“I wanted to speak to him,” Smith said of Chase.
But director Jason Reitman questioned, “What do you want to get out of that?”
What Chevy Chase projects helped you in your preparation?
Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase in ‘Saturday Night;’ Chevy Chase.Sony; Everett
The National Lampoon stuff was really my entry to him and where I saw him the most.
You really see a definitive shift in who he is and his confidence and his identity.
There’s just a freshness to him in that movie that feels different from other stuff.
Chevy Chase in ‘Fletch’.Universal Pictures/courtesy Everett
So I watched that movie a lot.
Universal Pictures/courtesy Everett
Were there any elements to his performance style that you found particularly difficult to replicate?
The thing that was really important for me was making sure that his quips were dry.
Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase in ‘Saturday Night’.Sony
He’s dry and nonchalant.
So it was surfing that line of being sarcastic and dry without being too dark.
What did Jason Reitman tell you about the real Chevy to shape your performance?
Jason talked to Chevy and Chevy’s daughters, so there was communication from the start.
The thing that blows my mind, this doesn’t necessarily happen anymore SNLpremiered Oct. 11, 1975.
By December, he was on the cover ofNew York Magazine.
Sony
Did you speak with Chevy or with anyone other than Jason who had interacted with him?
Jason was my point person.
Jason has known Chevy for a long time and I really trusted Jason’s guidance here.
But for me, it was acknowledging that there’s so much material out there of Chevy Chase.
And I feel like we did that well together.
I did say to Jason, “I would like to speak to Chevy.”
I wanted to speak to him.
He said, “What do you want to get out of that?”
And I really thought about that.
But in hindsight, I think I made the right choice.
What was the most fun or rewarding sequence that you remember shooting?
Everyone came in with their material.
Jason said, “You get two takes.
In between the takes, stay in character.
Everyone else in character may ask whatever question they want, and you have to respond in character.”
And that is the moment that everyone gasped and screamed “What?!”
No one was ready for that moment, and suddenly we were thrust into it.
I rememberLamorne Morriswent first, I went second, and then everyone else followed.
I was like, “Oh, this is so fun.”
And at this point I had started doing improv as Chevy and felt really good about it.
But it was so special because my cast was unbelievable.
So we didn’t see everybody’s best performances or their main scenes.
We saw a lot of each other, but not likethat.
And it was just so impressive, and I was so proud to be a part of that group.
I think it’s proven true that everybody’s work in the film is strong.
I’ve never been a part of a stronger ensemble, collectively.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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