Daily Dialogue — August 2, 2019

“Mr. McCallister, here’s your very own… cheese pizza.”

— Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), written by John Hughes, characters by John Hughes

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Limousine. Today’s suggestion by @TheAdrianBrown.

Trivia: A twelve-year-old Greg Sestero was so enthralled by Home Alone (1990) that he wrote a spec script for a sequel titled “Home Alone 2: Lost in Disney World”. In the script, Kevin accidentally boards a plane to Florida, where he visits the titular theme park and bonds with his neighbor Drake (who Sestero intended to play) as they confront a team of bandits who have broken out of prison to work incognito as park janitors. Sestero sent his script, as well as a poster, proposals for the marketing campaign/soundtrack and a request for a cross-promotional deal between 20th Century Fox and (its future asset owner) Disney, to Hughes Entertainment, which were returned to him a month later with a letter from John Hughes reading “Believe in yourself, have patience, and always follow your heart”. Sestero was inspired by Hughes’ letter to pursue acting and writing professionally. Ironically, the eventual sequel bares striking similarities to Sestero’s script, including the concept of Kevin being separated from his family by taking a different flight, and having to confront the Wet Bandits following their prison escape. Obviously, despite the use of Florida (where the rest of the McCallisters go on vacation), there are no references to Disney World, while the more original plot element of Kevin bonding with someone of his age was replaced with a reprise of his meeting with an older outcast as in the first film. Sestero eventually discussed the first film’s influence on him and his script with Macaulay Culkin in a June 2018 episode of the latter’s podcast Bunny Ears.

Dialogue On Dialogue: What better way to flaunt one’s independence and financial windfall than a limo ride including cheese pizza and champagne glass flutes filled with root beer.