Chris Columbus says that 'nobody got in touch' with him about the remake of his holiday classic that is being developed for Disney+, adding that the reboot will not have the same spark as the original movie.
- Nov 13, 2020
AceShowbiz - Chris Columbus is totally against the idea of bringing "Home Alone" back as a new project. In an interview with Insider to mark the 30th anniversary of the movie, the helmer of the 1990 movie talks about the holiday classic, including the remake that is being developed for Disney+.
Columbus says he wasn't contacted about the reboot, but he thinks that it's for the best because he believes that the project is "a waste of time." He tells the site, "No, nobody got in touch with me about it, and it's a waste of time as far as I'm concerned."
"What's the point?" he states, believing that the reboot will not have the same spark as the original movie. "I'm a firm believer that you don't remake films that have had the longevity of 'Home Alone'. You're not going to create lightning in a bottle again. It's just not going to happen."
He continues expressing his skepticism with the planned reboot, "So why do it? It's like doing a paint-by-numbers version of a Disney animated film - a live-action version of that. What's the point? It's been done. Do your own thing. Even if you fail miserably, at least you have come up with something original."
Having directed the sequel "Home Alone 2", Columbus cites the second film as the example of such failure. "I can even be accused of it myself, with 'Home Alone 2'. That movie is basically a remake of the first 'Home Alone'," he admits. "Does it need to exist? Yes, because some of those stunts make me laugh really hard, but I just don't believe it should be done."
During the interview, Columbus also talked about Donald Trump's cameo in "Home Alone 2". He claims that the former real-estate tycoon was "bullying" his way into the movie as he demanded to be in the sequel in exchange for a permit to shoot in the lobby of The Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time.
"Trump said OK. We paid the fee, but he also said, 'The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie,' " Columbus recalled. "So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen. So I said to my editor, 'Leave him in the movie. It's a moment for the audience.' But he did bully his way into the movie."
Disney+ announced plan to revive "Home Alone" last year, after the Mouse House acquired FOX which owns rights to the franchise. The film will star Archie Yates as a new kid named Max, with Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney also among the cast. Its script is written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell, while Dan Mazer is tapped to direct.
