What do science fiction space odysseys, popcorn balls, mythical yeast, rebellious teenagers, plagiarism and Dr. Ronald Chevalier's esteemed "anous workshop" have in common? 
They are all a part of the quirky new universe of GENTLEMEN BRONCOS, the latest comedy from director Jared Hess, the mind behind NAPOLEON DYNAMITE and NACHO LIBRE.
A salute to oddball adolescent artistes everywhere, GENTLEMEN BRONCOS weaves together a series of narratives revolving around Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano), a loveable underdog whose passion for writing science-fiction novels is turned upside down when his idol, the celebrated fantasy author Dr. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement), steals his story at a writers camp. 
Benjamin, a 17-year-old science fiction prodigy, lives in a geodesic dome in Utah with his mother (Jennifer Coolidge), an aspiring nightgown designer working on a line she calls "Decent Beginnings."
As a homeschooler, Benjamin doesn't have much experience in the real world, but his imagination takes him to fantastical worlds far from the drab small town in which he lives. When he finds out that his idol, sci-fi legend Dr. Ronald Chevalier will be teaching at Cletus Festival ("the best writers camp in Utah"), it's the chance of a lifetime for the young author. He packs up his best manuscript, Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years, and sets out to fulfill his destiny. There he meets some new, equally misfit friends--budding romance novelist Tabatha (Halley Feiffer) and adolescent auteur Lonnie (Hector Jimenez), a filmmaker with more than 80 "films" to his credit.
Benjamin's attendance at the festival has two stunning results. His novel is optioned by Lonnie to be made into a full-length, lower-than-low budget motion picture, and Chevalier himself is so impressed by Benjamin's work that, in a desperate ploy to save his own career, he decides to make a few minor changes in the manuscript and publish it as his own novel, The Chronicles of Brutus and Balzaak.
As Benjamin's world catapults into a series of bizarre wrong turns, the story of Yeast Lords is seen in three different points of view: Benjamin's original story, Chevalier's bastardized version, and Lonnie's low-fi film adaptation. These three renditions are a celebration of the ridiculous world of cult science fiction films. Sam Rockwell turns in a pair of hilarious performances as Bronco/Brutus, who alongside his childhood best friend, Vanaya/Venonka (Suzanne May), heroically take on the evil overlords of the yeast factory in a desperate effort to save civilization.

