In a recent chat on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, “Home Alone” director Chris Columbus talked about some interesting things that went into making the film. He talked about the history of the rich McCallister family and the strange event that made him decide to direct the movie.
Columbus, who is making the future film “Nosferatu,” explains where the McCallister family’s money comes from. He said the mother, Kate McCallister, was a famous fashion designer. The appearance of mannequins in their basement was a subtle hint at this aspect of the film. Columbus didn’t say for sure what Peter McCallister did for a living, but he did say that the character might have worked in advertising, which was a nod to the background of writer-producer John Hughes. Even though Chicago had a bad reputation at the time, he flatly denied a common fan theory that Peter was involved with organized crime.
The path to becoming the director of “Home Alone” started with a surprise about another holiday favorite. It was first planned for Columbus to direct “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Chevy Chase, a star, changed his mind after a strange experience. Chase looked busy at their first meeting, which caused an awkward moment 40 minutes in.
“He told me, ‘Wait a second, you’re the director?'” Columbus remembered. He said, “Oh, I thought you were a drummer,” when I said, “Yeah.” A second dinner with Chase and Hughes worsened things, with Chase often diverting the talk away from the film.
Because of this awkward situation, Columbus dropped out of “Christmas Vacation,” which could have affected his career. After only a week, Hughes sent him the story for “Home Alone.” Columbus now sees this as “dodging a bullet.”
Kevin McCallister, the film’s young star, was also chosen surprisingly. Hughes wanted Macaulay Culkin to play the part, but Columbus asked other people to try out first. “I ended up meeting 300 additional kids. “A huge waste of time because I then met Macaulay again, and it was magical,” he said.
Columbus also discussed rumors that Chris Farley might have a part in the film. Farley, a rising star at the time, tried out for a small part as Santa Claus. He went out the night before and didn’t attend the 7 a.m. reading, which didn’t go well. Columbus wrote that he and Farley became friends later on and talked about their first meeting.
Columbus’s thoughts shed light on how a beloved holiday movie was made, showing the difficulties and the happy accidents that helped shape “Home Alone.”
