December 27th 2024.
In 1989, the beloved Chevy Chase took on a leading role in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. However, director Chris Columbus recently opened up about his decision to leave the iconic Christmas movie, citing difficulties in working with the lead actor. Columbus, who has directed popular films such as the first two Harry Potter movies and Mrs. Doubtfire, shared in a new interview with Vanity Fair about his experience working with Chase.
It all started just days before Columbus began working on the first Home Alone movie. He had been tapped to direct National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the third installment in the Vacation franchise, with legendary producer John Hughes. But things took a turn when Chase got in the way. Columbus had already started shooting some footage when he had two meetings with Chase, who played Clark Griswold in the movie.
During the first meeting, Columbus sat down with Chase to discuss how he envisioned the film and his ideas as the director. However, Chase remained silent throughout the meeting and only spoke up 40 minutes into the conversation, realizing that Columbus was the director. He then made a bizarre comment, saying that he thought Columbus was a drummer. After a short pause, Chase abruptly ended the meeting.
In the second meeting, Hughes joined them, but Columbus had already reached his limit with Chase's behavior. He felt disrespected and unengaged, and ultimately decided that he could not make a movie with someone like that. Columbus chose to leave the project, which eventually led to Jeremiah S Chechik stepping in as director. Christmas Vacation was released in December 1989, with Chase leading the star-studded cast, including Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, Beverly D'Angelo, and Randy Quaid.
However, just days after leaving Christmas Vacation, Columbus received an even better opportunity from Hughes. This time, it was for a movie that did not involve Chase. The script was for Home Alone, which Columbus found to be more personal and a better script. He saw this as an opportunity to create something great without having to deal with Chase. And that's exactly what he did. Home Alone premiered in November 1990 and became a massive success, grossing over $476 million at the global box office. It also held the record for the highest-grossing live-action comedy in the Guinness World Records, until the release of The Hangover Part II.
Looking back, Columbus has no regrets about his decision to leave Christmas Vacation. He believes that Home Alone was the perfect fit for him, and he didn't have to deal with Chase's unprofessional behavior. As for Chase, he has faced criticism in the past for his behavior on set. Community creator Dan Harmon revealed that Chase would often try to disrupt co-star Donald Glover's scenes and made racial comments between takes. However, Glover saw Chase as someone struggling to accept that his time in the spotlight was over.
In a 2018 New Yorker profile, Harmon shared that Chase was jealous of Glover's talent and would try to throw him off during filming. Despite this, Glover never took it personally and saw Chase as someone who was struggling with their own insecurities. When asked about Harmon's comments, Chase expressed sadness and stated that he did not want Glover to perceive him in that light.
In the end, Columbus's decision to leave Christmas Vacation led to the creation of one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. And although Chase remained in the lead role for Christmas Vacation, Columbus's departure may have ultimately been for the best. The Agency has reached out to Chase's representatives for a comment, but there has been no response yet. Home Alone went on to become a huge success, and Columbus's career continued to thrive. It just goes to show that sometimes, things happen for a reason.
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