Home Alone director thinks the reboot is 'a waste of time'

Home Alone will forever be a holiday classic — which is why the news of a reboot had some people excited and others apprehensive.

The movie's director Chris Columbus has made it clear that he's in the latter group.

“It’s a waste of time as far as I’m concerned. What’s the point?” Columbus said in an interview with Insider. “I’m a firm believer that you don’t remake films that have had the longevity of Home Alone. You’re not going to create lightning in a bottle again. It’s just not going to happen. So why do it?"

According to Entertainment Weekly, the new Home Alone film began production in February before filming was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Archie Yates (Jojo Rabbit) will star in the role famously played by Macaulay Culkin, with the cast also including Rob Delaney, Ellie Kemper, Kenan Thompson, and Chris Parnell.

The director of the 1990 blockbuster also came after Disney in the interview, saying: "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, who directed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York as well, also spoke about US President Donald Trump's cameo in the original movie, saying he bullied his way into it (no surprises there!).

"We approached The Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time, because we wanted to shoot in the lobby. Trump said okay. We paid the fee, but he also said, 'The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie'," he revealed.

"So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: people cheered when Trump showed up on screen. So I said to my editor, 'Leave him in the movie. It's a moment for the audience.' But he did bully his way into the movie."

We'll just have to wait and see if Trump manages to snag some screen time in this one too!