JaredHess Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: Gentlemen Broncos
Filed under: Comedy », Theatrical Reviews », Fox Searchlight »
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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) whose fantasy novel featuring an underdog hero on a nonsensical planet (Sam Rockwell) is stolen by not only his washed-up hero author (Jemaine Clement) at a crash-course writing camp, but two insufferable "friends" who want to turn the story into their cinematic gateway to Hollywood. The film often wanders out of the real-world of poor Benjamin's unenviable life and into the entertaining fantasy world of his childish writings, but for the most part it feels as directionless as the confused boy we're supposed to be rooting for.
Exclusive 'Gentlemen Broncos' Behind the Scenes Clip
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Fox Searchlight », Fantastic Fest », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Trailers and Clips »
Those lucky ducks at Fantastic Fest got to peep many weird and fabulous films, not the least of which is Gentlemen Broncos. The movie, which is directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite fame, stars the always-dreamy Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords as an utterly ludicrous author who steals a book manuscript from a dorky teen, played by Michael Angarano. Sam Rockwell has two parts in Broncos -- one as a super-hairy superhero with a bald ladylove and one as a sort of, uh, tranny Captain Kangaroo. In this exclusive clip, Sam, in all his hairy glory, tries to explain why you can't look tough while drinking a smoothie. It's also really hard to drink a smoothie with a giant beard, as you'll see after the jump.
As Peter Hall wrote in his Fantastic Fest review of Broncos, "there is no denying, though, that seeing Sam Rockwell ride a fake deer shooting rockets out of all its orifices is the answer to a dream I never realized I had."
Me too, Peter. Me too.
Watch the video after the jump.
Fantastic Fest Interview: Jemaine Clement from 'Gentlemen Broncos'
Filed under: Comedy », Fantastic Fest », Interviews »
Jemaine Clement is probably best known to people as half of Flight of the Conchords, the "4th most popular digi-folk paradists in New Zealand." They founded the group back in 1998, but came to worldwide fame recently when it was turned into an HBO television series. Or, if you're an indie film buff, you might have seen him in Eagle vs. Shark from Sundance back in 2007. Or barring that, maybe you're a couch television surfer and caught him in his series of Outback Steakhouse commercials.
He'll be seen again in Jared Hess' followup to Nacho Libre and Napoleon Dynamite, Gentlemen Broncos. In it, he plays the pretentious and self-centered science fiction writer Dr. Ronald Chevalier, and honestly, he's the best thing about the movie. If they make a feature-length documentary following Chevalier on a book tour around the nation for as a DVD extra, I'll buy it. You can catch some of his magic online, where he's done a series of viral videos in character as Chevalier, and they are hilarious.
We caught up with Clement after Gentlemen Broncos screened at Fantastic Fest, and you can read the full interview beyond the break.
Fantastic Fest interview: Jared Hess of 'Gentlemen Broncos'
Filed under: Fantastic Fest », Interviews »
We sat down with Clement after the premiere of Broncos at Fantastic Fest (read Cinematical's review from that night right here), and you can catch the full interview beyond the break.
Fantastic Fest Review: Gentlemen Broncos
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Theatrical Reviews », Fox Searchlight », Fantastic Fest », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
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) whose fantasy novel featuring an underdog hero on a nonsensical planet (Sam Rockwell) is stolen by not only his washed-up hero author (Jemaine Clement) at a crash-course writing camp, but two insufferable "friends" who want to turn the story into their cinematic gateway to Hollywood. The film often wanders out of the real-world of poor Benjamin's unenviable life and into the entertaining fantasy world of his childish writings, but for the most part it feels as directionless as the confused boy we're supposed to be rooting for.
Get Gun Practice With 'Gentlemen Broncos'
Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Fandom », 20th Century Fox », DIY/Filmmaking », Movie Marketing », Fantastic Fest », Trailers and Clips »
I've only been following Gentlemen Broncos from afar, and by that I mean it was on my "Sam Rockwell is in that so I'll see it sometime" list. Until today, I'm ashamed to say I didn't even know what it was about, or that it also features the sexy Kiwi known as Jemaine Clement. But Gordon and the Whale landed an exclusive behind-the-scenes video from Broncos, and it's so random and funny that I'm now going to obsess about this film for the rest of October. Especially because of Clement. I'm not over the loss of Flight of the Conchords just yet.
If you're as behind as I am, here's the official synopsis: "Benjamin, home-schooled by his eccentric mother, is a lovable loner whose passion for writing leads him on an offbeat and hilarious journey as his story gets ripped off by the legendary novelist Ronald Chevalier and then is adapted into a disastrous movie by the small town's most prolific homespun filmmaker." Sounds good, doesn't it?
This is video #7, and videos 1 through 6 are available on the film's official site. I don't know if they're all this funny, but I do know that you will find no better way to spend five minutes today. Watching Rockwell do anything is a blast, but toss in a ridiculous wig and a dubious activity known as "ray gun practice," and you can thank your lucky stars that the Internet was invented so we could while away our time with such footage. Gentlemen Broncos hits theaters on October 30. Those lucky punks going to Fantastic Fest this year will see it sooner. The video is below the jump. Be sure to visit Gordon and the Whale and say something nice, because they're good people.
