Tommy Chong is best known for being one half of the pot-smoking comedy duo Cheech and Chong and has been labeled as an activist for the cannabis movement ever since. Chong is now starring in Richard Stanley's new horror film Color Out of Space.
Chong, 81, told Cheddar he relates to his character "Ezra," who is a shut-in recluse 'hermit' that provides comic relief in the film. He said as you age the more you become a 'hermit' yourself. "The older you get the less people listen to you and talk to you," Chong claimed.
The Cheech and Chong stoner comedy duo rose to fame in the 1970s, and, in an era of reboots, Chong says he is open to doing a reunion after Richard "Cheech" Marin recovers from a knee injury. Since then, Chong has been vocal on and off the screen about his love for cannabis and now has ventured into his own brand called 'Chong's Choice' which offers a range of products from pre-rolls to THC strips.
Now that cannabis is legal in California, where he spends most of his time, he explained that this was the best moment to start his own business. "Once it got legal, it's fun. You don't have to sneak across the border anymore," Chong said.
However, the actor and comedian is not surprised to see cannabis legalized in his lifetime, because he said he always knew it was good for you. "Anything that makes you horny works," he explained.
Color Out of Space, based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, is set to be in theaters Jan. 24, co-starring Nicholas Cage and Joely Richardson. The film takes place in a rural town after the Gardner family relocates there from the city. After a meteor lands into the family's garden, the water supply is infected by a mutant organism causing the entire town to exhibit unhinged behavior.
Gparency, a company that says its mission is to revolutionize the commercial mortgage industry, raised $15 million in its first funding round - representing the largest ever seed round in the commercial real estate space. Gparency's service will allow landlords and real estate developers to receive funding directly from banks, without the need for a mortgage broker. The company says its new approach will give power back to the consumer. Gparency founder and CEO Ira Zlotowitz joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
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In an all-new podcast, one sports journalist takes listeners through never-before-heard tapes of a teenage Kobe Bryant as he explores his thoughts, his dreams, his goals at the start of his path to becoming an NBA icon. Journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and host of the podcast, "I Am Kobe" from Diversion Podcasts Mike Sielski, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
