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COVER STORY A youngster is 'Home Alone' with thieves on ABC Family By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it ent characters and actors, but thanks to the original movie, countless viewers know what to expect from anything with the title "Home Alone." The John Hughes-written, A sequel may have differ- Chris Columbus-directed 1990 comedy — which famously made a star of Macaulay Culkin as a resourceful youngster outwitting thieves who invaded his family's home — has yielded three fol- low-ups, two for theaters and the other for television. Now there's another: ABC Family debuts "Home Alone: The Holiday Heist" Sunday, Nov. 25, with the first "Home Alone" immediately pre- ceding it. In the new tale, instead of ing, which wasn't that great. I'd also worked with Debi Mazar, her having been on 'Entourage,' but I don't think we ever got to play a scene together there. We bonded on this, and it was great." McDowell also praises young co-star Martyn as "very good, the equivalent of Macaulay Culkin, who was extraordinary in that part. That's very hard to follow." Martyn explains that he "did an audition in Toronto, then they wanted to see me again with the director, because they didn't have him yet the first time I audi- tioned. And apparently, he liked me. Yay!" Comparisons to Culkin are Culkin's Kevin, it's a just-relo- cated boy named Finn (played by Christian Martyn) who fends off crooks along with his sister (Jodelle Ferland) when what the siblings initially think are ghosts haunting their new home turn out to be burglars (Malcolm McDow- ell, Debi Mazar, Eddie Steeples). Seven-time Emmy winner Ed As- ner also is in the cast, along with Ellie Harvie and Doug Murray as the children's parents, who are stuck elsewhere as the kids mount their defense. Forever legendary to film lov- ers as the viciously anarchistic Alex in director Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" four de- cades ago, McDowell embraces the chance "Home Alone: The Holiday Heist" gives him to be more humorous for a broader age spectrum. "I enjoyed mak- ing it very much," he confirms. "I wasn't really expecting too much out of it because it's a kids' thing, but we actually had a lot of fun. "I'd worked with the director (Peter Hewitt) before, and we worked up in Winnipeg, which is quite a beautiful city. It was very comfortable and very nice doing it ... though it was all-night shoot- inevitable, Martyn realizes, and that's OK with him. "I kind of tried to play it like an overanimated kid, because that's the kind of character this is, and the kind that people want to see. My mother's known for 12 years (in other words, since Martyn was born) that I've always wanted to be acting and doing 'Home Alone,' and now, I wonder if this will be my new reputation." It well could be for Martyn, who has done voices for the ani- mated Canadian series "Monster Math Squad" and "Franklin and Friends." He says he enjoyed matching talents with a long-time performer such as McDowell. "He really played his character how I thought he should have, kind of a comedic but smart bad guy. He's funny, but he's not stupid." As with many parents whose children have been entertained by the film, usually multiple times, McDowell is quite familiar with the first "Home Alone." He says, "I have young kids, so of course, they've seen it. And they love it. A kid puts one over on the grown-ups, so they squeal with delight. I have five children in total, but the three young ones will really enjoy this." Recently given a Lifetime Achievement Award for his hor- ror and fantasy work by the nonprofit sCare Foundation that assists homeless and impover- Christian Martyn and Jodelle Ferland star in "Home Alone: The Holiday Heist" Sunday on ABC Family. ished youth, McDowell is happy to share a project with Asner, who's on Broadway in the com- edy "Grace" until early January. However, the two acting veterans didn't cross paths physically on the latest "Home Alone." reports McDowell. "Actually, I met his son at the forecourt of the hotel as I was leaving for the airport. I know Ed, and I love him. To me, he's an icon, and the work that he's done through the years is incredible. He's such a wonderful actor and activist and person, I'm really sorry I didn't get to hang out with him." Also just seen in a return guest shot on CBS' "The Mental- ist," McDowell has been doing considerable television work. That has encompassed regular runs on ABC's reboot of "Fan- tasy Island," NBC's "Heroes," and TNT's continuing "Franklin & Bash" ... as well as HBO's now-finished "Entourage," for which McDowell hopes he'll be summoned back for the much-ru- mored feature-film spinoff. "Honestly, it's not something I planned out," McDowell main- tains of his home-screen ap- pearances. "I used to work a lot in independent movies, because they were made for more mature audiences than the usual fare from the studios. Then the fi- nancing for those movies kind of got wiped out, along with every- thing else, with the meltdown. "Cable television literally has filled the gap of the independent movie," McDowell reasons. "The writing is of such a high stan- dard, and it started years ago. 'The Sopranos' was like an in- credible movie every week, and that really was a game changer for everybody. All these compa- nies — HBO, TNT, USA, Syfy — they're making extraordinary product now, and they've really upped the game." "The day he arrived, I left," 3 x 3" ad 2 – NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 1, 2012 – BRAINERD, MN/DISPATCH 1 x 4" ad 2 x 4" ad

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