Cast of 'Best in Show' going to the dogs

(CNN) -- "Best in Show" is a new comedy that takes a playful nip at the participants of America's show-dog competitions. It is directed and written by "Spinal Tap" star Christopher Guest, whose last film, "Waiting for Guffman" (1997), spoofed amateur theater.

CNN Showbiz Today's Mark Scheerer asked the cast members if they were "dog people" in real life. If so, who are their furry friends?

Christopher Guest (director/writer): "I have a half Lab and half golden retriever named Henry and then the other one, Lucy, is half Akita and half something else."

Michael McKean (Stefan Vanderhoof, hair salon proprietor and Shih Tzu owner): "A stray Korean Jindo who followed my wife up the driveway."

Catherine O'Hara (Cookie Fleck, dog show participant): "I never had a dog, but I grew up with seven kids in our family and my mom, you know, once in a while would get a dog or cat. And in a week or two we'd come home from school and my mom would say, 'You kids never took care of it. I'm not doin' this. I have enough kids!' And it would be gone -- the cat would be gone. And now, I'm married to a man who's allergic to airborne saliva. So we have a lovely big painting of a dog."

Eugene Levy (Gerry Fleck, menswear salesman and Terrier owner): "When I was a kid -- there's something kind of sad about this story -- we used to have dogs. But for some reason, they didn't live that long. They had this distemper and disease, or something. We had one dog that lasted a year. And a second dog lasted, like, six months. I used to think, 'These are like insects, these things.

But the thing is, I love dogs and when I grew up, when I became an adult.. I had a dog for 15 years, and that was my family. And now I have a family and we have a mutt, of course -- kind of a Lab/beagle. Her name's Lucy and we love her."

Fred Willard (Buck Laughlin, dog show commentator) "My favorite was a cocker spaniel, and I just like their looks. I had one when I was a little boy, and his name was Bingo. I loved him very much. He came that close to being hit a few times and almost bit me when I tried to take something that would hurt him out of his mouth.

My dad threatened to throw him down the basement steps, and I cried. He said, 'All right, that's it, we're getting rid of him!' And they sold him to a nice family who lived on a farm. As they took him I away I said, 'Can I come every Saturday and visit him?' And they said, 'Of course you can,' and of course two days later he was out of my life forever. And my father did the same thing to my mother. He said 'She is out of here, she has snapped at me one too many times!'"

"Best in Show," rated PG-13, opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles.

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September 26, 2000

Best in Show

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