The cast of Community was clear that they wouldn’t be a part of CNN Films’ I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not.
Marina Zenovich, the filmmaker behind the authorized documentary on Chase, 82, attempted to get the actor-comedian’s Community cast members to participate in the doc. Ultimately, “every single person said no,” Zenovich told Variety.
Several collaborators and friends appear in the doc, including Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds, and Martin Short, but Chase’s Community co-stars are noticeably absent. Chase appeared in the NBC show for its first four seasons, but left in 2012 after allegedly using a racial slur on set. He subsequently made a cameo in the show’s fifth season.
“I was initially disappointed that we didn’t get more people from Community, but there are things people don’t want to talk about,” said Zenovich. The director said she attempted to involve Community creator Dan Harmon, but he also declined.
Comedian-filmmaker Jay Chandrasekhar, who directed several episodes of Community, agreed to participate in the doc. Zenovich said she was “so lucky” to get him on board. “If Jay had said no, I would have been screwed.”
Chandrasekhar, 57, shed new light on the on-set incident between Chase and his co-stars, describing it as a “full meltdown.”
The documentary traces Chase’s checkered past and career, relationships, health issues, conflicts with fellow actors, and his struggles with drugs and alcohol. Zenovich admitted, “The interviews with [Chase] were very hard.”
“I wanted to figure out who was the real person behind the conflicted, guarded, and somewhat fragile man we see on camera,” Zenovich told Variety. “What was behind the surface of his slightly intimidating superstar bravado? Was there any self-awareness there? Having interviewed Chevy at length, I have to say that yes, it’s all there—and a whole lot of pain and heartache, too.”
I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not will premiere on CNN at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CNN.
