Celebrity homes regularly make splashy headlines for their private beaches, basement bowling alleys, and dedicated trophy rooms.
But when the house itself is a celebrity, it can be a blessing or a curse.
In a new documentary, “The House From…,” director Tommy Avallone takes viewers inside the iconic homes made famous from movies, including “Home Alone” and “American Pie,” and television shows, including “Full House” and “Breaking Bad.”
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Some residents embrace the quirks of living in a fan-favorite home, where visitors might take photos outside, recite famous lines out loud, or even gather once in a while for a convention — like devotees of “Back to the Future” did in 2015 for the film’s 30th anniversary. Other homeowners, however, take steps to keep die-hards at bay, from adding fences to charging for pictures.
Some movie-house owners embrace fans on ‘pilgrimages’
In 2012, the real-estate agent Marissa Hopkins listed the Winnetka, Illinois, home that Kevin McAllister bravely defended in the 1990 classic “Home Alone.”
Hopkins said in the documentary that the spotlight can sometimes make famous homes even harder to sell.
“People want to come see the house when they’re in town, or they actually make it a pilgrimage,” she said.
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John Abendshien, whose family owned the “Home Alone” house from 1988 to 2012, said that people started coming to gawk at the property within a year of the film’s release in 1990 — but his family welcomed the looky-loos.
“It was a fun, positive experience,” Abendshien said. “Why not share it with others?”
Fans of the 1978 classic horror film “Halloween” love to recreate an iconic image of Jamie Lee Curtis sitting on the front stoop of the film’s main house with a giant pumpkin.
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For years, Bianca Richards — the real-life owner of the South Pasadena, California, property — has not only welcomed fans but made frequent trips to Michael’s to make sure there are photogenic pumpkins on hand for their social-media shoots.
“I take my job very seriously,” Richards said in the documentary.
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Richards relishes the strangers who arrive at her front steps on any given day, accepting fan mail and action figures that people have sent over the years. She even keeps a scrapbook of thank-you notes “Halloween” buffs have sent her.
“I want people to have a good time,” Richards said. “I just thought, ‘I’m going to embrace this.'”
Other residents of main-character homes would rather fans stay far, far away
Some denizens of famous movie homes have gone to extremes to ward off fans.
The owners of the Oregon property used to film “The Goonies” have covered their home in a tarp to ward off photo-seekers.
It’s a different story in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the residents of Walter White’s home in “Breaking Bad” have a fiery relationship with the TV show’s devotees.
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Luke Mones, a comedian who visited the home in 2018, described how his pilgrimage turned hostile in the documentary. The owner, who was sitting outside in a lawn chair, started yelling at him when he approached the home, Mones said.
“‘The show ended eight years ago. Get a life!'” Mones recalled the owner yelling at him.
The current owner has added iron fences, yellow caution tape, and an array of “Keep Out” and “Private Property” signs to deter visitors.
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“The owner is horrible. Screaming obscenities at my young kids,” one person wrote in a May TripAdvisor review for the home. “Rude lady! Needs to sell if she doesn’t like the publicity!” another visitor wrote in April.
The apathy to visitors might be understandable: Some “Breaking Bad” fans, recreating a beloved scene from the series, have been known to lob pizzas at the front door.
