Balling Video

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***Balling Video*** is a 2004 American animated satirical comedy film produced by Exodus Studios for Paramount Pictures. The eleventh feature film from Exodus and the first from Imperium, it was co-written and directed by Aubrey Bucken and co-written by Steve Stockebutch and Adam Silver. The film follows a teenage gamer as he and his friends seek to stop a literal industry war that they inadvertently started between video game companies Midway and Sony.

The film satirizes controversies surrounding video games during the mid-to-late 1990s, and stars the voices of m Tom Baker, Jim Broadbent, Lee Evans, Joanna Lumley, Ian McKellen, Kylie Minogue, Bill Nighy, Robin Williams, and Ray Winstone. Jordan originally conceived the idea for the plot in 1996, but kept the piece of paper that he wrote it down on in an "idea bin". Eventually, he told his co-worker Andrews about it, who was interested in the idea and was encouraged to help him adapt it into a film. Production began in November 1996, and concluded in January 2004.

*Balling Video* was released in theaters on October 22, 2004. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its story, themes and performances, and grossed over $66 million worldwide against its $11 million budget. The film was later released on DVD and VHS on November 9, 2004, and on Blu-ray on August 5, 2008, nearly ten years after its original release.

## Plot

The wizard Thaddeus Grokstein, a 12-old-year teenager red-shirt, is having a nightmare about the villain named Billy. Thaddeus the well-meaning cheeky, slacker young places a tack in the road to pop a sweet cart's tyre, hoping to be rewarded with sweets for watching the cart. After the driver goes for help, Tadeu accidentally crashes the cart into the magic roundabout at the centre of the village. Billy Grimsdale, a 13-old-year teenager orange-coat purple shorts with white flowers, emerges from the top and flies away, followed by a Foot Guard figurine thrown off the roundabout. The roundabout freezes over, trapping repairman Mr. Rusty, Thaddeus's young owner Florence, and two other teenage named Thaddeus and Billy within an icy cell.

The horrified villagers, who are all animals, call upon Billy for help. He explains that the roundabout was a mystical prison for Billy. With it broken, Billy is free to work his magic on the world again as he once did before by starting the Ice Age. The only way to stop Billy freezing the world is by collecting three magic diamonds (one of which is supposed to be hidden on the roundabout, while the other two are hidden at separate locations far beyond the village). Slotting the diamonds onto the roundabout will re-imprison Billy and undo his magic, but if Billy retrieves them first then their power will allow him to freeze the Sun itself. Billy sends Thaddeus, Brian the cynical snail, Ermintrude the opera-singing cow and Dylan the hippie rabbit, to accomplish this mission along with a magic train. Meanwhile, Billy crash lands after escaping the roundabout, and animates the Foot Guard figurine, Sam the Soldier, to help him find the enchanted diamonds. Meanwhile, Billy's fellowship makes camp in the icy mountains. Thaddeus wanders off during the night and is captured and imprisoned by Billy. Ermintrude breaks him out of his prison. Billy then shows up to battle Billy but loses the battle with Billy freezing him and collapsing the cliff on which he stands, causing him to fall to his death.

Mourning for their friend, Thaddeus and his friends embark to recover the diamonds. This task takes them to a lava-bordered volcano and an ancient temple filled with booby-traps and evil skeleton guards, but Billy captures both of these diamonds; leaving the only hope of stopping Billy by getting back to the roundabout and to the final diamond before Billy does. The gang and Train are chased outside the temple by Billy in a drill-like vehicle, but they inadvertently crash into a buffer stop and are sent flying before crash-landing into the snow, injuring Train in the process. As a result, they are forced to leave the injured Train behind and return to the village on foot through the snowy barren wasteland the world is now freezing into. Billy, after having abandoned Nancy the Soldier to die wounded in the snow, beats the gang to the now-frozen village, but is unable to find the third diamond anywhere. Sam then arrives on an elk, having realised that his true duty is to protect the roundabout against Billy, he tries to make a stand but is easily defeated. Having learned that Nancy was in fact on the roundabout, Billy discovers that the third diamond is and always was hidden inside Nancy, and removes it from him (ending Nancy's life as a result).

