GUEST: I called Eugene before "Guffman." I had been a huge admirer of his work on SC-TV and I called him up and I said, "Do you want to try to write this movie?," and he said, "Okay." We got together and started making each other laugh. I think people who share a comic sensibility know immediately if it's going to work. You walk in a room and you kind of look at each other and, if you don't feel that in a few seconds, you can go home.
Why did you say, "Yes," when he phoned you?
LEVY: I thought the phone call was a prank. I've said this before, but I've been a fan of Chris' for many years, going back to "National Lampoon." Although we didn't have a relationship, I knew who he was and had seen him. To get the call, I thought, was kind of odd. Originally, I thought, "Well, he must have asked about 3 other people - friends, writers - to work on this thing with him and, for some reason, they couldn't do it and somebody may have suggested [me]." That was always my impression for many, many years, until about a year ago or less, when I said, "How did that phone call come up?" That's when Chris said, "I used to watch SCTV."
So, he was your first choice?
GUEST: (Laughing) First, 10th.
LEVY: It was pretty amazing. The most amazing thing was that pretty much on the first day that I went up there, considering I didn't know the man and he didn't know me, it was pretty much on the trip in from the airport, I figured we were going to have fun. We were laughing and seemed to be kind of in-sync.
Did you have this plot in your head back in the "Spinal Tap" days?
GUEST: Well, no, the plot wasn't in my head, but the idea was in my head - knowing that I wanted to do music and knowing that I wanted it to be about folk musicians. But, that's what Eugene and I do, we write the story.
Does the enduring popularity of "Spinal Tap" surprise you?
GUEST: I guess so. When we made the movie, we just thought, "Well, this might be fun. We'll get to play music." Michael and I had been in a band since 1967, and, "Here we go again. We'll play some live music." When it came out, it really wasn't much of anything. No one knew what it was. People said, "Why would they make a documentary about these idiots?" And now, 20 years later, it's been protected by the Library of Congress, as of two weeks ago. It's sold a lot of DVDs. We've traveled all over the world as that band, and so, sure it's surprising because, when you make a movie, you never know what's going to happen. How would you ever know? You hope for the best, but to say that you would expect it [laughs] would be a lie.
Did people think you were weird when that concept was presented back then?
GUEST: First of all, no one wanted to make the movie because there was no script. You'd say, "Give us money," and they'd say, "For what?" "Well, we're just going to go and make this movie." "Yeah, but where's the [script]?" "It'll be funny." Norman Lear was the one who said, "Okay, go."
And, Eugene, you're having quite a bit of success with "Bringing Down the House."
LEVY: I've done okay. I have no complaints, yeah.
And you've got "American Wedding" coming out soon?
LEVY: Yes.
Do you think that will be the end of the "American Pie" series?
LEVY: Well, you know what? Honestly, if "American Wedding" turns out the way I think it will, I would easily do a number four because this is going to be the best one.
