Chris Columbus notably directed the first two beloved and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the writer-director is also well-known for his popular holiday and adventure screenplays. Two of the most iconic and beloved Christmas movies of all time, Home Alone and Christmas Vacation, come from the mind of John Hughes and were released within a year of each other. Chris Columbus, Home Alone's director, was initially supposed to direct Christmas Vacation — and were it not for on-set differences with star Chevy Chase, he would have.
It's hard to imagine a world where the iconic Home Alone doesn't exist, but things came incredibly close to Chris Columbus making Christmas Vacation instead of Home Alone. The reason why Columbus left Christmas Vacation is Chevy Chase, but legendary director John Hughes ensured Columbus would still go on to make a Christmas classic. Here's everything else audiences need to know about why Christmas Vacation isn't a Chris Columbus movie.
Chevy Chase Caused Chris Columbus To Leave Christmas Vacation
First on the line-up for Hughes’ Christmas releases was National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, a 1989 holiday sequel to the classic Vacation and its follow-up European Vacation. The movie was directed by lesser-known filmmaker Jeremiah S. Chechik, but it was originally helmed by Home Alone’s own Chris Columbus. At the time, Chris Columbus was best known at the time for directing the 1987 comedy Adventures in Babysitting. Columbus had been on the outs after his movie Heartbreak Hotel bombed, but things began looking up when Hughes sent him a script for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie. Columbus loved Christmas and said it was “a dream” to make a Christmas comedy, which is part of why it was so hard for him to decide to leave the project. Here's how Chris Columbus' Home Alone role was due to actor Chevy Chase.
While it comes as no surprise to those well-versed in the history of Community's Chevy Chase, he's notorious for being “difficult” on sets. Back in 1989, Chase’s behavior was what caused Chris Columbus to leave Christmas Vacation. Chris Columbus claimed that early meetings for Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase were tense, and the veteran comedian treated him “like dirt” (via John Hughes film, Hughes wrote the script and gave Chris Columbus the reigns to direct.
Columbus Thought Leaving Would End His Career
Columbus recalled how bad he felt about letting down Hughes after the incredible opportunity he had given him with Christmas Vacation. His most recent film, Heartbreak Hotel, had failed both at the box office and with critics, and Columbus was worried he would never work as a director again (via Insider). In a lovely surprise that Columbus didn’t think would happen, Hughes asked him to direct another Christmas comedy whose themes resonated with Columbus even more.
The opportunity to direct the original Home Alone, famously starring Macaulay Culkin, after leaving Christmas Vacation was a gift from Hughes. The Hollywood titan believed in Columbus when the latter thought no one else would, which led Columbus to later describe Hughes as his “savior.” Not surprisingly, Columbus went on to direct many more notable films, including Mrs. Doubtfire, Rent, Bicentennial Man, the Percy Jackson films, and two Harry Potter movies (he even nearly became the Harry Potter 3). Indeed, Columbus' fears of never working again were ultimately proven wrong by Columbus himself.
Both Christmas Vacation and Home Alone became bona fide hits and remain Christmas classics, but Home Alone was clearly the best decision for Chris Columbus in the long run. For one, Home Alone was what truly launched Columbus’s career and ed his directing trajectory with big-budget family-friendly movies, such as the opportunity for Columbus to soon helm the first two movies in the Harry Potter film series. The success of Home Alone is insurmountable, and much of this is due to Columbus’s direction and casting choices, where he clearly worked better with Macaulay Culkin than Chevy Chase. While he wasn't involved in the Disney+ Home Alone reboot, Columbus did return to his family Christmas movie roots in 2020 when directing Netflix’s The Christmas Chronicles 2.
Chris Columbus's Christmas Vacation Exit Is Cinema's Luckiest Mishap
In the hands of Chris Columbus, Home Alone became one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time, and this might not have happened if Chevy Chase didn't cause Columbus to quit Christmas Vacation. Likewise, Christmas Vacation might be a different movie if Columbus directed it as planned instead of John Hughes. After the dust settled, the mishap surrounding these movies only helped the careers of both directors, and, ultimately, gave audiences two of the best holiday films ever created. What could have been a disastrous personality clash between Columbus and Chase turned out to be one of the most beneficial animosities in Hollywood history.
If the two had gotten along, the seasonal follow-up to National Lampoon's Vacation might have turned out to be an entirely different movie than it was under director Jeremiah S. Chechik. As for Home Alone, without Columbus it could have become yet another example of forgotten early-90s box-office fodder. As it stands, Hughes handing Chris Columbus directing duties on Home Alone arguably made it the timeless classic it is today. Hughes' decision might have saved Columbus' career, but the real winners are the audiences who've enjoyed both Christmas Vacation and Home Alone every holiday season for over three decades.