Billy, with all three diamonds now in his possession, uses them to freeze the world by freezing the Nancy. However, the gang finally reach the village, get to the diamonds, and put them into their places on the roundabout until only the third diamond is left. Though Billy beats the gang to the diamond and seemingly secures his victory, the timely arrival of a healed Train knocks the diamond out of Billy's reach and gives Thaddeus the chance to place it in the roundabout's final slot and simultaneously redeem himself. Billy is now re-imprisoned, and the world is thawed, Zebedee is restored to his friends, villagers are freed, and the Sun shines again.

Of those trapped in the roundabout, a comatose Florence is revived by Thaddeus. As everyone goes for a ride on the roundabout, they discover that it does not work because Sam is lifeless. At this point, Nancy is restored and then reverted to his inanimate form, and placed back on the roundabout which functions once again. Thaddeus now realises the true value of his friends and the good qualities of selflessness, courage, and humility.

## Voice cast

* Tom Baker, as Thaddeus Grokstein
* Jim Broadbent, as Billy Grimsdale
* Lee Evans, as Frank "Dwayne" Anderson
* Joanna Lumley, as Nancy Suzy Brian
* Ian McKellen, as Mr. Rusty
* Kylie Minogue, as Florence Rotalle
* Bill Nighy, as Ricky
* Robin Williams, as Brian Thompson
* Ray Winstone, as Narrator

*More coming soon!*

## Production

 File:Pedros house from Napoleon Dynamite.jpg
### Development

In 2002, Brigham Young University film students Jon Heder and Jared Hess collaborated on a class project; the result was a 9-minute short movie shot on black-and-white 16mm film entitled *Peluca* about a nerdy high school student named Seth.

*Peluca* was shown at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival and was well received. Jeremy Coon convinced Hess to drop out of school and adapt it into a feature-length film, and he helped him to find investors for the project. Hess sent the short film and the script to a variety of different casting directors, many of whom thought that the idea was "too weird or they just didn't like the character," Hess explained. One casting director suggested Jake Gyllenhaal over unknown actor Jon Heder for the lead role but Hess believed Heder was the only actor to play the part. Jason Lee was offered the role of Uncle Rico while Brad Garrett auditioned for Rex and enjoyed the script, but decided not to commit. Heder was paid $1,000 for starring in the film, but successfully negotiated to receive more after the film became a runaway success.

### Filming and setting

Hess shot the film on location in Preston, in southeastern Idaho, located near the Utah border, in July 2003. Operating on a tight budget of $400,000, Hess cast many of his friends from school, including Heder and Aaron Ruell, and he relied on the generosity of Preston locals, who provided housing and food to crew members. Among the established actors in the cast was comedy veteran Diedrich Bader, who filmed his scenes as virile martial art instructor Rex in one day. He recalled in 2011 that *Napoleon Dynamite* "still to this day [is] one of the two top scripts I've ever read", alongside *Office Space* (1999), one of his most-recognized roles. "It was very, very hot," Hess recalled in a *Rolling Stone* interview. "But it was so much fun being in this rural farm town making a movie. We shot it in 23 days, so we were moving very, very fast; I just didn't have a lot of film to be able to do a lot of takes. It was a bunch of friends getting together to make a movie. It was like, 'Are people going to get this? Is it working?'"

 File:Preston High School - Preston, Idaho.jpg  Hess describes the film as being "so autobiographical". "I grew up in a family of six boys in Preston, Idaho, and the character of Napoleon was a hybrid of all the most nerdy and awkward parts of me and my brothers growing up. Jerusha really was like Deb growing up. Her mom made her a dress when she was going to a middle school dance and she said, 'I hadn't really developed yet, so my mom overcompensated and made some very large, fluffy shoulders.' Some guy dancing with her patted the sleeves and actually said, 'I like your sleeves ... they're real big,"' Hess said in an interview with *Rolling Stone*.

