Home Alone is STILL one of the best holiday movies ever!!! Did you know that John Candy's scenes were filmed in a arduous 23 straight hours?
One of the most memorable moments of the holiday classic Home Alone is the sudden and surprise appearance of John Candy.
What you may not know, however, is that Candy's role as Gus Polinski, the "Polka King of the Midwest," was done as a favor by Candy for the movie's producer John Hughes, and he was only paid $414 for his appearance in the film.
Part of the deal struck between Candy and Hughes was that Candy be allowed to improvise all of his dialogue, so every word spoken by Candy in Home Alone was complete improv.
Director Chris Columbus told Insider, "None of that stuff was in the script. The funeral-parlor story, that was all improvised at 4:30 in the morning. We could barely keep a straight face on set just listening to John."
Candy and Catherine O'Hara starred together on SCTV back in the day, so they both were familiar with each others improv.