Quotes from Christopher Guest

When I look back on what I've done, I think I'm drawn to obsession, perhaps.

I've always found D Minor to be the sad key.

It's like, how much more black could it be? And the answer is none, none more black.

The movies have a way of seeping out there over time. We don't put them in 2,000 theaters. It wouldn't work that way.

I'm drawn as well to the lower echelons of things because it struck me a long time ago that it didn't really matter on what level people were working on anything; it was just as important to them as the people working on what's perceived as a higher level.

You can't improvise without a skeletal structure; you can't just go in and start talking. This is a very misunderstood craft because no one else makes movies like this.

Comedies don't get nominated for Oscars. It doesn't happen. So when we set out to do a movie, it's not what we're thinking about.

It couldn't have been more nerdy or bizarre, playing the clarinet. But I studied classical clarinet, went to the high school for music and art in New York City, and then found the guitar and the mandolin after it.

I read kind of serious books about fairly arcane subjects.

The reason I work with the same people, it's not just an accident.

People who take themselves too seriously, who can't see anything else, are usually funny.

I find it really appalling when people talk about comedy.

I guess there's something that's appealing to me about people that are aspirational-slash-deluded.

I myself delve into very arcane things.

I get asked, 'Who would you really like to work with?' I'm already working with them. Smart, talented, funny people, good musicians, an extended family, good friends.

As an actor, I trust my ear.

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.

If you didn't know who I was, if I was to walk out on the street without people knowing who I am, you'd think I'm an accountant or a lawyer.