About the production
Writing and producing team Jared and Jerusha Hess return to the screen with GENTLEMEN BRONCOS three years after their foray into the world of Mexican wrestling, NACHO LIBRE, and five years after their high school slacker magnum opus, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. The Hesses are a Hollywood anomaly, creating their iconoclastic visions of misunderstood underdogs while living and working in Salt Lake City.
"Every film we've done, we've written together," says Jared. "The process gets better as we go along. We spend a lot of time incubating our ideas. Usually we talk through it while driving around or doing everyday things. By the time we finally sit down and write it, we have a pretty good idea of where it's going. Then we go to the office and write for four or five hours a day."
"The process is very organic," he adds. "I don't think either of us could say who is responsible for what, because it's such a collaboration."
According to Jerusha, "It's all advantageous. When we finally nail a scene, we make out. That in itself is enough fire to keep Jared working. Though our writing process is quite different, we share a common sense of humor."   
As in NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, the Hesses have mined their own youth for an offbeat look at an endearing underdog. "I was a kid who was really into science fiction and writing stories," says Jared. "And Benjamin's mother, Judith, is patterned after my own mom, with a little bit of Jerusha's mother thrown in. My mom had an entrepreneurial spirit, making popcorn balls and selling them, like Judith, and she worked for a company that specialized in modest nightgowns."
"My poor mom is mortified that we used anything from her," says Jerusha. "But she is a funny lady, so it's impossible not to. Just like Judith, she has a keen sense of propriety and modesty. Growing up, we were not allowed to say 'nipple' in the home. Instead we had to says 'chest ends,' like Judith does in the movie. Between my seven brothers and Jared, that poor woman has had to put up with more body humor than one woman deserves." 
People on set commented that Jemaine Clement and Hess bore a striking resemblance, which Clement explains by saying, "I've found directors often hire people who look like them. I think Jared and Jerusha identify with the character of Benjamin."
The idea for GENTLEMEN BRONCOS had been percolating for a while, Jared says, even before the pair sat down at the computer. But once they submitted the spec script to Fox Searchlight, things moved quickly. "From the time we finished the second draft to when we started shooting was six or eight months," he recalls.
The initial inspiration for the story came from another relative, says Jerusha. "I have a cousin that lives in Alaska who is quite the little writer. A few years back he went to a writers camp during the summer and apparently his stories were pretty gruesome. Jared and I thought it would be funny to put a character in a film who writes explicit stories while his mother is designing modest lingerie in the other room."
Jared was also able to draw on his own high school experiences. "I never went to a writers camp like Benjamin does," he says. "But I did go to a student thespian retreat when I lived in Kansas as a freshman in high school. I think a lot of those programs for high school students are similar."
As one of the film's executive producers, Jerusha was on set every day, an experience she describes in her characteristic self-effacing manner. "I was there to give my supposed blessing on various elements of the film," she says. "Jared claims that people were nervous around me because they know I call the shots in this relationship. That's doubtful though--I'm sure I just got in the way." 
For GENTLEMEN BRONCOS, the Hesses have teamed up once again with Mike White, who also produced their last film, NACHO LIBRE. "We've been fortunate to collaborate with Mike," says Jared. "He's an amazing human being and such a talented writer. His comedic sensibility is so spot-on. We share similar taste and he's such a great friend. When we were done writing the film we sent it over to him and asked if he'd be a producer on it and he kindly offered his talents."
In addition to producing, White agreed to take on a crucial role in the film--that of Benjamin's "guardian angel," Dusty, a scraggly-haired member of the Purvis' church who takes his giant albino snake everywhere. "I knew all along I wanted Mike to play the role of Dusty," Jared says. "We've been friends for a long while now, and I knew he could nail it. Mike is such a weird dude himself that it wasn't much of a stretch for him to be Dusty. He was a sport, too, for wearing that hideous wig for most of the film."
Michael Angarano, who plays Benjamin, says he's been a fan of the Hesses for years. "Anyone who is a fan of NAPOLEON DYNAMITE or NACHO LIBRE will love this movie," says Angarano. "What I really liked about GENTLEMEN BRONCOS was that while all the characters are quite vivid, they're still grounded in some way. It's a very well-written, well-structured script, but in this crazy, chaotic way. So many different things are happening and there are so many wacky characters."
Only a filmmaker as exacting as Hess could make it all work, says the young actor. "I've never come across a more precise director than Jared. He knows exactly what he wants, but he was really eager to listen to what other people had to say. I think everyone would agree that it was probably the most fun they've ever had on any movie." 
GENTLEMEN BRONCOS has the same spirit that made NAPOLEON DYNAMITE such a breakout hit, according to actress Halley Feiffer, who plays Tabatha in the film. "It appeals to anyone of any age group," she says. "I watched NAPOLEON DYNAMITE with my mom, who's in her early fifties, my dad who's in his late seventies, and my little sister who's thirteen. And all of us loved it and cracked up. How many movies are there like that?"
Actor Sam Rockwell commends what he calls the Hesses' "unique comic aesthetic." "Jared colors outside the lines and I think he's got a special intuitive quality as a director," Rockwell says. "He has a very specific vision of what he wants and he gives you strong guidelines. I would throw out ad libs whenever I could, but his stuff's so good I don't really mess with it. He knows what's funny.
"He can do everybody's voice, everyone's accent," Rockwell continues. "So he knows exactly how he wants it, all the inflections, and he's just got a great ear. If something's not right, he knows exactly what it is. That attention to detail is very cool. He's very inspiring and he's amazingly talented."
As they have done in the past, the Hesses continue to deliver the unexpected in their films. According to Jerusha, their next venture may take its inspiration from a moment in GENTLEMEN BRONCOS. "There is a scene in the film where Benjamin is sitting in the premiere of his own movie. There's a trailer before the movie that kills me every time. Michael Angarano is axing a tumbleweed and there is an illicit hot tub scene, but the greatest thing is that the name of Benjamin's character's wife is 'Ol' Big Sis.' I want to make it feature length."

The casting
As production designer Richard A. Wright points out, the structure of GENTLEMEN BRONCOS is uniquely complex. "It's actually several different stories shot on completely different landscapes," he says. "We've got the twin sci-fi worlds of Bronco and Brutus and all these other wacky sci-fi characters. And then you've got Benjamin's world, which is also a little bit off-kilter."
That meant assembling multiple acting ensembles, as well. "It was a fun film to cast," says writer-director Jared Hess. "I had a lot of help from our casting director, Meredith Tucker. She presented a lot of people I never would have thought of. We were very fortunate in that people were really excited about the script, I think because there were a lot of fun characters for people to run wild with."
Benjamin Purvis, the budding writer at the center of the action in the real world of the film is played by Michael Angarano, who says his character is, in part, a stand-in for the director. "Jared has the same kind of twisted mind as Benjamin," says Angarano. "I always kept that in mind. In his own way, Benjamin is the most grounded person in the story. And then when you start to see his book come to life, you realize how warped his mind really is.  Read more

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JARED HESS (Writer/Director/Executive Producer) studied film at Brigham Young University where he met his wife and co-writer Jerusha.  While attending film school, he wrote and directed the short film PELUCA (Slamdance Film Festival 2003) as well as his first feature film NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Sundance Film Festival 2004).  Later, he co-wrote and directed the film NACHO LIBRE (Paramount 2006).   GENTLEMEN BRONCOS is Jared's third feature film.  

JERUSHA HESS (Writer/Executive Producer) attended Brigham Young University where she met her husband Jared.  In addition to co-writing the screenplay for NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, she was also the film's costume designer.  She co-wrote the screenplays for NACHO LIBRE and GENTLEMEN BRONCOS.  

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