Marina Zenovic’s “I Am Chevy Chase And You Are Not” is not your run-of-the-mill celebrity documentary. From the beginning of the film, it’s clear that the 82-year-old comedian had no editorial control over the project.
About a minute into the CNN doc, Zenovich (Lance, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind) can be heard saying to Chase off-camera, “I’m just trying to understand you.”
His answer was, “No, it won’t be easy for you.”
“Why isn’t it easy?” Zenovich asks.
“You’re not smart enough,” Chase deadpanned. “How about that?” and the comedian laughs.
Zenovich said she was surprised by Chase’s reaction, but also relieved.
“I’ve never had someone interview me so rudely,” Zenovich told Variety. “But when I went into my first interview with him, I was really worried about what I was going to say to him, like, ‘Everyone thinks you’re a piece of shit.’ I thought if I did that, he’d kick me out of the house. So the moment he told me that, I had a way.”
The documentary, which will premiere on CNN on January 1st, chronicles Chase’s rise from his breakout role on “Saturday Night Live” to leading role, his three marriages, addiction to cocaine and alcohol, heart failure that put him in a coma, childhood abuse, depression, a failed talk show, and various on-set conflicts with actors like Terry Sweeney and the entire cast of the NBC comedy “Community.”
“I wanted to find out who was really behind the conflicted, cautious, somewhat vulnerable man that appeared on camera,” says Zenovich. “What was behind his slightly intimidating superstar bravado? Was there some self-awareness there? I’ve interviewed Chevrolet at length, and I have to say, yes, it’s all there. And there was a lot of pain and heartache, too.”
The doc features interviews with Chase and his family, as well as the star’s former collaborators and confidants, including Mike Ovitz, Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds and Martin Short.
Variety spoke with Zenovich, her husband, and longtime producing partner PG Morgan about why Chase decided to make the documentary and why she decided to invite anyone from the community to be interviewed.
You’ve co-produced quite a few docs about celebrities, including Lance about Lance Armstrong, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic, Jerry Brown: The Disruptor, and Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. Where does Chevy Chase rate on the difficulty meter?
Zenovich: The first time I sat down with Lance Armstrong, he was sitting on the edge of his seat, ready to spar with me. I’m really looking forward to it because I don’t know what I’m going to get. Then I played Jerry Brown, and I tried to be witty with him, but he wasn’t interested at all. Therefore, each person is different. Chevrolet was willing to go there, but tried to stop himself. He didn’t go all the way. The interview with him was very tough.
Morgan: There were a lot of unknowns in the interview. Chevrolet is incredibly quick-witted and always in good spirits, so you have to face him head-on. He was also a bit scary, and there were so many good and witty things I wanted to talk about with him.
Celebrity documentaries usually feature the celebrity promoting a tour, fashion line, book, etc. Chase wasn’t promoting anything. Why did he want to make a film that doesn’t portray himself in a flattering light?
Zenovich: Someone wrote a book about him, and I don’t think (Chase’s) family liked it. I think they were trying to right a wrong. I don’t know if they think they did it because it was hard. (The doctors) put a lot of scrutiny on him and his family, but I think they appreciated it in the end.
MORGAN: I think his family probably felt he wasn’t getting what he deserved. That these documentaries about other people of his generation have been airing all this time. I think it hurt that he wasn’t on the same page.
Do you think the people who said no to interviews like Steve Martin and Christopher Guest were really saying, “I don’t like this guy”?
Zenovich: I can’t answer for them, but I think the absence speaks for itself. Whether it’s scheduling, personal, or saving for your own documents. In the end, I think we ended up with the right combination of people. At first, I was disappointed that I didn’t get more people from the “community”, but there are some things you don’t want to talk about to others.
How difficult was it to get someone from the “community” to sit with you?
Everyone said no. I ran into (“Community” creator) Dan Harmon at a screening of “Deaf President Now!” And I got his number. I was very excited. I thought he would, but he said no. We were very lucky to get Jay Chandrasekhar (director of ‘Community’). He had such a wonderful birth that he was happy to go there. If Jay had said no, I would have been screwed.
“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” will premiere on CNN on Thursday, Jan. 1. The film will be streamed live to pay TV subscribers on January 1st on CNN.com, CNN Connected TV and mobile apps.
