IamA (The Director of The Grandmas Smoking Weed Video) AMA!

Hi there! Just popped in to say that your video convinced my mom to partake and she does chemo every week. Since she's started she has quit at least four of her meds that I know of that battle nausea and depression and she's looking better than ever, despite it only being a few days.

Two questions also: what kind of impact did you hope to make? (If any)

And how much backlash did you receive over this initially?

1. Wow. That's probably the most awesome response we've received on anything we've ever made. You got me tearing up here. Thank you.

2. Man, my only hope was to make something that would be relevant to the national debate about the legalization of marijuana but was presented in honest way. Nothing preachy. Nothing that panders. We wanted to make a piece that would invite friends, families, mothers and daughters, to have a conversation about it without feeling they would have to debate it. This wasn't intended to polarize.

3. The backlash has been very small. I'd say the vast majority of the response has been positive. People seem to have fun. I think that's really all because those three ladies were so awesome.

Thanks again ladykohl. I'm going to copy your comment and put it on my desktop.

I should be thanking you! What you've created is wonderful, innocent, and fun. Not to mention it gave my mom hope.

As one filmmaker to another, please keep making stuff like this. This is what it's all about.

Thanks ladykohl. What kind of stuff do you work on?

Why did you choose grandmas over grandpas?

Dang. That's an awesome question. It just seemed like a greater juxtaposition: Grandmas plus weed = funnier? Though I am open to shooting grandpas.

I recommend doing Grandpa's smoking weed next!

I'm on it. :)

It would also be fun to see grandparents (a married couple) smoking weed together to see how they interact.

Yes. Couples would be awesome. Great idea!

"Fox News Report! Grandma toking director confirms his intent to fire upon defenseless Grandfathers!"

LOL.

With a camera fellas. With a camera.

I agree that grandmas are inherently funnier subjects, they just have that innocence about them which makes for hilarious video. I'd imagine grandpas would fall into either the "I'm never gonna touch that reefer crap" or the "I've been smoking longer than you've been alive, kiddo" camp.

Anyways, great job on the video! I love the idea of doing the "Everybody Smokes Weed" series with all kinds of demographics. Hopefully you can get that started soon :)

Agreed juicejug. Thanks! We're going to give it a shot. I'll keep you posted.

Who smoked the leftover weed? This guy called Blaine? I heard he likes to get high, drink bourbon and rent bouncy castle.. Is it true?

Yes. Is this Blaine? Also you heard correctly.

Why did you make the video?

Awesome question. We wanted to make something fun that could be culturally relevant. We had a feeling that the video would play out like it did and hoped that it would invite people to participate in the national conversation about the legalization of marijuana - but in a way that would make it fun and not preachy or pandering. Mainly fun.

From someone growing up with a skeptical view of marijuana, I seriously appreciate the lack of preechiness preachiness in your message. I find that people on both sides of the debate tend to be super judgmental about the other side. So it's great to see a video like this

Edit: spelling

Thanks!

When can we expect the Grandmas Snorting Coke release?

As soon as it's legalized in Washington State. But probably never.

Imagine the amount of ironing if this happened.

Bwahahaha

All those chocolate chip cookies..

My mother-in-law made those cookies. They were all consumed.

Was it easy to convince them to do it and how apprehensive were they when you first brought up the idea with them?

It was fairly easy to get Paula and Dierdre to do it. Paula's son actually runs the agency where we found Dierdre. He convinced her. Dorothea was a much harder sell. Blaine (the dude you see in the video) ended up calling her and letting her know that we:

1. Are a real company
2. Purchased the pot legally
3. Would have an EMT on set so the environment would be safe
4. Would not expect her to keep smoking after the first toke.

None of ladies seemed to mind having a second toke. I'm glad they enjoyed it.

Me too. No none of us really pushed that. We just said, if you want go for it. Paula was actually more encouraging of it than we were.

Did any of the grandmas try weed after the shooting?

Not yet. Though, I am trying to get them to do something with Orlando Jones and Snoop.

