美国国家公共电台 NPR They've Got Spirit, Yes They Do: Christopher Guest Rallies His Team For 'Mascots'

They've Got Spirit, Yes They Do: Christopher Guest Rallies His Team For 'Mascots²'

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0008:00repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser³ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

What "Best In Show" did for dog shows and what "A Mighty⁴ Wind" did for folk music, the new Christopher Guest mockumentary "Mascots" does for, not surprisingly, mascots.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MASCOTS")

CHRISTOPHER MOYNIHAN: (As Phil Mayhew) My name is Phil Mayhew. In my pretend life, I am a real estate appraiser⁵, but in my real life, I am Jack⁶ the Plumber⁷, official mascot¹ for the Beaumont College football team. It is truly a dream come true for me.

SIEGEL: Phil Mayhew or Jack the Plumber played by Christopher Moynihan is one of the contestants⁸ in the World Mascot Association Championship. So is Cindi Babineaux played by Parker Posey. She represents Amelia Earhart College, whose mascot is Alvin Armadillo, or so she thought until the judges told her otherwise.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MASCOTS")

MICHAEL HITCHCOCK: (As Langston Aubrey) Miss Babineaux, a formal complaint has been lodged⁹ against you. It has come to our attention that your college basketball team is nicknamed the Leaping Squaws, which means that your character is in violation¹⁰ of rule 11-B which states mascots cannot represent or be associated with anything offensive based on race, creed¹¹, gender¹² or sexual orientation¹³.

PARKER POSEY: (As Cindi Babineaux) Well, I'm an armadillo, and the team isn't called the Leaping Squaws anymore. It's - that was, like, a hundred years ago or something.

HITCHCOCK: (As Langston Aubrey) Unfortunately it is still on the internet.

SIEGEL: "Mascots" is a very funny movie, and Christopher Guest, who directed and with Jim Piddock wrote "Mascots," joins us now. Welcome to the program.

CHRISTOPHER GUEST: Thank you very much.

SIEGEL: When did you see the comic possibilities of people who put on animal suits or dress up as Spartans¹⁴ and Trojans and lead the fans in cheering?

GUEST: Today was the first time I...

SIEGEL: (Laughter).

GUEST: No, I - several years ago, my son was a mascot for his - one of his teams in school. And he was in a suit, and he said I look like a chicken, Dad. And I said, well, it's actually a hawk¹⁵. You're a hawk. And I - that was the first time I got any first-hand knowledge about this hidden world - literally¹⁶ hidden world.

And I became interested in the idea that people are performing in front of large crowds sometimes, but they're not seen and completely anonymous¹⁷. And it's a strange paradox¹⁸ in show business to have that dynamic. And that became interesting to me - the lives of these people outside of the suits.

SIEGEL: You mean they're not seen because they're inside the hawk suit that looks like a chicken or whatever (inaudible).

GUEST: Correct. They're inside whatever animal they are or whatever object they are. One wouldn't know. Even the parents of that person wouldn't know who was in there unless they were in the locker¹⁹ room afterwards I guess.

SIEGEL: Where you have been finding comic possibilities for some time now is in the form of the behind-the-scenes documentary in which people try to explain themselves to an often merciless camera. Can you ever watch a documentary anymore? Can you...

GUEST: Well, it's almost the only thing I do watch. And it - for some reason, it doesn't - I just look at them as documentaries. I don't have an issue even though I've chosen this faux documentary format²⁰ for a long time, since with Rob Reiner and Harry²¹ Shearer²² and Michael McKean. We did "Spinal²³ Tap" a long time ago, and that seemed to be a good format to work in for me.

SIEGEL: There are a lot of actors in "Mascots" who are familiar to people who saw "A Mighty Wind" or saw "For Your Consideration" or "Best In Show," and you have a troop here, it seems. Is it fun being together with these people, or is it all business when you're making a movie? And...

GUEST: Well, it is a lot of fun. These are very, very gifted performers. The films are improvised²⁵ films based on an outline. In this case, Jim Piddock and I wrote this story. And the outline - it's very strictly²⁶ enforced. But these are great improvisers. And I've been fortunate to be able to work with them.

So yes, it's a combination of a family reunion. And it isn't looked at as a laugh fest essentially²⁷ when you're on the set. People do take what they - the scenes seriously, but it's a lovely thing. It's like having a great band of musicians together. I guess that's the best analogy.

