Kevin Smith says Seth Rogen made him into a productive stoner

Kevin Smith has lost 65 pounds, but as we heard yesterday he’s still wearing the same “Puck U” hockey jersey he’s had on for literally months (and I think I used the term “literally” correctly there) along with the same high water jeans. He gained weight, lost weight yet refused to change his clothes at all because he thought he would be somehow inauthentic. (At least that’s what I took away from his comments.) Smith was super talkative on the Joy Behar show this week, and he was a little more subdued but still very animated on MTV News. He told MTV’s Josh Horowitz that Seth Rogen turned him on to smoking pot about two years ago when they were making “Zach and Miri Make a Porno” and that it was the best thing that has ever happened to him in five years, because it made him more productive. Maybe that’s why he gained all that weight in the first place though. Here’s more:

“One of the most talented people I worked with in my life was Seth Rogen,” Smith explained to MTV News during our live-stream interview on Tuesday. “I got so much from him. He re-energized me in a weird way. I became a stoner because of Seth Rogen.”

Up until that point, Smith said he’d only gotten high a handful of times. But on the “Zack and Miri” set, he marveled at how Rogen — whom he called “a functioning stoner” — could toke up and not only make it to work on time but have “brilliant ideas” and be “constantly writing [and] productive.” So on the last day of shooting, Smith finally gave into Rogen’s request to smoke pot.

“I went up to him and was like, ‘How about we go to the editing room tonight, watch some cut footage, and maybe share a joint?'” Smith recalled. “He goes, ‘Finally!’ And it was awesome. We sat back, watched some footage and sat there smoking. And I loved who I was. I loved how the inhibition dropped away and I loved just being honest.”

Smith said the last two years of his life have been his most productive, including finishing two films and launching a podcast network on the Web, all thanks to the power of the herb.

“That dude gave me the greatest gift I’ve had in the last five years,” Smith said. “The moment I start smoking, I start working. … That way, no one could ever take it away from you. No one could ever say, ‘You fat, lazy piece of sh– stoner!”

[From MTV News via Popeater]

I really hate smoking pot because it makes me overanalyze everything and come up with these pseudo intellectual theories that I realize are complete bullsh*t when I’m sober. Like I doubt I could accomplish anything that was even marginally worthwhile if I was stoned all the time. Some people do ok with it and find that it fuels creativity though. I guess if you tie any habit into working it can make you more productive if you’re not completely blotto.

I realize that I’ve read all this press about Kevin Smith but have no idea what he’s promoting – so I looked it up and he has a horror movie scheduled for wide release in October called Red State with Melissa Leo. He’s doing a tour nationwide with it starting in March, though. He also has a hockey film scheduled for 2012 called Hit Somebody that he says is his final film as a director. It will include cameos from “everybody” he says, and he told MTV that he hopes that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will be in it as well. Why is he hanging up his hat when he just turned 40? He’s had some crap movies but he’s also put out some uniquely funny and enjoyable films. He should keep at it and maybe put the joint down. (I know I sound like a mom!)

Kevin Smith is shown on 7/23/10. (He’s not wearing the hockey shirt) and 8/10/10. (There it is!) Credit: PRPhotos and WENN. Seth Rogen is shown on 1/7/11 on The Today Show.

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27 Responses to “Kevin Smith says Seth Rogen made him into a productive stoner”

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  1. KLO says:

    Good for him. Sometimes what people need to get reenergized is a good friggin break from stuff. If you never get a real break, you never regain the energy to really get busy again.

    I totally understand it, once i started sleeping more, I get stuff done when I’m awake instead of always being tired.

    so – whatever works for you.

  2. LittleFATMe says:

    I absolutely LOVE Seth R. I have a huge crush on him!

  3. Bodhi says:

    Hellz yeah, good for him! I know 1st hand what being a “productive stoner” is like. I hope he doesn’t give up directing, I think he is brilliant!

  4. MissyA says:

    I love me some Kevin Smith – but I have a hard time believing he wasn’t a functional stoner before meeting Seth Rogen.

