History Trivia / TheGoodSon

** The critical failure of this film killed off Ian [=McEwan=]'s screenwriting career. It would be another 13 years before another one of his screenplays would be filmed.

** The critical failure of this film ensured that Ian [=McEwan=] would never write a screenplay again... until ''On Chesil Beach'' was released in 2017.

** During the early stages of production, Michael Lehmann replaced original director Brian Gilbert. When Fox was negotiating Creator/MacaulayCulkin's contract for ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', his [[StageMom manager and father]] Kit convinced the studio to have Culkin star in ''The Good Son'' for his participation in ''Home Alone 2''. Lehmann and co-producer Lawrence Mark bailed the film in protest, and both were replaced by Joseph Ruben.

* CreatorKiller: While it was a box office success, it was also one of the most critically despised movies of the 1990's, and the critical thrashing led Joseph Ruben's producing career to wind up on the rocks in addition to denting his directing reputation; he was not credited as a producer again until 2014.
* ExecutiveMeddling: Culkin's casting was entirely the result of this, but a lot more meddling happened behind the scenes. See TroubledProduction below.

** Fox initially wasn't sure whether or not ''The Good Son'' would be a hit when Ian [=McEwan=] presented the original script to them. When ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' was released to commercial success, however, the studio felt that since films about physiological thrillers and children were in hot demand, they could comfortably combine the two genres in one film.
** Michael Lehmann, who replaced original director Brian Gilbert after funding for ''The Good Son'' ran out, originally cast Jesse Bradford as Henry Evans. However, when Fox was negotiating Creator/MacaulayCulkin's contract for ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', his [[StageMom manager and father]] Kit slipped in a stipulation requiring Culkin to star in ''The Good Son'' for his participation in ''Home Alone 2'', a stipulation Fox agreed to without question given Culkin's star power. When Lehmann found out about this, he and co-producer Lawrence Mark bailed the film in protest. Replacing both men was Joseph Ruben, whom Kit personally requested. Kit further stipulated that Macaulay's sister Quinn appear in the movie and the budget ballooned to $20 million.
** [=McEwan=] found himself clashing with Ruben over the film's creative direction, with Ruben wanting to make it more commercially acceptable. After several rewrites failed to satisfy Ruben, Fox fired [=McEwan=] and replaced him with Ruben's collaborator David Loughery. When [=McEwan=] threatened to sue the studio if he was forced to share writing credit with Loughery, Fox agreed to give [=McEwan=] sole writing credit for the film, even though it was Loughery's screenplay that was used in the final product. The film's failure ensured that [=McEwan=] wouldn't write another screenplay until 2017's ''On Chesil Beach''. Macaulay Culkin's career [[StarDerailingRole would take a downfall]] and Joseph Ruben's career [[CreatorKiller was also never the same]].

** Michael Lehmann, who replaced original director Brian Gilbert after funding for ''The Good Son'' ran out, originally casted Jesse Bradford as Henry Evans. However, when Fox was negotiating Creator/MacaulayCulkin's contract for ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', his [[StageMom manager and father]] Kit slipped in a stipulation requiring Culkin to star in ''The Good Son'' for his participation in ''Home Alone 2'', a stipulation Fox agreed to without question given Culkin's star power. When Lehmann found out about this, he and co-producer Lawrence Mark bailed the film in protest. Replacing both men was Joseph Ruben, whom Kit personally requested. Kit further stipulated that Macaulay's sister Quinn appear in the movie and the budget ballooned to $20 million.

** Michael Lehmann, who replaced original director Brian Gilbert after funding for ''The Good Son'' ran out, originally cased Jesse Bradford Henry Evans. However, when Fox was negotiating Creator/MacaulayCulkin's contract for ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', his [[StageMom manager and father]] Kit slipped in a stipulation requiring Culkin to star in ''The Good Son'' for his participation in ''Home Alone 2'', a stipulation Fox agreed to without question given Culkin's star power. When Lehmann found out about this, he and co-producer Lawrence Mark bailed the film in protest. Replacing both men was Joseph Ruben, whom Kit personally requested. Kit further stipulated that Macaulay's sister Quinn appear in the movie and the budget ballooned to $20 million.

