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Ddr
Member
08-19-2001
| Sunday, January 02, 2005 - 2:26 am
Add me to the list of Napolion Dynamite fans! I found it quirky, yet charming and I laughed out loud at quite a few points. I went to IMDB to check out the film. The following is trivia: The name "Napoleon Dynamite" is a pseudonym used by Elvis Costello for his 1986 album, "Blood and Chocolate". Executive producer Jeremy has stated that the similarity is a coincidence and that the producers were unaware of Costello's usage of the name until the film was in production. Every food dish used to show the opening credits is a food dish eaten by a character later in the movie. Due to the film's surprise success at festivals and at the major city box offices, Fox Searchlight is going to re-release the film with nationwide distribution and add a 5 minute epilogue at the end of the film. This epilogue, which was filmed after the initial theatrical run, apparently features a surprise "wedding scene". And cost about half of what the entire feature cost to make. Features one of the longest credited cast lists in movie history; all 181 student extras' names are listed in the closing credits. The movie was edited in producer Jeremy 's apartment using a $6,000 Macintosh with Final Cut Pro. Behind-the-scenes at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Fox Searchlight engaged in a bidding war with Warner Independent Pictures over the distribution rights to this movie, until Fox Searchlight put in a last-minute bid of over $3 million, and won. They would later join forces with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films to distribute the film, a mere 17 days before its release. ***The red dots are the producer's last name like in raCOON.
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Jbean
Member
01-05-2002
| Sunday, January 02, 2005 - 7:41 am
i couldn't remember where i had seen the deb character before. i looked on imdb, too, and of all the projects she has done, the only one i've ever seen was "when a man loves a woman" with meg ryan and andy garcia. i definitely remember her as the older daughter. can't believe that's the same girl. glad to see she's still around. tish, i was making a film reference calling the critic "IDIOT". you're not an idiot, and you are entitled to your own opinions. just sayin'. 
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Sunday, January 02, 2005 - 8:26 pm
I know Jbean. I was only joshing! [I call myself an idiot all the time anyhow!]
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Thiry18
Member
09-18-2004
| Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 11:58 pm
i see you're drinking 1%. is that cause you think you're fat? cause you're not. you could be drinking whole if you wanted to.
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 11:19 am
This is the worst video ever. How could you even KNOW that?
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 12:16 pm
Wow... this movie looked way too "Dumb and Dumber" for me, but to see all of you raving on and on about it... IF Eeyore says it's good - I've met her, she's a smart girl!! - I guess I'll have to go out and rent it. The BF will be thanking you. This movie has been on his list for a while and I keep saying No, it's waaayyy too stupid. I'll come back and let you all know what I thought.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 12:38 pm
Karen, I both: 1) Liked it AND 2) Thought it was stupid. Renter beware.
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Kaili
Member
08-31-2000
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 1:23 pm
I have it here---haven't watched it yet. My cousin told me to watch it as a documentary instead of as actors because she thinks it's funnier that way. I'll watch it eventually.
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 2:09 pm
my son saw it, he thought it was "hilariously stupid", lol ...
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 3:17 pm
KAREN - Don't waste your money renting it. I have the DVD, I will lend it to you.
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 3:19 pm
YANKEE!!! BLASPHEMY!! 
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 3:57 pm
Well, ya know, I'm a little cranky these days... 
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 8:56 pm
We miss you here in Canada too Yank!!
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Thiry18
Member
09-18-2004
| Monday, January 24, 2005 - 10:42 pm
just gotta say how much i absolutely love this movie. i swore to myself that i would never, ever watch it. thank god my sister forced me too!! i laugh to myself just thinking about it. IDIOT!
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Thiry18
Member
09-18-2004
| Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - 12:56 am
omg. forced me too??? yuck. to.
