Text by Hayley Yerington
Though I’ve never stepped into one of the many medical marijuana clinics in LA, I imagine it to be an otherworldly experience—akin to entering a no man’s land where everything that was once wrong is magically righted, and the kush is piled as high as your eye. However, the new TV series The Clinic from writer/director Danny Lee (Rock Fresh fame) sets out to prove that life in the medical marijuana biz ain’t all goofy black light posters and blissed-out hacky sack seshes. The mockumentary comedy follows the day-to-day lives of workers at your local, fictional weed shop—think The Office, but with munchies. The pilot is currently being shopped around, so keep an eye out for this one.
The Clinic
What gave you the idea for this show? The mockumentary format has always fascinated me. The concept of The Clinic literally popped in my head one night. After that, it took a few weeks to hammer out the script, ran it by a few industry friends, and decided to run with it. That’s when I teamed up with a producer friend Joseph Shim and within a few weeks we had the pilot in the can.
So you were dreaming about medicinal marijuana dispensaries? No. Well maybe. I have a horrible memory.
You hear a lot about Hollywood not really wanting to take chances, step outside the comfort zone. How do you juggle following current trends versus experimenting and taking on the risk of failure? Or do you even think about that? I’d be a fool not to. As I’ve matured I’ve become more attentive to industry trends. I voraciously read the trades. A general rule I follow is if I can’t get people excited with a one-line pitch, I’m not doing it.
How was the process of making this film compared to, say, Rock Fresh? Night and day—literally! Rock Fresh took two years to shoot, The Clinic took two nights. While making Rock Fresh, I was a naïve kid who would’ve never dreamt of selling my first film to Showtime. Today, I’m still a naïve kid but with a slower metabolism!
Is there an underlying message or point with The Clinic, or are you just trying to make people laugh? Mostly the latter. I want to break the fourth wall, with making the viewer an active participant. The documentary crew in The Clinic will be as important a character as Marty (Joe Hursley).
What kind of research went into creating The Clinic? Did you visit any real clinics and demand samples? Yes, definitely. I had already hung out at a few clinics purely out of curiosity, but when it came time to research, a friend of mine introduced me to the owner of a very busy Hollywood clinic. Dispensaries are a whole different world, rich with character and life—even with dying patients. While I’m sure some people go to get the $45 1/8th of Grand Daddy, I did personally witness many with medical conditions copping their green—so the movement is legit!
Are you a card-carrying member of the 420 brigade? Nope.
There’s a wall of graffiti that makes a cameo in the pilot. Was that the work of a Rock Fresh artist? No. That toy mess was just randomly in the shot.
I’ve heard that fake prop weed is pretty harsh. Were you tempted to use the real stuff? We used moss from Michael’s for the fake weed. As far as the smoke, strictly American Spirit and Bali Shag!
Was the lure there, though? Nope. We were already paranoid enough by shooting at a real clinic in the middle of the night in the middle of not-so-glamorous section of Hollywood. We didn’t need the extra sweat. In fact, we made sure there wasn’t a single nodule lying around while we shot.
What do you personally find too enticing to pass up? Million dollar checks! I’ll shoot a big ol’ popcorn flick in a heartbeat!
This seems like a fun show to shoot. Got any on-set stories? Because we shot at a real clinic, we had to shoot off-hours. That meant our first shot was around midnight, and we went all through the night until noon the next day! We shot 30 pages over two nights—brutal. Magically, the spirits of both cast and crew seemed to lift over time. It was rough the first few hours as we were getting our bearings, but by the end we were all having a hoot! Oh and in the very last shot, one of the actors left frame and puked all over the wall before I could call cut! Thanks to Five Four for letting us use their office and to the PAs for cleaning that shit up!
Puke, why? An American Spirit and Bali Shag overdose? Exactly.
Are any of the characters based on real people? Nope. But speaking of real people, The Clinic would’ve not been possible without the amazing cast including, but not limited to, Joe Hursley, Caroline D’Amore, Luke Massy, Gabriella Gatto, Paul McCarthy-Boyington, Sylvia Pancione, Sam Sarpong, Ben Baller, the Gaslamp Killer, the Arab Parrot, and the rest!
Top five favorite stoner movies? Big Lebowski, Friday, Dazed and Confused, Kids, Up In Smoke.
What TV shows do you currently love? Boondocks, Entourage, The Office, anything on G4, and Anthony Bourdain!
What is your worst addiction? Korean food!
What is your ultimate career dream? My sincere hope is to help talented people around me come up.
And for aspiring filmmakers that want to follow in your footsteps, what advice would you give them? Don’t do it. Go to law school.