How many marijuanas did it take to get them high?

Only a few marijuanas.

Loved the video. Do you plan on any follow-ups with first-timers in other age groups?

We're actually thinking about turning it into a series: "Everyone Smokes Weed." We'd just have different groups of people smoke pot for the first time and see what happens.

PLEASE do business dads! Seriously, my dad is a business man and he seems like such an anal bastard but I have seen him party and I know he can get wild. It would warm my heart to see his 50 year-old homies in their business casual getting ripped and relaxing.

Shoot me an email at [email protected]. I will contact him myself!

One with little kids would be hilarious. I mean, obviously don't do it, but that shit would be great.

Little kids already act crazy. They don't need any help. :)

When you get to the "Scientists smoking weed for the first time", let me know (because that'd be hilarious! well, depending on their fields of scientific study)! Or, if you need someone to smoke while watching/playing Jeopardy, I'm your guy!

Sold. Also, shoot me your email: [email protected].

How do I apply?

If you're serious: [email protected]

Really? Yea, I live in Canada though

I'm in Washington. That's close.

[email protected]!

Would you sign on as a producer for "Pussy Farts: The Musical"?

Ha! Depends on who's writing the music.

Will there be any more videos with snoop dogg involved i hope?

I WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. It's really the only way Dorothea would do it. We're talking to some people...

Snoop would make this video amazing.

Yes he would. Help me make this happen.

I noticed that the ladies didn't have much coughing problems and never commented on the smell. Was that genuine or editing?

No that was genuine. We were shocked. Dierdre was the only one who coughed during it. It was really surprising.

They are champs then!

Yeah they are.

Whos grandmas were they?

We went out to talent agencies. Had to. No grandma we knew and about three degrees separated from us had smoked weed before. Note: these women were not professional actresses. They have different jobs. They're mainly repped for modeling. Paula actually isn't repped at all. Also, we grilled every person they sent us to make sure they had never smoked before. Many women tried to say they hadn't but after some time would admit that they had "about 40 years ago." Well, we wanted people who really had never done it before.

[deleted]

I'll be honest. I'm really biased against edibles. I've had some bad experiences. Basically, my brother gave me a snickerdoodle cookie on the way back from this shoot we did in Eastern Washington where we launched a weather balloon. I hadn't slept in 36 hours and was riding shotgun on an empty stretch of highway. I ate the whole cookie before I knew what it was. And was the highest I've been in my entire life. Crazy high. I couldn't speak. Tried to count down the minutes till I could go home and sleep it off. 3 hours later we get to Seattle. I crash. I wake up eight hours later still high. Never again for me.

However, I did have a good experience prior to that. Ate a rice krispie treat and watched We Bought a Zoo back-to-back one night. Very chill.

In case anyone is confused: the issue is not that the act of eating an edible gets you inherently higher, it's that edibles can be made to hold a deceptive amount of THC. An edible is as strong as the amount of product put in it.

Yes. This is it.

Did any of them change their opinions on anything due to the experiment?

Have any of them decided to continue (if they live in a pot legal state)

Not really. None of them were against pot (otherwise I'm not sure they would've done the video). Here's the pre-pot interview we did with them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9h8mma_APM

But Dorothea did publicly state that though she advocates for its legalization, she wouldn't smoke again. But then I asked her if she'd smoke with Snoop. Her response: "Snoop? I'm definitely interested."

Unfortunately, Paula actually lives in California and she seemed like the one most likely to continue. This is now her twitter handle: twitter.com/grammapaula420

Someone summon our CEO Snoop so he can blaze with the granny.

YES PLEASE!

You have to call his name atleast three times:

/u/Here_Comes_The_King
/u/Here_Comes_The_King
/u/Here_Comes_The_King

lol

What makes that last one unfortunate?

And thanks for responding, I loved the video as did the baby friends I shared it with. Old people doing unexpected things always gets me.

Well if she was in Washington she could hang out with us everyday. :) I'm the same way. Old people and kids.

Would you consider pairing younger, consistent smokers with first time elder-folk? Grand folks of either gender.

