Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Snap Studios.
There's an environmental crisis out there that could change the way we grow food and how we eat. They said if we don't save the pollinators, things will get ugly pretty quick. Welcome to the world of Buzzkill, a new podcast from the Food and Environment Reporting Network, where we take on the pollinator crisis, what it is, why it matters, and what we can do about it. I'm your host, Teresa Katsourilis. Join me as we tell the stories of people working to protect pollinators and biodiversity in
Buzzkill is available wherever you get your podcasts. Snap Judgment is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.
If you love iPhone, you'll love Apple Card. It comes with the privacy and security you expect from Apple. Plus, you earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase, which can automatically earn interest when you open a high-yield savings account through Apple Card. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app. Subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Apple Card and savings by Goldman Sachs Bank USA's Salt Lake City branch. Member FDIC. Terms and more at applecard.com.
Ah, snappers. Tis the season. And in celebration, we're going to break format a bit. We're going to travel back to a simpler time. A time before iPods. Before Cybertrucks. A time when computers didn't talk back. Larry Hankins. Larry remembers these magical days with a story about how he came this close to landing the role of a lifetime. One of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time now.
Spoiler alert, Larry doesn't get the gig, but what happens next will become Home Alone history. So grab a glass of eggnog, because here's Larry, live from the Crow Comedy Club. Snap judgment. By a show of hands, how many people have seen Home Alone? Anybody? Okay. All right, this is about the curse on Home Alone.
First of all, this is 1990 when Home Alone was first bought and they started filming. So this is about 1990, 1991. I was looking for rent. That was the whole point. I was looking for rent and trying to learn guitar. Two things. And in between that, I was trying to audition. So my agent called me and he said, are you available right now?
And I go, "Of course, you know that. You're my agent." So he said, "All right, look, 'Home Alone' just called. They started a new production. It's John Hughes' next movie. It's going to be a Christmas thing. It's going to be big. It's got Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern and a kid called Macaulay Culkin.
And they've been filming for three days now. And Daniel Stern has now stopped production because he wants more money. The producers don't want to pay him more money. He's going to quit if he doesn't get more money. And the producers say, if he keeps on demanding more money, we're going to fire him. And we need somebody to replace him. And we're thinking about you. And I'm thinking, whoa, are you kidding? John Hughes movie?
Home Alone, I mean everybody knew then it was going to be a really cool movie. So I go, "Wow, that's amazing." He says, "Okay, they're in a negotiation right now. They're going to end it in about a half hour. I'll call you back. Pack your bag, put it by the door. You have to leave tonight. If Daniel Stern doesn't want to work for the money he's getting, they're going to fire him. You're going to have to start reshooting the new film
tomorrow morning. I'm going, wow. She says, okay, I'll call you back in half an hour. Hold tight. Okay, click. And I'm thinking, wow, I'm going to be co-starring with Joe Pesci in 1990 and I need my rent. This is incredible, man. This is incredible. Okay, so a half hour goes by. I'm sitting by the phone. I'm tensed. I'm jacked up. I'm really cool. And he goes, okay, we just got it in. Daniel Stern
caved, it's off, never mind, there's other jobs, click. I was really pissed. I mean, I was madder than I've ever been, man, because they jerked me around. The producers jerked me around and I didn't like it. So I dealt with it as best I could. I dealt with it. And then I got on with my life, which was trying to learn the guitar, audition.
Learn to guitar audition. Okay, cool, rent. Okay, and about two weeks later, I get a call from my agent again. He said, "Are you still available?" Come on, man.
Why? Because Home Alone just called. They want you in the movie. They need you in the movie. You've got to be in the movie. And I go, what? What's going on? He said, the movie is cursed. This is a true story. They called me and they said, the movie is cursed. I said, is that your word or their word?
No, that's their word. And the reason they say it's cursed is because of the way they jerked you around. Whatever it was in the negotiations with Daniel Stern, and they feel guilty about it, and they feel that that's the reason the movie is cursed, because it's already shot...
Three days and nothing's happening. It's not going right. So they figured the only way is get Hankin back in, get him in the movie anywhere, just to appease the curse and get it off the movie. And I go, that is the weirdest. Okay, I mean...
all right, so you do it. Well, what do they want me to do? What's the character? I don't get it. You know, is this Daniel? No, it's not Daniel Stern again. No, it's just to get the curse off. Now, so, okay, what do they want me to do? And they said, well, that's the,
Okay, here's the thing. It's just, it's three lines. No, I'm not doing it. Three lines? Are you kidding? It's a cop talking to a mom about getting her son, checking on her son. No, I'm not going to do it. Three lines. Two weeks ago, I was coasting with Joe Pesci.
