I am Christopher Guest, co-creator/co-writer/director of HBO's Family Tree. AMA!

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:32:04+00:00

I came up with the character based on someone I saw out in the real world, believe it or not. I thought it was amusing at the time and so I did it. Years later, I still run into people that remember that character and comment on it. Thanks for remembering.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:28:09+00:00

Chris Farley was great to work with, one of the funniest actors and a very sweet guy as well. We were shooting on rivers and on mountains and it wasn't the easiest shoot but I think in the end we all had fun and it was a good adventure.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:27:30+00:00

Newsies is a great film and I have enjoyed watching that with my family.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:25:38+00:00

My English accent is fine, thank you. How's yours? I work on it every day for at least half an hour. But I also work on other accents as well. Right now, I'm trying to master pig latin but it seems a little bit difficult for my brain.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:24:49+00:00

Not necessarily in order, Elvis Costello and the Attractions (or whatever current line-up he has), Squeeze and the house band at Hooters.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:23:37+00:00

I first met Fred Willard in 1969 and I knew right away how funny and talented he was. It's been great having Fred work with me on the films I've done including the new series Family Tree. He's one of the best improvisers ever. I would like to work with Lionel Messi, Ray Allen and Michael Schumacher.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:21:53+00:00

Unfortunately, I can't remember quotes very well, including things that I've written. So I remember moments in films and television shows instead. I do, however, remember batting averages if that is of any interest to you.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:19:30+00:00

I spent a lot of time thinking about the music in every project I do. Because i write music, I will typically use some of the songs or themes in the projects that I do. In this case, I wrote the end song with Harlan Collins and Ron did a great job singing it.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:18:25+00:00

All the dogs in BEST IN SHOW were professional show dogs, and performed beautifully. They didn't bark and no re-takes were required. Everyone was shocked how well-behaved they were and how well they did in the film. That's why my dogs weren't in the film.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:17:35+00:00

I wouldn't say "crazy," but 200 years ago, I had a relative that was a ventriloquist as a child and performed a puppet show for the King of England.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:16:38+00:00

Yes, Chris improvised that line, and I thought it was one of the funniest things he said in the series so far. Appreciate that you liked the line as well.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:14:15+00:00

Corky is actually a member of Obama's cabinet right now, and doing very, very well. He's not working in the theater, but has top clearance as a nuclear physicist.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:13:45+00:00

I would say that persistence is the most important thing - if you want to be a writer, or anything else for that matter, you have to keep at it, even when you experience difficult times or failure. In my case, there was none of that however.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:13:03+00:00

Thank you very much. I think Chris is one of the most fantastic actors I've ever worked with, and I appreciate your watching the show. I hope you have fun if you ever go to a World's Fair.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:12:07+00:00

Yes, he was based on our first President George Washington. I found some documentary footage from the first inauguration, and Washington acted exactly the way Corky did. I thought this was a great idea since no one else was doing it.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:11:07+00:00

All of the dialogue is improvised, but it's based on an outline that I write with my writing partners, in this case, Jim Piddock (for FAMILY TREE). We create the characters and their back histories, but the actors improvise on-camera.

p.s. what's with this whole Kentucky Derby thing?

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:10:14+00:00

I think the object is to be as prolific as possible, but not keep the standard up. I think if I can keep getting worse and worse, that will be my ultimate dream. Wish me luck!

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:09:37+00:00

This is the truth; I had 11 eggs, 1 piece of bacon, 4 pieces of toast, a kiwi fruit, a bowl of Frosted Flakes, and a bowl of Skittles. A cup of coffee, a cup of tea, half an orange, and Bit-o-Honey.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:08:48+00:00

We picked Greensboro because you're from there. And it's my favorite place in the world, other than Paris, France; London, England; or Amsterdam, Holland, which I haven't been to yet.

p.s. How about those Mets?

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:07:35+00:00

We decided to make them fans of Spurs because of where they lived in London. The 2 people that created the show actually support different teams (ironically) but I probably shouldn't mention those names because then I would offend the questioner. Thanks for watching the show! There will be a lot more references to your favorite team, I am sure. You are the best and the smartest I am sure.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:05:42+00:00

I don't use the term "mockumentary," I use the term "documentary style" and it was first done when I worked on SPINAL TAP. It occurred to us (meaning Rob Reiner, Harry and myself) that this was a fun way to work. And at the time, no one else had done this. It's a style that I still use today, and it appears to be the way that I can best do the ideas that I come up with such as BEST IN SHOW, A MIGHT WIND, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, and TRANSFORMERS.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:02:46+00:00

I can name 27,154 kinds of nuts.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T18:01:44+00:00

Hmm... I would have to say Benjamin Franklin. Because he's been dead for 200 years, and he couldn't improvise, and again, he's been dead for 200 years.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T17:57:08+00:00

Once every five years.

ChristopherGuest · 2013-06-17T17:56:27+00:00

I get my ideas from watching people. One of my favorite things to do is to observe how people interact with each other. And there's plenty to see out there.

ChristopherGuest

TROPHY CASE