Highlights
- Home Alone continues to be a cherished Christmas movie after 30 years, making millions in royalties.
- Catherine O’Hara almost didn’t play Macaulay Culkin’s mom in the film, as Elizabeth Perkins was the first choice.
- O’Hara found one scene in the movie, where she had to say something cruel to Culkin’s character, incredibly difficult to film.
There’s no doubt that Home Alone (1990) is one of the best Christmas movies of all time. Although it came out over 30 years ago, this movie is still seen by millions of people across the world every year. It’s hard to believe that Home Alone was almost canceled during production.
Luckily for the fans, the project continued and even spawned a sequel, Home Alone: Lost In New York, which made millions at the box office. Even today, these two movies are still making millions in royalties.
And, because fans still can’t get enough of them, behind-the-scenes secrets from the films are still being uncovered. For instance, Catherine O’Hara recently revealed the one scene in Home Alone she almost refused to film!
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Catherine O’Hara Almost Didn’t Play Macaulay Culkin’s Mom In Home Alone
Before portraying Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, Catherine O’Hara appeared in many movies and TV series. One of her biggest projects to date is still the 1990 Chris Columbus Christmas movie Home Alone, in which she got to play Macaulay Culkin’s mom.
However, the role of Kate McCallister could’ve looked very different, as O’Hara wasn’t the first option for this iconic role. In an interview for Metro, cinematographer Julio Macat, who worked on the first Home Alone film, explained that Big star Elizabeth Perkins was originally the first choice to play Mama McCallister.
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“Elizabeth Perkins had a similar situation where she worked on a movie that also was very special,” he revealed. “You know the movie, Big? She was the girlfriend, Susan.” This Tom Hanks movie came out in 1988, a year before filming for Home Alone began. The film was such a huge success that Perkins’ career skyrocketed so much that“John Hughes asked her to be the Catherine O’Hara role.”
However, Perkins had to turn down the role of Kate McCallister because she was busy with other work commitments. So, O’Hara ended up snatching this role. This was great for her career. After all, Home Alone went on to become the second highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time, making over $476 million at the box office.
Catherine O’Hara Called This One Home Alone Scene “Horrific” To Film
No one loves Home Alone more than its cast. Over the years, Catherine O’Hara has opened up about how much she loved working on this movie and how grateful she is that the audience loved it too.
She also admitted that working with a then-ten-year-old Macaulay Culkin was an incredible experience.
“He was just a lovely little boy . . . he was just a regular little kid who would rather be goofing off than working. He definitely did his job,” she said.
However, O’Hara recently revealed that there were some parts of Home Alone that were incredibly difficult to film. After all, the story hit a little too close to home.
“My mom and dad… had seven kids and they once moved from one house to another and left my sister,” she shared in a 2015 interview with The Hamilton Spectator.
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Ultimately, O’Hara had an incredibly hard time filming one of the most iconic scenes in Home Alone.
“The scene where I had to drag him upstairs to sleep in the attic ‘cause he’d misbehaved, he’s mouthing off about the family and I say, ‘Well, you’d be pretty sad if you woke up tomorrow morning and you had no family,’ and he says, ‘No, I wouldn’t.’ And I was supposed to say, ‘Then say it again – maybe it’ll happen,’” she revealed.
“I can’t tell you how much that killed me – I could not wrap my head around saying something so horrific to this beautiful child,” she continued. “Of course I was not yet a mother at the time and I had no idea the kind of things would come out of my own mouth with my own two sons.”
Catherine O’Hara and Macaulay Culkin Reunited During The Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony
Despite the movie coming out more than 30 years ago, Catherine O’Hara has managed to somewhat keep in touch with her Home Alone co-stars. “[Our director] Chris Columbus was shooting a movie on the same lot where we shoot Schitt’s Creek, and that was a thrill because I haven’t seen him for many years. He’s the same lovely guy,” she revealed during an interview for InStyle.
Despite so much time passing, she’s also maintained a close bond with her on-screen son. “I ran into Macaulay once and he said, ‘Mom!’ and I said, ‘Baby!’ He looked great and was doing well, and I was happy to see him,” the actress revealed.
More recently, O’Hara reunited with Macaulay Culkin for the actor’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. “Home Alone was, is, and always will be a beloved global sensation,” O’Hara said in her speech.
“Yes, he had a most excellent script [by John Hughes] and a wonderful director [Chris Columbus], but it is Macaulay’s perfect performance as Kevin McCallister that gave us that little every boy on an extraordinary adventure.” She then told the actor, “…You made acting look like the most natural thing in the world to do. It was really like we had ambushed the home of a little boy named Kevin to make a movie, and he just went along with it for the fun of it.”
“You have brought that sense of sweet yet twisted yet totally relatable sense of humor to everything that you have chosen to do since Home Alone,” the Schitt’s Creek star added. “Thank you for including me – your fake mom who left you home alone not once, but twice – to share in this happy occasion. I’m so proud of you.”
Source: NewsFinale