** [=McEwan=] found himself clashing with Ruben over the film's creative direction, with Ruben wanting to make it more commercially acceptable. After several rewrites failed to satisfy Ruben, Fox fired [=McEwan=] and replaced him with Ruben's collaborator David Loughery. When [=McEwan=] threatened to sue the studio if he was forced to share writing credit with Loughery, Fox agreed to give [=McEwan=] sole writing credit for the film, even though it was Loughery's screenplay that was used in the final product. The film's failure not only ensured that [=McEwan=] would not writing another screenplay until 2017's ''On Chesil Beach''. Macaulay Culkin's career [[StarDerailingRole would take a downfall]] and Joseph Ruben's career [[CreatorKiller was also never the same]].

** [=McEwan=] found himself clashing with Ruben over the film's creative direction, with Ruben wanting to make it more commercially acceptable. After several rewrites failed to satisfy Ruben, Fox fired [=McEwan=] and replaced him with Ruben's collaborator David Loughery. When [=McEwan=] threatened to sue the studio if he was forced to share writing credit with Loughery, Fox agreed to give [=McEwan=] sole writing credit for the film, even though it was Loughery's screenplay that was used in the final product. The film's failure not only ensured that [=McEwan=] would not writing another screenplay until 2017's ''On Chesil Beach'', but also [[StarDerailingRole marked the beginning of the end for Macaulay Culkin's career]].

** Ian [=McEwan=] wrote the screenplay after Fox executives were impressed by his recently published novel ''The Child in Time'' and wanted a film involving children and evil. Fox, however, initially wasn't sure whether or not ''The Good Son'' would be a hit. When ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' was released to commercial success, however, the studio felt that since films about physiological thrillers and children were in hot demand, they could comfortably combine the two genres in one film. ''The Good Son'' was given a $12 million budget and Michael Lehmann was attached to direct, with Jesse Bradford set to play the role of Henry Evans after Michael Klesic was deemed too old for the part. Lehmann replaced original director Brian Gilbert after funding for the movie ran out.
** When Fox was negotiating Creator/MacaulayCulkin's contract for ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', his [[StageMom manager and father]] Kit slipped in a stipulation requiring Culkin to star in ''The Good Son'' if he was to participate in ''Home Alone 2'', a stipulation Fox agreed to without question given Culkin's star power. When Lehmann found out about what Kit had done, he and co-producer Laurence Mark bailed the film in protest. Replacing both men was Joseph Ruben, whom Kit personally requested. Kit further stipulated that Macaulay's sister Quinn appear in the movie, forcing the budget to go up to $20 million.
** Creator/MarySteenburgen, who was supposed to play the boys' mother, later quit due to scheduling conflicts when Fox decided to shoot push back filming for ''The Good Son'' by a year since ''Home Alone 2'' was planned to shoot in the same time frame before Culkin was brute-forced into the cast. In the process, Creator/ElijahWood got the part of Mark Evans when the delay made him available.
** [=McEwan=] found himself clashing with Ruben over the film's creative direction, with Ruben wanting to make it more commercially acceptable. After several rewrites failed to satisfy Ruben, Fox fired [=McEwan=] and replaced him with Ruben's collaborator David Loughery. When [=McEwan=] threatened to sue the studio if he was forced to share writing credit with Loughery, Fox agreed to give [=McEwan=] sole writing credit for the film, even though it was Loughery's screenplay that was used in the final product.
** The end result was a complete mess from start to finish, and was released in late September 1993 to negative reception and box office failure. The film ended up setting the stage for Culkin's [[StarDerailingRole career decline]], and Kit became a major impediment for Culkin's career prospects as studios didn't want to deal with his father. The following year, Culkin retired from acting and estranged himself from his father. [=McEwan=] wouldn't write another screenplay until 2017's ''On Chesil Beach''.

** When Fox was negotiating Creator/MacaulayCulkin's contract for ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', his [[StageMom manager and father]] Kit slipped in a stipulation requiring Culkin to star in ''The Good Son'' if he was to participate in ''Home Alone 2'', a stipulation Fox agreed to without question given Culkin's star power. When Lehmann found out about what Kit had done, he and a fellow producer bailed the film in protest. Replacing both men was Joseph Ruben, whom Kit personally vetted to ensure he would follow his demands. Kit further stipulated that Macaulay's sister Quinn appear in the movie, forcing the budget to go up to $20 million.

** Michael Klesic was the original choice to play Henry. Unfortunately, production got stalled when the budget ran out, and when Fox finally started to get the film off the ground, Klesic was deemed too old for the part and it was passed on to Jesse Bradford. Sets for filming had already been built by the time Macaulay Culkin's father, Kit Culkin, made Fox screw Bradford out of his role in favor of Macaulay (see TroubledProduction below).

