Highlands native filmmaker Kevin Smith wants to get a new series made, and he needs your help.
On Wednesday, July 11, Smith revealed that he is going the crowd-funding route to help make “Hollyweed,” a new comedy series set in a California marijuana dispensary, a reality.
Fans and potential backers can view the series’ previously unreleased 2016 pilot episode at rivitTV, and then decide if they’d like to pledge their support for a six-episode season at a cost of $1.99 to $5.99 per episode. Backers will not be charged unless “Hollyweed” meets its Season One funding goal of $5,305,264 on or before Sunday, Aug. 26.
Smith broke into the film industry nearly a quarter century ago with the Monmouth County-shot convenience store comedy “Clerks” in 1994, and in a Wednesday post on his Facebook page, Smith described “Hollyweed” as a return to his roots.
“Essentially, it was ‘Clerks’ in a weed store,” Smith wrote, “with Donnell Rawlings and me as the middle-aged knuckleheads behind the counter. The idea was to base the episodes in a medical marijuana dispensary and use Los Angeles as a canvas for our characters.”
Rawlings, best known as a regular on the Comedy Central classic “Chapelle’s Show,” and Smith are set to be joined on “Hollyweed” by frequent Smith colleagues, including Jason Mewes and Ralph Garman. California became the latest state to sell legal weed for recreational purposes in January, joining states like Colorado, Nevada, Washington and Oregon that adopted marijuana legalization in the past few years.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has made marijuana legalization a priority and lawmakers expect to sign a legal weed bill this year, though progress largely stalled during the budget process.
Over the last 10 years, Smith has become an outspoken marijuana user and marijuana legalization advocate. Last month, he credited weed with saving his life during his February heart attack, as the drug kept him calm.
“I asked my doctor like after this was all done … ‘I hate to ask this question, man, but did I have a heart attack because of the weed? Because I smoked a joint right before the show,'” Smith said on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “He said, ‘You kept calm … You were going through stuff and you kept calm the whole time, so that joint saved your life.”
Silent Bob in the music video for Drake’s “I’m Upset,” and the filmmaker announced the Vulgarthon film festival will be happening at Red Bank’s Bow Tie Cinema on Thursday, Aug. 2 in honor of his 48th birthday.
In addition to his work as a filmmaker, podcaster and author, Smith is also the proprietor of Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash comic book shop in Red Bank.
Credit: app.com
