Saturday Night Director Shares Chevy Chase’s Brutal Reaction to SNL Film

Chevy Chase was not a fan of Saturday Night — and he told co-writer and director Jason Reitman exactly how he felt. Reitman spoke about his Saturday Night Live movie with former cast members Dana Carvey and David Spade on their podcast Fly on the Wall this week, including their former co-star Chase’s blunt reaction. Apparently Chase and his wife were invited to an early screening of the movie along with Reitman.

“So, Chevy comes in to watch the movie, and he is there with 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 recalled. After a brief pause, all three men laughed at the line, feeling that it was perfectly in character for Chase. The 81-year-old comedian has developed a reputation over the years for being rude and hard to work with.

“What an exact Chevy thing to say,” Spade said on the podcast. “You couldn’t even write it better.” At the same time, Carvey assumed Chase was trying to make a joke. He said that Chase “knows that’s funny, like that’s the roughest thing you could say to a director in the moment, or right up there.”

[RELATED: Ghostbusters Director Teases More Sequels on the Way After Frozen Empire Disappointment]

Reitman admitted he had conflicting feelings about the jab, even though he was braced for it. He recalled: “I’m trying to balance it, because, in my head, I know, ‘Alright, I’m getting my own Chevy Chase moment, that’s 1,000 percent only for me right now.’ And from a comedy point of view that’s really pure, and that’s kind of cool. But also, I just spent like two years of my life recreating this moment and trying to capture Chevy perfectly, and also even in the ego, find the humanity and give him a moment to be loved — no, none of that s— played. He’s not talking about that stuff.”

Saturday Night depicts the 90 minutes leading up to the first ever broadcast of SNL on October 11, 1975 — and all the accidents and dysfunction that somehow led up to this momentous occasion. The movie premiered at the Telluride Film Festival back in August and made its widespread theatrical debut on October 11th, 2024 — the 49th anniversary of the premiere. SNL itself is celebrating its 50th season this year.

Saturday Night has received generally positive reviews from critics, fans and other alumni of the show, Chase’s take notwithstanding. However, the movie underperformed at the box office, grossing $9.8 million against an estimated budget of $30 million. So far, it has not been added to any streaming services or PVOD stores, and it’s not clear when fans will get a chance to watch it at home. However, Saturday Night Live is streaming now on Peacock.