As you may have guessed from the fact that the filmmakers attended Brigham Young University, Jared and Jerusha are members of the Mormon church. While Jared was on his mission in Chicago, Hess met an Italian man named “Napoleon Dynamite.” Now that’s what I call a sign from God.
Many Preston Residents Appeared In The Film
According to Deseret, all of the background extras in the high school scenes were actual high school students in Preston, Idaho. One of the secretaries was even played by Jared’s long-time neighbor growing up.
The Dance Was Improvised
Fox Searchlight
Heder said he had the first eight counts sort of figured out (the shuffling), but told Hess to play three different songs and he would dance to each one until he felt like puking. They played a Michael Jackson song and two Jamiroquai songs, eventually ending with “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai. Heder says the two were obsessed with the artist at the time.
Bus Man
Fox Searchlight
In order to deceive Japanese audiences, Fox changed the name to Bus Man in Japan, in order to ride the coattails of another popular film in the country called Train Man. The two movies could not be more different, and Fox eventually apologized for deceiving Japanese audiences in 2013.
Kip Had To Wear Real Braces
Fox Searchlight
Derek Aaron Ruell suggested Kip Dynamite have braces in the film, himself. He assumed a makeup team would have some sort of fake braces device to glue to his teeth for the film, but it turns out, Ruell needed real braces. Ruell said “They were the real deal. And quite painful for that first week. They moved my teeth. They said that this is only going to make them straighter, or they wouldn’t have set them on.”
For exclusive ComedyNerd content and more, subscribe to our spiffy newsletter:
Top Image: Fox Searchlight