It's no secret that Chevy Chase is famously an extremely thorny person behind the scenes. As fun and light his comedy flicks can be, apparently, he's quite the prick according to cast mates. From Saturday Night Live to Community, there are numerous stories about his behavior that made some people almost quit. One person actually did quit working with him on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
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Recently, Gremlins director and Nosferatu producer Chris Columbus spoke with Vanity Fair for an interview. There, he reveals that Chase's bizarre, standoffish attitude kept things from progressing very far together on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. "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," Columbus recalls. "I was one of the many who couldn't work with him. And I called John and I said, 'This is really hard for me, but I can't do this movie with Chevy Chase.'"
Chris Columbus Leaves His Gig After Excruciating Chevy Chase Meeting
Chris Columbus goes on to describe the strange, aloof antics in one of their first meetings. He tries to lay out a plan of action with Chevy and gets stonewalled the entire time. "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. Forty minutes into the meeting, he says, 'Wait a second. You're the director?' And I said, 'Yeah ... I'm directing the film,' Columbus says.
"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.' I said, 'Uhh, OK. Let's start talking about the film again.' After about 30 seconds, he said, 'I got to go,'" Columbus continues of Chevy Chase's actions.
The second meeting goes just as bad and Columbus calls it quits. He would rather stick to writing than deal with Chevy Chase be a diva. "First of all, he's not engaged. He's treating me like sh-. I don't need this. I'd rather not work again. I'd rather write," Chris says. "I thought, This was how we're going to work together? I'm going to be on set and he's not listening."
