{"id":2733424,"date":"2023-06-19T17:36:56","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T21:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-1016567-4521551.cloudwaysapps.com\/plato-data\/the-napoleon-dynamite-cast-is-finally-back-together-you-can-thank-nfts-decrypt\/"},"modified":"2023-06-19T17:36:56","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T21:36:56","slug":"the-napoleon-dynamite-cast-is-finally-back-together-you-can-thank-nfts-decrypt","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platodata.io\/plato-data\/the-napoleon-dynamite-cast-is-finally-back-together-you-can-thank-nfts-decrypt\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ Cast Is Finally Back Together. You Can Thank NFTs – Decrypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rob Feldman would not stop laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m sorry. Okay,\u201d he said, before unraveling into another fit of giggles. \u201cOkay. Wooh!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Feldman is a comic book author. He\u2019s spent well over a decade trying to get television adaptations of his comics off the ground\u2014a feat that hasn\u2019t proven so easy. But on a foggy Monday morning recently, the writer and animator sat in a recording studio in Burbank, watching the actor Jon Gries finally bring a character of his creation to life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Feldman marveled as, on the other side of the recording booth glass, Gries improvised a series of <\/span>Spicoli<\/span><\/a>-inspired cackles to embody Cuda Cano: a diabolical, extraterrestrial surfer. Cuda features among an ensemble of wacky aliens and SuperEarthlings in \u201cCyko KO,\u201d<\/a> an animated television pilot based on Feldman\u2019s long-running <\/span>comic<\/span><\/a> of the same name. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Jon Gries prepares to record his role in “Cyko KO.” Photo: Eric Thayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The laughter was contagious, apparently. Or maybe Feldman was just having a hard time concealing his sheer giddiness at the occasion. <\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just Gries who lent his vocal talents to \u201cCyko KO\u201d that day. The veteran actor, perhaps most currently recognizable for his two-season stint on HBO\u2019s critically adored series \u201cThe White Lotus,\u201d also played the jockish Tupperware salesman Uncle Rico in the 2004 film \u201cNapoleon Dynamite.\u201d Feldman managed to secure almost every core member of that cult classic\u2019s leading cast to voice his pilot.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Feldman (left) directs Gries. Photo: Eric Thayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That accomplishment is notable for two reasons. One, the \u201cNapoleon Dynamite\u201d cast has never, as an informal rule, reunited on a project, save a short-lived animated <\/span>reboot<\/span><\/a> of the film that aired on Fox for one season. And two, perhaps more crucially: Feldman\u2019s pilot had no backing by a Hollywood network or studio, nor even by a traditional production company. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s near unheard-of in television, where production budgets can rapidly spin out of control, and you can count viable distributors on your fingers. But thanks to a few factors, including novel Web3<\/a> fundraising strategies, \u201cCyko KO\u201d is coming alive without the support or consent of an entity like Netflix or Hulu. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the day carried on, more \u201cNapoleon Dynamite\u201d alumni trickled their way into Feldman\u2019s recording booth\u2014Tina Majorino, better known as side-ponytailed outcast Deb; Efren Ramirez, the man behind one of film\u2019s all-time legendary class presidents, Pedro; and Napoleon himself, Jon Heder. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Jon Heder (left) and Efren Ramirez catch up between takes on “Cyko KO.” Photo: Eric Thayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The gathering felt a bit like the reunion of a high school friend-group: equal parts exhilarating and familial. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ramirez sat in a corner of the green room at one point, dissecting the \u201cCyko KO\u201d<\/span> script with four pens and three highlighters, each a different color\u2014his customary prep for a new character. In \u201cCyko KO\u201d<\/span> he plays Lil Kahuna, the pint-sized sidekick to Gries\u2019 surfer villain Cuda Cano. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI imagine that Skeletor was my father who left me, so I take the carbon copy of him\u2014which is you,\u201d Ramirez explained to Gries of Lil Kahuna\u2019s origin and motivations. \u201cI want full power at the end. But the truth is, I’m hoping to get my father’s love one day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gries, who had walked straight into the recording booth from the parking lot earlier that morning, rolled his eyes. \u201cHe\u2019s going deep on this,\u201d Gries deadpanned to Heder. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Gries and Ramirez. Photo: Eric Thayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The three of them\u2014Ramirez, Gries, and Heder\u2014remain close to this day. They routinely travel the country together, hosting local screenings of \u201cNapoleon Dynamite\u201d followed by <\/span>informal jam sessions<\/span><\/a> and heart-to-heart conversations with the film\u2019s die-hard, enduring fan community. <\/span><\/p>\n

