“My poor little angel”: the real anecdote that inspired the film symbol of Christmas

“Who are you?“, ask Macaulay Culkin, then seven years old, scared. “I’m your uncle Buck”John Candy replies, while cooking breakfast. The dialogue appeared in the appropriately named film “Uncle Buck,” a 1989 comedy about an irresponsible man who must take care of his three nephews after his brother suffers a stroke. to the heart.

Although the film did not convince critics at the time, it was presented as a moderate success at the box office with almost US$80 million in revenue. But perhaps the film’s greatest contribution is that it inspired its director John Hughes (1950-2009) to write one of the most famous Christmas films of all time: “Home Alone.”

We review the origin of this Christmas classic.

It all started with Culkin

“When we were working on ‘Uncle Buck’ we had fun working with a kid (Macaulay Culkin). He had never worked with someone of that age,” the director recalled in a television interview.

At that time, John Hughes was one of the most successful directors and screenwriters in Hollywood, beginning with his work as the writer of the film series “National Lampoon,” the director redefined what youth comedy was with classics like “Sixteen Candles” ( 1984), “The Breakfast Club” (1985), “Weird Science” (1985) and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986).

On the other hand, Macaulay Culkin was very far from the stardom for which he was recognized in the 90s. Although he began acting early, before “Uncle Buck” he had only participated in a couple of television movies and in supporting roles in films such as “ Rocket Gibraltar” (1988) and “See You in the Morning” (1989). His excellent performance alongside John Candy convinced Hughes that he was looking at a boy who could star in a movie.

The “Uncle Buck” scene that inspired “Home Alone” occurs near the film’s climax, when Uncle Buck (Candy) goes in search of his rebellious niece Tia (Jena Louisa Kelly), asking his girlfriend Chanise (Amy Madigan) help her take care of the other two minors at home. But entering the house will not be easy for the woman and her companions, with Culkin’s character initially mistaking them for a group of thieves and interrogating them through the mail slot, using a wit and precocity that later became characteristic of Kevin’s character. McAllister.

Convinced of the possibility of making a film starring a child, the central theme around which it would revolve was still missing. The idea for the film came to Hughes on August 8, 1989, before leaving on a family vacation to Europe. “I was going on vacation and I wrote a list of everything I didn’t want to forget,” Hughes told Time. “And I thought ‘well, I better not forget about my children.’ Then it occurred to me ‘What would happen if I left my 10-year-old son at home? What would he do?’”

Following this idea, Hughes wrote eight pages of notes, imagining what a child would do in such circumstances. Two weeks later, back at home, he began writing over the next nine days what would be the first draft of the film, in total a 44-page script.

Enter Chris Columbus

While Hughes masterminded the film, it wouldn’t exist without Chris Columbus. Although he is now recognized as the director of titles such as “Mrs. Doubtfire”, “Bicentennial Man” and the first two films of the “Harry Potter” saga, at that time he was most famous for his scripts for films such as “Gremlins” (1984) and “The Goonies” (1985). At the time he was contacted by Hughes, Columbus had only directed two films: the mediocre “Adventures in Babysitting” in 1987 and the critically battered “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1987. The failure of the latter was such that the director thought that his career in Hollywood was over.

“In 1989, I had directed ‘Heartbreak Hotel,’ and it was a disaster. It premiered on a Friday and on Wednesday they only showed it at 2 pm. At that time, John Hughes sent me the script for ‘Christmas Vacation’. I love Christmas, so doing a Christmas comedy was one of my dreams,” Columbus recalled in an article in Chicago magazine in 2015.

However, a bad relationship with Chevy Chase (even in the 21st century almost no one gets along with that actor), the star of the film, led to Columbus eventually abandoning the project. “I called John (who was producing the movie) and said, ‘There’s no way I can make the movie. I know I need the job, but I can’t do it with this guy.’ John was very understanding. Two weeks later, I received two scripts (…) One was for ‘Home Alone’ with a note from John about whether he wanted to direct it,” he added.

Columbus didn’t alter Hughes’ script much, although he did make one major change to the story by including Marley, Kevin’s seemingly terrifying neighbor – played by Roberts Blossom – who ends up helping him in the film’s climax. The fact that Kevin finally gets Marley reunited with his own family also reinforces the themes of family ties and forgiveness, giving the story a more emotional impact.

The collaboration between Hughes and Columbus became one of the biggest hits of 1990, only below the romantic films “Ghost” and “Pretty Woman” in box office receipts. It also made Macaulay Culkin the biggest youth star of the moment, presenting a fame that until now is hardly comparable. This winning formula was repeated two years later in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” which transported the action from Chicago to the Big Apple, and now Disney+ hopes to capture the magic again. with a ‘remake’ with Archie Yates (“Jojo Rabbit”) in the leading role and Dan Mazer (“Dirty Grandpa”) in the director’s chair.

It should be noted that the production of the original film is equally fascinating, particularly the way in which 20th Century Fox ended up taking this success away from Warner Bros., an issue that the studio probably regrets to this day, and which we recount in another note. Interested in learning more about the story of “Home Alone,” we recommend watching the episode about this film from “The Movies That Made Us” on Netflix.