Hey Man, Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie Rolls With SNS EVO

Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong have long been icons of counterculture comedy. Known for their irreverent humor, stoner wit, and undeniable chemistry, Cheech & Chong have transcended their early comedy albums and cult classic films to become beloved cultural figures in the US and around the world. 

Now streaming on Paramount+, Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie takes audiences on a wild ride through the legendary duo’s one-of-a-kind journey. Blending never-before-seen footage, candid interviews, and decades of archival material, the film offers a fresh, cinematic take on their life and legacy. Behind the scenes, EVO shared storage was key to the success of the project: handling multiple media formats, supporting remote workflows, and protecting sensitive content every step of the way.

The film’s production company trusted Key Code Media to help shape the post-production workflow and technical backbone behind the documentary. Senior Solutions Architect Robert Van Kuran partnered closely with the team to build an infrastructure capable of supporting the project’s demanding editorial workflow. Reflecting on the experience, Van Kuran said:

“A true creative solution allows one to solve problems when dynamics arise. The SNS EVO as a platform provided the tools for both performance and security combined with the stability required for the production’s media demands. Working alongside David to develop a workflow and get the systems dialed in for creativity utilizing this technology set was a success.”

Directed by David Bushell, the documentary captures the heart of Cheech & Chong’s legacy while pushing the limits of modern post-production. We caught up with Bushell to talk about his creative vision, the technical challenges of the edit, and how EVO helped bring it all together.

Q&A with Director David Bushell

Q: What drew you to direct Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie? 

“I knew I had the taste and instinct, but for the longest time, I didn’t have the confidence or conviction to make the jump from producer to director. Eventually, I realized I wanted to sing my own song, so I took the leap and did it.”

Q: What was your vision for the look and feel of the film? 

“Documentaries are a kind of patchwork; much of the footage is already shot before you begin. Since I come from a narrative background, I wanted to find a creative way to blend that with documentary storytelling. We were working with a mix of formats, so the goal was to weave them together thoughtfully. The portrait-style white backdrop interviews gave us a clean, sparse, minimalist look, while the desert scenes added a wide, cinematic scope—something that felt theatrical and intentional, like a real movie.”

Q: What are you most proud of about the finished film?

“Honestly, I’m just proud I didn’t mess it up. Audiences seem to enjoy it, and more importantly, Cheech and Chong are happy with it. That’s all I could ask for.”

Q: What did your post-production setup look like?

“We had one lead editor and three additional editors handling different aspects of the project. We started with four workstations with Mac Pro towers and later transitioned to iMacs. Everything was connected to our SNS EVO server—it was the backbone of our workflow and kept the whole operation running smoothly.”

Q: Did any of your team work remotely during production and post?

“Yes. I prefer working in person, but remote production and editorial were a necessity. It was challenging—especially building trust around sensitive archival content—but EVO gave us the security and access we needed. Our team was able to remote into the server and keep things moving, even outside the studio.”

Q: What other technology helped in your workflow?

“I wanted the film to be as technically prolific as it was creatively ambitious. That’s why we relied on SNS for storage, Adobe Premiere Pro for editing, and Arri Alexa cameras for our new footage. We worked with Fotokem for transcoding and used Illuminate for film scanning, tape transfers, and deinterlacing. Given the range of source formats and archival material, we used a proxy workflow to keep things fast and manageable for the editors—everything was centralized on EVO, which made it easy to manage everything. It was a complex setup, but the right tools made it all possible.”

Q: What about EVO was most valuable to your team?

“It was easily the most reliable part of our entire workflow. We started the film in a rented house in Los Angeles, and I set up the EVO server in a regular bedroom closet—no ventilation, no climate control, nothing. It gets hot in L.A., but that server never missed a beat. Calling it “reliable” almost doesn’t do it justice.”

Q: What advice would you give to other teams considering SNS products?

“Definitely go for it, and invest in a couple of extra drives while you’re at it. About seven years ago, we lost a drive and had to buy a spare. We hot-swapped it in, and the system rebuilt itself with zero data loss, but we should’ve had that spare ready to go. Also, the SNS tech support team is incredible. We open a support ticket once or twice a year just to have them check in and make sure everything’s running smoothly. Don’t hesitate to reach out, they really know their stuff.”

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

“I’m not a deeply technical guy, but I know how to hire the right people and put the right systems in place—and EVO was a big part of that. I’m loyal, and after this experience, I wouldn’t use anything else.”

About The Film And The Technology Behind It

There’s a line in the film where Cheech asks Chong: “So, is this a documentary or a movie?” and Chong replies, “I don’t know.” That exchange perfectly sums up the narrative storytelling Bushell captured in this film. 

While it’s the end of the road for Cheech & Chong on film, it’s just the beginning for countless storytellers inspired by their unique perspective. EVO is built to support media professionals as they craft their own stories, helping them navigate challenges they may encounter on their creative journey.

Learn more about SNS EVO for film production and schedule a demo today at snsevo.com.

About SNS

Studio Network Solutions (SNS) is an award-winning media technology company specializing in shared storage and cloud workflow solutions for every stage of media production. EVO and the EVO Suite power real-time collaboration on massive media files, Outpost globally accelerates review and approval timelines, Trio secures media backups and archiving in the cloud, and the AI Suite adds intelligence and automation at scale. Trusted in over 80 countries, the on-premise and cloud-native solutions from SNS empower broadcast, VFX, and post-production teams to create amazing content, faster, from anywhere.