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - 1:39 am
lol thiry.....I completely know how you feel about the spelling mistakes with words that sound the same. I have trouble reading when others don't know which spelling to use. Two/too/to, there/their, weather/whether....the list goes on and on.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-03-2002
| Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - 1:56 pm
I completely missed your type Thiry -- I thought you meant "forced me also" (as in someone else was forced to watch). I thought this movie was odd and funny. It's certainly a different kind of dumb than "Dumb and Dumber".
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Thiry18
Member
09-18-2004
| Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - 6:10 pm
thanks, brenda! i just read my post, and that does make sense!!
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Thiry18
Member
09-18-2004
| Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 3:23 am
eeyore-i'm watching it again. fifth time in like three weeks. i think i have issues with this movie. also, i'm from idaho, so it makes it even that much more funny. HEY, NAPOLEAN, GIVE ME SOME OF YOUR TOTS.
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 11:59 am
LOL thiry. A kindred spirit!! Do you have the DVD? Did you know it is double-sided? Turn it over, and you'll see deleted scenes etc. I personally didn't know this at first, and couldn't FIND the deleted scenes. hahaha. Ugh!! Idiot.
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Thiry18
Member
09-18-2004
| Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 5:26 pm
yes, i do own it. but i did not know it was double-sided!!! i'm going to watch it later. SWEET!
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Thursday, January 27, 2005 - 12:15 pm
Here's a funny tid-bit from the recent Television Critics Association tour: http://web.knoxnews.com/mt-static/terry/archives/002815.html January 13, 2005 Pssst! Usher's Dyn-o-mite! Singer Usher is all about "Napoleon Dynamite." When he walked into a room for an interview on Thursday, he looked around then made a brief announcement: "Vote for Pedro, and all your dreams will come true." He then smiled and waited for a reaction. Well, dang, anybody cool knows he's quoting from "Napoleon Dynamite." When he was asked to explain about the "Pedro" remark, he turned his head in mocking disgust and said, "gosh!" Yeah, Usher's quoting another line from the movie. Usher's got good taste.
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Melfie1222
Member
07-29-2002
| Thursday, January 27, 2005 - 9:10 pm
Heck Yeah! I like Usher, I think I am going to draw his picture or build him a cake or something. Eeyores, I didn't know there was another side either! Yikes, I've already watched the one side three times.
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Thiry18
Member
09-18-2004
| Friday, January 28, 2005 - 12:09 am
lol melfie!!!
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Friday, March 04, 2005 - 9:38 pm
Sweet! Napoleon Dynamite Town Now Geek Capital Associated Press PRESTON, Idaho — Talk to a Preston resident for any length of time and you're likely to hear the town's new mantra: "There's a little bit of Napoleon in all of us," says lifelong resident Thedora Petterborg. "Who hasn't felt like that once in a while?" It's been several months since Napoleon Dynamite became America's favorite nerd. The movie, written and directed by freshman filmmaker Jared Hess and based in Preston, was a surprise success, grossing $44.5 million in the United States and gaining near cult status with December's release on DVD. And now the tiny city of Preston has a following all its own. People from as far away as Germany have come to town, buying up thousands of dollars' worth of souvenir shirts, tetherballs and the ever-popular boondoggle key chain. "I think it's totally remarkable," said Petterborg, who played the part of school secretary in the movie. "The llama, Tina, lives right across the street from us. People come by and take pictures — they go out of their way to see Napoleon's town." The movie's protagonist, Napoleon Dynamite (played by John Heder), is a nerdy teenager suffering the typical struggles of high school — trying to find a date, dealing with annoying relatives and holding it all together despite mocking from the popular crowd. He joins forces with friends Pedro Sanchez (Efren Ramirez) and Deb (Tina Majorino) in a bid to elect Pedro to the coveted student body presidency. It all culminates in a dance-off, Napoleon-style. The movie is squeaky clean, with no swearing, no potty humor, no violence. In many ways it mirrors the town, where cheerful and mostly LDS residents introduce themselves to strangers and are quick to offer a helping hand. Not everyone in town