Does that sound like a good video? Get a bunch of stoners with old first timers and have a smokes and crafts vid

I actually have been thinking of that. That would be an awesome video.

How do you monetize viral videos?

Here are some ways:

1. turn on monetization and make money on advertising.
2. sell licensing rights to publications and tv shows that want to upload it to their own player or show it on tv
3. Sell the management of the video to a company. They take 25 - 40% of all licensing but they have connects and often give an advance. We turned down a pretty high advance from a company.
4. You receive in-bound leads from other companies looking to have you create sponsored content in future videos.

If im not elderly or a weed virgin, can I still be in a video? Let me know when you get to the "random dudes smoking weed for the 9181518th time" video!

LOL. Will do!

So many of my friends and family that saw the video want to see the rest. There were times that you cut away and onto the next interval and we wanted to see the rest of the conversations. Do you have a longer video somewhere? I Did see that you posted the pre-smoking interview, thanks for that. Also want you to know that I was watching the video on my lunch break with headphones and laughing my ass off so much that co-workers gathered in my cube and we watched it together. It was a very strange bonding moment with my corporate co-workers.

YAY! People in our office basically convinced us to make the short version. We were like, people are going to want the long version. So even the long version is about two minutes shorter than what we first made. We are thinking about cutting together the whole cards against humanity session. If we do, we will launch it!

Also, it's really cool to hear that you and your co-workers watched it together. I said to someone the other day, we wanted to make something that would let people who wouldn't normally chat about this - like grandparents with grandkids - feel safe to actually have fun with the topic.

What is the most rewarding between making a viral video, building up the craziest map in Minecraft or beat an Hawaiian co-worker at ping-pong?

Damn. Who is this? Beating Hakala at ping-pong is first - he's left handed and hella shifty. Minecraft is next because I put in the hours. Viral video though is definitely up there.

So who's smoking weed next?

Edit: completely loved the video, btw. My favorite video on the Internet right now.

Awesome! I'm glad you dug it. That's a good question. We have a few different groups in mind, but probably won't shoot the next one till the weekend.

Have you considered that these older women may have just been stoners looking to score some free weed?

Ha! We filtered those one out early. No if you saw how nervous they were prior, you'd know they weren't.

How did you feel explaining Queefing to the ladies?

It was the second happiest and most awkward moment of my life.

Did you turn them into old lady stoners?

You tell me: twitter.com/grammapaula420

twitter.com/grammapaula420

C'mon...we all know Paula was already a stoner.

She really wasn't. But she is now.

What turned out to be their favorite way to smoke?

Vaporizer hands down.

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We used Lavender. When Blaine gets in I'll make sure he gives me the exact info. They didn't smoke a lot. They each took 3 bong rips and passed the vaporizer two or three times.

3 bong rips

vaporizer two or three times

didn't smoke a lot

what frat did you pledge bro? I think that would put most casuals to bed.

Remember - they didn't clear the chambers and this was a very mild strain done over the course of an hour. The first time Dierdre smoked she didn't even inhale so... But you're right. I would've been on my ass after the bong so I don't know how they did it.

Did they clear the whole bowl on the bong? Or did they just hit it like a pipe?

Hit it like a pipe.

Whats your opinion on smokin a bowl and just knitting for days?

You mean ironing for days? I'll be honest, I ruined a fair number of moments laughing out loud. You can hear me in the video, but damn, I screwed up a lot more than what's in there. That being said, I'm more of a crochet man myself.

So what have we missed? Will you be showing behind the scenes footage?

I wish there was more behind the scenes footage. It was a hectic day. We were shooting something in one studio and then had to run to a studio next door to shoot this. There's more footage but we haven't had time to piece it together. I might be able to catch up with it over Thanksgiving.

That video got huge, fast. I saw it first here on reddit but as that day went on and over the following couple days I continued to see the video shared on my Facebook feed and featured on other websites.

Have any of the grandmothers commented on the popularity of the video? Did any of the grandmas have any other reasons for smoking other than trying weed?

