‘Home Alone’ Happened Because Chris Columbus Refused to Work With Chevy Chase

If you were a kid (or an adult) in the 1990s, then you know how huge the Christmas comedy Home Alone was back then. Everywhere you went, people talked about Macaulay Culkin and how he became Hollywood’s biggest child star overnight. To this day, Home Alone remains a movie that you have to watch during the holidays.

But unlike Kevin McCallister, who makes a Christmas wish and suddenly all things are solved, Home Alone is not exactly a product of magic. It is the result of a bitter clash between its director and a Hollywood star. Many don’t know it, but Home Alone director Chris Columbus only made the film because writer John Hughes was kind enough to make him an offer after Columbus refused to direct National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Why did he refuse? Well, Chevy Chase, of course.

Two extremely different films united by an inspired writer who saw the potential of Columbus as a comedy auteur who could achieve the necessary balance that Home Alone has. Not that he would have made a bad version of Christmas Vacation, but Home Alone simply feels more like the kind of movie Columbus does.

Chris Columbus Was the First One Selected to Direct ‘Christmas Vacation’

After National Lampoon’s European Vacation made enough money in 1985, Warner Bros. insisted to franchise creator John Hughes that he had to come up with another film. Hughes had written the original 1983 film starring Chevy Chase as the Griswold patriarch, Clark, but he stepped aside when the Griswolds went to Europe. The reception was not as good, so naturally, Warner Bros. felt he had to be back for the third entry.

The first Vacation had been based on Hughes’ short story published in National Lampoon magazine, “Vacation ‘58,” so for the Christmas one, he thought of the short story “Christmas ’59,” also published in the magazine. For directing duties, he thought of a young director who had made two decent movies for Touchstone Pictures: Chris Columbus.

Chevy Chase’s Famously Bad Attitude Towards… Everyone

First, let’s try and clear up some rumors. When Chase was fired from Community, it wasn’t the first time the industry had felt the “inconvenience” of a notoriously difficult actor. The SNL alum was invited to Studio 8 to host an episode and, apparently, things got heated when Chase exhibited violent behavior towards the stars of the show. SNL creator Lorne Michaels even banned Chase from the show (although he has shown up for occasional cameos).

According to Chase himself, he also caused some discomfort during the production of Three Amigos, the 1986 comedy directed by John Landis. During a “risky” scene, Chase made some jokes about the lack of safety, and Landis took it personally (he was the director of the segment in Twilight Zone: The Movie, where people died due to unsafe conditions). Nothing further happened, but it couldn’t have been an easy environment to work in. The conclusion is: Chevy Chase has been accused of being problematic on more than a few occasions.

Why Columbus Decided Against Working With Chase

Enter the production of Christmas Vacation, the classic holiday movie where the Griswolds welcome everyone into their home for Christmas Eve. Nevertheless, things behind the camera weren’t as great. Columbus claims, “I love Christmas, so to do a Christmas comedy had been a dream.” So, what happened? Per the director’s words about his experience on set:

“I went out to dinner with Chevy Chase. To be completely honest, Chevy treated me like dirt. But I stuck it out and even went as far as to shoot second unit. Some of my shots of downtown Chicago are still in the movie.

Then I had another meeting with Chevy, and it was worse. I called John [Hughes] and said, ‘There’s no way I can do this movie. I know I need to work, but I can’t do it with this guy.’ John was very understanding.”

Jeremiah S. Chechik, a fairly unknown director, took over after Columbus exited the project. The result was exactly what Warner Bros. wanted: a quotable Christmas classic that had a solid box office performance. But it also represented the end of an era; National Lampoon, the magazine trademark, and John Hughes left the Vacation series right after. The franchise would return eight years later with the forgettable Vegas Vacation, also starring Chase.

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It All Worked Out for the Best, Since ‘Home Alone’ Is Also a Quintessential Christmas Classic

Weeks after Columbus abandoned the production of his dream project, he received a package from John Hughes. In it was a script for a Christmas comedy about a kid who was left home alone by his parents during the holidays, and a note from Hughes asking Columbus to direct it. The rest is history.

Home Alone is arguably a far better film than Christmas Vacation and a quintessential Christmas classic that, for many, is a staple of holiday watchlists. Chase’s film made over $73 million at the box office, but Home Alone was the second highest-grossing film of 1990 with a box office return of $476 million.

If there was a silver lining to Columbus being unable to work with Chase, its name is Home Alone, the first film in a franchise that has arguably outlasted the Vacation series. It’s impossible to imagine what would have happened if Columbus had stayed with the Griswolds instead of knocking on the door of the McCallister home, but some ideas are probably better left unexplored.