was thrilled to be living in the new capital of geek chic. Some residents worry the movie made them look nerdy. "There's probably two kinds of people. You either love it and think it's the greatest thing that happened, or you hate it and think it makes fun of us," Petterborg said. "Those of us love it because we love Jared." Much of the movie is based on incidents from Hess' life in Preston, where he was often seen trolling the neighborhood with a camcorder and making amateur movies. No wonder, then, that most residents thought Napoleon Dynamite was simply another of Jared's projects. "Most of us didn't think anything of it at first, just another no-name movie for Jared Hess," said Stephen Baldwin, store manager for the Deseret Industries thrift shop, where much of the movie's wardrobes were bought and some scenes were filmed. "But then it came out. And now college students are coming into the store to take pictures or videos, looking to purchase memorabilia." Still, ask any local kid, and chances are they'll tell you they can't wait to leave Preston, a town of just 4,791 people about 100 miles north of Salt Lake City, near the Utah-Idaho border. "High schoolers will go away for a minute, but they always come back," said Pennie Christensen, executive director of Preston's Chamber of Commerce. "We're probably a bit behind the times as far as fashion, but there are beautiful homes, and it's a small, tight community. People are service-oriented, considerate." Local real estate agents have reported an increase in calls from out-of-towners whose interest was piqued by scenery in the film, Christensen said. A few fans have stopped in town for a visit and decided to stay. Even more are calling just to say hello. "One lady called from Tennessee, saying, 'I want to thank Preston. You cleaned up the language in our town,' " Christensen said. "Before, the kids there were saying things like the F-word or G-D. Now they say 'flip' and 'sweet.' " Christensen hopes the town can keep the attention coming. She's planning a Napoleon Dynamite Fest in June, complete with tetherball tournaments, a disco dance-off and a look-alike contest. Visitors can easily spot landmarks from the movie. The Cuttin Curral and King's grocery store grace the main drag. Pop 'N Pins is just a few blocks away, and interested fans can still buy bowling pins used in the movie. Even Napoleon's favorite animal, the lion and tiger crossbreed known as a liger, has local roots: There was a liger farm not far from Preston until a few years ago, when several of the animals escaped and the farm was shut down. Residents are tapping their inner loser to cash in on the city's celebrity. The Chamber of Commerce — whose Web-site hits spiked from a previous all-time high of 7,000 to 284,000 hits after the DVD release — sells tour maps pointing out filming locations, such as Napoleon's house, along with other souvenirs. A sign at the car dealership West Motors boasts that customers can buy a car from Pedro's dad. Even the Happy Hands sign language club in the movie is based on the school's Good Hands club. Hess himself was a member while attending school at Preston High. Though the number of men on the team has tripled since the movie — to three — they continue to be targets for school bullies. Before the flick 17-year-old Dakotah Gordon was the only male to brave the club. "I was the Napoleon Dynamite of the club," Gordon said. "But look at the guy-to-girl ratio — a lot of guys want to be in the club; they're just scared to join." The group is getting performance requests from around the nation, and a few nearby schools have gotten into a bidding war over who will score the club for an assembly first. But those who want to see the Good Hands club in action need only stop by Preston High School every day after class. The group of roughly 30 students gathers to practice sign language and dance to songs by Shania Twain, Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. In one movie scene, Hess used his mother's phone number in the background. Now his mom, Krismas Adams, said she gets calls all the time. "People call and say, 'Is Napoleon there?' I always tell them that Napoleon doesn't live here, it's Pedro's house. A lot of times they laugh or hang up. But I've had a few really rewarding conversations," Adams said. "One kid from Michigan called, and we talked about Jared and the importance of sticking with his dreams." Petterborg thinks she knows why so many people have embraced the quirky movie and her little town. "Everyone is the same, deep down, whether they're cheerleaders or geeks. And everyone wants to believe that their wildest dreams can come true," she said. Especially if they're in Preston. -Rebecca Boone http://www.ldslivingonline.com/story1.php?aid=411
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