Director Chris Columbus praises owner's of Winnetka's 'Home Alone' house

Director Chris Columbus, gearing up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his first Harry Potter film this weekend, also took a moment to look back on his hit movie that made a star of one local Winnetka house: Home Alone.

FOX 32 Entertainment Reporter Jake Hamilton spoke with Columbus for the anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but asked about what the Winnetka home (which was used only for the exteriors of ‘Home Alone’) meant for his career.

"That house, to me, was a point in my career where I didn’t think I was going to direct again," Columbus said. "I’d just come off of a movie that did not do well but John Hughes gave me the job and that house really represents the re-birth of me as a filmmaker."

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"I went back to that house with my family a few years ago in Chicago, we were visiting my brother-in-law. My kids and I took a picture in front of the house doing this (iconic movie pose)."

Home Alone was released in 1990 and grossed $476 million at the worldwide box office.