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Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have one mode inNational Lampoons Christmas Vacation: withering disdain.
Theyre there to neutralize the Griswalds, cinemas most chaotic family.
To be fair, they put up with a lot.
Nonetheless, the couples thin sunglasses and black wardrobe announce their unapproachability from across the driveway.
These people could not possibly be bothered to acknowledge anything as uncouth asChristmas.
So we got Guest on the phone to reminisce.
Thats the thing I get a lot.
Its become can I use the wordiconic?
Whats your earliest memory ofChristmas Vacation?I got a call from my agent about an audition.
I went in, and I believe it was just myself and the director.
Thats rare these days.
Its outrageous when I think about this, but I said, Actually, I would.
It was very Todd Chester.
But I left thinking,Great job, Nick.
Im sure of it.
Its a mysterious process.
Geena Davis was talking about an audition where she was absolutely terrified and didnt know what was going on.
It wasTheAccidental Tourist.As actors, we dont know when we come in.
Once, for another job, I started improvising right away, and they started laughing.
It could have gone either way, you know?
But anyway, then I got a call to do an audition with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
There was a connection right away.
Then we met for a rehearsal, and the director was so specific.
He said, They hate this music; they love this kind of music.
He really described the couple.
What music did they hate?It was stuff that was hip at the time but sort of annoying.
I wouldnt want to say even if I did remember the name of that kind of music.
The costumes were incredible.
Sometimes at the end of a film Ill say, Can I buy this?
One of the suits I had on was a $5,000 Japanese-designed suit.
Do you still have that suit?No, I did not buy that suit.
I think theres a really nice bag.
The thing about that job was the director knew exactly what he wanted.
Hed say, Stand here, do this, fall here, and not in an annoying way.
He had directed a lot of commercials, and he had a great sense of timing.
I assume, given both of your backgrounds, that you and Julia Louis-Dreyfus would have improvised a lot.
Did you?No, the script was fantastic.
The first time we filmed was at, like, two in the morning, which I didnt mind.
I was just so happy to be on it.
We were brought out, and they created snow.
This was at the Warner Bros. ranch.
Right away, you see the arrogance.
The chemistry was just unbelievable.
I just looked over at her, and it was weird how easy it was.
We knew exactly who these people were in relation to Chevy.
Its just a comforting feeling when you see people youve worked with.
Or how the script described them?Not really, but they were, in effect, yuppies.
They were not interested in kids they were just interested in looking at themselves in the mirror.
We had a stuntman, but it was amazing.
It was just who these people were.
The production design in the house is integral to these characters, too.
Its cool in a sterile way.
Its part of the joke.
What was the house like?It just felt like we lived there.
It all just fell into place.
They have that expensive stereo setup and those slick tracksuits.
I cant imagine them inviting anyone over to dinner unless they were exactly like them.
The obsession with the fact that the carpet is now wet everything is a total nightmare.
Everything is bigger than it needs to be.
They wanted nothing to do with the family surrounding a tree.
They just wanted to listen to that music.
Am I allowed to say what it was?
Yeah, of course.I dont mean it in a derogatory way.
I believe the director said they listen to The Wave.
Do you know what that is?
Is that a band?It was a station called The Wave.
It was a little bit Muzak-ish.
The Wave was the antithesis of fun, of sweetness.
It was kind of sterile.
Here I am speaking ill of The Wave.
Ive never listened to it myself.
The professional standard is just incredible, so things generally do go right the first time.
You mentioned Chevy Chase, somebody whose complicated reputation precedes him.
Hes known for being a particularly difficult personality within Hollywood.
I never had any strange thing with him.
After that first scene, he was complimentary.
I was mostly just with Julia, though.
One fun thing is that Bill Hickey (who plays Uncle Louis) was my first acting teacher.
Its an amazing thing about film.
Our daughter just directed her first feature film.
Actually, my wife and I are in it.
We play her parents.
I did this sitcom calledUSA Highon the USA channel.
I played the British headmaster.
This was the late 90s, and she was there after school all the time.
So she saw me on location, and shes done an enormous amount of improv.
She had done a one-woman show that still may be filmed at a certain point.
I think that directors who are actors can be fantastic.
For example, Alan Arkin was a mentor to me when I was starting out.
I remember going with him to this Broadway set where they were having trouble with the show.
The actors were not happy, and he went to each actor.
Its an amazing process.
Periodically over the years, Ive run into Julia.
Shes the same down-to-earth wonderful person.
I think it would be a great idea.
I just feel very, very grateful to have had the experience of it.
Its obviously reached a lot of people and continues to bring joy.
Its wonderful when something does well, and comedy is so important, maybe more than ever before.
