Marina Zenovich Calls Out Former ‘SNL’ Star for Unprecedented Rudeness in Interview

Marina Zenovich is used to making films about complicated people, but she says her latest project pushed her in a way she had never experienced before.

Her new CNN documentary, “I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not,” looks closely at the life and career of the former “Saturday Night Live” star, and from the very beginning, it is clear this is not a soft or friendly portrait.

According to Zenovich, Chevy Chase had no editorial control over the film. That becomes obvious in the opening minutes. Early on, Zenovich can be heard speaking to Chase off camera and saying, “I’m just trying to figure you out.” Chase fires back quickly with, “No s***. It’s not going to be easy for you.” When Zenovich asks why, he replies, “You’re not bright enough,” before smiling.

Zenovich later told Variety that moment caught her off guard, but it also helped her relax. “I’d never done an interview where someone was so rude to me,” she said.

“But I was so worried going into that first interview with him about how I was going to say to him, like, ‘Everyone thinks you’re an a*******.’ I thought if I did, he would throw me out of his house. So the minute he said that to me, I had a way in.”

The documentary, which premieres January 1 on CNN, follows Chase’s long and messy life in entertainment. It covers his rise on “Saturday Night Live,” his time as a major movie star, and the personal struggles that followed.

The film looks at his three marriages, his addiction to drugs and alcohol, serious health problems that led to a coma, childhood abuse, depression, and a long list of conflicts with co-workers. That includes his well-known issues on the set of NBC’s “Community,” where tensions with the cast became impossible to ignore.

Zenovich said her goal was not to attack Chase, but to understand him. “I wanted to figure out who was the real person behind the conflicted, guarded and somewhat fragile man we see on camera,” she told Variety. “What was behind the surface of his slightly intimidating superstar bravado? Was there any self-awareness there?” After spending a lot of time interviewing him, she believes the answer is yes. “Having interviewed Chevy at length, I have to say that yes, it’s all there – and a whole lot of pain and heartache too.”

The film also features interviews with people who knew or worked with Chase over the years. These include Dan Aykroyd, Goldie Hawn, Beverly D’Angelo, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Short, and former super-agent Mike Ovitz. Their comments help fill in the picture of a man who could be charming and funny, but also difficult and unpredictable.

Zenovich worked on the film with her husband and long-time producing partner, P.G. Morgan. Speaking to Variety, Morgan said Chase was a tough subject from the start. “Chevy is incredibly quick-witted and always on, so you have to be able to go toe-to-toe with him,” he said. “He’s a bit intimidating as well, and we had a lot of stuff that we wanted to talk to him about – the good stuff and the touchy stuff.”

Unlike many celebrity documentaries, this one was not tied to a new project Chase was promoting. Zenovich believes the decision came from his family. “Someone wrote a book about him, and I don’t think that [Chase’s] family liked it,” she said. “I think they were trying to right a wrong.” She added that watching the film was difficult for Chase and his family, but she thinks they understand it now.

One thing the documentary does not include is interviews with most of the “Community” cast. Zenovich confirmed that nearly everyone declined. “Every single person said no,” she said. She nearly secured creator Dan Harmon but was turned down in the end. The only person connected to the show who agreed to appear was director Jay Chandrasekhar, which Zenovich said saved the project.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!