Hurwitz: IT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND.
WHEN PEOPLE WERE WATCHING THAT MOVIE,
THEY HAD NEVER SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
THEY'D NEVER SEEN CHARACTERS LIKE THIS
ON THE BIG SCREEN BEFORE.
Marin: NOBODY HAD SEEN ANY MOVIES LIKE THIS BEFORE,
WHERE THE STONERS WERE THE GOOD GUYS
AND THE COPS WERE THE BAD GUYS.
Chong: WE MADE MINORITIES REAL PEOPLE.
Marin: IT'S ABOUT TWO GUYS TRYING TO FIND A JOINT
SO THEY CAN START A BAND.
Chong: CHEECH AND CHONG MET IN VANCOUVER, CANADA, IN 1968.
Marin: HE WAS RUNNING AN IMPROV THEATER GROUP IN A TOPLESS BAR.
I CONVINCED HIM THAT I WAS THIS GREAT IMPROV ACTOR FROM L.A.,
AND HE SAYS, "WELL, SOUNDS GOOD TO ME,"
SO HE HIRED ME AS A WRITER.
Chong: I WAS VERY CRAZY, OFF THE WALL,
AND I HAD OTHER PARTNERS THAT WOULDN'T LISTEN TO ME,
BUT CHEECH, WHEN I SAID,
"WE SHOULD GO DOWN TO L.A. AND DO COMEDY,"
HE SAID, "I'M WITH YOU. OKAY."
Marin: COME ON, BABY! I'LL GIVE YOU A RIDE! LET'S GO!
Chong: ANY QUIRKY THING I HAD, HE WENT ALONG WITH IT.
Marin: WE WERE VERY DIFFERENT THAN OUR CONTEMPORARIES.
THAT WAS THE GREAT PART ABOUT IT, IS WE HAD STOLEN HOME PLATE.
ANYBODY THAT WAS TRYING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT DOPE
OR, YOU KNOW, STREET CHARACTERS OR ANYTHING,
"AH, YOU'RE JUST DOING CHEECH AND CHONG."
SO NOBODY TRIED.
WE HAD DONE STAGE SHOWS, AND THEN WE STARTED MAKING RECORDS,
AND THEY WERE BIG HITS, AND THEN WE SAID, "BUT WHAT'S NEXT?"
AND, "WELL, I GUESS WE GOT TO MAKE A MOVIE."
WELL, HOW DO YOU MAKE A MOVIE? WE DIDN'T KNOW.
OUR PRODUCER WORKED A DEAL WITH PARAMOUNT
THAT IF WE PUT UP OUR OWN MONEY, WE COULD DO IT,
WHICH IS WHAT WE DID.
WE STOPPED OUR CAREER AT THAT POINT, STOPPED TOURING,
STOPPED DOING ANYTHING ELSE, AND WROTE A MOVIE.
Chong: WE WERE MAKING A MOVIE, BUT WE WEREN'T GETTING PAID.
THERE WAS NO BIG PAYCHECK.
SO THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS TRYING TO PAY OUR RENT
AFTER WE'D FINISHED THE MOVIE.
WELL, "UP IN SMOKE" STARTED OUT TO BE A COMPILATION
OF OUR GREATEST HITS.
IN FACT, WORKING TITLE WAS CALLED
"CHEECH AND CHONG'S GREATEST HITS."
Marin: SOMEHOW, WE WERE GOING TO TAKE EVERY BIT THAT WE HAD
AND WE WERE GONNA SOMEHOW DO THAT INTO A MOVIE.
WE GAVE THEM LIKE A PHONEBOOK OF A SCREENPLAY,
AND SO HE SAYS, "OKAY, WE GOT TO WHITTLE THIS DOWN."
Chong: WHAT THE SCRIPT DID, IT GOT US FROM POINT "A" TO "B,"
SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF WRITING.
Hurwitz: CHEECH AND CHONG WERE AN ESTABLISHED COMEDY DUO,
AND WHEN THEY PUT A CAMERA IN FRONT OF THEM
THERE WAS A LOT OF IMPROV,
AND YOU FELT IT WHEN WATCHING THEIR MOVIES,
FELT THAT THEY WERE TWO DISTINCT GUYS
WHO YOU BELIEVE WOULD HANG OUT WITH EACH OTHER.
Marin: WE WERE JUST MAKING IT UP AS WE WENT ALONG,
BUT WE HAD AN IDEA OF WHAT WE WERE DOING.
"WE HAVE TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE
AND THEN FROM THERE TO THERE AND THEN FROM THERE TO THERE,"
YOU KNOW? SO, OKAY.
LOU ADLER WAS SHOWING IT TO SOME PEOPLE AT THE PARAMOUNT LOT.
THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WE WERE DOING.
THEY JUST HAD NO IDEA.
THE STUDIOS WERE INTO MAKING, LIKE, "HELLO, DOLLY!"
AND THAT KIND OF STUFF AT THAT TIME.
Chong: WE MET WARREN BEATTY ON THE LOT ONE TIME,
AND HE SAID, "YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE."
HE WAS RIGHT. 'CAUSE WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT WE'D DONE.