** Ian [=McEwan=] wrote the screenplay after Fox executives were impressed by his recently published novel ''The Child in Time'' and wanted a film involving children and evil. Fox, however, initially wasn't sure whether or not ''The Good Son'' would be a hit. When ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' was released to commercial success, however, the studio felt that since films about physiological thrillers and children were in hot demand, they could comfortably combine the two genres in one film The film was given a $12 million budget and Michael Lehmann was attached to direct, with Jesse Bradford set to play the role of Henry Evans after Michael Klesic was deemed too old for the part. Lehmann replaced original director Brian Gilbert after funding for the movie ran out.

** Ian [=McEwan=] (''Literature/{{Atonement}}'') wrote the screenplay after Fox executives were impressed by his recently published novel ''The Child in Time'' and wanted a film involving children and evil. The screenplay was well-received but Fox was initially unconvinced that the film had commercial potential. After the releases of ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', however, Fox revisited the project under the belief that they could combine the popularity of both the films' genres (in this case, children and thrillers, respectively) together. The film was given a $12 million budget and Michael Lehmann was attached to direct, with Jesse Bradford set to play the role of Henry Evans after Michael Klesic was deemed too old for the part.
** Things quickly went downhill when Creator/MacaulayCulkin's father, Kit, found out about the project and wanted his son to be the star. Neither Lehmann nor co-producer Laurence Mark were interested in Culkin, but his casting in ''The Good Son'' was made as part of a contractual stipulation regarding Culkin's appearance in ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', which Fox agreed to without question. When Lehmann and Mark found out about this, they chose to leave the project not wanting to deal with Kit's meddling. Both were ultimately replaced with Joseph Ruben, whom Kit requested. Kit's egotism further got the better of him when he demanded that Macaulay's sister Quinn get a role in the film, and this ended up causing the budget to go upwards of $20 million.

** [=McEwan=] feuded with Ruben due to CreativeDifferences over the script's bleak tone, and after a few rewrites [=McEwan=] was abruptly fired and replaced with David Loughery. Fox, not wanting to deal with a lawsuit from [=McEwan=], agreed to give him full credit for the story, even though it was Loughery's script that was used in the final film.
** The end result was a complete mess from start to finish, and was released in late September 1993 to negative reception and box office failure. The film ended up setting the stage for Culkin's [[StarDerailingRole career decline]], and Kit became a major impediment for Culkin's career prospects as studios didn't want to deal with his father. The following year, Culkin decided to retire from acting and estranged himself from his father, and to this day he refuses to speak to him.

** Ian [=McEwan=] (''Literature/{{Atonement}}'') wrote the screenplay after Fox executives were impressed by his recently published novel ''The Child in Time'' and wanted a film involving children and evil. The screenplay was well-received but Fox was initially unconvinced that the film had commercial potential. After the releases of ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', however, Fox revisited the project under the belief that they could combine the popularity of both genres together. The film was given a $12 million budget and Michael Lehmann was attached to direct, with Jesse Bradford set to play the role of Henry Evans after Michael Klesic was deemed too old for the part.

** Fox initially wasn't sure whether or not ''The Good Son'' would be a hit when Ian [=McEwan=] presented the original script to them. When ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' was released to commercial success, however, the studio felt that since films about physiological thrillers and children were in hot demand, they could comfortably combine the two genres in one film. You can imagine how well that would go.
** Michael Lehmann, who replaced original director Brian Gilbert after funding for the movie ran out, never tapped Macaulay Culkin for the role of Henry, instead wanting Jesse Bradford to play the part. However, when Fox was negotiating Culkin's contract for ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', his [[StageMom manager and father]] Kit slipped in a stipulation requiring Culkin to star in ''The Good Son'' if he was to participate in ''Home Alone 2'', a stipulation Fox agreed to without question given Culkin's star power. When Lehmann found out about what Kit had done, he and a fellow producer bailed the film in protest. Replacing both men was Joseph Ruben, whom Kit personally vetted to ensure he would follow Kit's demands. Kit further stipulated that Macaulay's sister Quinn appear in the movie (see RealLifeRelative above) and forced the budget to increase.
** [=McEwan=] found himself clashing with Ruben over the film's creative direction, with Ruben wanting to make it more commercially acceptable. After several rewrites failed to satisfy Ruben, Fox fired [=McEwan=] and replaced him with Ruben's collaborator David Loughery. When [=McEwan=] threatened to sue the studio if he was forced to share writing credit with Loughery, Fox agreed to give [=McEwan=] sole writing credit for the film, even though it was Loughery's screenplay that was used in the final product. The whole thing culminated in a complete mess of a film, and its poor reception resulted in [=McEwan=] not writing another screenplay until 2017's ''On Chesil Beach''.

