Seth Rogen revealed why James Franco sports a headband in cult classic Pineapple Express – and it’s not just a fashion statement.
It’s been 16 years since the action-comedy film was released, and it was an instant box-office hit, while living on in the memory of its adorning fans.
The plot follows Dale (Rogen) and his drug dealer Saul (Franco), who run away from a ruthless drug lord, hitmen and a dirty police officer and run into several shenanigans along the way.
An easy watch and a good laugh, there’s no wonder that the film has continued to have a large following more than 15 years after its release.
What’s even better is writer and actor Seth Rogen shared a few unknown facts and behind-the-scenes details on the title’s 10 year anniversary.
Back in 2018, the comedy legend marked the occasion by sharing some details about the Pineapple Express.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he posted a thread of facts and opened up about a number of things to do with the 2008 classic.
One of these things included the inclusion of an adult film star, who had a cameo in the action comedy as she was in a photo in the film as Red’s (Danny McBride) ex-wife who just got out of prison.
“In #PineappleExpress, Red refers to his ex wife having gotten out of jail recently,” he explained. “There’s a pic of Red and his ex wife, who was played by Stormy Daniels.”
There was also a scene where McBride had to stay taped up in a chair ‘all day’ because of how long the shot took to set up.
Rogen lifted the lid on what happened behind the scenes (Columbia Pictures)
However, Rogen then revealed the reason behind Franco’s now iconic headband look throughout the film, and it wasn’t a fashion statement.
He penned: “The reason Saul wears a headband in #PineappleExpress is the result of another injury.
“There’s a shot (that’s in the movie) when we are running through the woods, Franco hits his head on a tree. He actually hit his head on a screw that was holding a pad in place and got stitches.”
As painful as it sounds, you have to applaud the commitment to keep filming with a slight change to the character’s look.
Adding more insult to injury, the 42-year-old added: “Throughout the fight scene in Red’s house in #PineappleExpress, I broke my finger and Danny McBride got his head cracked open when Franco hit him with the bong.”
It might be one of the most painful sounding shoots ever, with no stuntmen taking the hit for the comedians.
Franco didn’t sport the headband for the entire movie, but it became part of the character’s look (Columbia Pictures)
Produce Judd Apatow also took to social media, revealing that Bryan Cranston tried out for a role in the film, but thought that he wasn’t scary enough to be a dealer.
Ironic, right?
It should be noted that Breaking Bad was also released in 2008, so the menacing, chilling character known as Walter White hadn’t graced our screens yet.
Apatow tweeted: “Bryan Cranston auditioned, he may have even read at a table read and I said ‘I don’t think he seems scary enough to seem like a real drug dealer.’ If he did PE [Pineapple Express] maybe the Breaking Bad people would have said, ‘Not him, he always plays drug dealers’.”
It might have been the best thing for all parties, then.
Rogen also revealed that he had to roll all the prop joints on set with his friend and co-writer Evan Goldberg, saying: “In #PineappleExpress, me and my co-writer Evan had to roll all the cross joints needed to film (about 100) ourselves because nobody else on the crew could roll them properly.”
Many people dream of having kids one day but Seth Rogan certainly isn’t one of them.
The actor and comedian explained why he doesn’t want to have ever have children during an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast.
During the appearance, the Superbad star, 42, discussed everything from how he made his start in comedy to smoking weed everyday to his film career and the prospect of becoming a ‘Super Dad’ with host Steven Bartlett.
When asked if he saw kids in his future, Rogen explained that he and his wife Lauren Miller Rogen – whom he married in 2011 – had previously talked about parenthood, but over time have become increasingly satisfied with their decision not to have any.
“There’s a whole huge thing I’m not doing, which is raising children,” he said.
Rogen said not having children has helped him to be successful (Emma McIntyre/WireImage)
Playing devil’s advocate, Bartlett asked whether he might be happier if he had kids, but Rogen was crystal clear on this too.
“I don’t think it would [make me happier]” he replied. “I’ve been around a lot of children, I’m not ignorant to what it’s like, I’ve seen everyone I know have kids. I’m 40, I know.
“Some of my friends have had kids for decades, you know. Some people want kids, some people don’t want kids.
“I think a lot of people have kids before they even think about it, from what I’ve seen, honestly. You just are told, you got through life, you get married, you have kids – it’s what happens.”
Rogen and his wife Lauren are happy being childless (Greg Doherty/Getty Images)
He continued: “Me and my wife, neither of us were like that. Honestly, the older we get the more happy and reaffirmed we are with our choice not to have kids. It was something we kind of talked about more, and we were like, ‘Have we made the right choice, are we sure?’
“Now, more than anything, the conversation is like, ‘Honestly, thank God we don’t have children. We get to do whatever we want, we are in the prime of our lives, we are smarter than we’ve ever been, we understand ourselves more than we ever have, we have the capacity to achieve a level of work and a level of communication and care for one another, and a lifestyle we can live with one another that we’ve never been able to live before, and we can just do that and we don’t have to raise a child – which the world does not need right now.”
If there’s a celebrity out there who’s earned the right to be a trusted opinion in the world of weed, it’s gotta be Snoop Dogg.
Despite the recent bombshell announcement that he’s decided to ‘give up smoke’, the rapper has long made his feelings on the stuff known.
Back in 2019, Snoop sat down for a chat on The Howard Stern Show with actor and fellow stoner Seth Rogen.
The two celebs are pretty good mates, with a love for getting stoned together.
Obviously, I should point out that we do not condone the use of drugs and the Class B drug cannabis is illegal to possess, grow, distribute or sell in the UK.
Anyway, getting back to it, the ‘Young, Wild & Free’ rapper and Pineapple Express actor spoke on the show about their friendship smoking together.
