Yahoo Movies Best buds Cheech and Chong are sparking up their own biopic
It's been a long time since Cheech & Chong made a movie together, but the stoner icons are finally set to reunite on screen soon. Their next movie, described for now as "Untitled Cheech & Chong Project," will be a biopic exploring their origins and influence on comedy and stoner culture.
"We are excited to show the world how two dudes from completely different backgrounds got together, changed comedy, and made cannabis mainstream!" Cheech & Chong said in a joint statement.
Ron Eshel/Invision/AP/Shutterstock Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong are reuniting for a new movie about their origins.
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong became famous in the '70s for their stand-up routines about cannabis and counterculture before releasing their first feature film, Up in Smoke, in 1978. That was followed by several subsequent releases, including Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, Nice Dreams, and Still Smokin. After their 1985 album Get Out of My Room was released, the duo went their separate ways but have reunited sporadically since. The upcoming film is set to be their first joint screen collaboration since Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie in 2013.
In other words, the last time Cheech & Chong were working together, marijuana was still illegal in much of the United States — Chong was even arrested in 2003 for selling drug paraphernalia and spent almost a year in jail (where he befriended cellmate Jordan Belfort, a.k.a the Wolf of Wall Street). But now that cannabis has been wildly legalized in this country, it makes sense for them to take a victory lap.
The new film is produced by Todd Lieberman and Alex Young of Hidden Pictures, alongside Underground's Trevor Engelson and Douglas Banker of Five All in the Fifth Entertainment. Lieberman and Young recently produced Shotgun Wedding, in which Marin played a role.
"Working with Cheech and Chong is a childhood dream of mine," Engelson said in a statement. "I used to listen to my father's copy of their albums growing up, so to help bring their incredible true story to a new generation of fans is a real honor."
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