The director of Home Alone has finally revealed what Kevin McAllister’s parents had done for a living – specifically, to be able to afford such a big house in Chicago, as featured in the film.
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom residence in Winnetka, Illinois has often been at the centre of discussion online, with fans of the 1990 festive film and its sequels questioning how the family were able to live in such a luxurious property.
Now, director Chris Columbus has spoken about what the parents of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin do for work to be able to afford the house in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.
Revealing the discussions he had with Home Alone screenwriter John Hughes about the characters’ backstories, he said: “Back then, John and I had a conversation about it, and we decided on what the jobs were.”
Catherine O’Hara’s Kate McCallister, he revealed, “was a very successful fashion designer,” which he said is evidenced by the presence of mannequins in the house’s basement.
John Heard’s Peter McCallister, meanwhile, he was less clear about. “The father could have, based on John Hughes’ own experience, worked in advertising, but I don’t remember what the father did.”
He did, however, confirm that he did not have connections to a criminal underworld, which some have suggested is the reason that Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern’s Wet Bandits are drawn to the house. “Not organized crime — even though there was, at the time, a lot of organized crime in Chicago,” Columbus clarified.
Earlier this year, the house went back on the market after having been fully renovated and expanded in 2018. It was listed with an asking price of $5.25million (£4.13million).
The half-acre plot of land includes an indoor basketball court, a movie theatre, a poker room and Lego statue of Culkin in his iconic scream pose.
Succession star Kieran Culkin, who appears in Home Alone alongside his brother, recently said he has not allowed his kids to watch the film yet because “there’s still some scary parts”.
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