First Wave of Fantastic Fest Films Announced
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fantastic Fest », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
If you're one of the people who reads reports coming out of film festivals like Sundance and Berlin and thinks "Gee, those movies all sound like a bunch of high-falutin' talking head pieces that'll bore me to tears," then you really need to get your self to Austin, Texas this September for Fantastic Fest. If you're a film lover who enjoys the weird, the esoteric, and the bizarre, then this festival was made for you. They've just announced the first wave of features that will be screening and if you're not a believer yet, just check out this description of Robo Geisha:
"This geisha army can transform into tanks, their nipples can squirt acid or propel rapid-fire bullets, their mouths can contain chainsaws or frog-tongue samurai swords and they are aided by a giant shinto temple robot. The war of the Geishas is beginning, and I'm getting a front row seat!"
Need more proof? Director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) is opening the festival with his film Gentlemen Broncos, starring Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame. Still need more? Head beyond the jump for the full list, and check out even more on their website. Badges are still available for you brave ones out there.
'Gentlemen Broncos' Begins Its Viral Campaign
Filed under: Comedy », 20th Century Fox », Movie Marketing »
Although it doesn't open until next year, it appears that the viral marketing machine is already cranking away in the name of Gentlemen Broncos, with the appearance of this thorough website for the film's antagonist, Cluster Award-winning author Dr. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement, perhaps better known as one-half of New Zealand's fourth most popular folk parody duo, Flight of the Conchords).
In the provided videos and audio snippets, Clement portrays Chevalier as a third-rate Orson Scott Card with the voice of Orson Welles, and I've little trouble believing that he would both fit into the eccentric world of filmmaker Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) and lift a story from a young fan (Michael Angarano) out of desperation.
Also starring Sam Rockwell and Jennifer Coolidge, Broncos is currently in post-production, but given the rough timetable and unique pedigree at play, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we finally find out what the title means come Sundance next January ...
[Thanks to Matt Dentler for the heads-up.]
Sam Rockwell is a 'Gentleman Bronco'
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting »
Things certainly seem to be moving quickly for Gentlemen Broncos. Five days ago, Patrick had first broke the news on the follow-up project for Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre creator Jared Hess. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has already announced that Sam Rockwell has signed to star along side Flight of the Conchords creator Jermaine Clement for the teen comedy. The story centers on a teen fantasy novelist who has his story ripped off by his idol at a writer's camp. Michael Angarano (Lords of Dogtown) will play the teen that comes up with the fantasy story with the unfortunate title of Yeast Lords.Rockwell will play the fictional character in the story and there will be some "book-come-to-life sequences under two guises: one in the teen's story and one in the author's story". Well, if anybody can pull it off, it would be Rockwell -- the man has a knack for playing some of the most diverse characters without breaking a sweat. If you don't believe me, take an afternoon and watch The Green Mile and then Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and tell me those are two pretty impressive ends of the spectrum.
The script was written by the husband and wife team of Jared and Jerusha Hess, and will be produced Mike White and Ben LeClair. Both White and LeClair worked with Hess before on Nacho Libre. So it looks like Patrick's prediction came true and the cast is going to be an 'indie' affair, but with the addition of Rockwell and Clement there's just a smidgen more of 'hipster' cred. Gentlemen Broncos is scheduled to start production this March and arrive in theaters some time in 2009.
'Napoleon Dynamite' Director Will Tackle 'Gentlemen Broncos'
Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Fandom », Scripts », Fox Searchlight »
Jared Hess loves exploring the nerds, geeks, freaks, outsiders, and weirdos of the world, and God bless him for that. The outcasts are always far more interesting than the cool kids. Hess kicked off his career with Napoleon Dynamite, and if you can measure a film's popularity by how often people quote its dialogue, then Napoleon is one of the most beloved films in recent years. He followed Napoleon up with the less favorably received Nacho Libre. I think the problem most people had with Nacho is that they weren't expecting it to be a kids' movie, but I kind of dug it. It was certainly an original, and had some great visuals. Now Joblo has the scoop on his next project -- Gentlemen Broncos. From Bronco's description and lead character (a high school outcast), it seems Hess is aiming to recapture that Napoleon magic. The film will focus on "an aspiring fantasy author. He attends a fantasy convention to show off his work and finds his supposed masterpiece - Yeast Lords - ripped off by legendary novelist Ronald Chevalier, who has turned desperate for ideas." It sounds pretty funny to me, and the whole Dungeons and Dragons/Lord of the Rings fanboy world should certainly provide Hess with ample comedy ammunition. And since his mockery tends to be pretty sweet-natured, I doubt he'll alienate those fans. No word on casting, but I wouldn't expect huge names -- it seems he'll be doing Broncos as a pretty indie affair. As with his previous films, Hess will direct and co-wrote the script with his wife, Jerusha. Sweeet.
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