Jared Hess is one half of the husband and wife team responsible for films like “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre.” Black & White sat down with the director for a one-on-one talk about cloning, Utah and his latest film, “Gentlemen Broncos.”
Black & White: What do you think it says about you that there are no “normal” characters in any of your films?
Jared Hess: Yeah. You know, to me they’re normal because a lot of them are based on people that I know. To me it’s normal, but to other people maybe not. Maybe their lives are perfect. Maybe everybody is really cutting edge.
B&W: You’ve said that the character of Benjamin in your upcoming movie is based after a cousin, but there are so many similarities between the character and you. Surely there must be some aspects of you in there?
JH: Even though I didn’t really write any science fiction as a kid, I tried to make little science fiction movies, so I can definitely relate to him in that aspect. A lot of things that happened to him, including his relationship with his mom and his dad having died, are details that are very related to my life as a teenager.
B&W: When you were making these movies as a kid, at which point did you think, “hey, I could make money doing this?”
JH: It started off as a hobby, and I just thought if I could turn this hobby into a career that would be great. I think all along, you hope to make money doing what you love.
B&W: In terms of success, how do you think this film will compare to “Napoleon Dynamite?”
JH: You make a movie, cross your fingers and hope that there are people out there that share the same comedic sensibility and love for characters like you, and ‘Napoleon’ showed me that there are. This film, I think, should totally be that way. I think it appeals to the same audience without a doubt, and will pull a few new people in as well.
B&W: Why do you think there’s a lot more gross-out humor in this film than in your previous two?
JH: Maybe I’ve got it out on my sister now. My wife and I were talking about it. A lot of it has to do with the fact that she comes from a family of boys, like seven boys, and she was the only girl. I had five brothers, so there were six boys in my family. I think silly body humor is just inherent when there’s a lot of testosterone in a house full of brothers.
B&W: With all the anatomical humor in the film were you ever afraid of getting an R-rating?
JH: We tried to deal with it from a very cloning, scientific point of view. We tried to use the scientific names for things. It’s all very cartoon-y and half-wit. You just got to deal with certain parts of the anatomy when you’re dealing with effective cloning. We really couldn’t get around it: cloning humor.
B&W: Videos of Ronald Chevalier went viral over a year ago. How much an effect do you think these early efforts will have on the film’s success?
JH: It’s fun getting awareness out there for the film. It’s fun when people discover it. The internet has really opened up a whole new way of marketing films, which is a lot of fun because it can be accessed multiple times.
B&W: Where’d you get the title “Gentlemen Broncos?”
JH: My mom had a weird parenting book called ‘So You Want to Raise a Boy?’ It was just this really weird ’50’s parenting guide, and the author said there was a phase of a boy’s life between the ages of 15 and 17 called the Gentlemen Bronco Phase, where young men apparently like to take their shirts off and mow the lawn.
B&W: Halley Feiffer is one of the lesser known actresses in the cast. Do you see her career taking off in the same way Jon Heder’s did after “Napoleon Dynamite?”
JH: I hope so, man. She is super talented. I hope the best for her. She’s really, really funny. She’s played some very serious roles. She’s so versatile, and did such a good job playing the crazy, confused high school girl.
B&W: Of all the actors in this film, who do you think did the best job of pulling off “weird?”
JH: Probably Edgar Oliver, the guy who plays Lord Daysius. He is the most unique man I have ever met because he is not putting on a voice. When you hear him say [imitating voice] ‘We’re very sorry Bronco, but we had to borrow one of your gonads,’ that’s how he talks in real life. He’s an American original. A whole movie could be made about that guy.
B&W: About Lord Daysius or Oliver?
JH: About Edgar. His life story. A biopic about Edgar Oliver, and he needs to play himself. He is unbelievable. That guy is a walking piece of art. A renaissance man.
B&W: Your wife suggested in an interview that the character Ol’ Big Sis could get her own spin-off. Is such a project actually likely?
JH: [Laughs] She was just kidding when she said that. She loves that part of the film-the soap opera trailer.
B&W: In 2005, the Idaho Legislature honored you for involving their state in “Napoleon Dynamite.” Are you expecting any sort of honors from Utah?
JH: I don’t know. I don’t think they want to claim it.
B&W: You’ve now had a movie that takes place in Idaho, where you graduated high school, and a movie that takes place in Utah, where you currently live. You also lived in Kansas. Do they have a Hess movie on the way?
JH: A Kansas movie. Dude, maybe that’s it. Maybe I’ve got an amazing movie in each place that I’ve lived. Maybe that’s what I should do, and you’re setting me on a career trajectory. I have to make a Texas movie, an Arizona movie and an England movie.
B&W: What’s your pitch to get people to see “Gentlemen Broncos?”
JH: Come see a couple of battle stags. Come jump on a stag. I don’t know. Come get your yeast on. I don’t know, maybe that’s not the best way to get people to see the movie.
