Home Alone’s Most Iconic Moment Was Improvised By Macaulay Culkin

But did you know that perhaps the most famous scene of all was actually completely improvised by Macaulay Culkin?

Here it is, in case you need a reminder:

When quizzed on when he realised the moment would be successful on screen, Columbus replied: "Kind of on set, because he wasn't supposed to do that. If you put something on your face that burns, most people move their hands right away.

"So my direction to him was when you pat your face, move your hands and scream. And I think it was the first take, he kept his hands on his cheeks. We all started laughing hysterically."

He added: "We did it a couple more times with his hands off his face, but my editor, Raja Gosnell, he cut that take into the first cut that I saw and it was in there forever. It's funny, the iconic moment from Home Alone was an accident."

For those who aren't familiar (how?!) Home Alone tells the story of Kevin (Culkin), an eight-year-old boy, who must defend his (rather large and bougie) home from two burglars after his family accidentally leaves him behind when they go on a Christmas holiday.

The cast also includes Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the two burglars, as well as John Heard and Catherine O'Hara.

The conversation comes as Disney plans to remake Home Alone for Disney+, as part of a long string of shows getting the reboot treatment.

However, director Columbus is still convinced a remake is not the right move.

"What's the point?" he asked. "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? 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."