We’ve all seen those movies that have a memorable “drug” scene in them.  Whether it be Return of the Living Dead (Trioxin), the epinephrine scene from Pulp Fiction, or the entire series of Cheech and Chong movies, drugs have played an integral role in movies and tonight the geeks got a chance to talk to Richard Cranor, the writer and director of Star Leaf, exactly about those kinds of scenes.

What is this Star Leaf flick?
To hear DM tell it, Star Leaf is a movie about the evils of breaking the rules, however we tend to think of Star Leaf more like a Cheech and Chong meets E.T. meets Predator.
A small group of friends heads off “to the wild” in search of the mystical Star Leaf, chasing the high that is associated with this extra-planetary plant.  As they meet characters along the way, such as Ranger Dave, played by Richard Cranor himself, they realize there are certain guidelines to using the plant.  When one of the characters breaks these guidelines the movie turns into a horror show for the group.  The aliens are pissed, and they want their sh*t back.
Star Leaf is available on Amazon, iTunes or your favorite VOD platform.
Below you will find a copy of DM’s review of the movie and you can find Star Leaf on IMDB at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3973814/
You can find out more about this movie by visiting: http://www.starleafmovie.com/ or Richard Cranor’s website at: https://richardcranor.wordpress.com/
You can watch the preview on YouTube:
Richard was kind enough to answer some of the audience questions we got in email after the show:
1.  Was the Seth character based on some one you know?  Like a father figure or something? — Pokerface11
A.  Seth was really based on Russell Hodgkinson himself. The first day I met him I just saw him as that character. I knew he could deliver it effortlessly. He has a natural patriarchal quality but cool. If anything, he’s like a Obi Wan Kenobi and Tommy Chong rolled into one.
2.  Do you recommend getting high before or during the movie? — Jess Tr.
A.  One of the jokes I make is the great thing about Star Leaf is you can watch it once high, watch it once sober, and it’s two different movies. Hell, different types of weed create different viewing experiences as well. You never see the same movie twice.
3.  Is the star leaf based on a type of mj youve used before if so what was it because i need some — Dave L.
A.  No, but we had a medical marijuana grower in Washington State (Ohana Farms) grow us some high THC bud we called “Star Leaf” and holy shit, talk about a blast off. I think it was some kind of infused plant with 47% THC. I remember smoking it and staring at a rock for 2 hours. Seriously. I was out of my mind. That’s the closest I’ve come to a true Star Leaf experience yet.
4.  Typically what is the budget for a movie like this? – Twilightsux
A.  I’m not saying our film costs this much – but you can make something like this between 25k-50k. Some find even cheaper ways to make films like this. It’s crazy what you can do now.
5.  Do you know what Richard used for cameras?  To keep the costs down, what tricks did he use? — Jeff Nelson
A.  I used the 5D mark 3. It’s a wonderful camera,