    CB – have you tried toking and exercising? I’ve lost quite a few brain cells (or more accurately, synapse myelination) to marijuana in college, so I tend to get overly paranoid – especially lighting up in social situations. I still love the herb, but I’ve had to prime my biorhythm-feedback in order to have a kinder relationship with Mary.

    I found that if I get high before a workout, I can dial into my body mechanics – I can gage my heart rate, my breathing, and my muscles, and channel it into a super effective workout. As my brain and body sync-up, all that built up paranoia gets “exorcised” out, leaving a nice mellow body buzz after my work out. It works the opposite way too. If I get overly paranoid (like when the train stops mysteriously for hours in the middle of Iowa, and you see cherries and berries flashing in the distance, and you’re like, “oh shit” because you’re transporting some kind presents back home to your loved ones), I can meditate on my heart rate etc, and once my body calms down, the feeling of paranoia subsides and I can get back to feeling plain ol’ stoned.

    I’m actually marathon training with this in mind. I find I can run harder, longer, faster while I’m “dialed in”, and my recovery time is much shorter (and less painful!). Plus, I get the added benefits of a laid-back stoner’s disposition (virtually no paranoia), a great ass, and the excuse to indulge in all the munchies I want. It’s totally awesome, man.

  5. Genevieve says:

    Stoners UNITE!!!

  6. Novaraen says:

    I know many many “functional stoners”…in fact, I’m one myself. 🙂

    I can smoke a bit and go out and grocery shop and clean the house and do everything. No one ever even knows that I’ve been smoking it. 🙂

  7. WOM says:

    Is Smith confusing “productive” with “successful”?

    His career is waning, and lately he mostly gets attention for bad behaviour (i.e. Southwest Air twitter-rant, insults w/ Bruce Willis about Cop Out and unprofessional behaviour at Sundance while trying to shop Red State). Maybe if he stopped toking up, he’d stop being such an angry ass and start being a good writer.

  8. Arianna says:

    @ Genevieve
    hahahahaah indeed!

    love both of these men!!

  9. Riley says:

    I don’t really like pot too much either, but I don’t think it should be illegal, and like most stoners I believe, “We should tax that sh*t.” That said, the “productive stoners” I have known were productive at things like knitting sweaters for their entire family for Christmas, or landscapping their entire back yard in an afternoon, or riding their bikes for 15 hours, or taking their kayaks out for 6 hours during the day, and then going surfing in the evening. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but most of us do not have the luxary to live such a lifestyle. We have to go to our 9 to 5 jobs and deal with other people and then go home and take care of our families and our pets. It is hard to be a productive stoner when you are a slave to the man.

  10. nikki says:

    Riley, you are so right. It is much harder to be a stoner when you don’t have a creative job or when you have kids to take care of after your job! I find it great on weekends though, get high, go to the gym, get errands done, get a slurpee 😛

  11. Chloeeeeee says:

    I’m telling you people, it can be done! Weed is different for different people but I know I can be productive while stoned. In college my grades went up when I started smoking go figure. I’m with Genevieve: stoners unite!!!

  12. ghostbuster says:

    hell yeah. being a stoner makes me so happy. i dont get stressed and yell, instead i just kind of see the humor in things. i found by smoking the good stuff im very productive. hell, i even like house cleaning and laundry when i toke up. nice to see all you stoners out there. 🙂

  13. Novaraen says:

    I have to agree with MissyA as well…

    I like to smoke a little(not huge bong tokes or anything, just a few puffs) before my workouts and I totally get “dialed in” as well. I seem to breathe easier, work harder and can mentally focus on the muscle groups I’m working on at the time. When I’m done I too get that nice body high that lasts for quite awhile afterwords. Feeeels goooood! 🙂

  14. Kim says:

    I think he is trying to make the point that it makes you more creative but his words could easily be misconstrued by younger kids who think Oh hes says smoking will make me a work o holic i better smoke.

    It does impair you good or bad so if you are watching kids or driving you shouldnt be getting high when doing those things.

    Im all for legalizing and taxing it but ALSO teaching people to be responsible in their use of it.

