When it comes to Christmas movies, very few can go head-to-head with Home Alone. Released in 1990, the first film in the Home Alone franchise features an eight-year-old boy, Kevin McCallister, who defends his Chicago home from home invasion. Performed by Macaulay Culkin, MacCallister must outcompete a pair of robbers after he was accidentally left behind by his family on their way to Paris for Christmas vacation. Here are some interesting facts about Home Alone that you probably didn’t know about.
1. John Candy Was Paid $414 for His Cameo on Home Alone
In the airport scene, John Candy appeared on Home Alone as Gus Polinski, the lead member of a traveling polka band. As it turns out, the legendary actor was paid $414 for his 23 hours of work, which he wasn’t happy about. To put this into perspective, this fee was lower than the one paid to the pizza delivery guy.
2. Joe Pesci Disliked the Early Unit Call Times in Home Alone
While filming Home Alone, the unit call times were set for 7 A.M., which Joe Pesci, one of the leads in the film, disliked. According to the actor, the early call times prevented him from beginning his day with nine holes of golf as he would have preferred.
Pesci grabbed the assistant director by the collar at one point, complaining about the early unit call times. They were eventually pushed to 9 A.M. to accommodate him.
3. The Entire Script of Home Alone Was Written in 9 Days
Screenwriter John Hughes is famous for his fast writing abilities; Home Alone is no exception. Interestingly, the film was inspired by Hughes’ personal experience. While planning his vacation, he imagined what it would be like to accidentally leave one of his children behind. Within 9 days, he had incorporated the holiday themes, mischief, and heartfelt moments famous with the film.
4. The Buzz’s “Girlfriend” in Home Alone Was a Boy
Do you remember the Buzz’s “unattractive girlfriend” in Home Alone? It turns out that the character was the art director’s son dressed as a girl. The film’s producers thought it would be too mean to use a real girl only to be mocked.
5. Chris Columbus Was to Direct the Christmas Vacation Film
Chris Columbus is famous for directing the comedy film Home Alone. However, the original plan was for him to direct National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation. Incidentally, he dropped out after failing to get along with star Chevy Chase. Home Alone ended up being the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time, a record it held for 27 years.
6. Warner Bros Cancelled Home Alone Because They Thought It Was Too Expensive
Warner Bros was to produce Home Alone but passed up the opportunity because they didn’t want to spend more than $14.7 million on the comedy film. 21st Century Fox seized the opportunity and continued with the production, which cost a total of about $18 million. The film ended up grossing over $476 million worldwide.
7. Home Alone Held A Guinness World Record for 27 Years
Home Alone topped the box office when it was released, raking up $17,081,997 in 1202 theaters. The film went on to claim the number-one spot for 12 consecutive weeks, making it the highest-grossing live-action comedy ever released. It held this Guinness World Record for 27 years.
8. John Hughes Always Wanted the Cast to Deliver Lines As Were Written
John Hughes, Home Alone’s writer and producer, insisted that the cast deliver the lines as they were written. He only allowed his friend, John Candy, to improvise.
9. The Famous “Plan” Scene Was Drawn By Macaulay Culkin
One of the most iconic scenes in Home Alone is when Kevin creates an elaborate plan to defend himself from the burglars who invaded their home. Interestingly, Macaulay Culkin created the crayon-drawn map himself. This helped make the scene more authentic and eventually iconic.
10. Child Labor Laws Prevented Macaulay Culkin from Working Longer Hours on Set
Since Macaulay Culkin was still a kid when shooting Home Alone, he was only allowed to work 5 hours on set in compliance with the labor laws. Even so, he frequently got tired and would lie on the ground and sleep between takes.
Additionally, because Macaulay Culkin couldn’t work past 10 P.M., the pizza delivery scene was filmed inside the house in the morning, while the pizza guy’s scenes were filmed at night.
11. Home Alone Is Especially Famous in Poland
Home Alone is known as “Kevin Sam W Domu” (literally “Kevin Alone in the House”) in Poland, where it is very famous. Polish TV channels repeatedly air the film around Christmas. It is so much so that when Polsat (Polish TV Station) didn’t play the movie in 2010, more than 90,000 people protested on Facebook.
12. Home Alone Had a Different Title in France
When it was released in France, Home Alone was titled “Mum, I Missed the Plane.” Home Alone 2 was titled “Mum, I Missed the Plane Again and This Time I am Lost in New York.”
13. The Iconic Kevin Scream Was Improvised
There is a famous scene in the Home Alone film where Kevin McCallister screams after applying aftershave. Surprisingly, this wasn’t part of the script. In fact, in the original plan, the character was to slap his face and remove his hands immediately. Kevin instead kept his hands on his cheeks while screaming, making the scene more relatable.
14. Some of The Stunts Performed in The Film Were Painfully Real
Although most of the stunts performed by the burglars, Harry and Marv, were executed by professional stuntmen, some of the tricks were painfully real. For instance, Daniel Stern (Marv) consented to having a real tarantula crawl on his face for the basement scene.