A Minecraft Movie has officially spawned at movie theaters worldwide, and director Jared Hess is opening up about references that inspired much of the film and its humor. Throwing it back over two decades ago, his debut feature Napolean Dynamite has found its way into the DNA of his latest movie, a comedy inspired by the world-renowned sandbox game Minecraft. “It’s all very personal,” Hess tells Variety about the film. “It was kind of a convergence of so many things. Llamas are such funny, weird, characters in the game. My mom’s llama was in Napolean Dynamite!”
Warner Bros. Pictures Jesse Erhman lauded Hess’ vision as paramount for the development of the movie. “Think about somebody who can be funny for young people, but also sophisticated enough for an adult audience. Jared is on a really short list. When you think about Napolean Dynamite, that felt cool and edgy and hysterical, but it was still a PG movie.”
As for a filmmaker in front of the camera, A Minecraft Movie star Jason Mamoa cited influence for his character Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison. Mamoa said the character was inspired by a number of people in his life he had “amalgamated”. “The first person I learned Metallica from was the coolest older brother of a friend of a friend. You walk into the room, and he’s got the Nintendos and all that shit. He’s got all these things that my mom won’t let me do! She makes me climb trees and play in the fucking street. I want to do all these cool things.”
You can catch all these references in A Minecraft Movie in theaters now. The film which also stars Jack Black and Jennifer Coolidge, has already built a name for itself at the box office surpassing $301 million worldwide.
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