"Kevin – Alone at Home" was released 30 years ago and became a Christmas classic: Five curious facts about the film.
Meanwhile the cult film "Kevin – Alone at home" belongs to Christmas like "Dinner for One" to New Year's Eve. And yet it is hard to believe that the Christmas classic will celebrate its 30th anniversary on November 16. There are always exciting things to learn about the film, as the following five facts prove.
1. Donald Trump stole his role in the second part
Director Chris Columbus (62) revealed in an interview with the US site "Insider" that Donald Trumps (74) cameo in the second part "Kevin – Alone in New York" was never planned. Instead, Trump blackmailed the producers to get into the film. Because in order to shoot in the Plaza Hotel in New York, the incumbent US president was asked for a shooting permit. At that time he owned the hotel.
Trump allowed the shoot, but said: "You can only use the Plaza when I'm in the film." Columbus agreed and was surprised at how the audience reacted to the entrepreneur: "When we showed the film for the first time, the strangest thing happened: people applauded when Trump was shown." Therefore the director decided not to cut out the scene.
2. Robert De Niro was originally supposed to play Harry
With the role of Harry, Joe Pesci (77) is known to numerous viewers to this day as the stupid crook of the Kevin films. The producers originally wanted another screen hero for the role: Robert De Niro (77). Danny DeVito (75) is also said to have been in conversation. De Niro declined the offer. It was all the more surprising for the filmmakers when his colleague Joe Pesci agreed. Chris Columbus recalled, "I was amazed." Despite his big roles in "Goodfellas" or "The Irishman", Pesci is still primarily addressed on the streets about "Kevin – Alone at Home". Martin Scorsese recently revealed this to "Kevin" producer Columbus.
3. There are five parts of the Christmas classic
"Kevin – Alone at Home" and the sequel "Kevin – Alone in New York" are still very popular today. Very few people know that the Christmas films even have three further sequels that could not build on the success of the first films. In the third part "Back home alone", the character of Kevin was completely discarded because the Kevin actor Macaulay Culkin (40) was just pausing his acting career at the time of shooting. Instead, the film was completely re-cast.
In the fourth film "Kevin – Alone Against All" from 2004, however, the character of Kevin McCallister was played by the child actor Mike Weinberg (27). This film, which was only produced for television, also received negative reviews. The fifth film in the franchise, "Alone at Home: The Christmas Coup", which was released on DVD in 2012, was completely lost.
4. The most legendary scene in the film was just an accident
The moment Kevin rubs aftershave in his hands, holds it to his cheeks and screams loudly, made the film a cult. But this scene should never have existed, as Chris Columbus revealed in an interview on the 30th anniversary. He instructed Macaulay Culkin to take his hands off his face before screaming. Culkin didn't take the advice and caused hysterical laughter on set. Even if he filmed the scene again as instructed, the crew decided to keep the "mistake" in the film in the end.
5. The deceased Elvis should be seen as an extra
One conspiracy theory has it that none other than Elvis Presley (1935-1977) has a guest appearance in the first part of the Christmas classic. Although the singer had been dead for 13 years at the time the film was released, some viewers were sure that Presley could clearly be seen in the background in a scene at the airport. The extra behind actress Catherine O'Hara (66) even makes the same head movement as the King of Rock'N'Roll. But no, years later it turned out: In reality, extra Gary Grott (1951-2016) was in said scene.