Man. We've had grandmas regret not doing the video. That's been the coolest reaction.

Nope, the ladies really didn't have a reason to smoke except curiosity.

Will you be doing another one? I would love to see more.

If you want it. I will make it. I promise.

As a director, have you ever worked with French people? I have heard they are hard to manage and kind of a pain in the butt.

Okay. Now I know who this is. I should've known. Yeah. I have. Joanny: jocausse.com is a great motion designer and director but a huge pain in the ass.

Loved your video! Have you had any negative push-back from launching the video?

Thanks! There has been a little negative push back, but honestly way less than we had thought there'd be. The Interwebs can be a pretty cynical place so it's been nice to see most of the feedback is really positive.

How has this helped your career? Were offers rolling in after this went viral?

Well I went from being known for a wedding video (We made the "original slow motion booth" https://vimeo.com/75259949 which was actually set to Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines,). This suddenly became a thing people do at weddings and at events. I saw this the other day and smiled: http://en.hungertimes.com/watch-the-stars-of-mockingjay-in-ryan-seacreasts-slow-mo-booth/

To being known for a weed video. So I'm going to say, I've probably moved laterally?

We have been hit up by a few companies looking to do some product placement but we haven't had time to really dive into that stuff because we've been shooting all week.

[EDIT] Spelling. Thanks mckenzie3nick!

Do any of the grandmas seem more "mellowed out" since shooting the video, as people tend to be after smoking for the first time? Did any of them express regret for not trying it earlier/believing it was dangerous their entire lives?

Yes! Paula mellowed out a lot. She was really nervous before we started and had a bad migraine. She was really chill by the end. Head was clear and was just laughing and eating cookies my mother-in-law made. No regret about how they perceived it when they were younger. But here were their thoughts before they got high: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9h8mma_APM

How hard was it believe that the Grandma to the far left (looking at them) hadn't smoked pot before? She seemed to grasp it pretty quickly and even gave some good advice.

We cut out a fair amount of fumbling. If we didn't the video would be at least 4 minutes longer. That being said, she took to it fast....

How are the grandmas reacting to their sudden fame? I really hope they haven't seen some of the more...inappropriate comments on Youtube...

Well, Paula is owning it hard: twitter.com/grammapaula420 Dorothea seems cool about it. She told us her grand daughter explained to her it went viral. Went it got very successful she told us: "you can use my name now." She also said she'd be interested to smoke again...with Snoop. I haven't spoken to Dierdre but Blaine said she's doing well. No complaints!

what is your rig/camera/mic/editing suite, etc...? What was the toughest technical issues?

We shot with three REDs. (Overkill, but we own them. So, we use them more often than we need to.) We all edit on Premiere. We hired a guy named Eric Soma to do the sound: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-soma/8/121/a66 We had a friend DP this. He's killer: brianliepe.com

The toughest technical issue: was finding grandmas who had never smoked. The shoot was a breeze. We had no real plan. Everything you saw happen was pretty improvised

When I first saw the video I honestly believed that it was viral video for Cards Against Humanity. (Which I love) They seem to like doing unconventional advertising but based on you're responses its not connected with Card Against Humanity in anyway. Right?

Nope. Not a commercial for CAH or Doritos. Though, in retrospect it's some awesome product placement.

what kind of weed did you get for them?

We got them Lavender. We cut out a part in the video, where Dierdre's like: "I'm surprised it doesn't smell like lavender." Paula: "that's just the name." Dierdre: "I know, but you'd think it'd be infused or something."

Hilarious.

You have to keep those moments in, that lays validity and truth to your presentation.

You're right. I regret having cut it.

Hey great video dude! Very funny and original!
What gave you the idea to shoot this?

Thanks!

Two things: 1. The national debate over the legalization of marijuana. 2. Watching an older family member smoke pot for the first time. It was adorable

What were you trying to prove?

We were't trying to prove anything. We thought that what would happen is what actually did happen: they'd get a bit buzzed, say some funny stuff, and eat some snacks. If people want to use that for or against the argument surrounding the legalization of pot, they can do it.

