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Director Chris Bowman Offers Up a Slice of Humble Pie

11 November 2009 11:57 AM, PST | Beyond Hollywood | See recent Beyond Hollywood news »

Comedies with heart are a weakness of mine. For instance, “World’s Greatest Dad,” while extremely crude and unusual, is impossibly sweet and heartfelt, as is Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore’s grossly underrated 2006 superhero flick “Special.” This may explain why I’m drawn to Chris Bowman’s upcoming feature-length debut “Humble Pie” (aka “American Fork”), which is written by “Sasquatch Gang” co-star Hubbel Palmer. What’s more, it’s produced by Jeremy Coon, one of the cinematic wizards behind the creation of “Napoleon Dynamite,” a film that I could literally watch over and over again, nonstop, until the end of time. I kid you not. One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the presence of William Baldwin, who seems to be doing his best Alec Baldwin impersonation. It’s amusing if nothing else. The official synopsis lies below: At nearly 400 pounds, Tracy Orbison (Hubbel Palmer) is a wide target. »

- Todd

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Catching Up With... Jared Hess

9 November 2009 6:02 AM, PST | Pastemagazine.com | See recent PasteMagazine news »

Director Jared Hess loves science fiction. If you wanted to talk to him for hours on end about rocket ships, space rangers and David Lynch's Dune, he would happily oblige. The dead-pan visionary behind Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre loves the genre so much, that he projected some 16-odd years of mechanical beasts and galactic intrigue into his quirk masterpiece, Gentlemen Broncos. "I had drawings of Battle Stags in my Trapper Keeper," Hess recalls. "That was the kind of crap that I drew when I was 14. It was fun to be able to bring those bad boys to life."... »

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Exclusive Video: Gentlemen Broncos Orders Turkey Testicles

6 November 2009 7:14 PM, PST | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »

This is probably the single strangest exclusive we've ever received (and for that matter, posted), but what the heck. It's late on a Friday and we don't have much else to talk about -- we might as well give you a look behind the scenes of Gentlemen Broncos in which their props man orders very specific kinds of turkey testes for director Jared Hess. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Spend a few moments of your life in cruise control below. Gentlemen Broncos stars Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement and is directed by Napoleon Dynamite's Jared Hess. It is in limited release now. »

- Neil Miller

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Review (Sort Of): Gentlemen Broncos

6 November 2009 8:00 AM, PST | Slackerwood | See recent Slackerwood news »

I'm one of those people who screw up Netflix's "Movies You'll Love" programming: I can't stand Napoleon Dynamite. It's too sitcom-y, the characters' quirks have no basis in character depth or complexity, and it's just plain annoying. Gentlemen Broncos, the latest comedy from the same writers and director as Napoleon Dynamite -- Jared and Jerusha Hess -- has many of the same problems, and adds a giant dose of gross-out humor to boot.

The story focuses on high-schooler Benjamin (Michael Angarano), who is somewhat out of step with his peers. He wants to be a science-fiction writer like his hero, Dr. Roland Chevalier (Jemaine Clement). Ben's been writing a series of books about Bronco, a warrior hero who seems to resemble Ben's departed dad. His mother (Jennifer Coolidge) tries to encourage him, but has little attention to spare from her work designing and selling nightgowns.

read more »

- Jette Kernion

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Gentlemen Broncos Not Opening in Wide Release

5 November 2009 12:18 AM, PST | Reelzchannel.com | See recent ReelzChannel news »

Gentlemen Broncos opened last weekend in limited release; so limited, in fact, that it played in two theaters, one in New York, and one in L.A.

After seeing the movie's $11,000 box-office gross for the weekend, Fox Searchlight pulled back the wide release of this comedy from Napoleon Dynamite's Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess. GetTheBigPicture reports Broncos won't open in Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas. Roger Ebert tweeted that the movie won't open in Chicago. And CinemaBlend received an email that revealed Dallas is out of the picture, as well most of the nation:

Unfortunately Gentlemen Broncos will not be opening in any additional markets after Friday, November 6th. All screenings, etc. have been canceled please do not include film in your calendars or reviews. Thank you.

Broncos will open in a few more theaters this weekend. Everyone else will have to wait for the Broncos DVD.

