorable cameos of all time sees the future US President briefly encounter Kevin in the hallway of his hotel to give directions.
However, in a 2020 interview with Business Insider, the director claimed that Trump only let the crew film there if he could be included in the movie.
“Like most locations in New York City, you just pay a fee and you are allowed to shoot in that location,” Columbus explained.
“We approached The Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time, because we wanted to shoot in the lobby. We couldn’t rebuild The Plaza on a soundstage.
1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is still watched by millions at Christmas time (20th Century Fox)
“Trump said OK. We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.’”
After keeping Trump’s cameo in for the initial screenings, it was the reaction it got that made up Columbus’ mind.
“When we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen. So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience,’” he added.
Responding to claims that he ‘bullied’ his way into the movie, the politician took to his social media platform Truth Social to respond in 2023.
“They rented the Plaza hotel in New York, which I owned at the time. I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent,” Trump insisted.
“I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time.
“People call me whenever it is aired.”Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox
Topics: Donald Trump, Christmas, Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin
Anish Vij
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Published 14:41 24 Dec 2024 GMT
Pigeon lady star from Home Alone 2 has made heartbreaking admission about her acting career
Brenda Fricker starred as the homeless woman living in Central Park with her pigeons in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
The woman who famously starred as the ‘pigeon lady’ in Home Alone 2 has made a heartbreaking admission about her acting career.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 32 years since Kevin McCallister’s parents lost their child for the second time in quick succession.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York sees Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) accidentally board a plane to New York City while his family head to Florida for Christmas.
‘Home Alone 2025’ parody trailer
Credit: VJ4rawr2 via YouTube
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After checking in to Donald Trump’s The Plaza hotel with his dad’s credit card, the 10-year-old must yet again deal with the Wet Bandits, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) who have escaped from prison.
Along the way Kevin comes across a kind-hearted pigeon enthusiast (played by Brenda Fricker and not Piers Morgan), who helps him to defeat the criminals once and for all.
Fricker reached the pinnacle of Hollywood in 1990 after becoming the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, starring alongside Daniel Day-Lewis in biopic My Left Foot.
Brenda Fricker starred as the homeless woman living in Central Park with her pigeons in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (20th Century Fox)
After featuring in Home Alone 2 in 1992, she went on to star in So I Married an Axe Murderer, Angels in the Outfield and A Time to Kill.
However the now 79-year-old has suggested in a recent interview with The Times that her career has taken an unfortunate turn since turning 70.
“They don’t write for old women,” she said. “Shakespeare wrote for old women, but none of the young writers do. None.
“There are so many wonderful people around … interesting women with history and stories. Remember these words when you turn 70: you become invisible.
“Richard Harris said that to me while sitting on the rocks looking out over the Atlantic Ocean and it stuck in my head. On my 70th birthday I thought, ‘He’s wrong, I feel great.’
The Irish actor made a heartbreaking admission about her acting career (20th Century Fox)
“A week later I knew exactly what he meant. It’s weird. You have to shout to be heard. So it’s not that I’m out of work for any other reason — there are no parts to do.”
That being said, Fricker joked that she is happy to not be involved in the new ‘sober’ Hollywood.
On how the industry has changed, the actor said: “I was thinking back to the days when we were all pissed in the BBC bar, but the work was ten times more creative because we were all losing our inhibitions and picking up the courage to say things.
“That’s all gone. It’s all sober people, just sitting around tables.
“I sound like an alcoholic, I’m not. There’s just a looseness about it.
“Do you know what wasn’t around as much, actually? Ambition. I never heard anyone using that word.
“There was no greed about work, or competitiveness. There was just joy and fun.”Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Studios/Tommy Tiernan Show
Topics: Home Alone, Christmas, Film, Macaulay Culkin
Anish Vij
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Published 16:37 23 Dec 2024 GMT
Woman who lived in Home Alone house during filming reveals what it was like
A real house that had a real family living there during the filming of Home Alone
A woman who grew up in the real life Home Alone house during the creation of the 1990 Christmas classic movie has revealed what it was really like at the time of filming.
For many, it is the greatest festive film ever made and embodies everything about the festive spirit (paint cans and irons to the face aside, maybe). And the warm fuzzy feeling that the film gives many is personified in the house at the centre of filming.
Home Alone follows Macaulay Culkin, who plays eight-year-old Kevin McCallister as he defends their family home in suburban Chicago from the Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern).
Why Kevin was left behind in Home Alone
Credit: 20th Century Studios
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It sees Kevin turn their huge, idyllic home into a boobytrapped jungle of painful goings on for the hapless criminal duo.
And the home is a very real property worth £4 million just outside of Chicago, Illinois.
Currently in the process of being sold for millions of dollars, it has had a huge makeover since its 1990 days.
But go back 34 years and you had an actual family living in the property. Among those living there, in the wealthy neighbourhood of Winnetka, was Lauren Abendshien.
Lauren Abendshien, whose parents owned the famous McCallister house when the movie was filmed (ITV)
Now 40 years old, she was six at the time of the film being made.
Recalling what life at the house was like during the months of filming that took place there, she told ITV’s This Morning that they actively lived in the house while filming was happening.
She said: “We stayed in the house pretty much the entire period, which was about four or five months.
“In order to avoid appearing onscreen, we would have to crawl around the window line from room to room.”
The Home Alone house in the film (20th Century Fox)
The house regularly hosted crew and cast during downtime, too, with Macaulay Culkin and younger brother Kieran spending a lot of time indoors.
Abendshein said: “They would spend time in the house when they weren’t filming their scenes.
“Macaulay Culkin used my room to study with his tutor and his brother [Kieran], wasn’t filming as much, so he would just hang out in my room.”
On the success of the film, the Abendshien family said it was ‘something special’ but that they couldn’t have imagined just how big it has become.
The Home Alone house (20th Century Fox)
“It was very surreal when the movie came out and all of a sudden it’s holiday season in 1990 and it was an endless row of cars and people wanted to see the house and take photographs and that was very new to us, but we grew to love it and we shared the magic of the movie,” she said.
While external shots of the house were the real deal, a lot of the internal shots were actually from somewhere two miles down the road.
The film’s indoor scenes were shot at New Trier Township High School, an abandoned property that was big enough for the production to create the appropriate sets and a sound stage, with director Chris Columbus unable to do the stunts inside the house due to the space needed for the film crew.