And now they're offering me three lines? No, I'm not going to do it. No. So he says, no, listen, Larry, just calm down, man. Now look, they'll fly you there, first class, LA to Chicago. They'll pick you up in a limo and get you to the set. They'll have the set all set up for you. This is a half a day's work, Larry. Just go in. It's three lines. Do one take, back in a limo, fly your first class, limo. You will sleep in your own bed the same day.
No man, three lines? Are you kidding? Larry, listen to me. They will pay you $10,000 to do just what I said. Oh, okay, fine. Let's do it. Yeah. Okay. Wow, what's the problem?
Yeah, so, and sure enough, the next morning, sure enough, I look down, I'm in an apartment house, I look down, there's a limo, a white stretch limo downstairs waiting for me. I go down, I don't even have to pack.
because I'm going to sleep in my own bed. That's what they said the same night. Don't have to pack. I'm just going half a day's work. That's it. So I go down, I jump in a limo to the airport. First class limos there, Mr. Hankin, chauffeur, everything to the set. They pull me up. There's an AD waiting at the curb. I get out. They pull me in. Now, right before I left, I got a phone call from one of the producers saying,
of Home Alone to verify that I'm going to show up and do it. And so I go, are you kidding? Of course I'm going to do it. Okay, so he says, Larry, you just want to verify and everything's going to be okay. We'll see you there tomorrow, right? Yeah. Okay, what do you want?
I go, what do you mean, what do I want? I don't deal with that. No, no, no, because we understand it's just three lines. We understand it's a very small part. We just want you in the movie because of the curse. So just anything. So if you... No, I said, okay, I can have anything? Mm-hmm.
Well, well, okay, you can rewrite the three lines as long as it fits into the scene. Or you can have any prop you want, whatever you want. We understand you're doing us a favor. I go, okay, what, it's a cop, right? Yeah, yeah, okay. Okay, I want to be eating a donut while I say your lines. That's it.
Yeah, that's it. I want to be eating a donut. A glazed donut. I want a glazed donut.
"Okay, see you here tomorrow." Right, okay. They take me to the producers, and there's a set. It's a sound stage, and they got the police station, the chair, and the phone. Everything's there. They got the camera, the lights, everything is all set. And the producers say, you know, "Okay, just change into your costume. Get in the costume. Sit down, one take, back in the limo. You sleep in your own bed tonight." "Okay. Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute. Where's my glazed doughnut?"
Larry, just go change into the cop uniform. We'll have the glazed donut when you get back. Okay, so I go in, I change the cop uniform, I come back, and standing waiting for him right next to the camera, as you know these are baker's rolling trays with the trays, you know, and you can roll it around with the bread on it and everything. Okay, next to the camera is a baker's rolling tray with 20 trays, 20 shelves, and on each shelf is 30 glazed donuts. Laughter
600 glazed donuts. And I just say, I just asked for one glazed donut. And I'm thinking, I'm not paying for these. You know, I really did think that. I just don't understand what's going on with the whole thing with the curse. But I do notice that there's something weird going on. Okay, give me a donut. Oh, that one. Yeah, give me that one.
Okay, and all right, so Chris Columbus is directing, which is another perk. I mean, Chris Columbus is really cool. Larry, get in the chair. You got the phone, you got the donut. I'm going to be eating it. Okay, and take one. Larry, action. Okay, and well, hello, police department, blah, blah, blah. You want me to check on your son in the cut?
Is that me? What happened? What was that? No, no, no. Camera went off the dolly. All right, back to one. Take two, Larry. All right, give me another donut. I just ate the whole thing. Just give me a new one. All right. Okay, and take two. And action, Larry. Okay, so blah, blah, blah. Police department, blah, blah, blah. You want me to go to your home and check on your son. Cut!
Okay, now what happened? Camera jiggle. Let's go back to one. All right. Take two. All right. Give me another donut. No, I just ate the whole thing while I was waiting to reset the camera. I just ate it. All right. Just give me another one. All right. Take three. And you ready? Okay. Larry with the donut. Okay, fine. And action. Larry, and you want me to go to check on your...
The light, it's very hot in there. There's a sound state. It's really hot. And one of the lights above exploded and rained down glass, that shattered glass, all over the set on me. It's just one shot. It's just a tracking shot. It's just one person in it. So it's just on me. Okay, so the 20-minute break. While they clean up the set, they clean me off. They get the nurse to check. I'm not cut. I'm not going to sue. Don't worry. Okay. Okay.
all right and Larry give me another another no give me another one no give me that one yeah okay
Okay, and this is, I don't know what, take four and take five, take six, take seven, take eight, take nine. We haven't gotten through one good take. Something always happens, and it's not me. It's not me. It's something technical each time, nine times. And now I'm starting to think, holy crap, it is Curtis.
