cannabisnews.com: Dropout Produces Pot Film










  Dropout Produces Pot Film

Posted by CN Staff on October 09, 2003 at 07:25:52 PT
By Eleanor Goldberg, Contributing Writer 
Source: Washington Square News  

NYU dropout Mike Edison smoked pot every day in Rubin residence hall. The former Tisch School of the Arts film student is now an executive producer of a full-length motion picture. "High Times' Pot Luck," which premieres on Oct. 17 at Village East Cinemas, traces an eccentric pair in their quest through New York City to find a suitcase filled with high-grade marijuana.
Frank, a mobster, and Jade, a punk rocker, pursue the suitcase as it passes through the hands of gangsters, artists, drag queens, musicians and activists. The movie culminates downtown, where all the pot-craving characters collide at a rally for the legalization of marijuana. "It's a celebration of marijuana culture," Edison said. Edison, a native New Yorker and former publisher for the stoner magazine High Times, spent two years at NYU in the Tisch undergraduate film program. He was the authority on pot smoking on the set of the upcoming film and ensured that there was not a single flaw in the actors' smoking techniques or in the movie's drug paraphernalia. He spent nearly every day on the set, meticulously observing the actors' motions and making suggestions on how to properly smoke blunts, joints, bongs and bowls. "He kept his eye on the details," said "Pot Luck" director Alison Thompson, a Tisch graduate. During her 12 years in New York, Thompson has accomplished a lot. She earned a graduate degree in film from Tisch, worked as an investment banker and directed "Pot Luck," her first film. But there is one thing she is afraid to do: tell her parents what the film is about. "They think the film is being produced by an architectural magazine and that the 'High' is for their really tall buildings," she said. Although Edison attended NYU film school more than 20 years ago, this is his first foray into filmmaking. He said he found Tisch stifling. "I liked martial arts and they were teaching Spielberg," he said. "These were the years before 'Pulp Fiction.'" However, neither Edison's dissatisfaction with the program nor his conservative roommate kept him from having fun. He lived in Rubin, where he and his friends smoked pot every day. "Pot is an activity. It brings people together," he said. While at NYU, Edison realized he was more passionate about writing than film. He tried out journalism, working for WSN as a reporter. "We did it for the free concerts," he said, laughing. He hung out at The Bottom Line, where he saw Lou Reed and many other singers. The club, which rents its space from NYU, has recently been in danger of eviction over unpaid back rent. "I once saw Andy Warhol in the audience with five pretty, blonde guys," Edison said. "It was never the coolest place, but it's a fixture of the neighborhood. The downtown area needs a nightclub more than it needs another NYU dorm." Smoking pot in the '80s was a somewhat different experience from smoking pot today, Edison said. "There was no such thing as green weed," he said. "The weed we smoked was dirt weed, either gold or brown. You wouldn't get super-stoned from it. But it was cheap." Prices and accessibility varied as well. "We bought nickel bags for $5 on 10th Street every day," he said. "And Avenue B was like a candy store." After completing four semesters at NYU, Edison dropped out. "I called my mom from a pay phone to tell her that I wasn't taking classes anymore," he said. Edison, who was a Merit Scholar, has major issues with American education. "Education is the biggest sham in America," Edison said. "I encourage everyone to drop out of NYU." After he left NYU, Edison traveled through Europe with his rock band. In 1988, while Edison lived in Spain, High Times hired him to write a column called "Shoot the Tube." He returned to New York and worked for a small publishing company, where he wrote 28 porn novels. "Not everyone had VCRs back then," he said. "It was entertainment." He went on to write for Hustler and Penthouse. Edison served as publisher of High Times from 1997 to 2001, and he now writes for Heeb Magazine, an alternative Jewish youth publication. Edison did more than just teach the actors how to inhale in "Pot Luck." He played a pivotal role in the film's creation. "We were looking to produce a film, the way National Lampoon did for 'Animal House,'" Edison said. "High Times is like Walt Disney with a doobie." "Pot Luck" screenwriter Victor Colicchio, who had co-written "Summer of Sam," approached Edison with the script. "It was perfect timing," Edison said. He was immediately enthralled. "'Pot Luck' is stoner-smart. It's the voice for the people who are proud to smoke pot." Edison is also the guitarist and singer of his newest band, Edison Rocket Train. The band's music is based on old blues and gospel. Edison said he always loved punk rock and the blues, particularly the Sex Pistols and Chuck Barry. Ironically, jam bands like Phish and the Grateful Dead never attracted him. "You know what would happen if someone sobered up during a Dead concert?" he said. "They would realize that this music sucks." Edison is passionate about his views on drugs and is quick to give his opinion. "All drugs should be legal," he said. Instead of scaring the public, the government should legalize drugs and devote more time to educating people on the health risks involved, he said. People caught with drugs deserve "treatment and not jail," he said. While Thompson's views on drugs are less permissive than Edison's, she also supports drug use. "You just don't meet angry pot smokers," she said. The two hope the film will boost the case for the legalization of marijuana. For more information, check out the Pot Luck Web site -- http://www.potluckmovie.com/ The cast, crew and High Times staff will be partying with the audience at every 4:20 p.m. showing of the film on Oct. 20, 21, 22 and 23. Note: Ex-Tischie recalls wild days at Rubin.Source: Washington Square News (NY Edu)Author: Eleanor Goldberg, Contributing WriterPublished: October 6, 2003Copyright: 2003 Washington Square NewsContact: opinion nyunews.comWebsite: http://www.nyunews.com/Pot Luck Moviehttp://www.potluckmovie.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

