Jemaine Clement on Loving Bowie, Hating L.A., and Needing Some Space From Bret

As the hornier, less-sensitive half of New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo, Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement has earned legions of loyal fans. He also happens to be the best thing about Gentlemen Broncos -- the latest love letter to adolescent social retardation from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess. In it he plays science fiction author and lecturer Dr. Ronald Chevalier, a deliciously self-regarding buffoon who wears a Bluetooth earpiece, high-waisted jeans, and answers the phone, "CheVAAHlier." Movieline spoke to Jemaine about his own nightmare mentors, the status of FotC's third season, his love/hate relationship with L.A., and his predilection for wearing really, really short shorts.

JEMAINE CLEMENT: I'm like the chicken sandwich at the end of the day at this point.

MOVIELINE: How so?

I've been doing this all day now. You're pretty late. I think you might be the last.

We could just talk about whatever. You don't have to answer any of these.

[Laughs] No, that's all right. You can ask your questions.

OK. Your movie Eagle vs Shark reminded me a lot of Napoleon Dynamite. Was that a coincidence?

Perhaps it's not, because I talked to Jared about that when I first talked to him. And I said, "I starred in this movie called Eagle vs. Shark that was compared a lot to Napoleon Dynamite." And he went, [Napoleon Dynamite voice:] "Nothing freakin' like it." And that's how we feel about it, too, so I was glad to hear him say that. But I think he got interested in it because so many people had told him, "There's this movie out of New Zealand that's a lot like Napoleon Dynamite." So there's a possible connection.

How much of the look and sound of Dr. Ronald Chevalier was your own creation?

It always starts off with the script, and they're quite specific in their scripts about how their characters are. They'll talk about the kind of sweaters they wear and how their jeans are and what the wash is. They're really specific.

I did have a few experiences like the writers' camp when I was younger. I used to write for radio and radio advertising, and I went to this radio workshop. And the guys there were jerks. Just egotistical jerks who were unbendable about how you write a 30-second ad for toothpaste. They'd say things like, "Never be an inanimate object. I read an ad the other day that started off going, 'I'm a tooth.'" And like -- what's wrong with that? You could make that into something. Chevalier is strict on his rules, and I think that can come from when people have been doing something for a long time.

He reminded me a bit of those screenplay gurus.

Yeah. They're like that, too.

Were you a sci-fi head growing up?

Well, I grew up in the '80s, which was a really massive time for sci-fi. The Empire Strikes Back, E.T., D.A.R.Y.L., War Games -- all massive. So I was, but our generation was, really. There was a lot of sci-fi marketed to kids -- The Black Hole. Which I didn't see but I had the coloring book.

I was wondering if your song "Bowie in Space" was in some ways your tribute to sci-fi?

Not really. It was more a tribute to Bowie. He has so many songs about being in space. The day we wrote it, Bret [McKenzie] and I were driving around getting stuff ready for a gig, and we just started talking like that. [Bowie voice:] "I'm David Bowie, man." And there was a radio competition on the student radio station. It was a show called Brown Paper Bag, and you could win some wine or something like that. The question was, "What would you keep in a brown paper bag." And we'd call up and go, [Bowie voice:] "We'd keep David Bowie in a brown paper bag." They'd go, "What?" [Bowie voice:] "We'd put Bowie in there, man." [Laughs] I wonder if those were recorded. It really would be so funny to hear that.

Has Bowie ever contacted you about the song?

No, he hasn't. We know Ricky Gervais a little bit through the comedy world, and those two are friends. I don't know if it's true, but Ricky said it's on [Bowie's] iPod. I guess it was an ambition of mine when we wrote it, but in that dingy flat in Wellington, it was unimaginable that anyone outside of the bar where we would play it would ever hear it.

He seems like the kind of guy who would actually collaborate with you.

[Laughs] Well, actually we did ask if he would play himself [on the show]. He had just done Extras, and I guess he's a busy guy and we don't know him. So who knows if he ever heard the request.

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