Trivia

In the original script, Gremlins (1984) was meant to be a much darker horror film in which the mother was decapitated, the family dog was eaten, and the adorable Mogwai "Gizmo" actually turned into the infamous Gremlin "Stripe".

All of his four children made cameos in the Harry Potter films he worked on.

One of Columbus's daughters had trouble reading until she read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in two days which opened her eyes to the world of books. After reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she asked Columbus to make films out of them, but there were 50 other directors already interested. Columbus fell in love with the first two books and sat down with Warner Bros saying how obsessed he was with making the Philosopher's Stone more than anything else. Columbus asked to be the last director Warner Bros saw which took about ten days. Columbus stayed up until 3am rewriting the script each day. It was already a good script but Columbus wanted to talk about the visuals. He told Warner Bros he had rewritten the script for free and that made an impression on them. Because Columbus had done that without any pressure from them, it made the difference and after subsequent meetings and five weeks later, he got the job of directing.

The only Harry Potter director to not make a cameo appearance in one of the films.

Considered directing Spider-Man (2002), however passed that up to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001).

Got the directing gig on Harry Potter after longtime front-runner Steven Spielberg passed on the project. He met author J.K. Rowling in England and won the job over several other candidates after promising her he would film entirely in the U.K. and use an all-British cast. Most of the crew was also British.

Columbus is a big James Bond fan and he was crushed when Pierce Brosnan didn't get cast when he was offered the part during the making of Remington Steele (1982) but they wouldn't release him from his contract. When they worked together on Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Columbus told Brosnan he'd make a great James Bond but he thought that ship had sailed. In 1995, MGM called Columbus telling him they're looking for the next James Bond and Brosnan was one of the choices so Columbus recommended him; his little contribution to the James Bond saga.

Had a cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) as a man in the toy store. He was holding his daughter Eleanor Columbus.

During the restaurant scene when Mrs Doubtfire's teeth fell into the wine glass, the cast didn't know Robin Williams would do that, so their reactions on film were genuine, mirroring the shock of the crew.

Casting Harry Potter was a big challenge; they saw 5000 auditions and none of them felt right. Columbus saw Daniel Radcliffe in David Copperfield (1999) and showed it to the casting director and said Radcliffe was the one and that he was amazing. But she said they wouldn't get him because his parents want him to focus on his schoolwork and not acting as well as all the attention he'd get. So they interviewed Harry Potter's of different nationalities all over the world and still hadn't found him. She got frustrated with Columbus because he had his heart set on Radcliffe. By sheer coincidence, the producer and screenwriter went of to the theatre and in the front row was Radcliffe with his father, so they talked and slowly persuaded him to cast Radcliffe.

Lived in England for a year and a half while filming the first two Harry Potter films. Opted out of the third film so he could come home and spend more time with his family.

Columbus was amazed how far Robin Williams took his performance in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); first he played each scene as scripted 2-3 times and then was allowed to improvise, or "playing" as Williams called it. Columbus allowed Williams to do a lot of improv because he felt that was where the film's funniest material came from. Scenes were shot between 15-22 times until Williams was satisfied he had the scene worked out of his system.

Frequently is involved with composer John Williams.

Columbus cast Joe Pesci in Home Alone (1990) because he was one of his heroes although he didn't think he'd get him for such a broadly comedic role.

He is the only American to have directed a Harry Potter installment.

Before Columbus worked with Robin Williams on Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) he had seen him in comedy clubs when he lived in Los Angeles. He was blown away by his energy and called him one of the most brilliant minds he had ever come across in terms of comedy. On stage he was an impressive ball of fire.

There are several versions of Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) because of the sheer volume of improv Robin Williams came up with, so it was difficult to edit the film to something resembling the script. Columbus likened it to editing a documentary. These other versions were unworkable because tonally they were all over the place.

Columbus was amazed how beautifully Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint matured over the Harry Potter series, both physically and as actors, compared to some child actors who start out adorable or lose that and become bad actors as they grow older.

Is of Italian and Czech descent.

When casting the role of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990), Columbus had already seen Macaulay Culkin in Uncle Buck (1989) but he wanted to audition some other kids first while John Hughes had his heart set on Culkin. So Columbus met Culkin in New York and was very charmed by him and thought he was fantastic. Columbus auditioned five other kids and none of them shaped up to Culkin. Columbus went with Culkin because he was not as picture perfect and he had an instant relatability to the kids in the audience. Columbus knew the cameras would love him and he was immensely funny.

Gremlins (1984), Columbus's fourth script, was written as a dark satire of It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

Columbus dedicated Stepmom (1998) to his mother, Irene Columbus which was about losing a mother. She died of cancer in 1997.