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Comment #4 posted by CorvallisEric on October 09, 2003 at 13:11:06 PT
E_Johnson
You gave me my laugh of the month! For some crazy reason I tried once or twice to understand some the of this babble (the subject was "literary theory" or something like that). A suggestion for anyone who wants to de-babbleize a collection of downloaded essays: write a script that searches for "hermeneutic" and automatically dumps those files into the appropriate bin.I studied "liberal arts" in the mid-1960's and found it understandable, enlightening and of lasting value, but then reverted to my earlier interest in technology for employment and remained relatively unaware of the postmodernist monstrosity. I'd guess there are just too many highly educated, talented people chasing too few jobs in the arena of arts, literature, music, etc. One result is a cultlike hierarchy where the lucky few who "make it" defend their positions by being incomprehensible.
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Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on October 09, 2003 at 08:59:36 PT
Film school is the biggest sham in America
""Education is the biggest sham in America," Edison said. "I encourage everyone to drop out of NYU."
"What they teach in film school these days is 90% postmodernist theory and 10% craft.Film students now have to learn to cross-conceptualize the hermeneutics of the scopophilia inherent in Western capitalism.And that's just Freshman Babble 101.
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on October 09, 2003 at 08:56:01 PT
Medical marijuana works for dogs
My dog had bone cancer and the pain relievers they gave her went toxic in her system after one month. She had yellow diarrhea and couldn't stand up.Since it was a weekend and I couldn't get to the vet and they didn't have anything else to give her anyways, I shared my marijuana cookies with her.The effect was miraculous. Her bowels went back to normal, she started sleeping and eating and playing again, and she had a decent life until I had to have her put down.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on October 09, 2003 at 07:48:33 PT

Meaningful words
Pot is an activityIn a world where our media repeats the party line that says nothing with as many words as possible, we have an example of just saying something. The stereotype of the prohibitionist being a pothead sitting around smoking pot and doing nothing in direct contrast to this statement. Maybe laughing grass is so dangerous because it removes people from the great American pastime of watching television where everyone is to seek homogeny and guidance/programming.I wonder if anyone ever did any studies on ganja for dogs. Ganja for dogs - sounds like a movie title. 
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