I love documentaries. My problem is when the filmmaker becomes the star. Christopher Guest Read Quote
The fun part about doing our movies is that you’re creating something using the talents of people rather than finding these pathetic people who are thrust into these situations. That, to me, is completely artless. Christopher Guest Read Quote
My daughter recommended Chris O’Dowd to me after seeing him in ‘Bridesmaids,’ so I watched that and his sitcom, ‘The IT Crowd.’ When I was over in London, we met up, and I knew immediately he was the right person. Christopher Guest Read Quote
There isn’t much improvisation in film – there’s virtually none. The people that theoretically could be good at this in a theater situation don’t necessarily do this in a film in a way that will work, because it’s much broader on a stage. Christopher Guest Read Quote
In the kind of films that I do, there is an extremely limited number of people that can improvise. The reason the ensemble continues in the movies is because those are the people that can do that kind of work. It’s not just an accident those people are in the film. Christopher Guest Read Quote
To me, what I realized when we were doing ‘Spinal Tap’ – and the four of us wrote that – is, really, the core of that is the relationship with the two guys who grew up together and that strain when the girlfriend comes in. If that wasn’t there, it’s a very different movie. Then it’s just bumbling guys stumbling along. Christopher Guest Read Quote
In ‘Waiting for Guffman,’ the character I played, the Corky character, he’s very serious about what he does, and it’s not meant to be mean that this is a small town and these people aren’t the most talented people. They’re trying the best they can. So to be mean, that would be kind of horrifying in its superficiality. Christopher Guest Read Quote
I don’t do any editing while we’re making the movie. I sit down and watch it all with my editor, we make longhand notes on pads, and then we begin our work. Christopher Guest Read Quote
The main thing that’s important to me is getting to do whatever project it is the way that I do what I do, and that’s different. To go to an entity – whether it’s a traditional film studio or some newer company, or HBO, Amazon or Netflix – they would have to know that I need to work the way I work. Christopher Guest Read Quote
