20th Century Studios’ “Home Sweet Home Alone” is an all-new adventure comedy from the beloved holiday film franchise. Max Mercer is a mischievous and resourceful young boy who has been left behind while his family is in Japan for the holidays. So when a married couple attempting to retrieve a priceless heirloom set their sights on the Mercer family’s home, it is up to Max to protect it from the trespassers…and he will do whatever it takes to keep them out. Hilarious hijinks of epic proportions ensue, but despite the absolute chaos, Max comes to realize that there really is no place like home sweet home.

Entertainment Affair recently joined the cast of “Home Sweet Home Alone”—including Archie Yates (“Jojo Rabbit”), Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), Rob Delaney (“Deadpool 2”), Aisling Bea (“Living with Yourself”) and Ally Maki (“Toy Story 4”)—for a virtual press conference to discuss the film. Check out a few highlights of the event below.

Kemper and Delaney on the physical demands of their roles in the film:
“They were comprehensive,” Delaney admitted. “I mean, we started stunt training well before we started shooting—thank goodness. And we were really required to do most of the stunts in the film! Professional stunt people did them as well,” he added, chuckling, “and they edited them in. But they really put us through the paces! Which, frankly, was shocking to me because I thought that I would just have to dip in for a humorous rejoinder now and then—but they’re like, ‘No, we’re going to require you to be in the entire film and do the stunts.’ Which was scary, educational, and really very fun.”

Kemper agreed, adding, “It turned out to be a lot of fun. I hadn’t done anything like that before! It was challenging, but also funny—and athletic in a way that I wasn’t expecting.”

Yates on channeling his inner Kevin McAllister for this movie while making the role of Max his own:
“Well, I did take a lot of inspiration from the original Home Alone movies,” the Jojo Rabbit star said. “I mean, I religiously watch them every year at Christmas, so it was pretty easy for me to relate [to the character of Kevin McCallister]. But then again, Max is supposed to be a completely different character from Kevin—so while I did want it to [honor] the classic, I also wanted it to be original and a bit different. Because that’s what this film is all about. It’s the same universe, but it’s a completely different story.”

Bea shared a classic moment from the original film that she wanted to incorporate into this film
“It was the emotional moment of seeing your son again and that moment at the door,” Bea explained, “and that's,
I think, because you get such a feeling from that moment and then also unemotionally, the brown coat,
that the mother has a brown coat. Some actors worked differently. I worked from the coat out.”

One way the movie flips the script on the original is that, ultimately, the line between “villain” and “hero” is blurred.
“Our mission was one inspired by, I think, goodness,” said Kemper. “Our motives were good: We want to save our family.”

Bea added, “I think there’s a bit of a change in the balance of ‘evil versus good.’ In [the earlier Home Alone films], you were very aware of who was bad and who was good. And now this time ‘round, you can sort of understand the ‘burglars’—where are they coming from, emotionally, in the movie.”

Devin Ratray, who portrayed Kevin’s bratty older brother in “Home Alone,” is also a key figure in the new movie, and Yates was a bit star-struck by the iconic character.
“The one day I worked with him, he was so cool,” said Yates. “He was [particularly] awesome to work with. I was actually like really nervous at first, because I thought I was like looking at a god!”

What sort of project does Yates want to do next?
“All of the stuff that I’ve been in has been comedy, and comedy is one of my favorite genres. But as much as I do love comedy and being part of hilarious family films, I do realize now that I can do so much more. As of now, I’m trying to explore different genres, like drama. But that’s not the only thing. I also want to be a director, and I’ve recently starting writing my own scripts.”