Home Alone is one of the most beloved Christmas films of all time. Following the resounding success of the 1990 film, the team reunited for 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
The movie wasn’t as beloved as the first installment and didn’t achieve the same cult classic status. Even more, the movie now features a controversial cameo from then-businessman, now-President Donald Trump. In a new conversation with the San Francisco Chronicle, director Chris Columbus revealed he wished he could cut Trump’s controversial cameo, but he can’t do it for fear of getting deported.
Columbus directed the 1990 movie and returned for the sequel as well, with John Hughes writing the script and producing again. The sequel also featured a seven-second cameo from Trump, where he gives Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin directions in New York’s famed Plaza Hotel, which he owned at the time. The director called it a «curse» and «an albatross.»
If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country.
Speaking to the outlet, «I can’t cut it,» Columbus explained. «If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country. I’ll be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States, so I’ll have to go back to Italy or something.» The director was born and raised in the U.S., and lives in San Francisco. However, he referenced the Trump administration’s recent mass deportation plans.
Columbus explained that Trump allowed the production to film the scene at the Plaza Hotel only if he could make an appearance. «We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.’ So we agreed to put him in the movie,» Columbus revealed in a 2020 interview with Business Insider for the original’s 30th anniversary.
Trump denied his words in a 2023 post on his social media site Truth Social, claiming the director insisted he make an appearance, adding that his cameo is why the sequel succeeded. «I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time.»
The director addressed the cameo in the interview, noting the audience «went crazy» when they test screened the sequel in Chicago. «They cheered, and they cheered, and they thought it was hilarious. I think I know a lot about comedy, but I don’t, obviously, because I never thought that was going to be considered hilarious.»
He continued, «Years later, it’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there. What’s going through this guy’s mind? He said I was lying. I’m not lying. He said I begged him to be in the movie, but there’s no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie. But we were desperate to get the Plaza Hotel.» He continued, «But it’s there. It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.»
Home Alone 2 Was a Massive Success
Home Alone‘s impact is undeniable today, as the movie is a must-see for many around Christmastime. Although the sequel was not as popular, it was still a major commercial success. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York followed Kevin losing track of his parents at the airport and getting on a plane to New York City instead of Florida with the rest of his family, getting into more shenanigans and running into the Sticky Bandits again.
The movie was the only sequel in the Home Alone franchise reuniting the cast. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York received mixed reviews from the critics, and it currently boasts a «rotten» score of 35% from the critics, but a passable 62% from the audience. Even so, it was the third-highest-grossing film of 1992, just behind Aladdin and The Bodyguard, grossing $358.9 million worldwide against a modest budget of $20 million (per The Numbers).
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is available to stream on Disney+.
