The Untold Truth Of Cheech & Chong

Publish date: 2024-05-04

In 1978, Cheech and Chong set their sights on conquering the film world with their first feature, Up in Smoke. Although they originally conceived the movie as a compilation of the best bits from their albums and live shows, Cheech and Chong instead decided to concentrate on their Pedro and Man characters. "It was a day in the life of [...] Pedro and Man, which was much more interesting than a plot," Marin tells Rolling Stone. "It's, 'Two guys meet, they decide to form a band together, but first they need a joint.' Therein lies your plot."

With no formal script, only what Tommy Chong describes as a loose "road map" written on a yellow legal pad, Up in Smoke was largely improvised. With Lou Adler at the helm, Cheech and Chong had free reign to experiment. Chong says of Adler, "If we changed our minds halfway through a shoot, and said, 'Oh, let's do this instead,' he'd say, 'OK, no problem.'"

Still, Up in Smoke faced its share of obstacles on its journey to the screen. As recounted by Variety, upon seeing a rough cut of the film, Paramount president Michael Eisner pulled the plug on the picture. Director/producer Lou Adler bought the film back from Paramount, using his own money to complete the movie. After witnessing a test audience's reaction, Eisner relented, and Paramount bought the film back. Budgeted at just under $2 million, Up in Smoke wound up making $20 million in its first month of release.

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