Jared Lawrence Hess (born July 18, 1979) and Jerusha Elizabeth Hess ( Demke; born May 12, 1980) are husband-and-wife American filmmakers best known for their work on ''

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high- ...

'' (2004), ''

Nacho Libre ''Nacho Libre'' is a 2006 sports comedy film directed by Jared Hess and written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and Mike White. It stars Jack Black as Ignacio, a Catholic friar and lucha libre fan who secretly moonlights as a luchador to earn money fo ...

'' (2006) and ''

Gentlemen Broncos ''Gentlemen Broncos'' is a 2009 American comedy film written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Jennifer Coolidge, and Sam Rockwell. Plot Benjamin Purvis lives with his mothe ...

'' (2009), all of which they co-wrote and which were directed by Jared (''Nacho Libre'' was co-written with Mike White). They also produced music videos for

The Postal Service The Postal Service are an American indie pop supergroup from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band released their only album, '' Give Up'', in 2003 on S ...

's third single, "

We Will Become Silhouettes "We Will Become Silhouettes" is a single by American indie band the Postal Service, released February 8, 2005, under the Sub Pop Records label. The single included a new track "Be Still My Heart" and two remixed tracks by Matthew Dear ("We Will ...

", and

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

' Christmas charity single "Boots".

Personal life

Jerusha was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, and Jared was born in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

. Jared is a graduate of Burton Elementary School located in

Kaysville, Utah Kaysville is a city in Davis County, Utah. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield metropolitan area. The population was 27,300 at the time of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 32,390 in 2019. History Shortly after Latter Day Saint ...

, which he attended while living in Fruit Heights during his youth. He also attended

Manhattan High School Manhattan High School is a public high school in Manhattan, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It is part of the Manhattan–Ogden USD 383. For the 2013–2014 school year, Manhattan High had an enrollment of 1,920 students. ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

for two years before transferring to Preston High School in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, from which he graduated in 1997. Many scenes from ''Napoleon Dynamite'' were filmed there. As a teenager Jared worked in film production with

T. C. Christensen Thomas C. Christensen (born 1953) is an American cinematographer, film director, and writer best known for his work on films related to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), including '' Joseph Smith: The ...

Career

Jared met Jerusha while attending

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

's (BYU) film school. Together they co-wrote the film ''Napoleon Dynamite'', which was produced and edited by their classmate

Jeremy Coon Jeremy Coon (born 1979) is an American executive producer and editor of the 2004 film '' Napoleon Dynamite'', a cult hit made on a $400,000 budget that has earned more than $44 million since its release. Education Coon attended film school at B ...

. While at BYU, Jared wrote and directed a student film entitled ''Cardboard Only'', which is about a seven-year-old Idaho farm boy who struggles to escape boredom while wearing a cardboard box over his head. While at BYU, Jared also wrote and directed a short film entitled ''

Peluca ''Peluca'' is a short film by director Jared Hess, produced for an assignment while attending Brigham Young University in 2002. It was shown at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival. The film is almost nine minutes long and was shot on black-and-whi ...

'', which became a prototype for ''Napoleon Dynamite'' and featured much of the same cast and plotline, including

Jon Heder Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He has also appeared in the films '' Just Like Heaven'', ''The Benchwarmers'', ''S ...

as Seth, "super nerd extraordinaire." Besides ''Napoleon Dynamite'' and ''Peluca'', Jared has worked as a camera assistant in a number of films and has played minor roles in a few

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

comedies. These include ''

The Singles Ward The Singles Ward franchise includes the original film, ''The Singles Ward'' from 2002 and the 2007 sequel, ''The Singles 2nd Ward'', both directed and written by Kurt Hale and John Moyer. The Singles Ward ''The Singles Ward'' is a 2002 romantic ...

'', ''

The R.M. ''The R.M.'' is a 2003 comedy film about the experiences of a returned missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). "RM" is an LDS initialism for "returned missionary". It was written by Kurt Hale and John E. Mo ...

'' and '' Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-day Comedy''. Their second movie ''Nacho Libre'', starring

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...

, was released on June 16, 2006. The third major film made by the Hesses, ''

'', was released in 2009. It is about a teenager who aspires to be a writer, but after attending a fantasy-writer's convention, he finds that his idea has been stolen by an established novelist. The film stars

Michael Angarano Michael Anthony Angarano (born December 3, 1987) is an American actor. He became known for his roles in the film '' Music of the Heart'' (1999) and the television series '' Cover Me'' (2000–2001), as well as for playing a recurring role as Ell ...

as the teenager,

Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the ...

as the established novelist, and

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

as the story's fictional title character who appears in book-come-to-life sequences. In 2010, Jared created ads for the

Utah State Fair The Utah State Fair is held at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The fairgrounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The fair takes place each year starting on the first Thursday after Labor Day a ...

which were run on the radio, but refused on television. The Utah State Fair representatives claimed they refused to run them due to sexual overtones, while Hess claimed the failure to run the ads was because the main actor in them, Markus T. Boddie, was an African-American. In 2011, Jerusha directed a film adaptation of the book ''

Austenland ''Austenland'' is a 2007 chick lit novel by Shannon Hale, published by Bloomsbury. It follows protagonist Jane Hayes, a graphic designer living in New York City who is secretly obsessed with Jane Austen's 1813 novel '' Pride and Prejudice'', s ...

'', which was released in 2013. She also co-wrote the screenplay. Jared and Jerusha Hess are also among the executive producers of the ''Napoleon Dynamite'' series that aired in 2012. In addition, Jared voiced Don Moser, a returning character originally portrayed by Trevor Snarr in the film. Jared directed the comedy heist film '' Masterminds'' (2016). Jared was among the executive producers for the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

TV series '' Making History'', which premiered in 2017. Jared co-directed (with Tyler Measom) a true crime docu-series ''

Murder Among the Mormons ''Murder Among the Mormons'' is an American true crime documentary television miniseries following Mark Hofmann, one of the most notable forgers in history, who created forgeries related to the Latter Day Saint movement. Joe Berlinger serves as ...

'', which premiered on Netflix on March 3, 2021. In 2022, it was announced that Jared will direct the film adaptation of ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...

,'' with

Jason Momoa Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa (; born August 1, 1979) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action drama series '' Baywatch: Hawaii'' (1999–2001), which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the ...

starring.

Filmography

Directed by Jared Hess: *''

'' (2002) (short film) *''

'' (2004) *''

'' (2006) *''

'' (2009) *''

Don Verdean ''Don Verdean'' is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Jared Hess and written by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Jemaine Clement, Danny McBride, and Will Forte. The film was released in a limited release an ...

'' (2015) *'' Masterminds'' (2016) *'' The Last Man on Earth'' (2016–2017) (TV) *'' Making History'' (2017) (TV) *''

Son of Zorn A son is a male reproduction, offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and s ...

'' (2017) (TV) *''

'' (2021) (Executive producer) *''Overnight at 42nd Street'' (TBA) *''Micronations'' (TBA) *''Thelma the Unicorn'' (TBA) * Untitled ''Minecraft'' film (TBA) Directed by Jerusha Hess: *''

'' (2013) *''Ninety-five Senses'' (2020) (short film)

References

External links

* *
PixelSurgeon interview with Jared Hess

Fox Searchlight profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hess, Jared And Jerusha Comedy film directors Filmmaking duos Living people Married couples Year of birth missing (living people)