Home Alone - Interesting Facts You Didn't Know About the Movies

"Home Alone" is a very popular movie. Many people watch it during Christmas and New Year. The movie is funny and exciting. Here are some interesting facts about the first two "Home Alone" movies that you might not know.

The Idea for the Movie

The writer and producer John Hughes had the idea for "Home Alone". He wondered what would happen if a young boy was left alone at home by mistake. He thought about this idea while working on another movie called "Uncle Buck", where Macaulay Culkin also acted as a clever and resourceful kid. In one scene of "Uncle Buck", Macaulay's character asks many questions to a babysitter through a mail slot. This scene inspired John Hughes to create a whole movie about a boy left on his own.

Casting Macaulay Culkin

The script was written for Macaulay Culkin, but the director Chris Columbus wanted to make sure they had the best actor. So, he auditioned over 100 children for the role of Kevin. In the end, Macaulay got the part because he was perfect for it. His real brother, Kieran Culkin, played Kevin's cousin Fuller in the movie. Fuller is the boy who drinks a lot of soda and wets the bed, and Kevin does not want to share a bed with him.

The House in the Movie

The house in "Home Alone" is a real house. It is located in a place called Winnetka, near Chicago, Illinois. The house is big and beautiful, with two floors and an attic. Many people visit this house because it is famous from the movie. Some scenes were filmed in a nearby school. For example, the basement scene, where Kevin runs away from the wet bandits, was filmed in the school's swimming pool, which was empty and used to create the flooded basement.

Scary Moments on Set

Joe Pesci, who played one of the burglars named Harry, wanted Macaulay Culkin to be really scared of him. He tried not to talk to Macaulay when they were not filming, so that Macaulay would feel nervous around him. In one scene, Joe Pesci accidentally bit Macaulay's finger too hard, and it hurt him. Macaulay said, "He bit me, and it still hurts"!

In another scene, the actor Daniel Stern, who played the other burglar Marv, had a real tarantula spider placed on his face! He was very brave to do that. He had to stay very still and not scream loudly, so he would not scare the spider. The scream you hear in the movie was added later.

Fun Facts

• The movie that Kevin watches on TV, called "Angels with Filthy Souls", is not a real movie. It was made just for "Home Alone". Many people tried to find this movie, but it does not exist outside of "Home Alone".
• The famous scene where Kevin puts aftershave on his face and screams was not planned. Macaulay Culkin did it by himself, and the director liked it so much that he kept it in the movie.
• The house was decorated with red and green colors to make it feel like Christmas in every scene. If you watch closely, you will see these colors everywhere.
• The map that Kevin draws to plan his traps was actually drawn by Macaulay Culkin himself. He used crayons to make it look like a child's drawing.
• The picture of Buzz's girlfriend was actually a boy dressed as a girl. The filmmakers thought it would be mean to use a real girl's picture and make fun of her.

Success of the Movie

"Home Alone" was a big success. The movie cost only $18 million to make, but it earned almost $500 million worldwide! It was one of the most popular movies of the 1990s. It made Macaulay Culkin a very famous child actor. For the first movie, he was paid $100,000. For the second movie, he was paid much more—around $4.5 million.

"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"

The second movie is also very popular. In this movie, Kevin gets lost in New York City. Here are some facts about it:

• Donald Trump, who later became the President of the United States, has a small role in the movie. He shows Kevin the way to the lobby in the hotel. At that time, Donald Trump owned the hotel where they filmed.
• The toy store in the movie is called Duncan's Toy Chest. It is not a real store, but it was based on a famous toy store in New York called FAO Schwarz. The store in the movie was actually filmed in The Rookery Building in Chicago.
• The movie was filmed during a very cold winter. Sometimes the cameras stopped working because it was so cold! The actors had to wear warm clothes between scenes.
• All the children who appeared in the toy store scene were allowed to pick a toy to take home as a gift.
• The pigeon lady in Central Park was played by Brenda Fricker. Real pigeons were used, and the actors had to be very patient. In one scene, the pigeons were covered with birdseed to make them fly onto the actors.

Conclusion

"Home Alone" is a wonderful movie that many people love. It has many funny and interesting moments. Now you know some interesting facts about how it was made. Maybe next time you watch it, you will think about these stories. Enjoy the movie!