Cigar Exclusive: 'Napoleon Dynamite' director on his new film

11/5/09 - Sci-fi fans are finally getting their due in just-released "Gentleman Broncos," the latest flick from "Napoleon Dynamite" director, Jared Hess. A quirky, lo-fi celebration of the dweeby world of mythical creatures, spandex-clad voyagers and the pasty people who love them, "Broncos" is a weirder than weird trek through the bizarre realm of science fiction - and the equally bizarre realm of rural Utah. It's like an ugly sweater party on the set of "Battle Star Galactica.""Broncos" tells the tale of a 17-year-old sci-fi writer, Benjamin Purivis, who dreams of publishing his Trapper-Keeper-bound magnum opus, "Yeast Lords." Purvis' epic novel, however, is lifted by his idol, smug science fiction hack, Dr. Robert Chevalier (played winningly by Jermaine Clement of "Flight of the Conchords").

Clement's Chevalier is one of the main bright spots in the film. He's a blue-tooth wearing windbag of a writer, whose droll pomposity, penchant for turtlenecks and knack for painting bizarrely sexual cover art is unparalleled. Chevalier is a desperate new-age anti-hero if there ever was one.

But for all of the oddball antics in Hess' film, Hess himself is surprisingly cool. Rocking a plaid shirt, and watching "30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray" when I arrived, Hess was kind enough to turn off the chirpy Food Network programming and chat about small town life, being open to change ("like Obama!"), and the finer points of python training.

"Broncos" is definitely a dark horse in the world of commercial cinema, and Hess, is well aware of the abject weirdness of it.

"Well the good thing is that we did "Napoleon Dynamite first," which I think would never have gotten made within the studio system," Hess said. "And you know, the success of that opens doors for other things you want to do. This one is so close in tone and comedy to what 'Napoleon' was."

Hess paused, adding, "It's easier for people to understand your work once you've done a film. So it's good, and the success of Napoleon has made it a lot easier."

That success allowed Hess to take a laidback and decidedly "creative" approach in pitching the offbeat movie to Fox Searchlight Studios.

"I brought in some really lame drawings that I did, showed them some homemade science fiction films that a guy I know has made," Hess said of his meetings with the studio-heads. "You know, you try and explain your vision to the best of your abilities and they just have to trust you. "

But "Broncos" is hardly Hess' first foray into sci-fi - he's actually kind of an old pro when it comes to low-budget futuristic flicks.

"All my favorite movies when I was growing up were science fiction films," Hess said. "I really wanted to be a special effects supervisor when I grew up. I was really into the special effects aspect of filmmaking but I have no drawing skills and no computer skills so that didn't happen. But all my early films were all science fiction-related things that were all really, really bad."

"I would make models, and I would do map paintings where I would paint a bunch of moons on a sheet of plexi glass," Hess said, detailing his early DIY artistic approach. "And I'd hold it in front of the camera and have my brothers run behind it like, looking at the sky. It was all quite silly but it was all very fun. So it was fun to bring to life in this film a lot of the ideas I had as a kid - like the battle stage. I drew those in my Trapper Keeper growing up."

But the "battle stags" (deer with missiles attached to their legs, in case it's not immediately obvious) aren't the only thing that Hess drew from his real life. He readily admits that he relies on the day-to-day embarrassments of his own life to create his films.

"My wife and I come from big Mormon families so hopefully that well never runs dry. Just living life in the mountain west definitely provides some good characters. When you live in a small town I think you dream pretty big and it's a very intimate kind of culture and way of life."

And as for Preston, Idaho, where Hess spent his formative years and where "Napoleon Dynamite" was filmed, Hess said, "You know, the town loves it, they embrace it. They have a 'Napoleon Dynamite' festival there every year. When you go into the town there's a big sign that says 'Home of Napoleon Dynamite,' and you get like, a star map of all the locations we shot at. It's pretty funny. Well I'm sure there were some people who were like, 'We're not that weird,' but there were also a lot of people who saw the film and were like, 'That was a documentary of my life.'"

This time around, however, Hess is turning his focus to the strange streets of Utah. His new film "shows a very funny, kind of goofy side of Utah," Hess explained. And, fittingly, the atmosphere on set was equally goofy, if a little terrifying.

Because exotic animals are always a welcome addition to any film, there was both a trained lynx and a python on set. And while the lynx was only somewhat volatile, the python was particularly difficult to wrangle. Having the slimy reptile on set proved trying for some of the actors and actresses - specifically Jennifer Coolidge, Purvis' mother in the film, and the unfortunate object of the snake's affections.

"The snake would always gravitate toward Jennifer Coolidge's chest, and she'd be like 'Oh my god! Ahh get it off!' It was always going over to her. Because she smells nice, probably."

Thankfully, no one was harmed in the making of "Gentleman Broncos," and a few minor script changes and shifts in location notwithstanding, the film came together smoothly. But bumps in the road are always part of the ride, Hess explained.

"You know, you'll have an idea but then maybe see something that works better. And you always need to be open to change for the better - Like Obama," he said with a grin.