<em>Home Alone</em> director Chris Columbus and star Macaulay Culkin recently discussed the classic franchise and explained why they believed so many of the sequels failed.
In an exclusive statement to The Hollywood Reporter before a special screening at the Academy Museum, Columbus made it clear that his reluctance to return to the franchise is in large part due to the sequels that came after Home Alone 2. The director explained that the films went “downhill” after the first, New York-based sequel.
Columbus bluntly said that the people who worked on the later installments “f***** it up.” He also stated that Home Alone 3 was the best out of all the horrible sequels, which was barely a compliment. Culkin chimed in, stating that the later movies also weren’t as good because they didn’t include him or Columbus. Check out Columbus’ comments below:
It’s been revisited with really bad sequels. Sorry to insult anybody, but they’ve completely messed it up. It started with Home Alone 3 and then it just went downhill from there; Home Alone 3 is sort of the best of the bunch of the bad movies.
Despite Columbus’ pessimistic view on returning, Culkin had an idea for another Home Alone. His proposed story follows an adult version of his character, Kevin McCallister. Culkin wanted Kevin to be a widower who has to raise his child on his own and has a hard time connecting.
Culkin said that the film could go one of two ways: Kevin forgets his kid —and he’ll call his mom and tell her that he understands what she went through when she did the same with him — or he could intentionally leave his kid behind just to get a break from him. Check out the actor’s comments below:
I like the idea that maybe Kevin’s older, that he’s like a widower or something like that. He’s raising his kid, and they don’t really get along, he’s working all the time. … it’s almost like a Liar, Liar kind of thing. There’s one of two ways you can do it. One, he actually leaves the kid behind by mistake. He calls up his mom like, “So sorry, I get it now.” Or I leave him behind on purpose, like, “Oh, that made me the man I am today.”
Culkin also said that Kevin would be outsmarted by his kid after he leaves him behind, as the character’s child would lock him out of his own house and set up traps for him, just like the ones Kevin once created for Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci). Culkin also added that Kevin wouldn’t call the police or a locksmith out of both embarrassment and pride:
Then he locks me out of the house, and he’s setting up traps and things like that. And I think I see them coming because, you know, I’m the expert. It also explains why I don’t call the police or locksmith because I’m embarrassed my kid is beating me and this is my gig. And I think the house would be kind of a metaphor for getting back into the kid’s heart kind of thing.
Columbus mentioned that he has heard hundreds of sequel pitches over the years. The director believes that a new movie would only be worthwhile if Culkin, Pesci, and Stern were all involved, though he doubts this could happen. Columbus also revealed that he once considered a storyline in which Harry and Marv get released from prison years later, seek revenge on Kevin, only to face off against his child instead:
They’re bitter, they’re angry, and they want revenge. And who do they want revenge on? Macaulay. And at that point, I thought Macaulay could have a kid, sort of Kevin’s age, and it would be his own kid dealing with these two guys. I don’t think Joe Pesci would be interested. I haven’t seen Dan Stern since 1992. I don’t know if he would be interested.
Ultimately, Columbus said that the magic of the original Home Alone movies couldn’t be recreated. He explained that their success was largely due to the cast and the time period it was filmed in: “The problem is when you’re doing a film like this, a lot of it is really based on cast; part of it is based on the cast at that age, at that particular time, and I don’t think you can duplicate that.“
- Cast
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Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, Devin Ratray, Tim Curry, Brenda Fricker
- Movie(s)
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Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Home Alone 3, Home Alone 4, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, Home Sweet Home Alone
- Character(s)
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Kevin McCallister, Harry Lyme, Marv Murchins, Kate McCallister, Peter McCallister, Buzz McCallister, Megan McCallister, Linnie McCallister
