After the runaway success of his first feature, 2004's "Napoleon Dynamite," Jared Hess could have gone Hollywood.
The
months that followed included offers for Hess to write and direct
television series, big feature films, commercials and music videos.
He also could have gone to Hollywood, permanently.
"There certainly were those kinds of opportunities for me," the 30-year-old writer/director/producer said simply.
__IMAGE1__But
instead, Hess chose to remain in Utah. He still lives in Salt Lake City
with his wife, Jerusha, and their two young children. That's
also allowed him to have an even closer working relationship with his
wife, whom he calls "my target audience and my best editor." (Jerusha
Hess has been credited as co-screenwriter on her husband's two
post-"Napoleon Dynamite" films — 2006's "Nacho Libre" and "Gentlemen
Broncos," his newest big-screen venture.) "By that, he means that I'm just about the only person who can tell him no or tell him when he's gone too far," she said.
Staying in Utah also allowed the Hesses to stay close to home and family.
"Being
near our family and are roots keeps us humble and keeps us grounded,"
Jerusha Hess said. The Hesses, who both attended Brigham Young
University, are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.
The
couple also has a habit of starting and finishing each other's thoughts
and sentences, as they did during joint interviews to promote
"Gentlemen Broncos," which opens in local theaters today.
The
offbeat comedy follows a would-be science fiction novelist, Benjamin
Purvis (Michael Angarano), whose manuscript, "Yeast Lords," is
plagiarized by a considerably more successful writer, best-selling
author Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement, of "Flight of the Conchords"
fame).
The
idea behind "Gentlemen Broncos" has been kicking around since "Peluca,"
the original 2003 short that inspired "Napoleon Dynamite."
And concepts from "Broncos" were actually born from Hess's love for lurid science-fiction art and imagery.
__IMAGE2__"There's something that was so grotesque yet appealing about it," he recalled.
The resulting project allowed Hess to play with "bigger and better toys," according to his wife.
"Jared has been wanting to direct action scenes for a while now," she said, while Hess smiled sheepishly.
Scenes
in "Gentlemen Broncos" re-create both Benjamin and Ronald's versions of
"Yeast Lords," and they feature Sam Rockwell as very different takes on
the same character.
"This part of the film sort of took on its own life and just got weirder and weirder," she said."And at one point, Sam actually wanted to play all of the roles,"
Jared Hess continued. "But that would have been too crazy, too out of
control." "Gentlemen
Broncos" is more slapstick and cruder than its predecessors, something
that the Hesses explained by saying that both of them came from large
families (at least by standards outside of Utah). "When you're surrounded by older brothers you come to appreciate that kind of humor," Jerusha Hess said.
Also,
the film was shot in Utah for the most part. "Broncos" includes some
recognizable Salt Lake and Tooele locations and faces. (Veteran newsman
Rod Decker plays himself in a cameo.) Hess did that as a way of giving back to his current home state, a place that made the couple feel "very comfortable."
(He did something similar with "Napoleon Dynamite," which was shot in Idaho, his former stomping grounds.)
Both
Hesses still seem blown away that "Napoleon Dynamite" had the impact it
did on American culture and that it caught on with so many audiences.
"When
I made the movie I was convinced that only me and my friends and family
would appreciate it," he recalled. "But I'll never get how it felt the
first time we showed the movie in front of an audience (at the Sundance
Film Festival)."
He
is tight-lipped about other follow-up projects, though he says it takes
at least a couple of years to develop story and characters.
"I'm
not going to rush into anything. You have to live your life and breathe
a little before you can give birth to another movie."