The life and times of Macauley Culkin have been stranger than the script of any movie ever written. From his child stardom in 'Home Alone' to his friendship with Michael Jackson, his arrests and legal troubles and his multiple 'retirements' from acting (and subsequent returns), he's seen his fair share of highs and lows. His desire to shake off his 'Home Alone' typecasting have seen him try a number of experimental roles. The part of Michael Alig in 2003's 'Party Monster' was one such experiment.
This was Culkin's first movie role in nine years, and his first as an adult. It didn't do well. The real-life Michael Alig was gay, but he was also a party-obsessed socialite who got deeply involved in drugs and ended up going to jail for murder, with no redemption angle or seemingly any likable traits. Because of that, a biography of him was never likely to appeal to audiences, and it didn't. It returned less than $1m of a $5m budget, and Culkin went back to the drawing board.