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What were the actors actually smoking in the movie?
Well they smoked this thing the prop people had, I’m sure it was made of pure asbestos or something even worse for your lungs than actual marijuana. But I really don’t know. I did not smoke it and I didn’t show any care of how bad it taste or how damaging it was to the actors.
I think James Franco is really going to surprise a lot of people in this movie. Obviously you’ve worked with him before with “Freaks and Geeks,” the “Knocked Up” cameo and the Funny or Die skits. But do you think this will be his breakout comedy role?
I think so. He’s such a warm funny guy in person and he’s made a lot of choices which put him in deadly serious movies, but there’s this other side to him you see in “Pineapple Express.” He’s a very inspired comedic mind. He holds his own with the best comedians of this generation with ease. What I love about it is he makes you believe that this guy actually exists. Right now in an apartment in LA somewhere, you feel that guy is watching “227.”
That’s a hallmark of your work overall—whether you directed the film or not—the characters actually feel real. How important is that for you?
The movie either needs to be real, or big and goofy and funny with its own alternate reality. I think the middle is where people get stuck. I like ultra-realism for comedy, if I’m not going big and broad like “Walk Hard.” But even with “Walk Hard,” people want to care and believe in the journey of the character. I always want these movies to say something positive and leave people with a good feeling.
You famously had critical but not commercial success with your TV shows [“Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared”] and yet your movies have almost all been hits. Why do you think that happened?
Well in TV you’re a victim of marketing and scheduling. You’re dealing with a lot of flipped out executives who want a hit instantly and they have a lot of opinions. I never think that’s good for the work. If you tell them you disagree, they get mad at you and cancel your show. In film you can find the people who get what you do and it’s an easier collaboration. In television you can have a debate every week, on every episode, on every choice and that’s awful. Unless you have a big hit, you can tell them to hit the road. But I never had a big enough hit where I could ignore their calls.
Have you thought about doing a series for cable TV? It seems like the perfect medium for someone with your interest in characters.
In a way I just continue to make “Freaks and Geeks” episodes as movies. “Pineapple Express” is like a “Freaks and Geeks” episode from season five. You know, when I see a show like “Mad Men,” it makes me miss television because I like writing for the same people, obviously. I’m just making a lot of movies with the same people. Maybe one day.
Can you tell me a little about your next directorial project, “Funny People”?
It’s about a stand-up comedian who has a near death experience and it takes place in the comedy world but it’s not about comedy. It’s just an interesting texture to the movie that this experience happens to someone who is a comedian.
Are you pulling stuff from your own experiences in stand-up?
A little bit, it’s mainly fabricated. It’s more based on the feelings we all have and insecurities and neuroses that make any of us want to do this.
