Donald Trump “bullied his way” into ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’.
The former US president has a cameo in the popular holiday sequel and director Chris Columbus has confirmed the 77-year-old billionaire insisted he appeared alongside star Macaulay Culkin in the 1992 film as a condition for them being allowed to shoot in The Plaza Hotel.
Chris told Business Insider: “Like most locations in New York City, you just pay a fee and you are allowed to shoot in that location. We approached The Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time, because we wanted to shoot in the lobby. We couldn’t rebuild The Plaza on a soundstage.
“Trump said OK. We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.’ “
And though they had considered simply leaving the cameo on the cutting room floor, Chris and his team were convinced to let the moment stay when the “oddest thing” happened during test screenings.
He added: “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.”
The first movie featured a cameo from the late John Candy and the director revealed the actor improvised all his scenes.
He said: “He was on the movie for only one day, but it resulted in so much great improvisation. None of that stuff was in the script. The funeral-parlour story, that was all improvised at 4:30 in the morning. We could barely keep a straight face on set just listening to John.”