The bonds between \u201cNapoleon\u201d<\/span> cast members, and between the cast and its fandom, run deep. The film, an ultra-low budget indie shot in rural Idaho by industry outsiders that went on to earn a staggering $46 million at the box office, succeeded largely due to the vigorous word-of-mouth support of its startup fanbase.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an uncommon occurrence at fan screenings these days for audience members to share that the film, with all its idiosyncratic charm, kept them going during periods of exceptional trauma and pain\u2014or even saved them from suicide.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am still alarmed at the fact that I did one small film that could make that much of an impact on people’s lives,\u201d Ramirez told <\/span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Heder (left) watches his Verified Labs co-founder Justin Winters voice a “Cyko KO” character. Photo: Eric Thayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So it makes sense the \u201cNapoleon\u201d cast is cautious about toying with the film\u2019s legacy. They\u2019ve avoided reuniting on another piece of media for almost 20 years now, besides the short-lived official animated series. But something about \u201cCyko KO\u201d<\/span> felt different. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTypically, I’m kind of protective of the \u2018Napoleon\u2019 world,\u201d Heder told <\/span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i>. \u201cWe love each other. We’re like family. But this was a chance for us to work together again in a capacity where it didn’t feel like there were any expectations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Heder, the group\u2019s informal ringleader, is no stranger to the blockchain. In 2021, he co-founded <\/span>Verified Labs<\/span><\/a>, a Web3 art and entertainment studio. \u201cIt started simply with art,\u201d and a means to distribute it, Heder said of his relationship to crypto.<\/span><\/p>\n

Numerous Verified <\/span>projects<\/span><\/a> are powered by <\/span>Theta<\/span><\/a>, a layer-1 network that facilitates the streaming of decentralized media. It just so happens that Feldman uses Theta, too; last week, the author published a <\/span>collectible compendium<\/span><\/a> of Cyko KO comics on the platform via NFTs<\/a>. It was through Theta that Heder and Feldman first came into contact, and Feldman took the opportunity to pitch the actor on \u201cCyko KO.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The series, a Hanna-Barbera-esque episodic centered on the titular Cyko\u2014a stunt motorcyclist tasked with saving an interplanetary human colony\u2014did not risk infringing on the quirky and quotidian coming-of-age territory of \u201cNapoleon Dynamite.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of that, and perhaps also due to the project\u2019s ragtag, grassroots origins, Heder soon signed on to star as Cyko with Verified Labs co-producing the series. He then got the core \u201cNapoleon\u201d<\/span> cast, including Haylie Duff, to come aboard as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Image: Rob Feldman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Armed with that star power and the novel hook of a \u201cNapoleon Dynamite\u201d<\/span> reunion, Feldman was able to sell NFT <\/span>access passes<\/span><\/a> for \u201cCyko KO\u201d<\/span> that offered holders exclusive access to view the series\u2019 first episode, once produced. The sale raised over $118,000, enough to create a 12-minute pilot.<\/span><\/p>\n

That method of producing\u2014tapping into an organic fanbase to realize a creative vision, instead of depending on the external, centralized power of Hollywood\u2014resonated with Heder. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Napoleon\u2019 was very similar,\u201d Heder said. \u201c\u2018Napoleon\u2019 couldn\u2019t have gotten its success without those original fans. It was taking that journey with them. Nobody knew where it was going.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Ramirez, Feldman, and Gries joke outside of the recording studio. Photo: Eric Thayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fundraise was unlike anything in Feldman\u2019s decades-spanning creative career. The author and illustrator had spent years painstakingly building a body of work independently, often at great personal expense. Eventually, he\u2019d parlayed that reputation into multiple development deals with major studios. But as is so often the case, none of his projects were ever actually produced. This time around, Feldman took matters into his own hands. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis takes a poor sap like me, and says, \u2018You know what? We actually have a voice,\u2019\u201d Feldman told <\/span>Decrypt <\/span><\/i>of the Web3 film fundraising process<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> \u201cWe can raise money, we have a community, and we can make this thing either way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>
Heder loosens up in the recording booth. Photo: Eric Thayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Feldman hopes to shop the \u201cCyko KO\u201d<\/span> pilot to networks after its completion later this summer, as a proof-of-concept that will cut through the development process. There\u2019s no guarantee that approach will get \u201cCyko KO\u201d on a major streamer; but even if it doesn\u2019t, the fact that Feldman now gets to spend his days creating\u2014instead of waiting\u2014may have permanently changed his outlook.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be enamored with the idea of being under option, of getting this film deal,\u201d Feldman said. \u201cAnd if [\u2018Cyko\u2019] goes to Netflix, or if it goes to series, that’s amazing. But honestly, I could probably live out the rest of my life just doing this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stay on top of crypto news, get daily updates in your inbox.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n