The Director of the Home Alone Movies Reveals Where the Main Character's Parents Got the Money for a Luxurious Life (4 photos)

For years, fans of the Home Alone films have wondered what Kevin's parents did to afford a fancy house and travel. Decades later, the director of the films has revealed where the McCallisters got their money.





Home Alone is a comedy about eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), who is accidentally left home alone while his family goes on a trip to Europe for Christmas. Kevin must protect the house from two bumbling burglars, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.

The director of Home Alone and Home Alone 2 has revealed a secret that has long puzzled fans of the films. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Columbus revealed what Kevin McCallister's parents did for a living and how they were able to afford a luxurious home in Chicago and expensive trips.



Kevin's mother (Catherine O'Hara), according to the director, was a "very successful fashion designer" - this is hinted at by the mannequins in the basement of the family home. Peter McCallister, Kevin's father (John Heard), most likely worked in advertising, although the director no longer remembers exactly what he did.

Columbus also debunked one of the most popular fan theories: some Home Alone fans assumed that Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) decided to rob the McCallisters' house because Kevin's father was in an organized crime group. Columbus emphasized that the boy's parents were definitely not involved in organized crime, "although there was a lot of it in Chicago at the time."





Columbus said that they came up with this legend together with the film's screenwriter and producer John Hughes. Incidentally, according to the director, it was he who was sure that Macaulay Culkin would be perfect for the role of Kevin. But Columbus himself had doubts - and scheduled a casting for another 300 children. This, the director recalls, was "a colossal waste of time." When he met Culkin again, he realized that no one could play the main character in the film better than him.