Nearly three decades after the release of the sequel to popular American comedy "Home Alone", "Lost in New York", the man who directed both movies, Chris Columbus, has revealed exactly how Donald Trump managed to get himself a cameo in the latter feature.
In an interview with Insider, Columbus recalled how they had to deal with Trump who, at the time, owned the Plaza Hotel where the the film's protagonist ends up staying during the course of his adventures in NYC.
"We wanted to shoot in the lobby," he said. "We couldn't rebuild The Plaza on a soundstage."
However, it turned out that merely paying Trump a fee to do the shooting, which the media outlet says is usually the norm, the real estate mogul allegedly put forth an additional condition.
"We paid the fee, but he also said, 'The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie,'" Columbus said. "So we agreed to put him in the movie."
The media outlet also notes that while it is unclear whether the director wanted to “was always going to use Trump's cameo in the movie”, the matter was apparently settled when the film was first shown to an audience.
"People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen," Columbus said. "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."
When this reveal emerged on social media, many netizens seemed rather unperturbed by Trump's alleged behavior.
— Lisa (@leesa_lou22) November 13, 2020
Why am I NOT surprised? 🙄🙄🙄
— Lauren (@Irishbabe22) November 13, 2020
Really? This guy? No way... pic.twitter.com/x6x3kv5Jgv
— Four Stevens Total Landscaping (@SeeSteve) November 13, 2020
However, there were also those who expressed their doubt about the story.
The director shot nearly the entire movie at The Plaza. Which @realDonaldTrump owned back then. So...highly doubt it. This guy is just trying to be relevant in the Hollywood Trump-hate parade.
— Janna Fite Herbison (@jannaherbison) November 13, 2020