Marin: BECAUSE HE SAYS,
"YOU WOULD JUST SET UP THE CAMERA
AND WERE FUNNY AND FUNNY."
A REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT. [ CHUCKLES ]
WHAT'S HAPPENING, MAN?
Goossen: THEY WERE GUYS YOU WANTED TO HANG OUT WITH.
YOU WANTED TO PARTY WITH CHEECH AND CHONG,
AND THAT'S KIND OF A KEY COMPONENT, TOO,
TO STONER COMEDIES.
LIKE, YOUR LEAD GUYS
SHOULD BE PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTY WITH.
I'D LOVE TO SMOKE A JOINT WITH THE DUDE.
THAT WOULD BE AMAZING.
I'D LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH HAROLD AND KUMAR ONE NIGHT.
THAT WOULD BE RAD.
CHEECH AND CHONG -- FOR SURE,
YOU WOULD INVITE THEM TO YOUR PARTY.
Chong: WONDER WHAT HE'S BEEN SMOKING.
Marin: WHATEVER IT IS, I WISH WE HAD SOME, MAN.
MAKING YOUR FIRST MOVIE IS LIKE HAVING SEX FOR THE FIRST TIME.
IT MAY NOT BE THE BEST YOU'LL EVER DO,
BUT, MAN, IT IS SURE THE FIRST.
I FEEL GOOD, MAN.
WISH WE COULD HAVE SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE, MAN.
YOU GOT A JOINT OR ANYTHING?
Chong: THEIR ONLY AIM IN LIFE IS TO FIND SOMETHING
TO GET HIGH ON, AND THEY DIDN'T CARE WHAT IT WAS.
THAT WAY, EVERYBODY COULD LOOK DOWN ON US, AND EVERYBODY DID,
BUT EVERYBODY ENJOYED IT.
Hurwitz: THEY'RE JUST FUNNY.
THEY'RE FUNNY GUYS, AND THEY'RE REAL GUYS.
LIKE YOU BELIEVE THAT THOSE ARE VERSIONS OF THEMSELVES.
Marin: WHAT WAS MOST SIGNIFICANT
IS THESE TWO MINORITY CHARACTERS.
THIS CHICANO LOW RIDER
AND THIS HALF-CHINESE CANADIAN FRIEND
WERE THE EMBLEMS OF HIPPIEDOM.
THESE TWO GUYS. THIS IS IT.
Chong: YOU KNOW, WE MADE HIM JUST A SIMPLE-ASS SINGER
IN A BAND, TRYING TO, YOU KNOW,
PICK UP GIRLS IN HIS LOW RIDER CAR,
AND I THINK THAT RESONATED WITH EVERYBODY.
Hurwitz: I THINK A WHITE AUDIENCE COULD WATCH
A CHEECH AND CHONG MOVIE AND RELATE TO THE CHARACTERS
AND LAUGH WITH THEM, NOT AT THEM.
Marin: WE JUST REFLECTED KIND OF WHAT WE SAW,
AND, SO, WHEN THE MOVIE WAS READY TO BE RELEASED,
"OKAY, HERE WE GO."
Chong: IT WAS A BIG HIT.
EVERYBODY LOVED IT. EVERYBODY LOVED IT.
Marin: AND HERE WAS THIS LITTLE $800,000 DOPER MOVIE
THAT CAME ABOUT AND KNOCKED EVERYBODY OFF THE CHARTS.
WE'RE GONNA BE BIG, MAN! REALLY BIG, MAN.
WE'RE GONNA, LIKE, BE BIGGER THAN RUBEN AND THE JETS,
MAN, I BET YOU.
Chong: IT WASN'T TILL YEARS LATER
THAT WE STARTED GETTING FEEDBACK.
"I GOT CHEECH AND CHONG TATTOOED ON MY CHEST, MAN.
HERE. YOU WANT TO SEE?"
I THINK THAT'S THE ULTIMATE COMPLIMENT,
IS WHEN SOMEONE TATTOO'S YOUR FACE ON THEIR BODY.
Goossen: CHEECH AND CHONG ARE STILL ICONS.
THEY'LL FOREVER BE LINKED TO THE GENRE,
JUST BY VIRTUE OF BEING FIRST, LIKE, THEY'RE THE PIONEERS.
I MEAN, WHEN YOU THINK OF STONER COMEDY,
YOU THINK OF CHEECH AND CHONG.
Hurwitz: WHEN WE STARTED WRITING SCREENPLAYS,
THE CHARACTERS WERE ALWAYS SORT OF REPRESENTATIVE
OF US AND OUR FRIENDS,
AND A LOT OF OUR FRIENDS ARE ASIAN DUDES, INDIAN DUDES.
THE FACT THAT CHEECH AND CHONG EXISTED I THINK GAVE US
THE CONFIDENCE TO TAKE HAROLD AND KUMAR
AND PUT THEM FRONT AND CENTER IN A MOVIE.
Chong: THE CHEECH AND CHONG LEGACY AND THE FANS,
YOU KNOW, HOW DOES IT FEEL?
IT FEELS LIKE YOU JUST SMOKED A NICE JOINT, YOU KNOW?
AND YOU'RE JUST GETTING READY TO LOOK IN THE REFRIGERATOR
FOR SOMETHING TO EAT.