Fugue
Fall 2005

Sometimes nice guys can finish first.

Talk about dreams coming true. As film students at Brigham Young University in Utah, Aaron Ruell and his friends traveled to Park City every year to soak up the films, celebrities, and culture of the Sundance Film Festival. This year, the team's newest endeavor, Napoleon Dyanamite, became one of the films at Sundance, which has taken them just a little by surprise. "It was such surreal experience," says Ruell. "It was really a mind trip."

Napoleon Dynamite, which was written and directed by Jared Hess and his wife Jerusha, is an homage to nerds of the world. The film has been hailed by critics as "brilliant" and "hilarious," and compared to cult favorites like Todd Solondz' Welcome to the Dollhouse. Jon Heder stars as a clueless geek, whose red 'fro and moon boots make him the joke of a small-town school. At home, he deals with his flighty grandmother, a troublemaking uncle, and a love/hate relationship with his 32-year-old brother Kip-played by Ruell-an Internet junkie who searches for love in all the wrong chat rooms.

"[Kip's] a guy who would really love to be a rocket scientist," Ruell explains. "He's so into the idea of technology, but has no clue about what it can do, so he just spends his days online." He admits to spending years doing impressions of his younger brother Adam, a real-life "computer guy," which Hess quietly stockpiled to later create the character of Kip. "I think there's a little Kip in all of us," laughs Ruell. "Of course, when people meet me, they seem to be a little bummed out because I'm not as nerdy as he is. I kind of feel like I need to apologize for that."

Ruell comes from a tiny farming community in the San Joaquin Valley, where he grew up the oldest of four boys in a Mormon family. It was in high school that he discovered a passion for photography, which led to a fascination with creating film. "One of my most vivid memories is when I came across a book about motion pictures, and it said that one second of film is made of 24 still images. Something about that really struck me." He began making shorts, and after spending two years on a religious mission in Guatemala, he headed of to BYU to study filmmaking. He partnered up with Hess early their freshman year and, along with Heder, they have been creating films ever since.

All coming from Mormon backgrounds, the team worked to make Napoleon Dynamite a very PG film-you'll find no sex, drugs, or swears, but the word "sweet" makes a frequent appearance. Ruell has lived in Los Angeles with his wife Julia for three years, but hasn't found it difficult to adhere to his faith: "It's easier than ever before, just because you want to stay grounded when you're here." He works with the knowledge that not all narratives can fit into the cleaned-up mold, and doesn't plan on only pursuing "gosh golly" characters just to make a point.

While dealing with all the public attention for Napoleon Dynamite, Ruell is currently putting together a dramatic feature that he scripted, and runs a graphic design company on the side. Now that the doors to Hollywood are opening, he is just happy to have the means to move forward with the all projects he has planned with his tight-knit team. "I just want to stick with what we've always been doing...we're all a family, which is a really nice thing."