Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
IDAHO FALLS — Jeremy Warner runs a comb through his bushy beard ahead of an interview about his latest project.
The beard is an evolution of the walrus mustache that fans remember him for on BYUtv's sketch comedy series, "Studio C."
The 38-year-old Idaho man left the show in 2019 after 10 seasons and formed JK! Studios with some of his former cast mates. He directs them in a new film called "Villains Inc." which premiered in 300 theaters nationwide over the weekend, including in eastern Idaho.
It's a comedy about four low-level henchmen who set out to take over the world after their boss dies and leaves them destitute.
Warner tells EastIdahoNews.com it's "super awesome" and "surreal" to have a film with his name on it playing in theaters.
"I'm very grateful to anyone who has watched anything I've made throughout my career. It got me to this point, and I hope that audiences find this film and like it so I can continue to do it," Warner says.
Warner's interest in filmmaking stems back to his childhood. He remembers going to see "Ghostbusters 2" as a 3½-year-old kid with his dad and being enamored with it.
Seeing "Parenthood" with Steve Martin the following year cemented in his mind what he wanted to do with his life.
"I remember not really paying attention to it, but I distinctly remember turning around and looking at the projection booth and seeing the small image on the glass and the light coming through," Warner recalls.
He earned his cinematography merit badge as a Boy Scout and got a video camera for Christmas when he was 15, which he used to shoot his own video projects throughout high school.
{#html} While attending a weeklong youth camp at Brigham Young University as a teen, he saw an old 35mm Moviola editing machine in a building on campus. That's when he learned the university had a film school, which ultimately led him to apply and be part of what is now one of BYUtv's most popular shows.
Life came full circle for Warner during a film screening last week as he looked once again at the projection booth in the theater.
"It was a very fun feeling to now be an adult and see something that I made (lighting up the screen)," he says.
With two films under his belt, Warner says he's got several new projects "he's figuring out" what to do with, and he's urging fans to "stay tuned."
Meanwhile, he "wants people to have a good time" watching "Villains Inc."
"If you check it out, I hope that you smile and laugh," says Warner.
"Villains Inc." is rated PG-13 for violence and brief drug material.
A video interview with Warner is viewable on EastIdahoNews.com.
