The 1990 classic Home Alone and its sequel cemented Chris Columbus as one of the great directors of holiday films. Before that success, he had already made a name for himself in Hollywood as the writer of Gremlins and The Goonies. However, his 1988 directorial effort Heartbreak Hotel was a commercial failure. John Hughes, a prolific writer-producer, extended a helping hand to his younger colleague, initially assigning him to direct Christmas Vacation before offering him the Home Alone project. But Columbus couldn’t get along with Chevy Chase, the film’s lead.
At the time, Chase was one of the most popular comedic actors in Hollywood, having already played the head of the Griswold family in National Lampoon’s Vacation and its sequel European Vacation. In retrospect, Columbus seemed like the perfect choice to helm the Christmas installment. “I signed on… and then I met Chevy Chase. Even in my situation, where I was desperate to make a film, I realized I couldn’t work with that guy,” Columbus shared in a recent interview about Nosferatu, a film he produced.
After a disastrous meeting with Chase, Columbus called Hughes and, though it was a tough decision, told him he couldn’t work with the actor. But what exactly did Chase do during their brief encounter? Columbus provided the details:
“He had to know I was directing the film. I told him my vision for how I wanted to approach it. He didn’t say anything. I spoke for about half an hour. Not a word from him. Then suddenly, he just stopped and said… and this makes no sense to anyone on this planet, but it happened. I’ve probably never talked about this before.
About 40 minutes into the meeting, he said, ‘Wait a second. Are you the director?’ I said, ‘Yes… I’m directing the film.’ Then he responded with the most surreal, bizarre thing. I still can’t make sense of it. He said, ‘Oh, I thought you were a drummer.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, okay, let’s get back to talking about the movie.’ But 30 seconds later, he said, ‘I’ve got to go.’”
Columbus recalled that there was a second meeting, with Hughes present this time, but Chase acted as if Columbus wasn’t even there. Afterward, Columbus made it clear to Hughes that he wouldn’t work with an actor who completely disregarded him. Ultimately, Jeremiah S. Chechik was hired to direct Christmas Vacation, while Columbus moved on to direct Hughes’ other script about a boy named Kevin who’s left home alone during the holidays. The rest, as they say, is history.
