“The Thing You’re Not Supposed To Say”: ‘Saturday Night’ Director Reveals Chevy Chase’s Bold Reaction to ‘SNL’ Movie

Reitman indicated that he understands Chase's personality, and revealing the actor's reaction was how he exemplified it. In Saturday Night, the comedian is played by Cory Michael Smith (May December), and his arc covers the tension of going on live television for millions of people on a new show. Chase was invited to a screening and didn't have a lot to say by the end of it:

"Chevy loves to say the thing you're not supposed to say — to the extreme. I have an example for you… So Chevy comes in to watch the movie, and he is there with [his wife] Jayni, and they watch the film, and he's in the group, and he comes up to me after, and he pats me on the shoulder and goes, 'Well, you should be embarrassed.'"

Reitman Took Chevy Chase's Reaction in Stride

Despite the terrible response, Reitman revealed that he was able to take it in stride because he knew that it was just "a Chevy Chase moment" and not supposed to be serious. The director commented that, from a comedy perspective, the comment was "kinda cool," but he couldn't help but factor in other things that were going through his head as he heard the comment: "I just spent, like, two years of my life recreating this moment and trying to capture Chevy perfectly, and – even in the ego – find the humanity and give him a moment to be loved. And no, none of that shit played. He's not talking about that stuff."

This isn't the best end of the year for Chase reputation-wise. Just last week, Harry Potter director and producer Chris Columbus came on record to reveal that Chevy Chase was precisely the reason why he gave up on directing National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The comedian also doesn't have the best relationship with his former costars from the long-running comedy series Community, and he is not expected to return for the reunion movie in the works.

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