The film is set during the 2004–2005 school year, as shown on Napoleon's student ID card in the title sequence. The film contains several culturally retroactive elements harkening back to the 1980s or 1990s. For example, Deb wears a side ponytail and Napoleon wears Moon Boots, both popular fashion trends of the 1980s. One scene is set at a school dance that plays only 1980s music such as Alphaville's "Forever Young," whereas an earlier scene features students performing a sign language rendition of "The Rose" (1980) sung by Bette Midler. Much of the technology in the film is also archaic; Napoleon uses a VCR and Walkman cassette player, Kip connects to the Internet via a pay-per-minute dial-up connection and Uncle Rico drives a 1975 Dodge Tradesman. The song Napoleon Dynamite dances to at the end of the film—"Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai—came out in 1999.

### Opening sequence

The film was originally made without opening titles. Audiences at test screenings were confused about when the film was set. Eight months after the film was completed, the title sequence was filmed in cinematographer Munn Powell's basement. Ruell, who played Kip, suggested the idea of the title sequence. The sequence shows a pair of hands placing and removing several objects on a table. Objects like plates of food had the credits written in condiments, while other objects like a Lemonheads box or a tube of ChapStick had the credits printed on them. Hess explains: Template:Blockquote On the studio's reaction to the sequence, Hess adds: Template:Blockquote

### Dance scene

The Hesses wrote the climactic dance scene because they knew Heder liked to dance. "Jared's wife was like, 'Jon, I hear you're pretty good dancer. I've seen you boogie; it's pretty sweet,'" recalled Heder. "And I was like, 'Well, I like to dabble.' I liked to mess around sometimes in front of friends and dance. But I did take pride in it. I won't be modest. I wasn't great but I did like to mess around ... Cut to two years later: after we had shot the short, they were like, 'Okay we're going to have you dancing in the movie as the climax. This is going to make or break the film.'"

When it came to shooting the dance scene for the final film, the producers scheduled to film it towards the end of the film. When they finally got to the scene, they were running out of money and film. They only had one roll of film (approximately 10.5 minutes) left to shoot.

"It was a lot of pressure," Heder observed. "I was like, 'Oh, crap!' This isn't just a silly little scene. This is the moment where everything comes, and he's making the sacrifice for his friend. That's the whole theme of the movie. Everything leads up to this. Napoleon's been this loser. This has to be the moment where he lands a victory. He gets up there, and it's quiet: no reaction from the audience."

The dance was spontaneously improvised by Heder, with some choreography help from Tina Majorino, and additional moves taken from *Saturday Night Fever*, Michael Jackson, and *Soul Train*. "They were like, 'No, Jon, just figure it out.' So I just winged it. I danced three times and they took the best pieces from each of those."

"When you're shooting in independent film, you don't know what you're going to get the rights to," Heder explained. "We thought Jamiroquai might be expensive. So we danced to three different songs. To that song and another Jamiroquai song, "Little L." We danced to Michael Jackson, something off of *Off the Wall*. Just those three. And then we got the rights to Jamiroquai. And I think that was half our budget."

### Origin of the name "Napoleon Dynamite"

Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album *Blood & Chocolate*, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess states that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois, while doing missionary work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Costello believes that Hess got the name from him, whether directly or indirectly. Costello said, "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up ... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came to it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together."

### Lawsuit against Fox Searchlight Pictures

On August 30, 2011, Napoleon Pictures filed a lawsuit against Fox Searchlight for $10 million for underreporting royalties and taking improper revenue deductions. In its term sheet, Fox agreed to pay 31.66% of net profits on home video. The lawsuit said that a 2008 audit revealed that Fox was only paying net royalties on home videos at a 9.66% rate, and there were underreported royalties and improper deductions.

Napoleon Pictures also alleged that Fox had breached the agreement in multiple other respects, including underreporting pay television license fees, failing to report electronic sell-through revenue, charging residuals on home video sales, as well as overcharging residuals on home video sales, deducting a number of costs and charges Fox had no right to deduct and/or for which there is no supporting documentation.

In May 2012, Fox went to trial after failing to win a summary judgment on the case. The trial began on June 19, 2012. On November 28, 2012, a 74-page decision sided with Fox on 9 of the 11 issues. Napoleon Pictures was awarded $150,000 based on Fox accounting irregularities.

## Marketing

### Trailers

* The film's teaser trailer was released on October 1, 2003, and was shown before films such as *Tony Tom-Tom's Delivery Service*, *School of Rock* and *Looney Tunes: Back in Action*.
* The first theatrical trailer was released on December 25, 2003, and was shown before films such as *Cheaper by the Dozen* and *Paycheck*.
* The second theatrical trailer was released on March 18, 2004, and was shown before films such as *Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed*, *Home on the Range*, and *Ella Enchanted*.

