Fans everywhere recognize Method Man and Redman as the dynamic duo of rap. Though each artist has a successful solo career and continues to enjoy beneficial collaborations with other artists, it is their association with each other that really excites fans. Ever since they came together to record the anthem How High (which inspired the film's title) for the soundtrack to The Show, they have been inseparable.
"I've been with Redman since 1992 and we hooked up with Method Man in 1995," recalled Native Pictures producer James Ellis, who has been Redman's manager for almost a decade, "so I have been on the road with them all this time, watching them build this charisma. Everyone who knew them said that they should do a movie together. Method Man and Redman had a very strong sense of the kind of movie they wanted to do — Cheech & Chong crossed with Animal House, where they could be themselves and be at college wilding out."
The duo had already tested their comedic abilities with hilarious videos like Whateva Man for Redman's Muddy Waters album. There they put their own spin on the characters Jake and Elwood Blues from The Blues Brothers with great success. Redman is widely recognized for other humorous videos, including I'll Be Dat where he has a beautiful girl comically fall off her bike in front of a group of guys.
"We wanted to do a comedy," Method Man emphasized, "because it was what was called for. We both watch a lot of comedies and wanted to do something in our genre because it's more of who we are. I don't think anyone has made a comedy that fits the caliber of a Cheech & Chong." Eventually Ellis partnered with Shauna Garr, a TV-film producer who manages Method Man, and they approached Universal Pictures, whose parent company also owns Def Jam, record label to both Redman and Method Man. Universal suggested that Garr and Ellis partner with Jersey Films whose diverse film slate includes Pulp Fiction, Reality Bites, the Oscar-nominated Erin Brockovich as well as the hip-hop/basketball-driven film Sunset Park.
Jersey Films' Pamela Abdy, an admitted hip-hop fan, shepherded the project and developed it with Native Pictures. "Jersey has always had an interest in music-driven projects," Abdy explained, "and this was one that seemed really exciting to us and [we] were excited to work with Method Man and Redman."
"We are attracted to projects where the material is organic," Jersey Film partner Stacey Sher added. "It doesn't seem to work when you're superimposing a style or sound to a movie just because it's popular. If something is organic and true to the piece, it ends up connecting with audiences."
Writer Dustin Lee Abraham writer spent two weeks with Method Man and Redman to capture the nuances of their personalities as well as the rhythms of their relationship and their humor. Both Method Man and Redman were very involved in the film's development, even when touring and recording.
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