As well as giving JD Harmeyer advice on which strain to start off with for his first time, the pair also ranted about Europeans and the way they roll up weed.
.webp)
The Howard Stern Show
“I’m just being honest with you,” Snoop began. “Whenever I would go to certain countries, their weed was so f**king garbage.
“We would get some hash and the hash would take it to another level.”
And Rogen knew exactly what he was talking about as he asked the rapper if he ends up arguing with ‘a lot of Europeans about putting tobacco in their joints’.
Both of the stoner pals agreed they ‘hate that sh*t’.
Snoop explained: “They put f**king cigarettes in their f**king weed, it’s like a hell of a head rush.”
He went on to warn: “If you’re not careful that sh*t will blow your f**king head off.”
Rogen claims Europeans do this with weed because they think they’re ‘expanding it and stretching it out.”
Snoop said: “They put a little bit of weed and a lot of f**king tobacco.”
X/SnoopDog
The actor said it ‘doesn’t get you high the same way’ as the rapper claimed it is ‘f**king you up’.
The rapper warned ‘your whole chest gonna blow up’ as Rogen called the move ‘crazy’.
A previous study by UCL found that the ‘large majority’ of cannabis users in Europe smoke it with tobacco.
However, the lead author, Chandi Hindocha, says that doing this to make you ‘more stoned’ is a myth as it ‘does nothing to improve the subjective experience’.
The study also found that adding tobacco actually reduced ‘the memory impairment inherent to cannabis use’. But the researches did add that combining the two could add to the cardiovascular risk of smoking cannabis.
Brits have responded after seeing a resurfaced clip of Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen saying they ‘hate’ the way Europeans roll joints.
The 2019 clip has been doing the rounds online again after Snoop publicly declared he was ‘giving up smoke’. I think that may be one of the signs of the apocalypse, to be honest.
Taking to X (Twitter) on Thursday (16 November), Snoop said: “I’m giving up smoke.
“After much consideration & conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke.
“Please respect my privacy at this time.”
Following the shock announcement, a clip of Snoop from The Howard Stern Show with actor and fellow stoner Seth Rogen has been shared online, in which they discuss the way Europeans smoke weed.
“I’m just being honest with you,” Snoop began. “Whenever I would go to certain countries, their weed was so f**king garbage.
“We would get some hash and the hash would take it to another level.”
And Rogen knew exactly what he was talking about as he asked the rapper if he ends up arguing with ‘a lot of Europeans about putting tobacco in their joints’.
Both of the stoner pals agreed they ‘hate that s**t’.
Snoop explained: “They put f**king cigarettes in their f**king weed, it’s like a hell of a head rush.”
He went on to warn: “If you’re not careful that s**t will blow your f**king head off.”
Rogen claims Europeans do this with weed because they think they’re ‘expanding it and stretching it out.”
Snoop said: “They put a little bit of weed and a lot of f**king tobacco.”
The actor said it ‘doesn’t get you high the same way’ as the rapper claimed it is ‘f**king you up’.
Now Brits have responded to the clip on social media, with one saying: “Good luck smoking a pure hash joint. If you’re going to criticise our way at least understand why we do it!”
Another said: “People put tobacco in them to make their weed last longer. It’s not the best but with the price of it and how hard it is to get, it makes sense.”
A third commented: “I can’t cope with no tobacco in it. It’s like it’s my first time smoking all I do is cough. It heavy hits the back of your throat with no tobacco.”
A fourth pointed out: “We’re not all millionaires, mate.”
While someone else joked: “I won’t take advice from a quitter.”
As for if Snoop stays off the weed for good or if the whole thing is an elaborate prank? Only time will tell.
Comedian John Oliver was taking no s**t after being cut off by the Emmys while doing an emotional speech about his dead dog.
For the second time this year, Hollywood stars were in attendance at the Peacock Theatre in LA on Sunday night (15 September).
This comes after the September 2023 ceremony was delayed until January 2024 because of the US writers’ and actors’ strikes.
While Baby Reindeer bagged four Emmys on the night, the moment of the evening certainly went to the British comedian and his acceptance speech.
The Last Week Tonight with John Oliver host was cut off mid-speech as he started to talk about his dead dog.
Take a look at the TV presenter’s brilliant reaction below:
After picking up the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series award, Oliver took to the stage to deliver a heartfelt tribute to his dog.
“I also want to thank – this is going to be very silly – our dog,” he said.
“We had the most fantastic dog. She was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us through the two pregnancies.”
However, the ‘get-off-stage’ music began to play as Oliver continued: “Perfect choice of music. We had to say goodbye to her.”
Comedian John Oliver was cut off mid-speech as he started to talk about his dead dog (ABC)
He then yelled: “F**k you,” as the audience erupted in laughter.
“I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now,” Oliver joked, while the Emmys appeared to turn off the soundtrack and let him finish off his speech.
“She was an amazing dog. Ouch. This isn’t just for her – this is for all dogs. You’re all very good girls. You’re very good boys. You all deserve a treat.
“Play me off now.”
Taking to social media to comment on the unreal scenes, one viewer said: “I don’t know what’s more iconic – John Oliver thanking his late dog during his acceptance speech or being able to reverse the Emmy’s playoff music by talking about his dog.”
Another penned: “I’m crying. John Oliver dedicated his Emmy to his dog who just passed away, and all the girl and boy dogs out there – says give them a treat!”
While someone else wrote: “So this was something. John Oliver wins an Emmy. He starts to thank his dog, who recently died, and they start playing him off stage, which he did not appreciate.”
In the speech, Oliver also thanked ‘HBO for not cancelling us over the last decade’.
“That was never a guarantee. I appreciate it. Please carry on,” he added.