After securing Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern for Home Alone (1990), Columbus felt confident enough to cast actors who were his heroes growing up like Catherine O'Hara after seeing her work on SCTV (1976), as well as John Heard, and later Tim Curry and Rob Schneider on Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) because they were all open to the films.

After having a great working relationship with Steven Spielberg on Gremlins (1984), Spielberg produced the next two films Columbus scripted, The Goonies (1985), based on an idea Spielberg had, and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) which was Columbus's idea, which altogether was two years working on those three films. Spielberg then wanted Columbus to script Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), a big step for Columbus as a writer. He accepted and went to meet Spielberg and George Lucas, two men he was very intimidated by, even though he had worked with Spielberg three times. Columbus acted as Spielberg and Lucas's secretary on The Last Crusade for five days taking down all their ideas. Lucas dictated the screenplay to Columbus making him fearful of changing any of it, and that went against what Columbus had learned at film school. To Columbus, the script seemed lifeless and without energy and there was nothing of Columbus in it. Columbus assumed Spielberg hired him for that last reason and when Columbus turned in the the draft, he was fired from the picture for all the above flaws in the script. It was a defining moment in Columbus's career, to never again ignore his base instincts on a movie.

At one time lived in River Forest, Illinois which shares a high school with the suburb, Oak Park, in which Adventures in Babysitting (1987) was based. Oak Park and River Forest High School's name was changed for the movie, however, to Hemingway High because Ernest Hemingway went there. They kept the style of the high school's jackets for the film, however.

Has a figure of Dobby the Elf from the Harry Potter films in his office.

He wrote a rejected script for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in which Indy traveled to Africa and dueled a Monkey prince. It was rejected because of too many negative African stereotypes but the tank chase sequence in the the script was used in the film.

While staying at his wife's parents house in Chicago, after they just had their first child, Columbus was sent two scripts by John Hughes. One was for Home Alone (1990), which he fell in love with and struck a chord with him, and he felt he could make a really strong film out of it. He and Hughes hit it off instantly so Hughes gave him the job of directing it.

At one point, was attached to direct Fantastic Four (2005).

A big fan of Marvel Comics as a child in the 1960s, he was especially impressed with the artwork because it was almost the same as filmmaking. He later moved to New York because Marvel Comics were largely set there. He wanted to write or draw for Marvel but decided against it because it's an isolated existence and he liked working with people. Columbus drew comic book panels in his basement like early storyboards as a child. When he later directed Adventures in Babysitting (1987), one of the characters, Sara is also a big Marvel fan.

Columbus sold scripts to Steven Spielberg that became Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies (1985) but his career didn't truly take off until after directing Home Alone (1990) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). He then had greater success with the first two Harry Potter films.

Financially, his two greatest successes were Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).

He and his production company are a play on the explorer Christopher Columbus and the year 1492.

Columbus was inspired to become a filmmaker at the age of 15 after seeing The Godfather (1972).

When making Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), he and Robin Williams would often clown around between takes, with Mrs Doubtfire introducing Columbus as his son.

During its early stages of production, he was originally attached to direct Daredevil (2003).

Nine Months (1995) derived from Columbus wanting to tell the world about fatherhood.

On the set of Home Alone (1990), Macaulay Culkin would jokingly direct the film for Columbus.

Adventures in Babysitting (1987) was Columbus's first directorial job since his senior thesis film at NYU in 1980. It was his first time working with major lighting, cameras and cinematographers.

Columbus was expected to follow in his parents footsteps which meant working in an automotive or aluminum factory.

Started going to the movies at age 10 on Saturday afternoons; one of the first was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). It gave him an escape from the dreary factory town he lived in.

His production company is called 1492 Pictures.

Worked for Amblin Entertainment.

Brother-in-law of actor Doyle Devereux, who is the bailiff on the Judge Mathis show.

Father of Eleanor Columbus, Violet Columbus, Brendan Columbus & Isabella Columbus.

When he scripted Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), all films have characters who are the inventors of eccentric inventions and all were produced by Steven Spielberg. Both men are big James Bond fans, and may reflect they're love of Bond style gadgetry.

While in high school, he read an article in Time magazine about film school, and these magical words would teach him about the art of filmmaking.

Writing screenplays seemed an inexpensive way for Columbus to graduate towards the directors chair.

His other production company is called Maiden Voyage Pictures.

After directing him in Home Alone (1990) and Only the Lonely (1991) he became good friends with the late John Candy. Upon the announcement of Candy's death on March 4, 1994 Columbus spoke to film critic Gene Siskel and told him that he had five or six more projects he would have worked on with Candy if not for his untimely death.