Next Showing: »

- Ryan Gowland

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Fox Searchlight Reins in Release Plans for Gentlemen Broncos

4 November 2009 10:14 AM, PST | FilmJunk | See recent FilmJunk news »

Things aren't looking so good for Jared Hess' latest comedy Gentlemen Broncos. The movie hit theatres last week on just 2 screens, and despite plans to expand further in the coming weeks, it appears that the movie's release is now being scaled back as a result of bad reviews. A number of critics have received a notice this week from Fox Searchlight stating that the movie will no longer be opening in their market. It is unclear if they will still follow through with the previously scheduled roll out [1] for the next two weeks, but it certainly won't be progressing beyond that. DVD will likely be the venue for most of us to see it. Truth be told, there were signs of trouble when the movie premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin back in September; it received a wave of negative reviews and was quickly forgotten. Now it seems that »

- Sean

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Your Holiday Indie Film Preview

4 November 2009 8:26 AM, PST | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »

2009 is about to end with a bang, though probably not the apocalyptic kind predicted in the long-awaited adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" or Chris Smith's terrifying doc "Collapse," though those will both be playing at your local arthouse. Instead, audiences will be able to enjoy a winter of wildly different indie film offerings to reflect the wildly different tastes of moviegoers as we leave one decade and move into another. (There are also many different ways to watch them, as you can tell from our Anywhere But a Movie Theater section.)

From November through January, there will be musicals ("Nine"), comedies (Broken Lizard's "The Slammin' Salmon") and stop-motion animated wonderments ("A Town Called Panic") to entertain and new films from Michael Haneke, Pedro Almodóvar, Richard Linklater, Terry Gilliam and Werner Herzog to ponder. And if new movies aren't necessarily doing the trick, you can always cozy »

- Stephen Saito

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Fox Searchlight Already Folding 'Gentlemen Broncos'?

4 November 2009 3:36 AM, PST | GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news »

I don't want to speak too soon, but what the hell has happened to Fox Searchlight this year? It started out well enough, with Notorious becoming a surprise hit. There was also (500) Days of Summer, which will likely emerge as the studio's big awards charge at the end of the year. And we don't know what will happen with Fantastic Mr. Fox quite yet.

But check out the rest of the line-up: Miss March, bomb. Post Grad, bomb. Adam, $2 million in almost four months. Whip It, troubling returns that should have been much greater. Amelia, won't make money and it won't get any nominations, which is the reason it was made. But Gentlemen Broncos, featuring Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords and directed by Napoleon Dynamite's Jared Hess, might be the biggest loser of them all. And Searchlight knows it.

The movie only made $11,000 this past weekend in two theaters, »

- Colin Boyd

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Behind the Scenes of Gentlemen Broncos

1 November 2009 5:03 AM, PST | movies.about.com | See recent movies.about.com news »

Jared and Jerusha Hess, the creative team behind Napoleon Dynamite, are about as non-Hollywood as filmmakers come. The couple met at Brigham Young University, married, have two children, and continue to live in Salt Lake City, Utah - far, far away from the Hollywood crowd. Being away from the limelight, and away from La and New York, always influences their writing, including their latest collaboration - Gentlemen Broncos. "We've just tried to stay true to the things that inspire us. We live out in Utah and our environment and the people that we know and interact with there are definitely a big part of the characters and the stories that are in our films," explained Jared Hess. Read On...

More on Gentlemen Broncos:

Gentlemen Broncos Photos

Gentlemen Broncos Poster (Photo &copy Fox Searchlight)

Follow Me on Twitter

Behind the Scenes of Gentlemen Broncos originally appeared on About.com Hollywood Movies on Sunday, »

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Review: Gentlemen Broncos

31 October 2009 7:02 AM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

By Peter Hall (reprinted from 9/28/09 -- Fantastic Fest review)

Quirkiness only carries so far. Napoleon Dynamite, the film that ushered in the career of Gentlemen Broncos director Jared Hess, is enjoyable because it cherishes the nervous twitches of puberty, identity crisis, and the weird kind of people who worship at Walmart strip malls. The director embraced his small-town roots to assemble a film in love with those who don't have any station in life, who have no big conflict in their mundane lives, and who have no particularly interesting story to tell, either. Hess' latest film, on the other hand, does have an interesting story to tell and it does have a three-act conventional conflict, but it barrels past being quirky into the weird-for-weird's-sake hinterland of comedy where subtlety is abolished in favor of broad, hit-and-miss gags.

