Chris Columbus debunks Home Alone fan theory on how the McCallisters could afford their house: “Not organized crime”

The house from Home Alone remains one of the most iconic in all of cinema. It’s a gorgeous Georgian colonial style home in the Chicago burbs that recently sold for $5.25 million, showing just how sought-after it is. That price tag has gone up exponentially through the years, so you’d have to have a pretty cush job to be able to swing that. But back in the early ‘90s, you really only needed to be a – wait, what did the McCallisters do for a living to be able to afford that house and five kids (and 10 large pizzas!)? Fan theories remain, but Home Alone director Chris Columbus has weighed in on what Peter and Kate’s careers were to live comfortably in that house.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Columbus remembered that the discussion did come up that it might be questioned what the McCallisters did for a living to afford the house in Home Alone. But only one of the parents was ever “officially” settled on. “Back then, John and I had a conversation about it, and we decided on what the jobs were…[Kate]  “was a very successful fashion designer,” which is teased by there being numerous mannequins in the basement and a sewing station in the house. So what about Peter? “The father could have, based on John Hughes own experience, worked in advertising, but I don’t remember what the father did.” That doesn’t help a whole lot – and there really aren’t any clues in the house to indicate exactly what he did – but Columbus was quick to rule out a life in the Chicago mob. “Not organized crime — even though there was, at the time, a lot of organized crime in Chicago.”

That point, which some stand by as a way to reason how Peter and Kate could continue paying for the Home Alone house, derives from a widely circulated fan theory that further tries to link John Heard’s Home Alone character to the one he played on The Sopranos. It basically goes that, after the events of the movies, mobster Peter went into hiding in New Jersey as Detective Vin Makazian but couldn’t quite escape his old lifestyle, falling in with Tony Soprano and working as an inside guy for the crime boss. That particular element is pretty far-fetched but it might also lend to the fact that that particular house is the “silver tuna” for local cat burglars or why the Little Nero’s delivery boy never called the cops or why Kevin is a complete psychopath.

Home Alone fans may never truly know what Peter McCallister did for a living, but we do know that he and Kate were awfully wealthy to be able to afford that house. Most of us would be laughed out of the neighborhood but the house did once land on Airbnb, although we can’t confirm whether or not a bite next door was included…

What do you think Peter McCallister did for a living? Give us your best take in the comments below.