Home Alone turns 35: 10 behind-the-scenes secrets revealed from filming

“Home Alone” turns 35 years old this year.

The classic Christmas film premiered in November 1990 and was an instant hit, launching its star, Macaulay Culkinto higher levels of fame.

The film is about a young boy who is unwittingly left behind when his family travels to Paris for the holidays, and he must protect not only himself, but also his home from a pair of thieves who call themselves the Wet Bandits.

Here are 10 behind-the-scenes secrets about the making of the film, in honor of its 35th anniversary.

The Home Alone director finally answers what the MCCALLISTERS did for a living

“Home Alone” celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. (Courtesy: Everett Collection)

It was always Macaulay

Macaulay Culkin was already making a name for himself before he played Kevin McCallister in “Alone at home“, but the 1990 film made him a household name.

The film’s screenwriter, John Hughes, wrote the film with Culkin in mind. The two had worked together on a previous film, “Uncle Buck,” in 1989, and Hughes was impressed by Culkin’s acting.

John Hughes wrote the screenplay with Macaulay Culkin in mind. (Vinnie Zofante/Getty Images)

“John was a gentleman to the directors he worked with, and I remember him saying – based on the movie ‘Uncle Buck’ – [that] “Macaulay would be great for this,” director Chris Columbus said. Entertainment Weekly in November 2015. “But I think it’s just a directing responsibility [that] “I got to meet other kids.”

Columbus recalls meeting “hundreds and hundreds of kids” and watching many audition tapes before meeting Culkin. After the audition, Columbus was convinced, saying he liked him because he wasn’t like “one of those perfect Hollywood kids,” adding that “he was really funny.”

A cry heard around the world

Culkin improvised, holding his hands over his face while screaming in the film. (Ron Galella Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

One of the most iconic scenes in the film almost didn’t happen.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Columbus provided insight into the famous scene in which Culkin’s character places his hands on his cheeks and screams in pain after applying aftershave cream.

“This was not written the way Macaulay did it,” Columbus explained. “I thought he was going to slap on the cologne and move his hands and scream. But in the first take, he slaps his face and keeps his hands stuck to his face like he’s just put super glue on his face, and his hands stay completely still and he’s screaming like an Edvard Munch painting. That’s why he was such an interesting kid: no one else would have done that.”

The director loved this moment so much, the expression on Kevin’s face ended up on the movie poster.

The most famous fake movie

The film Culkin sees in the film was made for “Home Alone.” (Barry King/WireImage)

When Kevin is left alone, he sits in front of the TV with a large bowl of ice cream and begins watching a gangster movie called “Angels with Dirty Souls.”

“Guys, I’m eating junk and watching garbage! You better come out and stop me!” He shouts, knowing that there is no one to hinder his pleasure.

The movie-within-a-movie — which includes the memorable line “Keep changing you filthy animal” — has become legendary, but the movie itself is not real and was only filmed for the purposes of “Home Alone.”

The clip was filmed the day before filming for “Home Alone” began, and is inspired by James Cagney’s 1938 film “Angels with dirty faces“.

“I think the title was decided on only because we needed to create a label for the tape that Kevin puts in the VHS player,” said art director Dan Webster. Vanity gallery In December 2015. “Now that’s a very old phrase!”

Baz’s girlfriend

Buzz’s girlfriend in the movie is the art director’s son who dresses as a girl. (John Barra/Getty Images for STXfilms/Alexander Wang)

The adults behind the scenes of the film didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings for the sake of a joke.

In one scene, Kevin takes advantage of being home alone and begins searching through his older brother Buzz’s belongings. In doing so, he found a picture of Buzz’s girlfriend, and after seeing the picture he said, “Buzz, your girlfriend… woof!”

In a 2013 interview with Yahoo, the actor who played Buzz, Devin Rattray, revealed that the photo was not of a real little girl.

“They decided it would be cruel to put a girl in this role of just being funny,” Rattray said. “The artistic director had a son who was more than willing to volunteer for the role. I think if he had known it was going to become the highest-grossing family comedy of all time, he might have had other ideas about it.”

Box office gold

The film achieved box office records. (Maximum/Scientific Film; Sarah Crowley)

Not only was the film a career boost for Culkin, it was a huge success for everyone involved.

The film debuted in November 1990, holding the top spot for the rest of the year and the following year, for 12 weeks at the top.