Gentlemen Broncos could have been great. It's about a teenage boy (Michael Angarano »

- Cinematical staff

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Jemaine Clement on Loving Bowie, Hating L.A., and Needing Some Space From Bret

30 October 2009 11:45 AM, PDT | Movieline | See recent Movieline news »

As the hornier, less-sensitive half of New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo, Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement has earned legions of loyal fans. He also happens to be the best thing about Gentlemen Broncos -- the latest love letter to adolescent social retardation from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess. In it he plays science fiction author and lecturer Dr. Ronald Chevalier, a deliciously self-regarding buffoon who wears a Bluetooth earpiece, high-waisted jeans, and answers the phone, "CheVAAHlier." Movieline spoke to Jemaine about his own nightmare mentors, the status of FotC's third season, his love/hate relationship with L.A., and his predilection for wearing really, really short shorts. »

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Plucky 'Broncos': Jared and Jerusha Hess on Gentlemen Broncos

30 October 2009 11:02 AM, PDT | GreenCine | See recent GreenCine news »

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Jared Hess, 30, and Jerusha Hess, 29, met in film class at Brigham Young University and together wrote a little independent movie called Napoleon Dynamite, which Jared directed. Released in 2004, the movie was a once in a lifetime success story, earning a genuine cult following and inspiring a generation of dialogue-quoters and "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt wearers. Hollywood loved it too, and it wasn't long before the Hesses were in charge of the bigger budgeted Nacho Libre (2006). Despite considerably less flattering reviews, the film went on to gross over $80 million, more than doubling its production budget.

Both films contained the same kind of off-kilter rhythms and dry, almost-but-not-quite cruel humor that fans seem to love. Their new film, Gentlemen Broncos (opening Oct. 30 and Nov. 6), is more complex in the plot department but still hangs onto these unique rhythms. Michael Angarano stars as Benjamin, a home-schooled teen who is also a burgeoning sci-fi writer. »

- underdog

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"Napoleon Dynamite 2" Talk Heats Up

30 October 2009 7:36 AM, PDT | Reel Empire | See recent Reel Empire news »

"Napoleon Dynamite", though extremely odd, was absolutely brilliant. It's one of those movies that grows on you upon each viewing. It's not as much funny as it is just weird the first time through. Watch it again, however, and you'll find yourself rolling with laughter. At one point, shortly after the film's incredible box-office success, there was some talk of a sequel yet it quickly died down. Well, as talk once again started to arise, director Jared Hess doesn't know where he stands. He's positive the movie wouldn't have near the impact the first film did on audiences, but he doesn't completey rule out the possibility of his return to the director's chair. Read on to see what he had to say regarding the sequel.

Read more... »

- Chad Langen

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'Gentlemen Broncos': Mope City, By Kurt Loder

30 October 2009 7:32 AM, PDT | MTV Movie News | See recent MTV Movie News news »

Jemaine Clement almost saves Jared Hess' latest low-key comedy.

Michael Angarano and Jemaine Clement in "Gentlemen Broncos"

Photo: Fox Searchlight

Jared Hess' peculiar specialty as a filmmaker is understandably rare. Hess is the laureate of the American Outback, capturing perfectly the awful desperation of life in small-time, small-town nowhere — the sunny monotony, the cramped aspirations, the eternal lack of action. In his first feature, the 2004 "Napoleon Dynamite," this anesthetized milieu was a resonant backdrop for the deadpan absurdity of the story and the fresh eccentricity of its star, Jon Heder. But in Hess' new film, the even wispier "Gentlemen Broncos," the backdrop swallows up the generally low-voltage characters and takes over the picture. The result is oddly oppressive, and anyone who's ever managed to escape from a stultifying childhood backwater may feel, in watching it, an attack of anxiety hives coming on.

The movie's nominal protagonist is Benjamin »

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Jared and Jerusha Hess Talk Gentlemen Broncos

30 October 2009 2:12 AM, PDT | Reelzchannel.com | See recent ReelzChannel news »

The Hesses have spent their short career making eccentric comedies like Napolean Dynamite, Nacho Libre, and the upcoming Gentlemen Broncos, which opens in limited release today. The movie follows a teenager (Michael Angarano) who finds that his novel has been plagiarized by a legendary novelist (Jemaine Clement). While Jared usually directs, the married duo typically co-write the movies, bringing elements of their family and home life into the scripts. Jared told Collider that Gentlemen Broncos is so personal, even the title is taken from his childhood.

