Cheech And Chong Say They Were Sober On The Set Of Up In Smoke

“We couldn’t do those big joints”


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Cheech and Chong’s cult classic Up In Smoke is getting a reissue for its 40th anniversary, meaning that the boys are on the promotional circuit discussing it.

An interview they did in Rolling Stone is a cracker, but it gave an particularly interesting (and unexpected) insight — both Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong were actually sober through the filming of the whole movie.

“We maybe smoked after shooting,” Marin says, “but not when we’re working,” Cheech said.

“We had to sustain a level of energy, especially making movies.

“We had long days on set. If we got stoned, we wouldn’t get it done.”

“We couldn’t do those big joints.”

Director Lou Adler revealed that he accidentally tortured Jack Nicholson with the movie before its release.

“He (Nicholson) had just had a car accident and had broken or dislocated his shoulder,”  Adler said.

“He wasn’t supposed to laugh, because every time that he laughed, it would hurt him.

“And I showed him the film, and I was basing it on those ‘uh, uh, uh’ sounds coming out of Jack. I could judge where the joke hit and not to go over the joke.

“I heard a lot of ‘ugh’s’ and ‘oh’s’… He almost wanted me to stop.”

Watch the trailer for Up In Smoke here:

Rudi Edsall

21 April 2018

Article by:

Rudi Edsall




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