* StarDerailingRole: This was the [[Film/GettingEvenWithDad first]] of [[Film/ThePagemaster five]] [[Film/RichieRich movies]] through 1993 and 1994 that resulted in Creator/MacaulayCulkin dropping out of Hollywood.

* NoStuntDouble: When Henry gets dropped by his mother, a shot of Creator/MacaulyCulkin himself and not a stunt double falling away from the camera on the actual cliff was required. After discussions with Culkin and his parents, he agreed to do a 30-foot fall on a cable on the actual cliff, 180 feet above the freezing lake, but he wanted one thing in return for this act of bravery: a BB gun. Culkin performed the cable fall perfectly and was given his BB gun.

* NoStuntDouble: When Henry gets dropped by his mother, a shot of Macauly Culkin himself and not a stunt double falling away from the camera on the actual cliff was required. After discussions with Culkin and his parents, he agreed to do a 30-foot fall on a cable on the actual cliff, 180 feet above the freezing lake, but he wanted one thing in return for this act of bravery: a BB gun. Culkin performed the cable fall perfectly and was given his BB gun.
* PlayingAgainstType: Macaulay Culkin. Big time.

* StarDerailingRole: This was the [[Film/GettingEvenWithDad first]] of [[Film/ThePagemaster five]] [[Film/RichieRich movies]] through 1993 and 1994 that resulted in Macaulay Culkin dropping out of Hollywood.

* StarDerailingRole: ''The Good Son'' was the [[Film/GettingEvenWithDad first]] of [[Film/ThePagemaster five]] [[Film/RichieRich movies]] through 1993 and 1994 that resulted in Macaulay Culkin dropping out of Hollywood.

** This is possibly a case of a MarketBasedTitle, as the ''Home Alone'' movie was called in Latin America ''Mi Pobre Angelito'' ("My poor little angel"). Since this movie shares the same actor, only evil this time, ''The Evil Angel" seems like a nice fit.

* StarDerailingRole:
** ''The Good Son'' was the [[Film/GettingEvenWithDad first]] of [[Film/ThePagemaster five]] [[Film/RichieRich movies]] through 1993 and 1994 that resulted in Macaulay Culkin dropping out of Hollywood.
** Subverted with Creator/ElijahWood, even though he followed ''The Good Son'' with ''Film/{{North}}'', which got the "[[RogerEbertMostHatedFilmList hated]]" review from Creator/RogerEbert and tanked heavily. He would rebound at the end of the 90's and early 2000's with ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy.

* StarDerailingRole: ''The Good Son'' was the [[Film/GettingEvenWithDad first]] of [[Film/ThePagemaster five]] [[Film/RichieRich movies]] through 1993 and 1994 that resulted in Macaulay Culkin dropping out of Hollywood.
** Subverted with Elijah Wood, even though he followed ''The Good Son'' with ''Film/{{North}}'', which got the "[[RogerEbertMostHatedFilmList hated]]" review from Creator/RogerEbert and tanked heavily. He would rebound at the end of the 90's and early 2000's with the ''Lord Of The Rings'' trilogy.

* StarDerailingRole: ''The Good Son'' was the [[Film/GettingEvenWithDad first]] of [[Film/ThePagemaster five]] [[Film/RitchieRich movies]] through 1993 and 1994 that resulted in Macaulay Culkin dropping out of Hollywood.

* StarDerailingRole: ''The Good Son'' was the first of five movies through 1993 and 1994 that resulted in Macaulay Culkin dropping out of Hollywood.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[Film/HomeAlone Kevin McCallister]] has become more than just a bad boy, while [[Film/LordOfTheRings Frodo Baggins]] was once a human child instead of a Hobbit.

** Subverted with Elijah Wood, even though he followed ''The Good Son'' with ''Film/{{North}}'', which got the "hated" review from Roger Ebert and tanked heavily. He would rebound at the end of the 90's and early 2000's with the ''Lord Of The Rings'' trilogy.