Chris Columbus
Caroline Schiff/Getty Imagesfrom Alone at home to Harry Potter and Gremlins to Fools, Chris Columbus He has a laundry list of major film credits as a director, writer, or producer. Christmas vacation It could be part of his resume as well.
Columbus, 66, He said Vanity gallery In an interview published on Monday, December 23, he said that he began working on the film National Lampoon in 1989, after meeting… Chevy ChaseHe decided he couldn't go on with it.
“I signed on…and then I met Chevy Chase. Even given my situation at the time, where I was desperate to make a movie, I realized I couldn't work with the guy,” Columbus said of the film's star.
Chase, 81, played Clark Griswold, the patriarch of the Griswold family, who is determined to have the perfect life. Christmas With his wife and two children. Naturally, a series of comedic missteps throughout the film threaten to derail the family's vacation.
Columbus described his awkward first encounter with Chase, which he described as “the most surreal and strangest thing.”
Chevy Chase hides behind a tree in a scene from the 1989 movie “Christmas Vacation.”
Warner Bros./Getty Images“I talked about how I saw the movie, and how I wanted to make the movie. Columbus claimed that he didn't say anything. “I spent about half an hour talking. He didn't say a single word. Then he stops and says – This doesn't make any sense to any human being on this planet, but I'm telling you. I may have never told this story. Forty minutes into the meeting, he said, “Wait a minute.” Are you the manager? I said: “Yes… I am directing the film.” …He said, “Oh, I thought you were the drummer.”
Fans have suggested that Chase may have been referring to the jazz musician of the same name, who died in 2002.
The two met again, this time with… John Hughesthe film's writer is also present. The trio sat down to dinner, and according to Columbus, Hughes and Chase talked for two hours about everything but the movie.
Home Alone launched Macaulay Culkin's career – and three decades later, fans are still quoting the iconic '90s Christmas film. “Christmas is my favorite time of year,” Culkin exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2019. “I get recognized 10 times more between November and January. I have no idea why. The(…)
“I left the dinner and thought there was no way I could make a movie with this guy. First, he's not engaged. He's treating me like -. I don't need this. I'd rather not work again. I'd rather write,” Columbus recalls.
Columbus informed Hughes of his decision and said that the writer was understanding. It worked, too, because Hughes sent him another text the following weekend.
“I got another text from John – and it is Alone at homeColumbus said. “Alone at homeFor me, it was more personal, a better script. And I thought, “I can really do something about this, and I don't have to deal with Chevy Chase.”
Alone at home It was released the following year, and although it received mixed reviews at the time, it turned into a Christmas classic, grossing $476.7 million at the box office and spawning a sequel two years later.
