1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,200 Speaker 1: Are you with me on this? Watching some classic holiday 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:05,880 Speaker 1: movies with family and friends is one of the best 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: ways to fill the lull between Christmas and New Year's. 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: All right, let's set the scene. It's Christmas time in 5 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: a snowy town. There's a big, beautiful house covered with 6 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: twinkly lights. The Christmas tree looks perfect, but inside total chaos. Kids, screaming, 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: parents counting passports. There are ten pizza boxes and of course, 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,639 Speaker 1: spilled drinks. Then cut to onboard the plane taking the 9 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: whole extended family to Paris for Christmas. Suddenly the mom 10 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: does a head count. She panics. At that moment, the 11 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: most famous sentence in a holiday movie isn't ho ho ho, 12 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: It's cavan And just like that, home alone stole our hearts. 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The chaotic and magical recipe for a 14 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: Christmas classic. That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. 15 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: We're in that comfortable lull right now between Christmas and 16 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: New Year's and if your household is anything like mine, 17 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 1: you've been watching some of the holiday classics on TV. 18 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: For some of us, it's movies like White Christmas, It's 19 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: a Wonderful Life, or even die Hard. Yeah, there are 20 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: those types that consider that a Christmas movie whatever. But 21 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: another huge favorite, at least in my house, is Home Alone. 22 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: So what is it that makes that flick so much 23 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: fun and yet so meaningful? Well, it turned a simple 24 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: Christmas movie into a full contact sport, equally warm and fuzzy, 25 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: along with paint can to the face lapstick, and that 26 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: changed everything. Home Alone knit together an unlikely chain of travel, anxiety, 27 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: studio drama, and kind of a child star lightning strike 28 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: that created a new blueprint for Christmas movies. And where 29 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: did the idea for the flick originate? The idea for 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: Home Alone actually was born from the kind of stress 31 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: that only parents understand, the chaos of getting everybody out 32 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: the door for a family trip. John Hughes, who wrote 33 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: and produced Home Alone, was a pop culture hit maker. 34 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: Turns out, he jotted down the premise of the movie 35 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: during the insanity of preparing to take his own family 36 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: to Europe. His thought, what if one of the kids 37 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: got accidentally left behind? It's funny, it's outrageous, but under 38 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: the circumstances, it's also a little weirdly believable. Because anybody 39 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: who has ever tried to get an extended family out 40 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,359 Speaker 1: the door on time knows the truth. It's not a vacation, 41 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: it's an evacuation. Hughes turned what could have been just 42 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 1: a gag into a story engine, a story that involves 43 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: the excitement as well as the stress and even guilt 44 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: that wanting the holidays to be perfect can ignite. According 45 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: to John Hughes's son James, his dad returned home, revisited 46 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: that thought, and then wrote the first draft in nine days, 47 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,080 Speaker 1: including an all out eight hour sprint to the finish line. 48 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: Just nine days. But it wasn't just a kid yets 49 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: left behind comedy. It was a holiday fantasy with a 50 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: different edge. A little boy alone in charge in a 51 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: world where adults are suddenly the ones who can't handle 52 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: basic survival tasks. Now here's a little peak behind the scenes. 53 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,679 Speaker 1: Home Alone almost didn't happen, It seems a During pre 54 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: production there was a budget dispute with the suits at 55 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: Warner Brothers, the studio that was originally going to make 56 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: the movie. Warner put the flick in turnaround, and that's 57 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,839 Speaker 1: Hollywood speak for we're not paying for this, somebody else can. 58 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: That's when Joe Roth, then chairman of twentieth Century Fox 59 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: got a lunchtime pitch about the project. He liked it. 60 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: It was simple, strong, and very christmasy Roth basically said, 61 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: get it out a Warner and I'll make it. So 62 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: Fox took over, but it wasn't an easy sell to 63 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: the money guys. A lot of Christmas movies are ensemble 64 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: pieces with parents, kids, neighbors, maybe a magical outsider, and 65 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: maybe a talking snowman home alone. Well, the premise was 66 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: based on asking an audience to fall in love with 67 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: a kid who spends most of the movie alone. They 68 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: knew the movie lived or died on that kid, a 69 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:28,600 Speaker 1: character Kevin McAllister. Hughes had a strong feeling about then 70 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 1: nine year old McCauley Culkin for the part. He'd just 71 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 1: worked with him on the flick Uncle Buck, and he 72 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 1: remembered a scene where McCauley's character was on guard duty, 73 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: watching for intruders. He loved what he saw. Still, Director 74 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: Chris Columbus auditioned about two hundred kids, but when McCauley 75 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: read for the part, it was obvious he was Kevin. 