Jared Hess

Jared was born and raised in Kansas and Idaho, and traveled extensively around the world before University. There he met his wife, Jerusha who would become his screenwriting partner. Knowing that he loved film and wanted to make it his career, Jared worked through almost every position within the camera department before writing and directing the screenplay that would become Napoleon Dynamite.

The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Paramount Pictures in association with MTV Films and has since developed a cult following spawning a slew of merchandise from refrigerator magnets to T-shirts to Halloween costumes, as well as the wildly popular “Vote for Pedro” t-shirts. Entertainment Weekly placed Napoleon as #88 on its 2010 list of The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years, saying “A high school misfit found a sweet spot, tapping into our inner dork.” The film also had a recent cartoon spinoff written by Jared and Jerusha which recently screened on E4 in the UK and is available on the iTunes store.

Jared’s second movie was Nacho Libre, starring Jack Black, followed by Gentlemen Broncos, starring Sam Rockwell and Jemaine Clement, both of which he co-wrote as well. Jared also directed the music video for his friend Ben Gibbard’s band. The Postal Service’s third single, We Will Become Silhouettes and The Killers’ fifth annual Christmas Charity single, Boots.