Chris Columbus is the director of some of the most beloved movies of all time and he was originally set to direct National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but quit due to Chevy Chase‘s alleged behavior on set.
Columbus is best known for movies like Adventures in Babysitting, Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Stepmom, and the first two Harry Potter films.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Chris opened up about why he quit Christmas Vacation and what actually happened between him and Chevy.
Keep reading to find out more…
“I was signed on… and then I met Chevy Chase. Even given my situation at the time, where I desperately needed to make a film, I realized I couldn’t work with the guy,” Chris said.
He added, “I was one of the many who couldn’t work with him. And I called John [Hughes] and I said, ‘This is really hard for me, but I can’t do this movie with Chevy Chase.’”
Chris told the full story of what happened.
“We were in the midst of shooting second unit. We didn’t start shooting the movie or building sets. But it was December, so I had to go to downtown Chicago and shoot all of the department stores and all of that. I had two meetings with Chevy,” Chris said. “My first meeting with him, I sat down with him. It was just the two of us. He had to know I was directing the movie. I talked about how I saw the movie, how I wanted to make the movie. He didn’t say anything. I went through about a half hour of talking. He didn’t say a word. And then he stops and he says—and this makes no sense to any human being on the planet, but I’m telling you. I probably have never told this story.”
He continued, “Forty minutes into the meeting, he says, ‘Wait a second. You’re the director?’ And I said, ‘Yeah…I’m directing the film.’ And he said to me the most surreal, bizarre thing. I still haven’t been able to make any sense out of it. He said, ‘“Oh, I thought you were a drummer.’ [Shakes head] I said, ‘Uhh, okay. Let’s start talking about the film again.’ After about 30 seconds, he said, ‘I got to go.’”
Vanity Fair suggested that Chevy may have been making a joke about a jazz percussionist also named Chris Columbus.
Chris added, “He went off and met with John Hughes and said we needed to meet again. Then we had a dinner where John Hughes was present, and I was basically nonexistent. It was Chevy and Hughes, and they talked about everything except Christmas Vacation. We spent two hours together, and I left the dinner and I thought, There’s no way I can make a movie with this guy. First of all, he’s not engaged. He’s treating me like sh-t. I don’t need this. I’d rather not work again. I’d rather write.”
“I quit Christmas Vacation. The next weekend, I got another script from John—and it’s Home Alone,” he said. “Home Alone, for me, was even more personal, a better script. And I thought, I can really do something with this, and I don’t have to deal with Chevy Chase. That was it.”
Chris previously slammed Disney+ for rebooting Home Alone as a series.