SIEGEL: And I mean when they're improvising²⁸, how many takes do you - does it usually take for your actors to improvise²⁴ and get it in a way that you like?

GUEST: Well, it is an unusual way of working. It's not conventional. Again, they have back histories of their characters, where they went to school, what happens in every scene. We don't rehearse either, so this really does require that the people in the scenes jump in. And I would say maybe two takes.

SIEGEL: But when you see a take that you like, it's not that it is precisely²⁹ what you had imagined and written out. It is - it's something that you just like. It works. I mean it...

GUEST: Well, it's a combination of things. The facts can't change. They - it's very strict in the line of what happens in every scene. It's just that the words haven't been written down, so the people are who they are. What happens in the scene has to happen. It can't go in different directions. It's the way they do it. I would say that 90 percent of the film that doesn't have to do with pre-assigned things like that is - they're improvised.

SIEGEL: I'd like to ask you about another side of your life that's just very intriguing³⁰...

GUEST: (Laughter) Oh.

SIEGEL: ...One that is completely unfamiliar³¹ to most, to the vast - the hugely vast majority of people in the English-speaking world. And that is your identity as the 5th Baron³² Haden-Guest, holder³³ of a hereditary³⁴ title that was I guess created - was it created for your grandfather?

GUEST: Yes. I would disagree. I think most people live that life...

SIEGEL: (Laughter).

GUEST: ...In fact, and I wouldn't even leave you out. I would say that people just haven't checked their mailboxes. I think most people live that life in much the same way I have. It's one of those - my wife calls it the lord thing, not to be confused with the other lord thing.

It's an odd oddity. I spent several years at various intervals³⁵ sitting in the upper house of Parliament, and then the hereditary peers were told to leave, which was a good thing. I had a dinner date anyway.

SIEGEL: (Laughter).

GUEST: And so I took my robe and my - and I left in a huff, literally, as Groucho would have said.

SIEGEL: So now you just don't take part in it, or you...

GUEST: Well, I can't. I can't take part in any way because the hereditary peers are gone, and I can't have lunches there anymore. And I - there was something quite endearing about that. I would run into people in the hallways.

You have to walk on the red carpet. And one day I was walking and - lost, actually - walking around in a circle. And a man who worked there dressed in what you would think of as footman's clothing said as I passed him, perhaps my lord would like a compass.

SIEGEL: (Laughter).

GUEST: And it really was as if that person had been cast perfect timing³⁶ as - just as I passed him. And people would say to me, I knew your grandfather here. We were at Oxford³⁷, and (mumbling). And they would fade away, fall asleep. There were - it was interesting. I'm glad I did that for a bit.

SIEGEL: Christopher Guest, thanks a lot for talking with us.

GUEST: Thank you very much.

SIEGEL: Christopher Guest's new movie is called "Mascots." It's out now on Netflix.

1 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

2 mascots   

n.吉祥物( mascot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the mascots was the platypus. 吉祥物一是鸭嘴兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Information on all things Olympic, including logos, mascots, venues,and bid candidates. 所有事情奥林匹克，包括的标识语，吉祥物，地点，和出价候选人的信息。 来自互联网

3 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 appraiser   

n.评价者，鉴定者，估价官

参考例句：

• The certification is invalid without the signature of appraiser, checker and approver. 鉴定书无主检、审核、批准签字无效。 来自互联网
• The "quasi-balance" appraiser is the people and the historical development. “准平衡”的评判者是人民大众和历史发展。 来自互联网

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

8 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

11 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

12 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

13 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

14 spartans   

n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The ancient Spartans used to expose babies that they did not want. 古斯巴达人常遗弃他们不要的婴儿。
• But one by one the Spartans fell. 可是斯巴达人一个一个地倒下了。

15 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

16 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

17 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

18 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

19 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

20 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

21 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

22 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网

23 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

24 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。

25 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

26 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

27 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

28 improvising   

即兴创作（improvise的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• I knew he was improvising, an old habit of his. 我知道他是在即兴发挥，这是他的老习惯。
• A few lecturers have been improvising to catch up. 部分讲师被临时抽调以救急。

29 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

30 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

32 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

33 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

34 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

35 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

36 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

37 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。