It then remained in theaters until the late summer of 1991, remaining in the top ten until June of that year. Its success in theaters was reflected in Box office numbersThe film grossed $285.7 million domestically and more than $470 million worldwide.

The film would become the highest-grossing film of 1990 and one of the highest-grossing live-action comedies of all time. She held the record for 27 years until “Never Say Die” broke it in 2017, according to time.

How to act

Pesci actually bit Culkin while rehearsing a scene. (Everett Group)

Joe Pesci It depicts one of the two burglars who were terrorized by Kevin when they tried to break into his house.

While rehearsing a scene, Pesci’s character seemed to become too much and left a lasting mark on Culkin.

In the first part of the movie “Home Alone.”,’ They hung me on the coat hook, and Pesce said, “I’m going to bite off all your fingers, one by one.” Rule forty-two In 2004. “During one of the exercises, he bit me and broke my skin.”

He told the outlet that he still has a scar on his finger from the accident that occurred.

Film swap

The director almost made “Christmas Vacation,” but quit because of Chevy Chase. (Warner Bros.)

The film director almost worked on another Christmas classic, but his problems with the film’s star led him to “Home Alone.”

Hughes was the first to ask Columbus to direct Christmas Vacation, and after directing a string of failed films, Columbus was quick to accept the offer, but backed out after meeting the director. The film stars Chevy Chase“I realized I couldn’t work with a man,” he said.

“First of all, he’s not engaged. He’s treating me like I don’t need this. I’d rather not work again,” he said. diverse In December 2024. “I left ‘Christmas Vacation.’ And the next weekend, I got another script from John — which was ‘Home Alone.’ ‘Home Alone,’ to me, was more personal, a better script, and I thought, ‘I can do something with this, and I don’t have to deal with Chevy Chase.’”

Jeremiah S. Chechik ended up taking over from Columbus to direct “Christmas Vacation.”

John Candy

Candy only had 24 hours to shoot the film’s scenes, many of which were improvised. (Steve Shapiro/Corbis via Getty Images)

When working with a comedy legend, you’re expected to have a bit of improvisation and working with him John Candy was no differentaccording to Columbus.

“John took those scenes and ran with them,” Columbus told Entertainment Weekly. “We would do a few scripted takes and then improvise about four or five more, and a lot of the improvisation would end up in the film. Whereas something like the church scene was like performing a play – we did it exactly as John wrote it.”

The filmmakers were lucky to be able to have Candy in the film, as due to his busy schedule, they only had 24 hours to film his scenes. The comedian during that period improvised many scenes.

“It just came out of nowhere,” Columbus recalls telling Catherine O’Hara’s character about the time he spent all night alone with a body at the funeral home.

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Wet bandits

Daniel Stern almost didn’t appear in the film. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Photo Press)

Pesky and Daniel Stern They formed the duo known as the Wet Bandits who tried and failed to break into the McCallister house with Kevin inside, but Stern was almost missed from the film.

In a 2019 episode of the documentary series The Movies That Made Us, Stern explained that the filming schedule had been changed from six weeks to eight weeks, but there was no pay increase for the additional two weeks.

After Stern’s departure, they replaced him with Daniel Roebuck. However, after a few days of training, Columbus decided that he was not suited for the role. After Stern was offered the role a second time, the actor accepted, and the rest is history.

“What an idiot, you let that get away,” he said in the documentary. “I would say, ‘Oh, I missed it. Why? Oh, because I’m stubborn.'” Thank God they came back to me!”

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McAllister’s career

Columbus revealed what the Macalister family did for a living so they could afford their voyage. (Anna Weber/Variety via Getty Images)

Since the film’s 1990 release, audiences have been wondering what the McCallister family did for a living to be able to pay for a trip to Paris for 15 people, including members of their immediate and extended family.

“At that time, John and I talked about it and decided what the jobs would be,” Columbus told The Hollywood Reporter.Awards talksPodcast in December 2024.

“We thought the mother, at the time, because we were using models downstairs – I remember having a conversation with her – was a very successful fashion designer. The father, based on John Hughes’ own experience, could have worked in advertising, but I don’t remember what the father did.”

He also dispelled long-standing rumors that the father was involved in organized crime, explaining that “although there was a lot of organized crime in Chicago at the time, the father was certainly not involved.”

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