The Truth About Donald Trump's Appearance In 'Home Alone'
With the thirty-year anniversary of 'Home Alone' upon fans in 2020, it's time to take a closer look at precisely why Donald Trump wound up in the sequel.
There's no denying the original film is a cult classic, and it was beneficial for both the young Macaulay Culkin and the rest of the team who worked on the film.
Macaulay's trust fund grew immensely due to the movie's success, to be sure. But director Chris Columbus took a big risk in accepting the project. He even passed on another film to take on 'Home Alone,' and it may have changed the course of his career, noted Insider.
Plus, the all-star cast (including Joe Pesci, John Candy, and Daniel Stern) was part of the reason the film got a sequel; 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.' Chris Columbus was happy to film it, but he did acknowledge that it wasn't exactly necessary, though it was warranted, given the success of the original movie.
So along with these heartwarming stories of actors and directors having a grand old time on set comes the story of how Donald Trump wound up in the middle of it while the sequel was being filmed.
As fans might recall, Trump's scene is inside The Plaza Hotel. Like other spots in NYC, filmmakers can shoot in nearly any location as long as they pay their fee.
But in the publication's interview with Chris Columbus, Insider quoted the director as saying that the cast and crew ran into a problem once they'd paid their dues. Trump was the owner of The Plaza Hotel at the time, said Columbus, and he said the only way the crew could use the location was if he was in the film.
Chris admitted that he didn't want to pass on the location, because they couldn't rebuild The Plaza on a soundstage. So, they acquiesced to Trump's demands.
And when the movie was screened for the first time, the audience seemed to like seeing Donald Trump in it. But as Chris noted, "he did bully his way into the movie."
Of course, that was back in 1992. According to Newsweek, Trump said he bought The Plaza Hotel in 1988 for $407.5 million, while The Plaza's website said it was $390 million. Either way, it was a "polarizing" purchase.
The Hotel underwent some changes while Donald was in charge, and he even got married to ex-wife Marla Maples there in 1993. But all good things must come to an end: Newsweek said "the hotel was facing bankruptcy" and that Trump sold it for $325 million in 1995.
As for the other star of 'Home Alone: 2,' Macaulay Culkin has an impressive net worth, even decades afterward. And he hasn't had to bully his way into any acting gigs.
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