From Deseret News archives:
Sweet! Preston now reigns as geek-chic capital
"There's a little bit of Napoleon in all of us," says lifelong resident Thedora Petterborg. "Who hasn't felt like that once in a while?"
It's been several months since Napoleon Dynamite became America's favorite nerd. The movie, written and directed by freshman filmmaker Jared Hess and based in Preston, was a surprise success, grossing $44.5 million in the United States and gaining near cult status with December's release on DVD.
And now the tiny city of Preston has a following all its own. People from as far away as Germany have come to town, buying up thousands of dollars' worth of souvenir shirts, tetherballs and the ever-popular boondoggle key chain.
"I think it's totally remarkable," said Petterborg, who played the part of school secretary in the movie. "The llama, Tina, lives right across the street from us. People come by and take pictures they go out of their way to see Napoleon's town."
The movie is squeaky clean, with no swearing, no potty humor, no violence. In many ways it mirrors the town, where cheerful and mostly LDS residents introduce themselves to strangers and are quick to offer a helping hand.
Not everyone in town was thrilled to be living in the new capital of geek chic. Some residents worry the movie made them look nerdy.
"There's probably two kinds of people. You either love it and think it's the greatest thing that happened, or you hate it and think it makes fun of us," Petterborg said. "Those of us love it because we love Jared."
Much of the movie is based on incidents from Hess' life in Preston, where he was often seen trolling the neighborhood with a camcorder and making amateur movies. No wonder, then, that most residents thought Napoleon Dynamite was simply another of Jared's projects.
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