Home Alone filmmaker Chris Columbus says remake of franchise for Disney+ is ‘a waste of time’ and unoriginal
Chris Columbus isn’t a fan of Disney+’s Home Alone reboot.
The 62-year-old filmmaker told Insider Thursday that he was not contacted about the project and believes ‘it’s a waste of time’ creatively.
Columbus, who’s also directed movies such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Nine Months and Only the Lonely, said it would be impossible to regenerate the magic of the 1990 holiday classic.
The latest: Chris Columbus isn’t a fan of Disney+’s Home Alone reboot, as the 62-year-old filmmaker said he was not contacted about the project and believes ‘it’s a waste of time’ creatively. He was snapped in NYC in 2016
‘What’s the point? I’m a firm believer that you don’t remake films that have had the longevity of Home Alone,’ Columbus said. ‘You’re not going to create lightning in a bottle again. It’s just not going to happen. So why do it? It’s like doing a paint-by-numbers version of a Disney animated film – a live-action version of that.
‘What’s the point? It’s been done. Do your own thing. Even if you fail miserably, at least you have come up with something original.’
Columbus said he ‘can even be accused of it’ himself with 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which he described as ‘basically a remake of the first Home Alone.’
He said of the sequel, which famously featured a cameo from future President Donald Trump, ‘Does it need to exist? Yes, because some of those stunts make me laugh really hard, but I just don’t believe it should be done.’
Columbus said it would be impossible to regenerate the magic of the 1990 holiday classic, which starred Macaulay Culkin and featured Joe Pesci
Fame: Culkin was the breakout star of the film, which featured Daniel Stern, Pesci and Catherine O’Hara, and late actors John Heard and John Candy
Columbus referenced the Stoned Alone takeoff Ryan Reynolds was working on in June of 2018 with Fox prior to its Disney merger.
‘God only knows what that will be – a stoner version of “Home Alone?”‘ he said. ‘Listen, have fun. I just feel, do something new. Life is short.’
Home Alone is one in the latest of franchises Disney+ has sought to breathe new life into with a reboot, as it’s also working on follow-ups to Saved By The Bell, Gossip Girl, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Columbus spoke to the publication coinciding with the 30-year anniversary of the original film’s November 16, 1990 theatrical release.
Columbus said he ‘can even be accused of it’ himself with 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which he described as ‘basically a remake of the first Home Alone’
Macaulay Culkin was the breakout star of the film, which featured Daniel Stern, Joe Pesci and Catherine O’Hara, and late actors John Heard and John Candy.
The movie took in $476 million worldwide off a budget of $18 million, and also garnered a pair of Oscar nominations to composer John Williams – with Leslie Bricusse for Best Original Song for Somewhere in My Memory; and Best Original Score for the film.
The reboot is slated to feature Archie Yates, Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney, with Dan Mazer in the director’s chair.