Behind-the-scenes Home Alone secrets you probably never knew
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If you don’t squeeze at least one viewing of Home Alone into your festive schedule, can you even call it Christmas? The iconic 1990 movie is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year – and yes, of course it’s on TV again (Christmas Eve on Channel 4 to be precise), allowing a whole new generation of viewers to make it a festive tradition. (Picture: Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Just in case you are that person who hasn’t seen it yet, Home Alone centres on eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family jets off for the holidays. His initial joy at having the place to himself takes a more troubling turn when the house is targeted by burglars – leaving him to save the day via a string of home-made traps. Millions of us love the film, millions of us never miss it at Christmas, but how much do you actually know about the making of it? Read on for some Home Alone trivia that you’ve probably never heard before… (Picture: Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock)
1.The grown-ups stood in for Kevin
Home Alone turned Macaulay Culkin into a household name overnight. But, as he was 10 years old at the time of filming, he equally wasn’t allowed to be on set past 10pm, meaning that director Chris Columbus stood in for him in some scenes, acting alongside ‘wet bandits’ Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. As he told Entertainment Weekly: ‘I was Kevin McCallister from 10 at night until about 6 in the morning.’ (Picture: Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock)
2. Some roles were also played by a tennis ball
Chris Columbus might have been an unexpected stand-in for Macaulay Culkin, but Catherine O’Hara – who plays Kevin’s mum Kate McCallister – also had to act alongside an unlikely co-star when the younger cast members were off set. ‘We’d shoot a scene with one of the kids; then, as late as one in the morning, we’d shoot my close-ups,’ the actress told Chicago magazine. ‘They’d have a tennis ball on a stand, the height of the kid’s head, and the script supervisor would read the children’s lines.’ (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock)
3. Hundreds auditioned to play Kevin
While hundreds of young actors auditioned for the role of Kevin, Columbus always had Culkin in mind to play the lead, as recommended by director John Hughes who had worked with him in Uncle Buck. ‘One of the final meetings — if not the final meeting — was with Macaulay,’ Columbus told EW. ‘We read a couple of the scenes together, and I called John and said, “He’s amazing.” Because he’s a real kid. He doesn’t look like one of these Hollywood-perfect kids. His ear is bent a little bit. He had a great voice that was not annoying, it was just charming, and he was really funny.’ (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock)
4. The house is real – and the family living in it stayed there
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom property is located in the Winnetka area of Chicago, Illinois, with filming taking place there over a period of five months. John and Cynthia Abendshien, who owned the place at the time, ended up staying put instead of moving into an all-expenses-paid apartment they had been given access to. ‘We were told shooting would be four or five weeks,’ Cynthia told Chicago magazine. ‘They gave us an apartment. But [we were told] under the contract, if they needed to knock down a wall when we weren’t home, they could do it. So [they] told us it was best if we remained on the premises.’ (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
5. Joe Pesci stayed in character throughout
Joe Pesci – who played Wet Bandit Harry in the film – might not have been quite as scary here as he was in his Oscar-winning role in Goodfellas, but he was still able to put those method acting skills to good use on set. The actor revealed that he communicated with Culkin as little as possible during filming, so that they didn’t come across as friendly on screen. ‘I remember Macaulay as being a really sweet kid and, even at his age, very professional,’ the actor told People. ‘I intentionally limited my interactions with him to preserve the dynamic between his character, Kevin, and my character Harry.’ (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock)
6. Joe Pesci nearly got set on fire on set
Yes folks, some of those traps that Kevin set for the burglars really were as painful as they looked, with Joe Pesci nearly suffering serious injury from one in particular. Speaking to People, he revealed: ‘In addition to the expected bumps, bruises, and general pains that you would associate with that particular type of physical humor, I did sustain serious burns to the top of my head during the scene where Harry’s hat is set on fire.’ Ouch. (Picture: Moviestore/ Shutterstock)
7. A high school gym was involved
While most of the action centres around the house where the film takes place, other locations were used during the shoot. New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois, stood in for several settings, including the scene where Kevin runs through a flooded basement, as well as the interior of the plane which was set to take the McAllister family to Paris. Speaking of which, the production never actually made it across the pond – as Chicago O’Hare International Airport stood in for Paris Orly Airport. (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
8. The snow was (sort of) real
Filming can always come with unexpected hiccups and just two days into shooting a snowstorm hit the set. For filming some scenes – such as those when Kevin is reunited with his clan on Christmas morning – the crew improvised additional flurries by using potato flakes to make it look as though it was snowing. However, an additional headache was created when the snow melted – meaning that for purposes of continuity snow machines and shaved ice had to be used for the rest of filming. (Picture: Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock)
9. Robert de Niro could have played Harry
Joe Pesci might have given one of his best-known performances as Harry in both Home Alone and its sequel Lost In New York, but things might have been very different if the hapless burglar had been played by another Hollywood legend – his Goodfellas co-star Robert de Niro. ‘It was talked about a little internally, but when Pesci said yes, I was stunned,’ Columbus told Business Insider. And in spite of his Oscar for Goodfellas and his impressive body of work, his role in the movie can at times eclipse everything else. ‘I ran into Marty Scorsese after he had done The Irishman,’ Columbus recalled, ‘and he told me, “We’re out in the streets shooting and all anyone wants to talk to Joe about is Home Alone”.’ (Picture: 20thC.Fox/Everett/REX/Shutterstock) Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
