Cambridge resident fulfills dream of meeting ‘Home Alone’ star Macaulay Culkin

INDIANAPOLIS – The first time Cambridge City resident Ashley Leslie had ever seen “Home Alone” was when she was 6 years old.

At the time, the film had only been out for two years and had not yet become a holiday classic that many families today have come to love.

Watching “Home Alone” hadn’t really been a Christmas tradition for Leslie’s family, but it’s now a Thanksgiving tradition as they’ve been having get-togethers at her great-grandmother’s house.

“It just started one year because they always start playing it around Thanksgiving on TV,” she said. “‘Home Alone’ was the first movie I ever saw. I just wanted to watch that movie all the time.”

When it comes to the film’s star, Macaulay Culkin, most people think of “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” but they don’t know many of his other projects.

Leslie’s first time seeing the Christmas movie made her a lifelong fan of the actor, owning his book, figures, movies he’s starred in and other collectibles, including a McAllister’s Home Security Christmas ornament.

“I still have my original Talkboy from when I was a kid, and I have a Macaulay Culkin doll with the string that says lines from ‘Home Alone,'” she said. “Anything really ‘Home Alone’ related or about him that I find, I understand.”

Not long after watching “Home Alone,” Leslie’s mom bought “My Girl” to watch while she was sick. She was distraught when Culkin’s character in the film died.

“I took it literally,” Leslie said. “I ran into the bathroom crying and my mom had to come and explain that it was just a movie and he was okay.”

Leslie said that after watching “Home Alone” and “My Girl”, she developed her first celebrity crush on him, but continued to follow his work because of his “uniqueness and personality” as well as his openness and honesty about his childhood and owns who he is.

Now her own children, the youngest of whom is 6, enjoy watching both “Home Alone” movies starring Culkin. Leslie said she sees some parts of Kevin McCallister in her youngest.

“Not in a trap way, but he also likes to play pranks, mostly on his dad,” she said. “We actually bought him a prank set for his birthday.”

Leslie, who also takes every opportunity to do something artistic, saw a TikTok made by Uranus Fudge Factory ahead of the Dec. 20 opening and was looking for people to design pieces of wood to hang around the store.

Since her husband knew someone who works there, Leslie sourced a piece that took her a single day to complete and featured Kevin McCallister’s signature pose and battle plan from the first “Home Alone,” while giving it a Uranus Fudge Factory -twist, but told the customers. to eat their fudge.

Despite how much of a fan she is, Leslie never had the opportunity to meet Culkin until last month.

On December 5, Culkin held an event at the Old National Center in Indianapolis called “A nostalgic night with Macaulay Culkin“, which featured a special screening of “Home Alone”, followed by a moderated interview and audience Q&A.

“I always wanted to meet him, but he really stepped out of the limelight for a while,” Leslie said. “When he did this show in Indianapolis, when it was posted on Facebook, I probably had 30 people tag me in the post that he was going to Indianapolis.”

She and her husband bought tickets right away, but she said she was pretty upset she didn’t get meet-and-greet and photo tickets because of how expensive they were: $310 in addition to the $75 for the movie screening and questions and answer.

“After a few days, my husband said, ‘We have to have it. This is your dream to meet him. You have to do it,'” she said.

After the film and Culkin answered a few questions from audience members, it was Leslie’s turn to meet him.

“I was super nervous,” she said. “I kept telling my husband the whole time in line that I felt like I was going to cry, and when I got up the next time, my whole body was warm.”

The conversation with Culkin went better than expected, Leslie said, and he made it very easy for her by leading the conversation.

“He’s a super nice guy,” she said. “He asked me if I was just a ‘Home Alone’ fan and I told him I’m a fan of his in general and started telling him about some of the things I had, he really got a kick out of that . It was like the best day ever.”

With the photo she took with Culkin, Leslie plans to have a badge roll made with the photo to cut into the work, and she said she would meet him again if the opportunity arose.

“100% percent,” she said, “I would definitely do it again.”

This article originally appeared on the Richmond Palladium-Item: Cambridge resident fulfills dream of meeting ‘Home Alone’ star Macaulay Culkin