Christopher Guest show

[Dasquack]

I love KPCS and I usually listen to the audio while I'm at work, however Christopher Guest made me REALLY want to watch live. This being the case the Christopher Guest show was the first KPCS show that I watched live. I know that Mr. Guest has a reputation for being a challenging interview but I was really hoping that the veil would drop for Kevin.

That being said this was the most disappointing KPCS thus far for me. Perhaps my expectations were much too high but the awkward meter on this interview was even higher than I expected.

Does Mr. Guest hate being interviewed or is it that his sense of humor is so esoteric that it just doesn't translate to the interview format?

Just looking for fellow KPCS fans' input on this.

[kipster]

Totally disagree. Guest had great stories, and rolled with pretty much everything. He's certainly off-putting, and Kevin was well-prepared to deal with that. But I think too many confuse his brand of playfulness with dickishness, unfortunately.

Kevin worked hard and pulled a lot out of him, and even got him to tell barony stories and talk about his great-grandfather. Also, extra kudos for not surrendering to Guest's semi-weariness at the end, and enforcing the Tweet 5s!

[patrickdodd]

I agree with Dasquack, the Chris Guest interview was not only the biggest disappointment but it was one of the worst interviews thus far. Its really too bad as Chris is a comedic legend who Im sure has some really interesting stories to tell. As good an interviewer as Kevin is, he was only able to scratch the surface.

[PlasticRocket]

Hey there. I am a long time listener, but this episode compelled me to register to simply pose the question:

WTF.

I am (was) a huge Christopher Guest fan. Almost immediately in this something felt off. Christopher game Kevin absolutely nothing to work with. I get it, he is a private guy. Combination old school and English make him very reserved, very private and unwilling to open up choosing instead to lean back and make everyone squirm by purposely making the conversation uncomfortable. My question is, why would he agree to do a long form interview if he clearly does not enjoy the process? In the end I feel bad for Kevin as someone who he clearly idolizes gave him nothing. I feel bad for first time viewers who came in attracted to the name Christopher Guest thinking this would be a pleasant experience and worse thinking this is representative of a KPCS. Perhaps I am missing some of the nuance by only listening to the audio, but in the end this was just uncomfortable.

This interview was a gentleman's knife fight in which nobody wins and everyone loses.

[pbrownpbrown]

Sorry, but the myth of the "difficult interview" needs to be dispelled. Either one is a dick or one is not. And Chris Guest is. To be such an insufferable bore is not an unchangeable property of one's character; it's a deliberate choice. Guest's attitude during the entire interview has now colored my entire opinion of him. Too bad. He lost a fan.

[mav_ian]

He just seems to be playing another character. If not completely, then just when seems to feel put on the spot to have an interesting story.

EDIT: I spoke too soon (watching while I wrote this), Chris really warmed up after the awkward start, he even brought up some stories when not prompted.

[farber2]

you guys mentioned the rapture, it happened, but no one qualified, so on we go.

[Weran]

I cannot disagree more strongly with most of this discussion thread. I loved this interview! Granted, I do not watch the live show, I download the audio and listen, and so I'm not sure if people were thrown off by non-verbal queues. Christopher Guest was remarkably funny, and if he seemed dry, that's just his sense of humor. This was a fantastic interview, full of personal stories, which had me laughing out loud at parts. The only part that I felt he held back about at all was his father's profession, and so what? If he didn't want to talk about what specifically his father did for the UN then that's his prerogative. All of the interactions with Sam were hysterical throughout.
Great job, as always, Kevin - fantastic show!

[orphie]

I expected the worst, but Chris actually opened up more than I've ever known him to. I recall one Dennis Miller show on HBO where Dennis was dancing as fast as he could with Chris and got . . nothing.

[BigDBingo]

Hi, first time poster, long time listener. I thought the CG interview was great. As a longtime fan of both KP and CG, I really enjoyed the back and forth, which was often understated and entertaining. Good stories, and KP did a nice job getting CG to open up. I would say to those who didnt enjoy the interview that they need to get into some more CG movies and then watch the interview again.

BigD