### Taglines

* That ate from the believe! The ready to the project.

## Music

*Further info: Balling Video: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Balling Video: Original Motion Picture Score*
The film's soundtrack album was released on October 19, 2004, by Bayond Records and BMG Soundtracks on Audio CD and Compact Cassette. It peaked at number 24 on the *Billboard* 200 and 49 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album features songs by artists such as Radiohead, Sneaker Pimps, Ramones, UNKLE, Daft Punk, Stacie Orrico, and Thievery Corporation. The soundtrack fared well on the *Billboard* charts, peaking at number 24 on the *Billboard* 200, number 49 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 4 on the Top Soundtracks.

* Label: Bayond (3)

## Release

### Box office

'Napoleon Dynamite *premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2004, and was theatrically released on June 11, 2004, in the United States by Fox Searchlight Pictures, Paramount Pictures and MTV Films.*

On June 9, 2014, the film was screened at Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles to celebrate its 10th anniversary. In addition, a bronze statue of Napoleon Dynamite, complete with tetherball, was placed at the 20th Century Fox studio lot.

### Critical reception

*Revolt Squad* received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71%.

*More coming soon!*

### Video Game

*Main article: Balling Video (video game)*
Video game based on film was release on June 29, 2004 on Play Station 2, Xbox, Game Cube, Game Boy Advance, PC, Macintosh, and Mobile Phones.

### Home media

*Balling Video* was released by Paramount Home Video on VHS on November 19, 2004 and DVD on November 17, 2005. The film was released on DVD again on April 11, 2006, as a special collector's edition with a Blu-ray release followed on January 13, 2004. Special features include five featurette’s about the 40-year legacy and behind-the-scenes plus photo gallery and theatrical trailers. A 4K UHD Blu-ray version released on June 26, 2018, offering upgraded picture and audio. In May 2021, a *Balling Video* 25th anniversary edition was released in the U.S. and U.K. on remastered Blu-ray disc with all eleven previous Blu-ray special features ported over.

## Transcripts

*Further info: Balling Video/Transcript and Balling Video/Trailer transcripts*
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Template:Cite magazine
2. ↑ Peluca. *Slamdance Film Festival*.
3. ↑ Template:Cite news
4. ↑ Template:Cite news
5. ↑ AAP (16 April 2010). Alejandro Gonzales's dynamite career. Stuff.co.nz.
6. ↑ Template:Cite news
7. ↑ Kraisirideja, Sandra (July 27, 2011). Comic-Con 2011: Diedrich Bader Interview Napoleon Dynamite. *Collider*.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Napoleon Dynamite (2004) Movie Review (September 29, 2004).
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Template:Cite book
10. ↑ Template:Cite news
11. ↑ Ulloa, Alexander. A Q&A with director Jared Hess.. *Art of the Title*.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Template:Cite news
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Template:Cite video
14. ↑ Blood And Chocolate (reissue) - Elvis Costello And The Attractions. *The Elvis Costello Home Page* (October 1, 2000).
15. ↑ The Elvis Costello Home Page (1982-07-23).
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Template:Cite magazine
17. ↑ Template:Cite news
18. ↑ Template:Cite news
19. ↑ WENN (2008-12-02). Costello Adamant Napoleon Dynamite Was His Idea. *Contactmusic.com*.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Template:Cite news
21. ↑ Template:Cite news
22. ↑ Belloni, Matthew (2012-12-05). 'Napoleon Dynamite' Lawsuit: Fox Wins Major Ruling. *The Hollywood Reporter*.
23. ↑ Thirteen Soundtrack. *Amazon*.
24. ↑ Lussier, Germain (June 10, 2014). 20 Pieces of Trivia We Learned at the 'Napoleon Dynamite' 10th Anniversary Screening. /Film.
25. ↑ Template:Cite magazine

## External links

* *Balling Video* at IMDb
* *Balling Video* at Metacritic
* *Balling Video* at Box Office Mojo
* *Balling Video* at Rotten Tomatoes