We're behind you, Paul Rust

(Photos by Magdalene Landegent and Jodi Folkerts) Le Mars welcomed native Paul Rust home in style for a special showing of his new movie, "I Love You, Beth Cooper." Rust, along with girlfriend Casey Wilson of Saturday Night Live, greeted fans, signed autographs and rode on a fire truck from the Postal Playhouse to the Royal T III theater Saturday night. [Click to enlarge]

Seeing Hayden Panetierre grab Le Mars native Paul Rust and pull him in for a kiss on the big screen, one woman in the theater couldn't contain her enthusiasm.

The applause that followed her comment told the story of the night in Le Mars.

We love you, Paul Rust.

With Rust home for the event Saturday, the community celebrated the Le Mars native's latest success in Hollywood -- scoring the lead in a Chris Columbus film -- in style.

Friends and fans stood in a line stretching to the street at the Postal Playhouse to shake Rust's hand, along with his girlfriend Casey Wilson of Saturday Night Live, at a reception in his honor.

A fire truck driven by the fire chief himself whisked Rust and his family to the Royal T III theater to see his movie, "I Love You, Beth Cooper."

The night's two showings of the new film completely sold out.

And when Rust's grinning face first appeared on the movie screen, the audience erupted.

For the son of Bob and Jeanne Rust, who worked at the movie theater as a teen and took his first acting role in a community theater play at the Postal Playhouse, it was good to be home.

In a short speech before the 7 p.m. showing of "I Love You, Beth Cooper," he thanked the community and his family for their support.

"If anybody in California asks what Iowa is like, I tell them it is the perfect place to grow up," Rust said in an interview before the show. "I was surrounded by kids who were smart and interested in cool things, and the grownups were good decent people who taught me right from wrong."

And, he added, living in Le Mars nurtured his inventive side.

"If I grew up in a place where there were theme parks and multiplexes, I might not have been able to find ways to be creative," he said.

Rust's young debut was in eighth grade, when he was cast as Arty in "Lost in Yonkers" with the Le Mars Community Theatre.

"I was a little nervous, but when I stepped on stage for the first time, another actor said, 'It's fun, isn't it?'" Rust remembered. "I was like, 'Oh yeah!"

He gave a nod to his high school speech coach Karen Schroeder as another guiding light.

"She was really influential in getting me excited, opening me up to theater I'd never known," Rust said.

After college in Iowa, Rust headed westward to break into the acting scene. He worked hard, acting for free at comedy club The Upright Citizens Brigade to gain experience.

That's where his manager discovered him.

With help from her and his agent, Rust got an audition for "I Love You, Beth Cooper."

The rest is history.

Rust's nerdy antics and quirky wisdom in the film had the audience laughing and cheering in the Royal T III.

Some of Rusts favorite scenes are the graduation speech he gives, an encounter with a bully who ends up crying on his shoulder, and a flashback that reveals his best buddy's ability to snap a wet towel with dangerous accuracy.

"They're scenes I haven't seen in a movie before. I think they're inspired, original," he said.

And Rust, who spends a good portion of the movie getting pummeled or chased down, did most of his own stunts.

"I wanted to do as much as possible to keep it consistent," he said. "I didn't fall off the roof, though, and I didn't get hit by the car."

Being in the movie has opened some doors for Rust, who is also in Quentin Tarantino's film "Inglorious Basterds," coming out later this year.

"It makes it a lot easier to get certain auditions or have certain meetings," he said of his role in "I Love You, Beth Cooper."

Currently, he and his comedy partner Neil Campbell are writing a show they hope Comedy Central will pick up. He's also developing a movie for a Will Ferrell and Adam McCay's production company involving a naive, childlike character that goes on an adventure.

Being in "I Love You, Beth Cooper" also helped him reconnect with people he grew up with.

"They'll see the trailer or the movie and drop me a line," Rust said, then he laughed. "But I don't know. For that girl I dated in college who wouldn't go on a second date with me, I bet if she sees the movie she'll be like, "What? That guy's in this movie?"

Rust, who started out running around with his dad's video recorder creating films to make people laugh, said he doesn't want the recent buzz to go to his head.

"I've been getting a lot of attention, but I'm trying not to let it change my perspective on things," he said.

One thing for sure hasn't changed -- his ambition as a youngster to crack people up.

"It'll be nice to be in the theater tonight," he said before the movie showing. "It'll be great to hear people laughing."