What other projects are you guys working on?

Awesome question! We actually shot a movie a little while ago. A MOVIE. With Stephen Tobolowsky. He's the actor everyone knows as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day. It's a concert film of him telling stories in the Moore theatre. It's called - The Primary Instinct (www.theprimaryinstinct.com). Right now we're submitting it to festivals. But hoping it comes out early next year! It was directed by this awesome /slashfilm critic: David Chen (http://www.davechen.net/). Maybe you've heard of him. He's kind of brilliant. But super neurotic.

As a proud Vermonter we grow some dank nugget. What strain was it and how much did you buy and the cost?

We bought something called Lavender. I can't remember how much we bought (we also bought joints), but I remember it being really expensive. Like, really expensive.

Which one is your Grandma?

Wow. I wish each of them was my grandma. I actually asked my grandma. She said, I'd love to, but I've smoked weed. We asked the grandma of everyone in the office we share. They had all smoked weed.

Why did you let them take such small hits?
Strain of bud?

Strain: Lavender. I actually answered this above: "We wanted to make sure the ladies had a mild strain. Something that would ease them into the experience. I didn't want anyone to get super anxious or paranoid. That was also the reason we didn't have them pull the stems and clear the chamber. I just didn't want them to get too high too quickly. I said this to someone yesterday - Imagine sitting with someone who had never drank alcohol before. Would you line up 5 shots of tequila and ask them to down it? Or would you give them a couple of glasses of wine over the course of dinner?"

Just curious if you got this idea from the tea scene in grandmas boy?

Man. I've seen that movie and enjoyed it but I totally didn't have it in my head when we were planning or shooting this. I didn't even remember it till someone mentioned it on Youtube. Maybe it was all a subconscious tribute to the comedic stylings of Grandma's Boy.

Did you take time to consider the strain/strength of what the ladies were smoking? Also, if you do it again, get one hitter bowls and pack each their own, much better for first timers imo.

Absolutely! We wanted to make sure the ladies had a mild strain. Something that would ease them into the experience. I didn't want anyone to get super anxious or paranoid. That was also the reason we didn't have them pull the stems and clear the chamber. I just didn't want them to get too high too quickly. I said this to someone yesterday - Imagine sitting with someone who had never drank alcohol before. Would you line up 5 shots of tequila and ask them to down it? Or would you give them a couple of glasses of wine over the course of dinner?

I'm Back!

How the hell did you get some grandma's to smoke weed?

Begging. A lot of begging. A lot of searching. Mostly luck. Also money. Like Dorothea says in the pre-pot interview - "I thought, well they're paying."

What do you think is the best approach to getting marijuana legalized?

State by state. I understand the idea of getting people to buy into the medicinal side of marijuana, but what I wanted out of the video was for people to question why legalizing recreational marijuana was a less valid idea.

You explained your bad experience with edibles. Do you have any opinion on dabs? Do you think it is "the crack of weed"?

HAHAHA! I have no opinion. I didn't even know what dabs were until yesterday. I'll ask Blaine when he gets in!

Hey guys. I'm in a meeting for 30 minutes. I'll be back and answer anymore that show up!

Thanks! Awesome questions.

I heard you had a 4 way after you got them high is that true?

Incorrect. Though the vaporizer company called me and told me they had a new hookah style version of that vaporizer that allowed four people to smoke at the same time. So that's always a possibility.

Will you start jacking it in San Diego?

What do you mean?

I believe the question was meant as a semi-sarcastic jab at what was perceived as being an attempt at capitalizing on flash-in-the-pan fame.

The line in question is a reference to a South Park episode that lampooned the man behind the "Kony 2012" video, who had a very public mental meltdown that culminated in an equally public masturbation session (in San Diego).

In short: /u/PastelFlamingo150 personally feels that your current notoriety is short-lived and possibly undeserved. You should respond to him with something witty that makes him look like the fool.

Aha! Yes. I get it now.