How the McCallisters Afford the Home Alone House [Video]

Almost 35 years after the film first premiered, Home Alone director Chris Columbus is offering answers for some of the most frequently asked questions around the characters in the movie — including how the McCallister family could afford their beautiful home in Chicago.

On a recent episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Columbus explained that the mannequins briefly shown in the basement of the house were a hint that family matriarch Kate McCallister (Catherine O’Hara) was a high-profile fashion designer.

“The father could have, based on [writer] John Hughes’ own experience, worked in advertising, but I don’t remember what the father did,” the director continued. “Not organized crime — even though there was, at the time, a lot of organized crime in Chicago.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Columbus discussed seeing over 300 young actors for the role of Kevin before landing on McCaulay Culkin. He also spoke to the roundabout way he landed in the director’s …