BEYOND HOLLYWOOD: Jared Hess' unique world

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By Sonny Bunch

In a recent New Yorker profile of Wes Anderson — the director of "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and other quirky indie ventures — he was said to have inspired a glut of auteurs with a similar sensibility. One of the movies cited as indebted to Mr. Anderson was "Napoleon Dynamite," the 2004 debut feature from Jared Hess.

The comparison comes as no surprise to Mr. Hess, even if it is a little vexing.

"When anything comes out that's new, people explain this new thing on the scene by making you subject to comparisons of everything else that's come before it," he said in a recent interview at the District's Hotel Monaco to promote his new film, "Gentlemen Broncos." "I didn't really see the comparisons at all, but it's funny because now stuff is being compared to 'Napoleon.'"

Tall, with a bushy beard and wearing a full-zip hooded sweatshirt, Mr. Hess can't help but smile at the way things have changed over the past five years. His debut was a surprise hit, pulling in almost $45 million on a budget of $400,000, while his follow-up with Jack Black, "Nacho Libre," took in $80 million.

As Mr. Hess notes, he also has transcended the labels once applied to him. "I think especially with this being our third film, I'm not really seeing the direct correlation of being patterned after someone else," he says.

"We're not the Coen brothers, we're not Wes Anderson — we're the Hesses," he says with a self-deprecating laugh of his partnership with his wife and screenwriter, Jerusha Hess.

Carving out an identity in the Hollywood system — a system that often prizes easily marketable mediocrity and conformity over risky idiosyncrasy — is no easy task. Just because Mr. Hess rejects the comparisons foisted upon him doesn't mean he isn't thankful for those who blazed a trail before him.

"The thing that's inspiring about the Coens and Wes' stuff," he says, "is that they've been able to continue to make offbeat films, you know? Which is really cool to see, especially for someone who's trying to make the films that I want to make, that are very kind of autobiographical in nature."

Seein' European

Want to take a trip to the Continent but can't afford airfare (or hotels or train tickets or fine French/German/Swedish cuisine)? The American Film Institute Silver Theatre has just the thing for you.

The 22nd annual AFI European Union Film Showcase, which opened Thursday and runs through Nov. 24, will take audiences across Europe with a selection of festival favorites and box-office hits from EU member nations.

Centerpiece Screenings hail from Sweden, France and Great Britain this year, and the film from Great Britain is certainly a treat for cineastes still grieving over the death of Heath Ledger: "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" will screen on Nov. 14.

Not due for release in the United States until January, the film from director Terry Gilliam was famously recast after Ledger's tragic death in 2008. The synopsis describes the picture as "Gilliam's loosest and most magical film in decades," no small feat for the one-time member of the Monty Python troupe.

The film from Sweden, meanwhile, is "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," which did boffo box office in its homeland and throughout Europe. The all-time highest-grossing picture in Swedish history, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is the tale of a disgraced journalist who is hired by a wealthy businessman to investigate the death of a loved one.

France's offering comes in the form of a documentary. "Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno" features footage from an uncompleted film by Clouzot and screen tests with the actors as well as newly shot interviews with surviving crew members, including then-production assistant, soon-to-be-famous director Costa-Gavras.

Other highlights include the closing-night screening, "The Young Victoria," which follows the romance of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and "Pirate Radio," the story of a boat filled with pirate DJs broadcasting rock 'n' roll off the coast of England. Both entries come from England.

For a full schedule, including times and ticket prices, go to http://www.afi.com/silver.