Filmmaker Chris Columbus (“Mrs. Doubtfire”) isn’t pulling any punches on what he thinks about Donald Trump’s cameo in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” Like its predecessor, the 1992 film was a hit, but its success is now being overshadowed by Trump’s screen time.
Despite it only lasting seven seconds.
In the clip, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) asks for directions in New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel. At the time, Trump owned the building, and was just seen as a real estate mogul by the public. Making the whole exchange a fun little joke for those that got it.
But Columbus didn’t want the cameo in the final cut. “We screened the film in Chicago, and when that moment came onscreen the audience went crazy,” the director told The San Francisco Chronicle. “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.”
It’s not like this is Columbus’ first time addressing the matter either. In a 2020 interview, he claimed that Trump would not allow them to shoot at the Plaza unless he got screen time. “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,” he told Business Insider.
Trump’s Response
It took three years for these comments to make it back to Trump. “I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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. People call me whenever it is aired. Now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie. Nothing could be further from the truth. That cameo helped make the movie a success … Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
We’re willing to wager that the success of “Home Alone 2” was mostly due to the success of the first film, but go off.
Columbus’ Response
While Columbus didn’t immediately address these claims, he is now. “Years later, it’s become this curse,” he said to The Chronicle. “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.”
Adding after a pause; “But it’s there. It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.”
“I can’t cut it. 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.”
Columbus has Italian ancestry but was born and raised in the USA. So this comment is more of a knock at Trump’s scorched earth immigration policy deporting innocent people. And then sometimes laughing it their pain on social media.
You can check out the “Home Alone 2” scene at the center of all this commotion below:
