Columbus recalled: "I was signed on... and then I met Chevy Chase. Even given my situation at the time, where I desperately needed to make a film, I realized I couldn't work with the guy.
"I was one of the many who couldn't work with him."
The Pixels director had two awkward meeting with Chase, who doubted his credibility as a director.
Columbus told Vanity Fair: "(Chase) had to know I was directing the movie. I talked about how I saw the movie, how I wanted to make the movie. He didn't say anything.
"I went through about a half hour of talking. He didn't say a word. And then he stops and he says -- and this makes no sense to any human being on the planet, but I'm telling you. I probably have never told this story. Forty minutes into the meeting, he says, 'Wait a second. You're the director?'
"And I said, 'Yeah ... I'm directing the film.' And he said to me the most surreal, bizarre thing. I still haven't been able to make any sense out of it. He said, 'Oh, I thought you were a drummer.'
"I said, 'Uhh, OK. Let's start talking about the film again.' After about 30 seconds, he said, 'I got to go.'"