  15. Sunday says:

    Must be a culture thing but I´ve never smoked and have witnessed pot smoking only couple of times and I´m going on thirty..!

  16. MrsOdie2 says:

    I dated a stoner once. His breath always smelled like poo. I cannot STAND stoner breath. You can’t mouthwash it away because it’s in your lungs like garlic.

    I know a lot of productive stoners too. They spend HOURS leveling up their characters on World of Warcraft. Their focus is singular and amazing.

  17. susanne says:

    Omigod.

    Has my breath been stinking all this time and no one has told me???????

  18. truthzbetta says:

    This is one of the best, most prolonged, strange and meandering midlife crises I have ever seen.

  19. Chris says:

    You people who say the weed is making you only slightly paranoid should get off the stuff before it gets worse. When I started smoking pot I was fine but it got to the stage where one bong would fill me with so much anxiety that I couldn’t even make eye contact with my best friends. As for smoking to do exercise that makes no sense to me at all and I imagine increasing your heart rate through smoking and then exercising would put unnecessary strain on your heart. As for Smith he might be saying that his next movie is going to be his last just to drum up a bit of extra business for it. On the other hand he’s always liked to make stuff that’s relevant to young people and maybe he doesn’t like the idea of being a middle aged man who makes middle aged films. I know Tarrantino reckons that directing is a young man’s game and says he only has a couple of films left in him and those films will probably be based on ideas he came up with when he was young.

  20. englishbreakfast says:

    i get stoned and do yoga. it feels so ridiculously good. your body and mind center and you can simultaneously feel pleasant pain and a sense of zen.

    yes i am high right now 🙂

  21. xxodettexx says:

    meh

    know a lot of attorneys, cops, judges and doctors in my area [tampa] that are functional potheads

    no stinky breaths for those that take care of their appearance/hygiene [ie brushing teeth, chewing sugarfree gum infused with tea, regularly flossing, etc]

    i also know some potheads that are worthless members of society…

    so, good for him if it works for him!

  22. sammib says:

    I’m from New Zealand and it’s like a cultural responsibility to smoke pot :-)but you know, after 26 years of smoking every day I decided to cut right back and I feel pretty good! No more waking up with a stone over! And yeah, Seth Rogen is HOT!

  23. d says:

    I guess pot or whatevr you young’uns call it now does different things to different people. It really never agreed with me. Any high that I felt got “balanced” by a really crushing downer afterward, and so I just stopped. Don’t need any monkey on my back. I don’t care if other people do it. But I’ve had conversations with stoners and sometimes it’s obvious THEY think they’re doing just fine, but to someone who isn’t high, they’re totally not making sense. It’s kind of funny.

  24. LunaT says:

    Awesome.

    Still blows my mind people are against the legalization of herb when alcohol is legal and causes so much damage. So glad that I live in Oregon 🙂

    Susanne— made me laugh 🙂 Eff, lots of you did!

    MrsOdie2—maybe the problem is that your friends play World of Warcraft and not that they smoke pot.

  25. MrsOdie2 says:

    Maybe alcohol causes more damage because it’s legal and if pot were legal, the amount of damage it causes would increase. Just a thought.

    Many people drink alcohol and do not abuse it, hurt themselves, or hurt anyone else. Many people do the same with weed. But a lot of weed advocates are unwilling to acknowledge that plenty of people abuse weed and ruin their lives over it. For people who smoke it daily for many years, it DOES have cumulative negative effects on your brain and body! Especially your lungs, memory, and mood.

    If you abuse it, of course. Again, like alcohol. There is use and abuse.

  26. di butler says:

    I hope he isn’t crediting pot with that utterly horrible Red State movie. I got to see an early rough cut, and unless he re-wrote the whole thing with a new premise since I saw it, then weed wasn’t his friend, here.

  27. Megatrona says:

    I used to love pot so much, unfortunately it started giving me psychotic episodes, I thought all people with blue eyes were aliens
    I so think pot should be legal, but I do have to say that since I stopped smoking and been teaching yoga regularly I have never felt better.
    Everthing in moderation