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CHICAGO (CBS) — Usually, Thanksgiving is a giant launch time for Hollywood blockbusters.
However with most film theaters shut down, we are able to solely cherish our movie treasures from the previous this yr.
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It could be exhausting to imagine, however this marks the thirtieth anniversary of the now traditional “House Alone.”
In order you maybe watch it for the nineteenth time, right here’s a glance again on the Macaulay Culkin comedy (for somewhat time reference, Macaulay Culkin is 40 now), by means of the eyes of Chicago polka musician Eddie Korosa Jr. He and his real-life polka band make a cameo within the film.
What does a Chicago polka band chief need to do with a Christmas flick? Listed below are 10 fascinating issues we realized about “House Alone” from our chat with Korosa.
1. The film mother (performed by actress Catherine O’Hara) meets the Kenosha Kickers polka band on the Scranton Airport. John Sweet performs Gus Polinski, the Polka King of the Midwest. Whereas that scene was purported to happen in Scranton, Korosa tells us it was really filmed at Meigs Discipline. For anybody youthful than a youthful age, that’s what we now know as Northerly Island. Former Mayor Richard M. Daley destroyed the airport through the darkish of night time to show it into parkland in 2003.
2. John Sweet and the Kenosha Kickers provide O’Hara a trip in a rented shifting truck. It seems the scene was shot whereas driving on actual streets. Korosa says that scene too was shot at a Meigs Discipline warehouse. There have been even a number of stagehands jostling the truck from the skin, to make it appear like the truck was rambling down the highway.
3. Eddie Korosa Jr. needed to persuade the members of his actual band (known as The Boys from Illinois) to seem within the film. Korosa received the decision late one afternoon and all of them needed to pile into his truck to move to the audition. They sat in unhealthy visitors after which needed to play for film producer John Hughes. Korosa says his bandmates have been “pissy” on the time, however that modified when Hughes employed them on the spot to seem within the film. “I advised them they’re all gonna be film stars,” Korosa says, earlier than bursting into laughter.
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4. The shoot itself took about 18 hours, all at Meigs Discipline. Korosa and the band shared breakfast, lunch and dinner with John Sweet there. Korosa describes the late Sweet as “humorous and well mannered.” He hung with the band a lot of the day, however did spend a while in his limo. Korosa additionally remembers {that a} stand-in for Sweet sat within the rental truck for a pair hours till the lighting was perfected. Then, the funnyman took over. Sweet’s traces? Largely adlibbed. Korosa tells us Culkin was at Meigs Discipline that day, despite the fact that his character didn’t seem on display screen with the Kenosha Kickers.
5. John Sweet – evoking his well-known SCTV character Yosh Shmenge – is a clarinet participant within the film. Nonetheless, Korosa says the actual clarinet participant within the band recorded the half in a studio after which Sweet “performed” the clarinet, which meant he held the instrument and fake-played it.
6. Korosa remembers every band member received paid a pair thousand {dollars} for showing within the film. Along with the lengthy day at Meigs Discipline, additionally they needed to report the music in a studio. It was just lately reported that John Sweet solely earned $414 for his look.
7. Talking of cash, Korosa estimates he nonetheless will get $2,000-$3,000 in royalties yearly from “House Alone.” A number of the checks break down the funds by nation, akin to viewings in locations like Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Canada. Korosa tells us: “After all Canada. John Sweet’s large in Canada,” because the late actor was born in Ontario. The checks come quarterly. “The one I’ll get in December is all the time somewhat larger. It’s nonetheless a high Christmas film,” he says. The stubs additionally define the supply of the cash: Pay TV, Free TV, Web Rental, and DVD/Video.
8. Within the film, every member of the Kenosha Kickers wore a vibrant satiny jacket with the band’s identify. Korosa says the band didn’t get to maintain the jackets.They wound up being auctioned off for charity after the film turned successful, and Korosa remembers every jacket going for about $3,000 every. Replicas are on the market on the Web now, going for below $100 on Amazon.
9. There have been seven members of the band within the film, together with Sweet. 5 have since died. Korosa is one among solely two remaining. The opposite, Frank Cernugel, is retired and dwelling in Joliet.
10. “House Alone” hit theaters for Thanksgiving 1990. Korosa had a daughter, Lauren, in December 1990. He stated: “You consider traditional motion pictures and also you suppose how time flies. And to suppose I used to be a part of one thing large. That may stick with it without end. This time of yr you see it extra on TV. Individuals textual content and name, I simply noticed your half on ‘House Alone.’ We by no means thought it will be this large.”
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