After 30+ Years Cheech Marin Returns To A Cannabis Movie In Dark Harvest!

Share

After 30+ Years Cheech Marin Returns To A Cannabis Movie In Dark Harvest!

Cheech Marin, Amanda Mackay

Cheech Returns 

Here at Growing Exposed we love all things Cannabis…not just showing you the best ways of growing it. So when we recently we had the opportunity to sit down with an actual hero of cannabis culture, none other than Cheech Marin, we leapt to the chance.

This Guy Is A Legend

Cheech and Chong Up in SmokeCheech Marin rose to fame as part of the hugely successful comedy duo Cheech and Chong in the 1970s and 1980s. Together with costar, Tommy Chong, Cheech wrote and costarred in several movies surrounding marijuana and marijuana culture, including of course, cult classics like Up In Smoke and Still Smokin. In a time when marijuana use was considered taboo, these movies brought realism and humor to the topic and will forever be remembered by generations of weed lovers.

When we met with Cheech, we were joined by James Hutson, writer, director, and producer of Dark Harvest; a brand new movie set in the world of marijuana growing and starring both Cheech and James.

Our Location

Our location for this exclusive interview was anything but boring. Under a busy freeway in a non-descript building in downtown Los Angeles, we were in the middle of a massive grow and surrounded all around by huge buds of marijuana. We were there to learn more about the movie and because we knew the movie was made as authentically as possible, filming in real grow ops and hydroponic stores, it only made sense to do our interview in the same way. 

Cheech Marin, James Hutson, Dark Harvest, Cheech and Chong, Cheech's Choice

A Marijuana Thriller

Dark Harvest “is a marijuana thriller, a noir movie set in the world of cannabis as marijuana is becoming legal.” Of course this is a very timely topic considering the recent legalization of marijuana in various States and in Canada. What was considered illegal at the beginning of the film is way more of a “grey area” at the end. A situation a lot of marijuana growers might be familiar with in today’s political climate. The movie promises to take the viewer on a dark ride. The filmmakers took pride in making this movie as realistic as possible, and it’s a thrilling insiders look into the risks some marijuana growers have to take.

It has been a long time since we saw Cheech in a marijuana movie and we were curious what it was about Dark Harvest that made him want to make a return to the genre. He explained that an intriguing script and a Vancouver shooting location made it an easy decision. Cheech had previously lived in Vancouver, after moving to the city to dodge the Vietnam War and he was eager to spend more time there. Making Dark Harvest turned out to be an incredible experience for the established actor and the critics seem to love the final product as well. Both James and Cheech have won several acting awards as the film does the festival circuit.

Why Did Cheech Take A Hiatus?

While speaking with Cheech, he further explained that after his huge success with the Cheech and Chong brand, he had really wanted to create a separate identity for himself and wanted to “avoid any projects with a joint in it”. Over the years he has done just that with starring roles in Nash Bridges, the Spy Kids trilogy, From Dusk Till Dawn, and voicing characters in several Disney movies; including The Lion King and the Cars series.

james hutson Cheech marin dark harvest Growing cannabisRelevant For Today

Dark Harvest “is a marijuana thriller, a noir movie set in the world of cannabis as marijuana is becoming legal.” Of course this is a very timely topic considering the recent legalization of marijuana in various States and in Canada. What was considered illegal at the beginning of the film is way more of a “grey area” at the end. A situation a lot of marijuana growers might be familiar with in today’s political climate. The movie promises to take the viewer on a dark ride. The filmmakers took pride in making this movie as realistic as possible, and it’s a thrilling insiders look into the risks some marijuana growers have to take.

It has been a long time since we saw Cheech in a marijuana movie and we were curious what it was about Dark Harvest that made him want to make a return to the genre. He explained that an intriguing script and a Vancouver shooting location made it an easy decision. Cheech had previously lived in Vancouver, after moving to the city to dodge the Vietnam War and he was eager to spend more time there.

Award Winning Movie

Making Dark Harvest turned out to be an incredible experience for the established actor and the critics seem to love the final product as well. Both James and Cheech have won several acting awards as the film does the festival circuit.

Creating His Own Identity

While speaking with Cheech, he further explained that after his huge success with the Cheech and Chong brand, he had really wanted to create a separate identity for himself and wanted to “avoid any projects with a joint in it”. Over the years he has done just that with starring roles in Nash Bridges, the Spy Kids trilogy, From Dusk Till Dawn, and voicing characters in several Disney movies; including The Lion King and the Cars series.

With his individual persona so well established, when he read the Dark Harvest script, Cheech felt like it was an interesting project and that it was time to come back and make another marijuana movie. Plus, in true stoner humor he told us “it helped that James’s cheque cleared”.

The Most Authentic Cannabis Movie Ever Made

James spoke to us more about the authenticity of filming the movie and how he would have to literally blindfold his actors to take them to certain filming locations, in order to keep the actual marijuana grow locations a secret. This too evolved from the beginning of filming to the end, as the actual big business of growing marijuana has changed as well…culminating in us shooting this interview in a huge, but completely legal, garden. No blindfolds required!

Cheech shared some personal memories too. For his previous marijuana films, he told us they had often used weed that he had personally grown at his beach house until it was “stolen by the teamsters”. He also explained stunt dope to us, and the perils of smoking up while doing a long day of filming.

We had an awesome time chatting with Cheech and James and look forward to seeing what’s next for them.

To check out Dark Harvest the movie, go to www.darkharvestmovie.com.

growers

growers

Join the Growing
Exposed community

Join the Growing
Exposed community

Scroll to Top