By Kathleen Richards
OAKLAND, CALIF. — Independent filmmaker Kevin Hahn admits he grew up “smoking pot and drinking beer.” And so it is that his feature debut, “Stoner’s Run,” follows the bumpy adventures of potheads trying to score. Think “Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke.” But the 37-year-old Hahn has other cinematic aspirations: He hopes to tell serious crime and drug stories à la Michael Mann’s 1995 epic, “Heat.”
And don’t think he’s not one to do it. The main character in “Stoner’s Run,” Bradley Newall (played by Andrés Sinohui), is based on Hahn’s own escapades as a “runner” — the person who scores weed. But Hahn’s experiences were never as dramatic as the one played out on screen, in which Bradley and his buddies — in their bumbling quest to buy marijuana — eventually fall into trouble with the law.
The story is more than just sinsemilla smoking, though it’s a prominent part of the movie. (Incidentally, none of the amateur actors in the film wanted to smoke pot on set, so they smoked “nasty herbal stuff” instead, according to Hahn). Bradley decides to give up selling drugs for his family. But first he has to make one final “stoner’s run,” during which he and his friends encounter various eccentric characters, from a flirty Asian American lesbian to the hardened “O.G.” Clarence to Goldie, the big-time drug dealer.
It’s a no-budget film in the truest sense. None of the actors were paid, most of the scenes were shot in friends’ living rooms, and many of the supplies were donated, from grip tape to food. (Hahn insisted that his friend harass local grocer Safeway until they eventually donated gift cards worth $150). In the end, the filmmaker spent about $3,500. That the movie finally came together is testament to Hahn’s dogged determination.
“He’s a dedicated artist,” said Danilo Daniel, the film’s electrician, who also played the role of a narcotics agent.
“Kevin’s very opinionated, but he’s a straight shooter,” said Peter Tripodi, who did the sound and also played a narcotics cop. “He’s a faithful friend. Hard to work with, but great to work with. He has a very clear idea of what he wants.”
Hours before the premiere of “Stoner’s Run” at Oakland’s Parkway Theater on a brisk Tuesday evening in November, Hahn, Daniel, Tripodi and other members of the cast and crew downed shots of Patron tequila and sipped apple martinis at the adjacent bar, Parkway Lounge. After three years of hard work, they were ready to celebrate.
Later, inside the Parkway Theater, Hahn and his crew made up a majority of the audience, which was about three-quarters full. When the movie started, it became clear from the cheers that many more people besides Hahn have a stake in its success. Some, like a 26-year-old aspiring rapper who goes by Spahonn (pronounced Spawn), had no involvement in the movie, but felt it represented a victory for him, too.
“I’m so happy for him right now,” Spahonn said, calling the movie “magnificent” and “marvelous.” Spahonn met Hahn at an Oakland BART subway station when he asked Hahn for money. Hahn helped him out, and the two hit it off. “It was just something about him,” recalled Spahonn, who recently collaborated with Hahn to produce a short music video to submit to the shoe company Converse.
That Hahn attracts such a misfit crew isn’t so surprising when you learn about his upbringing, which is filled with fantastical, movie-like details. To begin with, he speaks like a laid-back Southerner mixed with Spicoli from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”: part Texan from his childhood spent in Austin; part surfer from his college days at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He grew up watching blaxploitation films, and his father essentially sold “pimp clothes,” like polyester suits, to real pimps at his clothing shop on 5th and Market Street in San Francisco. By eighth grade, Hahn was well acquainted with phrases like “Don’t make me pimp slap you.” He once showed up to school wearing matching shirt and socks emblazoned with the Playboy bunny logo, which made him quite popular.
Even the making of the movie was filled with drama. One of the actors turned out to be one of two survivors who attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, and was featured in the documentary “The Bridge.” The character Goldie, played by a real pimp named Goldie, went to jail before shooting began for beating up a guy who took one of his prostitutes. His replacement also went to prison for an outstanding warrant on the day shooting was to begin. The real Goldie was released in time to play the role — he memorized his lines in jail — but now he’s back, serving a 15-year sentence after committing another crime. Hahn had his friend, who’s a narcotics officer, supply footage of marijuana plants from a real drug bust.
Hahn’s life started out like a typical Korean American immigrant. He was born in Seoul, and moved with his family to Austin, Texas, at age 2. While Hahn said there weren’t many Korean families living in Austin at the time, he attended Korean church and grew up speaking Korean and eating Korean food. Crediting Southern hospitality, Hahn says his family was welcomed with open arms. They moved to California’s Bay Area when he was 12, and lived in various suburban communities east of San Francisco like Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Martinez. In high school, he enjoyed playing football, wrestling and surfing.
It was also in high school when Hahn started drinking and smoking pot. According to Hahn, “everything was an adventure” during his high school years. When he attended college in Santa Barbara, Hahn settled on a major in political science because he “didn’t know sh-t about anything in the world.”
But after graduation, Hahn gravitated toward graphic design and video editing. At age 30, he enrolled infilmmaking classes at City College of San Francisco. He encouraged his teachers to flunk him so he could take the same video editing class repeatedly, mostly because he didn’t have access to the computer programs on his own. Hahn’s first film was a short about a kid with a double life as a superhero.
“That was for family,” he said. “This film [‘Stoner’s Run’] isn’t for them; it’s for my friends.”
Hahn became part of a group of budding filmmakers, like Daniel and Tripodi, who help each other out on their projects. He continues to take classes at City College, and works a day job at the Academy of Art University and as a photographer shooting high school portraits. Currently, he’s working on getting distribution for “Stoner’s Run,” and plans to begin work on a short film. He has his sights set on making a drug trilogy, focusing on marijuana, Ecstasy and painkillers.
Hahn’s epic movies may be a ways away, but he certainly won’t lack any inspiration when the time comes.
“He’s a trip,” said Tripodi.
