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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Updated 17:21 17 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 17:14 17 Dec 2024 GMT
Why Hollywood legend was paid just £325 to star in Home Alone
A film that made $476 million at the box office only paid one of its biggest names a few hundred dollars
One of the biggest names to star in Home Alone was only paid a few hundred pounds, despite the movie’s $18 million budget and $476 million box office performance.
Released back in 1990, the Christmas flick stars Macaulay Culkin in the iconic role of Kevin McCallister, who is tasked with defending his home from two rather rubbish thieves looking to steal his family’s belongings while they’re away in Paris.
Kevin is accidentally left behind while his family jets off to Europe from Chicago, much to the horror of his mother Kate (Catherine O’Hara) and the annoyance of thieves Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern).
Home Alone trailer
Credit: 20th Century Fox
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Directed by Chris Columbus, what comes next is more than 90 minutes of pranks and tomfoolery as Kevin does his best to secure the McCallister mansion from the Wet Bandits.
Away from the goings on in the Chicago suburb where the McCallisters’ call home, Kevin’s mum Kate flies back to the US on the next available flight.
She ends up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she is told there are zero flights with seats to Chicago.
Out of the blue comes Kate’s very own Father Christmas, granting her one wish of getting back to Chicago and to Kevin.
O’Hara and Candy in one of their iconic scenes (20th Century Fox)
In the airport, she meets Gus Polinski, the lead member of a traveling polka band which is on its way to Milwaukee.
Polinksi, played by Hollywood legend John Candy, offers Kate a spot in the back of their crowded and less than luxurious moving van – something she greatly receives.
While not the main man, Candy’s supporting role in Home Alone is still substantial. Despite this, and despite his career to date, he was only paid $414 (£325) for his appearance in Home Alone.
Prior to Home Alone, Candy – who is probably best known for 1993’s Cool Runnings – appeared in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Armed and Dangerous, Spaceballs, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
The travelling polka band helping Kevin’s mum out (20th Century Fox)
The definition of a household name for many, especially those residing in the US.
Candy’s time on set lasted for just one day. But why the small fee?
Well, it was basically a favour to a friend.
“He was on the movie for only one day, but it resulted in so much great improvisation,” Chris Columbus said in a previous interview. “None of that stuff was in the script.
Candy was paid pennies in comparison to some (20th Century Fox)
“The funeral parlour story – that was all improvised at 4.30 in the morning. We could barely keep a straight face on set just listening to John.”
Columbus said there was a ‘little resentment’ from Candy but that the pay was ‘was a deal between him and [writer and producer] John Hughes at the time’.
“We did a movie together after that, Only the Lonely, and there were a couple times on set when he would make a cutting remark about Fox and what he was paid,” Columbus said.Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox
Topics: Home Alone, Film, Christmas, Money, Celebrity, Entertainment, Macaulay Culkin
Tom Earnshaw
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Published 12:47 18 Dec 2024 GMT
Macaulay Culkin pocketed extra £14,000,000 for Home Alone 2 after securing unique contract clause
Home Alone was a box office smash, with the sequel also bringing in millions
Iconic child actor Macaulay Culkin found himself more than £14 million richer after the release of Home Alone 2 due to a unique clause inserted in his contract for the sequel.
Arguably the most famous and successful child star of all time, Culkin starred in the first Home Alone back in 1990 before its successor, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, two years later.
With other films to his name including Richie Rich, he came a certified Hollywood star by the age of 14, before he took a hiatus from acting at the aged 15 returning eight years later.
How Kevin got left behind in Home Alone
20th Century Fox
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Home Alone saw the New Yorker star as eight-year-old Kevin McCallister as he defends his family’s Chicago mansion from two rather awful criminals known as the Wet Bandits.
Harry and Marv, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, target the McCallister home after the family fly to Paris to celebrate Christmas.
The problem for everyone involved is that Kevin is accidentally left behind by mum and dad Kate and Peter, played by Catherine O’Hara and John Heard. And for those still curious, the reason for him being forgotten about was recently clocked by avid fans.
Macaulay Culkin and brother Kieran both starred in Home Alone (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Home Alone was an instant success, bringing in $476.7 million at the box office during its theatrical run; an amount equivalent to roughly $1.15 billion in 2024 with inflation factored in.
It meant that when discussions started about a holiday-themed sequel to the blockbuster, the actors involved knew their worth more than ever.
That included one half of the Wet Bandits, with Daniel Stern initially rejecting his contract for the film because he felt he was worth more.
Culkin earned $110,000 (£86,500) for the original film; an amount that ballooned to a whopping £5 million (£3.93 million) for the sequel set in New York.
Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone (20th Century Studios)
But his real earnings from the film came after its release, pocketing almost £20 million extra on top of the initial five for the actual acting.
That’s because he had a special clause inserted in to his contract for the sequel. And it was all to do with the success of the first film.
According to Stern’s new 2024 memoir, Home and Alone, he revealed that Culkin was given five percent of the box office takings for Home Alone 2.
Despite the sequel earning less than the initial film, it still grossed a humongous $359 million (£282.5 million).
Home Alone is a classic (20th Century Fox)
This meant that Culkin’s five percent cut of the takings came in at a cool $17.95 million, which equated to £14.1 million.
Inflation factored in, that’s worth a whopping £31.71 million in 2024.
Back in the 1990s, Culkin ended up with a trust fund worth $50 million. Operated by his parents, he ended up taking both their names off of it for one very particular reason.Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox
Topics: Macaulay Culkin, Home Alone, Film, Celebrity, Money, Entertainment, Christmas
Tom Earnshaw
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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.Featured Image Credit: ITV / 20th Century Fox
Topics: Home Alone, Film, Christmas, US News, Macaulay Culkin, Home, Property, Nostalgia
Tom Earnshaw
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Published 15:16 20 Dec 2024 GMT
Home Alone actor who earned millions from special contract reveals the worst injury he got filming the movies
Daniel Stern starred as Marv Murchins in the first two Home Alone films
One of the main actors from the Home Alone films who made millions via his special contract has revealed the one stunt that left him ‘purple’ due to the injuries he suffered while being pranked by Kevin McCallister.
Both Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York follow Kevin McCallister as he takes on the terrible career criminals known as the Wet Bandits.
The Wet Bandits, made up of Harry Lyme (Joe Pesci) and Marv Murchins (Daniel Stern), take on the young Chicago boy twice during Christmastime after first trying to steal from the McCallister family home and then attempting to ransack a toy store in New York City.
How Kevin got left behind in Home Alone
20th Century Fox
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On both occasions, Kevin – played by the superbly talented Macaulay Culkin – is left alone at Christmas and has to fend for himself, doing his utmost best to get one over both of the Wet Bandits and stop them in their tracks.
A major way in which he does that is through is traps; first in his family home in Home Alone followed by his uncle’s NYC townhouse in Home Alone 2.
And jeez, they don’t half look like they hurt. The question is, which hurt the most?
Marv actor Daniel Stern revealed exactly this during a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) in which he took questions from film fans asking about his career.
Standing on glass baubles after taking an iron to the face were just two of the prank Marv was subjected to by Kevin (20th Century Fox)
Stern revealed earlier this year that he earned millions extra in royalties for Home Alone 2 after inserting a special clause into his contract for the film.
On the pranks set out by Kevin, one Redditor asked Stern: “Hey, thanks for coming to Reddit. Enjoy your stay.
“Something that has always puzzled me. Did you ever get an injury from home alone? If so how bad was it?”
Responding, Stern revealed it wasn’t the paint-pot pendulums of Home Alone that were the worst. Nor was it the electrocution scene in Home Alone 2, which is no surprise the fact they didn’t actually electrocute him.
The falling iron down the ventilation shaft in Home Alone also wasn’t the McCallister prank that sprung to mind.
Marv and Harry were taught a lesson by Kevin (20th Century Fox)
Instead, one particular scene from Home Alone 2 left him black and blue in real life. So much for stunt doubles and special effects.
“So happy to be on Reddit,” Stern responded.
“My daughter Sophie has been on for years telling me I have to join the conversation.
“Now about your question… oddly, the most bruising stunt I did was in Home Alone 2. There’s a scene where I have to climb a tower of old TV sets, bookcases, and other seemingly simple bits of debris.”
The scene that left Stern black and blue (20th Century Fox)
Stern added: “But it turned out to be a lot more complicated than I imagined. I must’ve hit every corner of every chair and table, take after take.
“When I was getting out of my costume at the end of the day I noticed a lot of bruising on my legs. And three days later, both legs were purple to toes to ‘you know where’.”
The scene in question is after Marv falls face-first into an empty townhouse that Kevin has boobytrapped, leaving him struggling to get out of the basement and take on the child alongside Harry.https://embed.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3y4d8l/im_daniel_stern_you_might_know_me_as_marv_from/?embed=true&ref_source=embed&ref=share&utm_medium=widgets&utm_source=embedv2&utm_term=23&utm_name=post_embed&embed_host_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ladbible.com%2Fentertainment%2Ffilm%2Fdonald-trump-home-alone-2-macaulay-culkin-154805-20241216
Given that Stern earned an extra $3.59 million for Home Alone 2 after agreeing to receive one percent of box office takings in his contract for the film, he was definitely made to earn that extra dough.