For me, the biggest treat about working at the house where Chris Columbus filmed Home Alone was hearing all the production trivia from the owners. The Winnetka Historical Society held a fundraiser there June 4, and the residents told us a bunch of cool stories about what it was like living in a movie set.• Michael Jackson dropped in one day to hang out with Macaulay Culkin.
• This was the third time that producer John Hughes contacted them in hopes of using their house. They turned down his first two offers (for Uncle Buck and Christmas Vacation), but accepted the third because they thought it would be a small film.
• The crew brought in enough Christmas lights to cover every house on their block.
I got to pose the guests in several areas of the house that were sets in the movie, including the stairs Kevin sleds down, and the living room.
In the backyard tent, the guests competed in a "Best Kevin With Aftershave" contest.
On her famous front doorstep, with the same wreath used in the film, our gracious host showed us her "crew uniform." Everyone in the crew had a shirt that identified what their role was — but she had to make her own,
so she had a little fun with it.
