Christopher Guest filmed between 50 and 80 hours of material for "A Mighty Wind" and whittled it all down to 87 minutes. Did the final product meet with your expectations?

I haven't seen the final film. When you see any of the others it's crazy. When we were doing "Guffman" we were all in Austin, Texas, and every night we would watch dailies and see all this great material. Then we saw the movie and we were heartbroken. You could tell after seeing "Best in Show" that John Michael Higgins and Michael Hitchcock felt kind of sad because some of their scenes were cut. But you've got to make it into the movie that it is, and you don't know what kind of movie it's going to be until people start talking. Chris gets everyone together and then he starts composing, like a musician. He's editing a documentary, but it's a documentary cut for comedy.

I know you learned to play mandolin for the film and had to perform live in the big concert scene at Town Hall. What kind of musical background did you bring to "A Mighty Wind"?

Playing an instrument is like finding an actor's prop. When I think about musicians I think about that moment that made them choose a certain instrument. That kind of choice reveals so much about a person. Chris asked if I wanted to play the mandolin, and he played a few chords for me at his house. I put the mandolin down and then picked it right back up again. Chris said that was a good sign. I practiced from January until July, when we started shooting.

You've appeared in such a broad range of film roles. Generally speaking, do you feel more at home doing comedy or drama?

I like to walk a line. When I'm happy I'm sad, when I'm angry I'm funny. You get that kind of complexity in plays, in Chekhov, in parts that are written well. But you don't find it in most movies.

Which filmmaking experience have you found most fulfilling?

Tall traditional.

What?

Oops, I'm busted. I said, "Tall traditional." I'm at Starbucks. I just got done with the play and I'm still on night time; I can't wind down until 3 or 4 o'clock. I'm sorry, what was your question?

Which filmmaking experience have you found most fulfilling?

"Dazed and Confused" was really fun. I like them all. I don't choose a particular role because it's a challenge; I do it because it's right for me. I'm not going to play something that's not in my makeup; I'm not going to get cast for those roles.

You've occasionally appeared in studio pictures like "You've Got Mail" and "Josie and the Pussycats." What influences your decision to work on these kinds of projects?

I'd love to appear in more studio films, but I don't get cast. I would love to make some money. People like me and want to work with me; they just don't want to give me jobs. I think it's a numbers game. My movies haven't made a lot of money, and there's a whole list of actors whose movies have made money, and studios think those actors will guarantee a certain number of ticket buyers. But it all works out. It really does. I don't mind taking this kind of risk. It can be a compromise if you don't stay true to yourself.

I read an interview where you said you couldn't stop laughing while you were auditioning for the role Sandra Bullock ended up playing in "Speed."

I didn't know what to do besides laugh. Like -- for real, you want me to pretend to be driving a bus? I mean, really. We're all grownups here; we're not 12 years old.

What do you do to make the experience of working on a film like "You've Got Mail" more fulfilling?

I use irony. It all depends on how good the film is. If it's bad I can totally make fun of it. Let's face it, comedies these days are terrible. Jim Brooks [i.e., James L. Brooks] was making great comedies that were very human, but now it's all infantile and aimed for 7- or 8-year-olds, and I think even they're more intelligent than these movies. So what are you going to do?

Are there particular directors you'd like to work with?

Wes Anderson, Brad Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson; the Andersons. David Cronenberg, Neil Jordan. All the good ones.

You recently completed a run of "Fifth of July." What made you want to go back to the stage?

For actors there's a lot of detective work involved in Lanford Wilson's plays and that's what makes it so interesting. The play is set in 1978 and I remember seeing women like the character I played; they were so grand, they had this almost English accent. I played a copper heiress -- those kind of women make their own misery -- but at the end she's got a huge payoff in that she knows exactly what's going on; in fact, she's known all along. I had a great time.

Several years ago Time dubbed you the "Queen of Indies" and Elle once called you a "Gen-X Audrey Hepburn." How would you label yourself?

I wouldn't label myself. I've been really fortunate to have appeared in some good movies. I hope to do some that can pay and be good. But I don't want to think about labels. That stuff just feels invasive.

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