The title of the film comes from my mom, who had this really weird parenting book when I was growing up. I have five younger brothers, and it was this book, called So You Want to Raise a Boy?, written in the 1950s. There's a chapter in there where it talks about the age from 16 to 17 and the author referred to it as the gentlemen bronco phase of life, »

- Ryan Gowland

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Fred Rides Gentlemen Broncos

30 October 2009 12:15 AM, PDT | www.canmag.com | See recent CanMag news »

Gentlemen Broncos continues the comedy style that Jared Hess started with Napoleon Dynamite and brought to Hollywood in Nacho Libre. It.s that slightly off (by Hollywood standards) tone that.s funny, but they.re not making jokes.

Review: Gentlemen Broncos

It.s not really that sophisticated. A seminar on naming sci-fi characters is really just about saying funny sounds. The sci-fi sequences are full of bodily humor, and there.s a ton of poop and vomit. They do make a highbrow teabagging joke. That.s indie style ball jokes.

But it.s just so weird. A cute girl asks for tampon money. Then she squeezes into a seat on a bus with two other guys and makes one give her a hand massage slathered in lotion. »

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Exclusive Video: Gentlemen Broncos Cast Interviews

29 October 2009 9:25 PM, PDT | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »

By all accounts Napoleon Dynamite is still one of the funniest and most successful independent movies of all time. The movie, which is still highly prevalent in pop-culture, has had a lasting affect on audiences in a way that few films do. Filmmakers Jared and Jerusha Hess followed up their success by teaming with School of Rock writer Mike White and star Jack Black to make the Mexican wrestling comedy Nacho Libre. White has teamed with the Hess's again, producing their new comedy the science-fiction paperback spoof Gentlemen Broncos, which is being released in theaters on October 30th. We had a chance to talk with the film's creators, writer and director Jared Hess, his co-writer Jerusha Hess, producer and actor Mike White and stars Jermaine Clement and Jennifer Coolidge. To watch our exclusive interview click on the video clips below.

Benjamin (Michael Angarano), home-schooled by his eccentric mother (Jennifer Coolidge »

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Gentlemen Broncos Movie Review

29 October 2009 8:00 PM, PDT | MoviesOnline.ca | See recent MoviesOnline news »

Right from the opening credits, Gentlemen Broncos had me hooked. They're quite simple, similar to the Napoleon Dynamite credits, which is fitting seeing how this is the latest film from  director Jared Hess. Instead of foodstuffs, we are treated to the cast and crew names of old pulp sci-fi book covers, while "In The Year 2525" plays on. It's the perfect set-up for yet another of Hess' tale of outcasts and their deadpan, almost absurdist comedic misadventures.

Broncos tells the story of Benjamin (Michael Angarano, playing the wallflower to perfection) a home-schooled lad who writes science fiction stories, following in the path of his idol, Dr.Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement, from Flight of the Conchords, and who steals every scene he's in with his facial hair and voice). Benjamin joins other home schoolers on a trip to Cletus Fest, a writing retreat/workshop/festival. Lecturing at the fest is Dr. Chevalier, »

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The Week in Film: Halloween Weekend

29 October 2009 12:18 PM, PDT | AfterElton.com | See recent AfterElton.com news »

Ho ho ho, Merry- wait, that’s not right. Gobble gobble! Happy Thanks- shoot, that’s not right either. Ahem. *evil high-pitched cackle* Happy Halloween! Ah, there we go. Sorry for the confusion there, folks. It happens when you try to get a Turkey Santa Claus costume for this special day. You get confused. For some reason, I couldn’t find one anywhere, but enough about me. And since it’s Halloween weekend, time for scary movies! Right?

Maybe not so much. At least not new ones, as it looks like Hollywood decided too many folks were going to be out trick-or-treating to check out a new movie this weekend. Fortunately or unfortunately, Saw VI came out last week and Paranormal Activity is still in theaters scaring up big bucks (more on that later).

First up this week, we have Michael Jackson’s sold out This Is It that opened on Wednesday. »

- Raiden251

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Film: Review:Gentlemen Broncos

29 October 2009 12:02 PM, PDT | avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news »

As any fashion magazine can tell you, the trick to retro kitsch is moderation. And for director Jared Hess, whose zeal for Goodwill grotesquerie knows no bounds, the contrast between his cultishly adored Napoleon Dynamite and Gentlemen Broncos is the difference between wearing a perfectly faded concert T-shirt, and draping yourself in double-knit polyester. Every frame of Hess’ new film—the wood-paneled walls coated with winking unicorn posters, its characters’ high-waisted-jean-shorts-and-turtlenecks ensembles, the gaunt-faced extras straight out of R. Crumb—is crammed with so much deliberate tackiness that it borders on exhausting self-parody. And much like thrift-store scavenging, Gentlemen Broncos ... »

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