76 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: They had a kid who could be adorable, annoying, clever, braddy, 77 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,359 Speaker 1: vulnerable and brave sometimes in the same scene. That was 78 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: essential because Home Alone constantly walks a tightrope between sweetness 79 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: and menace. And you know, one of the most famous 80 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: scenes where McCauley slaps on the aftershave and screams, that 81 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: ten year old actor improvised the scene. He decided to 82 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: leave his hands on his face as he screamed, which 83 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: made the scene ten times funnier and made it the 84 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: movie poster too. As for the location, the movie was 85 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,599 Speaker 1: shot in the Chicago area, mostly on the North Shore, 86 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: giving it a crisp Midwest suburban vibe, and the McAllister 87 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: House in Winnetka, Illinois was perfect. In fact, it just 88 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: sold earlier this year to a family that apparently doesn't 89 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: mind living in a tourist attraction because people still constantly 90 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: do drive bys of it. The sets for most of 91 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: Home Alone's action scenes were actually built and filmed in 92 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: a nearby high school. Then there's something you have to 93 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: listen for in Home Alone. The movie is no doubt 94 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: very funny, but it doesn't actually sound like a comedy. 95 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: It sounds like Christmas, and that's not an accident. The 96 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: original composer for the musical score had to leave the 97 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: production due to a conflict, and that's when the legendary 98 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: John Williams came on board. John Williams, who did the 99 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: music for Jaws, Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Dark, Et, 100 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: Star Wars, Harry Potter, and so many, many, many more. 101 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: John Williams had actually seen an early screen cut, and 102 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: he told them he wanted to score it. Hughes and 103 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: Columbus were stunned. This was supposed to be a fairly 104 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,359 Speaker 1: small movie they'd hoped would do well, not become a legend, 105 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: certainly not on an eighteen million dollar budget. Hughes said, 106 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: Williams built musical glue that held together the film's competing 107 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: identities cartoon violence and warm holiday heart, and he did 108 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: it with a score that seems timeless. It gives the 109 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: movie permission to be sincere without getting corny, and to 110 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: be wildly slapstick without feeling mean. Home Alone opened in 111 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: theaters on November sixteenth, nineteen ninety, and it just wouldn't leave. 112 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: In the US, it topped the box office that year 113 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: with about two hundred and eighty six million dollars, and 114 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: worldwide it hit almost four hundred and seventy seven million. 115 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: Huge numbers for a family comedy that only cost eighteen 116 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: million dollars to make, and the film didn't just do 117 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 1: big business, it has lasted. So yes, Kevin wasn't just 118 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: left Home alone. He dominated the box office. The result, 119 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: Christmas movies got permission to be weirder, darker, more chaotic, 120 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: while still ending in Carol's and reconciliation. The movie has 121 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: real emotion loneliness, regret, the ache of being misunderstood in 122 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: your own family. It recognizes that painful maternal sense of guilt, 123 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: and it also gives Kevin someone else to focus on, 124 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: a lonely, elderly neighbor with a story that is softer 125 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: and than the main plot's craziness. So Home Alone is 126 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: really about a core holiday truth. Christmas is supposed to 127 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: be about family, which makes it the perfect time to 128 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: feel abandoned, even when you're surrounded by people. Kevin starts 129 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: out mad at everybody, feeling unseen, wishing they'd disappear, and 130 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: then he gets what he thinks he wants, just long 131 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: enough for it to stop being fun. Finally, it turns 132 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: back to what Christmas movies are best at, reunion, repair 133 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: and a tiny miracle of somebody coming Home. I hope 134 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: your holiday season was really peaceful. I hope you like 135 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: The Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a review. I'd 136 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: love it if you'd subscribe or follow for free to 137 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to dm 138 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: me if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 139 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 140 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The back Stories a production of iHeartMedia, 141 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. 142 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 1: Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We 143 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to 144 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: reach out to me with comments and even story suggestions 145 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at 146 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the back Story with 147 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The pieces of history you didn't know you 148 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: needed to know.