“Keep the change, ya filthy animal”. It’s Christmas time. Trees decorated with fairy lights and tinsel. Stockings hung up on the mantelpiece with care. Mistletoe. Presents. Snow. Thieves breaking into the house to steal everything. A psychotic Santa breaking in to kill everyone. Ah, the holidays. Sounds like it’s time for Episode 70 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. This time round, I am happy to welcome back as my guest, blogger, podcaster and Xmas film enthusiast, Jay Cluitt, who has chosen as his selection the yuletide classic Home Alone, while I have chosen the French cult thriller 3615 Code Pere Noel, both about kids threated by bad guys breaking into their home during the holidays, because nothing says Christmas like home invasion. And I should also add that we are doing something a little different in that the film I chose, neither Jay nor I have seen before this podcast. So we shall see how that goes.

And in this episode, we answer such questions as: What is it about Christmas movies anyway? What happened to that kid in 3615 Code Pere Noel and what does Batman have to do with it? What happened to that kid in Home Alone? Who plagiarized who? Bare feet anyone? How much did John Candy get paid for being in Home Alone? What were all the aka’s for 3615 Code Pere Noel? Why was Pesci so difficult to work with in Home Alone? What is “responsible stock”? What was the most difficult scene to film in Home Alone?