Monday, February 9, 2009

Folks























Writer and director Christopher Guest was born in New York City in 1948. He worked for National Lampoon's "Lemmings" and Saturday Night Live. Then he landed a part in This is Spinal Tap (1984), which follows the tour of a fake heavy metal band. Christopher Guest was one of the stars, and he helped with the music and dialogue, most of which is improvised.

After that, Guest began directing, writing, and acting in fictional documentaries. He uses a troupe of actors, including Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, and Catherine O'Hara. He made Waiting for Guffman (1997), about a community theater production in a small Missouri town; Best In Show (2000), about competitive dog shows; A Mighty Wind (2003), about aging folk singers who come together for a reunion concert; and For Your Consideration (2006), about actors who become obsessed with the buzz surrounding their potentially award-winning performances.

- from the Writer's Almanac

2 comments:

monstermash said...

Oh, but there is so much more!! His father was English and upon his death, Guest became the 5th Baron Haden-Guest, of Saling in the County of Essex. He holds a British title! He and his wife, actress Jamie Lee Curtis, have 2 children, both of whom are adopted. As such, they can not inherit the title.
Guest was also in THE.GREATEST.MOVIE.EVER...playing Count Rugen in *The Princess Bride*

Rachel Joiner said...

Agreed! I only used what Writer's Almanac had and then linked to IMDB - but I love all of your info. I didn't have time to do ALL my research ;)