15 Things You Never Knew About "Home Alone"
What's in Buzz's Room?
When Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) finds the photo of Buzz's (Devin
Ratray) girlfriend, it is actually a boy dressed to resemble a girl.
Chris Columbus, the director, didn't want to be cruel to a girl and used
a photo of the art director's (Dan Webster's) son. The Playboy issue he
also found in his room was the July 1989 issue, featuring Miss July
Erika Eleniak.
Kevin Plus 5 Million Friends
"Home Alone" was one of the first Western movies shown on prime
time Polish television after communism fell. A Christmas tradition,
"Kevin sam w domu" ("Kevin Home Alone") has aired every year since 1990.
The December 23, 2011 airing reached more than 5 million viewers in
Poland, one of the country's largest TV audiences.
Movie Beginnings
Movie makers developed the storyline for "Home Alone" while
shooting "Uncle Buck," a John Hughes movie that featured John Candy and
Macaulay Culkin. In the 1989 comedy, Culkin plays Miles Russell, who
questions a potential babysitter through a letter slot.
Along Came a Spider
Playing burglar Marv Merchants, Daniel Stern shot the scene
where the tarantula is placed on his face in one take, which was all he
would allow. He mimed his extended scream because the noise would have
terrified the spider. Stern's scream was looped in to the scene in
post-production.
Just Checking
Screenwriter John Hughes wrote the part of Kevin specifically
for young Macaulay Culkin, based on his previous work in "Uncle Buck."
Just to be sure Culkin was the right boy for the part, director Chris
Columbus auditioned several hundred boys for the part of Kevin.
Keeping it Clean
Joe Pesci's character, hapless burglar Harry Lime, had several
outbursts during the movie. Pesci, whose dramatic credits include
"Goodfellas," "Raging Bull," and "Casino," had to remember to keep his
language clean for this family movie. Chris Columbus suggested he
replace the F-bomb with "fridge."
Dirty Faces, Filthy Souls
When Kevin is setting the trap for the burglars, the videotaped
gangster movie he plays is unique to "Home Alone," created especially
for the movie. Entitled "Angels with Filthy Souls," moviemakers based it
on the 1938 James Cagney classic "Angels with Dirty Faces." In "Home
Alone 2," Kevin watches a sequel to the fictional classic titled "Angels
with Even Filthier Souls."
Not the Feet
In the movie's set piece, Daniel Stern (Marv) wore rubber feet
to protect them from the various obstacles Kevin threw at the burglars.
The Christmas ornaments he walked on in bare feet were made of thin
sheets of molded candy. Culkin improvised Kevin's line to the tortured
burglars: "You guys give up, or are you thirsty for more?"
Pricey Nightmares
Chris Columbus created a storyboard for a dream sequence that
he never filmed due to cost. The scene he envisioned of a menacing
furnace that comes to life, moves on its cast iron legs, and chases
Kevin toward the stairs would have cost more than $1 million. Columbus
settled for the lit-up furnace moaning "Kevin."
Real life "Scream"
The iconic pose of Kevin holding his face in his hands while he
screams is based on Norwegian painter Edvard Munch's "The Scream."
Get Me Heard
Robert De Niro and Jon Lovitz declined Pesci's role of Harry
Lime. Chris Columbus liked John Heard's performance as Alex Cutter in
the 1981 mystery "Cutter's Way" and cast him as Kevin's dad, Peter
McCallister. Among the actors considered for the part were Dan Aykroyd,
Harrison Ford, and Kevin Costner.
Casting Kate McCallister
SCTV veteran Catherine O'Hara turned in a memorable performance
as Kevin's mother, Kate McCallister. Among the actresses she outpaced
for the role were Geena Davis, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, and
Linda Hamilton. She reprised her role in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New
York."
All in the Family
Chris Columbus cast several of his family members in the film.
His wife Monica Devereux played a flight attendant on the plane and the
hotel operator in "Home Alone 2." His mother-in-law and baby daughter
were among the plane's passengers. Columbus honored his in-laws' family
name further by casting his father-in-law Clarke Devereux as Officer
Devereux, who tells the McCallisters to "count their kids again."
An Important Addition
The character of Old Man Marley wasn't in the original
screenplay. The director felt the need to soften the film and add some
heart in between the comedy. The subplot was meant to emphasize the
importance of family and forgiveness.
Ouch!
In the climactic kitchen scene, Joe Pesci actually bit Macauley Culkin's finger, leaving a permanent scar.
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