20 Things You Somehow Missed In Napoleon Dynamite

Did you hear the name Napoleon Dynamite before 2004? It is a unique moniker. However, Jared Hess would find that it was not quite as unique as he thought. Hess learned that Napoleon Dynamite was once a pseudonym used by musician Elvis Costello two days before the movie wrapped.

Costello used the nickname on his 1986 album Blood & Chocolate, which is regularly featured on lists of all-time great albums. In 2008, Costello commented:

"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 about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together."

Hess for his part has explained the incident as a coincidence. During a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints mission, he met an old man who gave his name as Napoleon Dynamite. Hess responded:

"I was like, Oh my gosh, that is the freshest name I’ve ever heard — this has to be the title of the movie I’m gonna do!”

Hess also stated:

"Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed."