The revealing detail you may not have seen in “Home Alone”
33 years ago, “Home Alone” was released. The film narrates the adventure of Kevin McCallister, a small eight-year-old boy who, accidentally, is left alone at home on Christmas night after being forgotten by his family who goes on a trip to Paris. While at home, Kevin witnesses two thieves trying to loot his home and bravely prevents it.
After its premiere on December 21, 1990, and until its last day at the box office, the film grossed $476,684,675 worldwide, which gave the filmmaker, Chris Columbus, the green light from 20th Century Fox to carry out the filming of a second part titled “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” In this film, Culkin’s character spends Christmas alone in New York after taking the wrong flight, while his family enjoys the holidays in Miami.
During filming, Chris Columbus decided to record in the reception of The Plaza Hotel but found that he had to contend with an unusual condition from the hotel’s then-owner, Donald Trump. Even though they paid a fee, Donald Trump had insisted on being included in the film in order to permit the use of his location.
At first, Chris reluctantly agreed, mostly for the sake of making his vision of the film a reality. He feared that having Trump in the film would be negatively received, as the businessman had already earned the enmity of a large part of society. However, to Chris’s surprise, the audience applauded and cheered when Trump appeared on the screen during a test screening.
The scene where Trump exchanges dialogues with Culkin had a positive reaction with the audience, and Chris was convinced that the moment needed to remain in the film. Despite the apparent positivity, the director described this demand as creating a kind of tension during the filming.
This was not the only time Trump had made similar demands. The same year that “Home Alone 2” was filmed, Trump made a condition to appear in the film “Scent of a Woman” by Martin Brest where a special role for Trump had to be written to interact with Al Pacino in one of the scenes.
Thus, Donald Trump made an impact on these classic films inadvertently, becoming a part of Hollywood history in an unusual way.