And you can even see the crew is going, "Alright, it's a curse." And I look over at the producers and they're white, man. They are depressed. It's really weird. And everybody except Chris Columbus. He's like, "Cool." He's like, "Okay, come on. Take 10. Let's go, everybody. Take 10, Larry. Get a donut." And I'm saying, "Wait a minute.
The doughnuts are starting to disappear from the bottom shelf. The crew is eating the doughnuts. And I'm going, hey, man, we may have to do 590. So, OK. All right, fine. So finally, take 10. All right, give me another doughnut. And take 10. Action, Larry. OK, and you want me to go check on your son? Yeah.
Okay, Rose, hyper on two. Cut, and everybody laughs. Now, for the nine takes, when it didn't go all the way through to the end,
Nobody laughed because you don't laugh at crew's f*** ups. You don't. Or any technical laugh. But if an actor f***s up, laugh. They all laugh. Oh, oh, oh. And they captured it on tape. So Chris Columbus says, print that one, Larry, you're released. Okay, get him in a limo. You can change your car. Get out of your costume. You're released, Larry. And I go, what just happened? No, if I f***ed up,
I want to do it again. I don't want that. I don't want you to print a f*** up of mine. No, no, Larry, that's good. We're good. You're released. I go, no, I want to do it again. No, Larry, you don't have to do it again. We got it. And he says, come to the TV village and we will play it for you.
So I said, "I don't want to watch it because I'll just do what I made the mistake because if I see it, I'll do it again." So I go and I watch it and they play it and okay, and as far as I can see as they play it, it's what I'm doing is exactly the same for all 10 takes. There's nothing different. I'm not f*cking up. But then I start to notice something that there's a crumb from the doughnut
And it's caught on the mouthpiece of the phone. Now all the other crumbs, because there's crumbs, you know, when you're eating a donut, and all the nine takes, they all fall to the ground or the floor. And even in this take, except there's one big
crumb is not only hanging not like this on the top of the mouthpiece, but it's over here. And it's not moving and then very slowly it starts to, very slowly, start to, but it doesn't drop. It's just slowly rolling down.
And then finally, and I don't know, I'm just talking and talking, and right near the end of the scene, it drops. And then the scene ends. And they say, we're going to print that. Why? That's f***ed up. I don't have to use a donut. No, no, no, that's going in the movie, Larry. That's a money shot. And I go, what do you call a money shot? What is that to you?
He said, "It means it's going in the movie. It's gold. It's funny, Larry." And I go, "Okay." He said, "Get out of here." "Okay, get him out of here. Get him in a limo. Get him home. He's got to sleep in his own bed tonight. Okay, get him out of here." So I go in and I change my clothes. I come back and what I do is I don't go to the limo. I go over to the baker's tray because I want to see what's going on. Why did that stick and no other crumb did?
And I go over and it was so hot, I looked at all the donuts that are left, the glaze had started to melt. So it was tacky, it was thick, and that crumb obviously came from the top of the donut, so it was the glaze that was holding that thing there. Because people would come up to me on the street and say, "Hey, you know, you were in Home Alone, right?" "Yeah." "How did they do with the donut thing? How did they do that?"
So I don't know if there's any actors in the room, but here's a great lesson in how to steal a scene. Okay, in the middle of the scene, slowly start to die. Very slowly. No matter where you are in the scene or what you're doing, start to slowly die. And then right near the end of the scene, suddenly drop.
Okay, so that's just how to steal a seat. Okay, but that has nothing to do with anything. Okay, so now I get into the limo and they take me to the airport and first class, limo, and not only do I get to sleep in my own bed the same night, but I get $10,000 for a half a day's work. I can pay my rent. Yeah, okay. And then about a year later...
Home Alone comes out and it's a big hit. Now, the reason that it's a big hit and the moral of the story is that because the producers treated me so nice and they paid me so much money for half a day's work that I removed my curse from the movie.
Thank you, Larry Hankin, for sharing your story from Escape to Alcatraz to Friends to Seinfeld and Breaking Bad. Larry has left an indelible mark on your TV screens over the last five decades. And yes, Larry has a book entitled That Guy, a cautionary memoir. Special thanks as well to Sam Shaw for sharing Larry's story.
Sam is working on a documentary on Larry's improvisational theater company, The Committee. Information about that at thecommitteemovie.com. And last but not least, special shout out to the Crow Comedy Club in Santa Monica for hosting Larry during one of their unforgettable storytelling nights, crowcomedy.com.