The Disaster Artist (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

There were all of 3 people in my screening today, so not a lot of infectious laughter to be found!

I'm talking about the one-night only screening of The Room. It might not be packed but I think most theaters will have a decent crowd of people who are either already 'fans' or are curious thanks to The Disaster Artist.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I admit I'm not quite sure what makes it Oscar-worthy, but it's an entertaining 90-something movie...

I agree. Franco's performance as Tommy is the only thing I would nominate from it. But being a very enjoyable movie is sometimes enough, as is the case here, even though it will likely not be a serious awards contender in most categories.

the movie's not "IMAX material" at all, so playing it on that grandiose platform is a wink-wink gag.

That, and they didn't have much else to play for that week since The Last Jedi wasn't out yet, but Justice League had flamed out.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I had never seen "The Room" but read about it in Entertainment Weekly, and I really enjoyed Franco's performance, or should I say impersonation. It really made me curious where he got the money and I had to go to Wikipedia to find out it is suspected that it came from money laundering since he really just held some low level jobs before showing up. Money laundering to keep yourself afloat is going to be a very big theme as 2018 unveils some historic secrets and stories.

I can see why this material was so ripe for a film because it plays pure incompetence or ignorance against naive and earnest enthusiasm. You root for him even though he doesn't have a clue. How could Franco resist playing such a character?

 

[Edwin-S]

I've never seen the original film and never plan to see it; however, one of the original players, Greg Sestero, says that Wiseau was already wealthy when he made the original film. Although, he also states that Wiseau vaguely states that money for the movie came from "importing leather jackets from Korea".

 

[Wayne_j]

Wiseau spent $6 million of his own money to make the film.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Wiseau spent $6 million of his own money to make the film.

And I've got a leather jacket from Korea to sell you.

 

[Tino]

And I've got a leather jacket from Korea to sell you.

What you don’t believe it? It’s abdolutely true.
The $6 million of his own money part.
Read the book the film is based on. It really is great.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Oh, no one doubts it was his own money. We're just speculating on where it ultimately came from and how he earned it.

For example, when the Manhattan banks stop loaning you money because you've gone through 5 major bankruptcies, so you have to turn to a German bank to borrow, say $300 million, and then you default on the first payment for that loan so they freeze your credit, but then suddenly you have credit and loans up to $600 million, but it's now all because you are laundering money for Russian oligarchs through U.S. real estate properties and they totally own your ass and... oh, nevermind, I just got carried away with another hard-to-believe-but-true story.

But seriously, inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Disaster Artist - I... dunno, compared to the source material, this film is quite odd, like the main character, in an emotionally stunted fashion. YMMV.

 

[Jake Lipson]

But seriously, inquiring minds want to know.

I agree with wanting to know -- but I don't think we really have any way of finding out that information.

If Wiseau were suddenly interested in revealing that information, don't you think letting The Disaster Artist include it would have been a logical and cool way to put that out there? We know thanks to his ridiculous cameo that he cooperated with this production, and yet we still don't know anything. That he passed up on the opportunity to have the answers appear in this film tells me that he still has no intention of letting anybody know anything personal about him or his finances as it relates to The Room.

What I don't get about him is: what did he expect to happen when he came to Hollywood to act? If things had worked out the way that he originally intended and he became a major in-demand movie star in other people's films, that job sort of carries with it the fact that you become a public figure and that the public knows things about you. This doesn't mean that actors have no privacy at all, but, you know, as part of promoting your film projects, you go on the talk shows and you do press and you talk about yourself and your life experiences. For random example, I don't know a lot that's overly personal about Emma Stone but I know roughly how old she is and that she is from Arizona, which is more than we know definitively abut Tommy Wiseau.

He has been able to maintain the enigma largely because he's doing things on his own now, but what would have happened if things worked out differently for him?

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

It works to the film's favor that they can put that text at the end saying no one still knows exactly where he's from or where his money came from (I don't think that's a spoiler, folks), so it might have been a creative decision for the film's sake and not just him protecting his... source and sources.

 

[Tino]

Tbh I don’t wanna know. And I don’t realky care. More interesting that way.

 

[TravisR]

Tbh I don’t wanna know. And I don’t realky care. More interesting that way.

Yeah, it's like knowing Groucho Marx or Joey Ramone or Rob Zombie's real names. I'd prefer to believe the fiction.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Melvin Kaminsky. Oh, wait, that's Mel Brooks.

Julius Henry.

 

[Tommy R]

My wife and I saw this last night and loved it. Was only ever familiar with The Room through the Nostalgia Critic's review of it from several years ago, IMO one of his best video's if only because The Room is better than Space Mutiny in regards to it being so funny you don't even need the MST3K riffing. I didn't know anything about the behind the scenes stuff before seeing this movie and am now mentally killing myself musing on how the hell the real Wisseau has a bottomless pit of money. Very strange...

 

[Jake Lipson]

Is anyone here actually planning to go to the Fathom screening of The Room on January 10? Just curious. It will be interesting to see what impact The Disaster Artist has on those grosses, since I'm sure Disaster Artist is why that's happening in the first place.

 

[Tino]

Is anyone here actually planning to go to the Fathom screening of The Room on January 10? Just curious. It will be interesting to see what impact The Disaster Artist has on those grosses, since I'm sure Disaster Artist is why that's happening in the first place.

I am. Looking forward to seeing it with an audience.

 

[The Drifter]

Saw The Disaster Artist for the first time last Spring. Great film! I've always been interested in what goes on "behind the scenes" of Hollywood, and this was a fascinating look at the process - while also having a great story & solid cast.

I had never heard of The Room prior to this film, which is not surprising - given that it showed at only one theater back in 2003, and has never been well-known. I know it's supposed to have some kind of cult status/following - LOL. It's funny that more people have probably seen TDA than have seen The Room (I've since seen the film).

TDA also really illustrated how incredibly expensive it is to make movies, and how they rarely (if ever) turn a profit.

TW reminds me a lot of various B.S. artists I've run into in my life, i.e. people who are extremely secretive about their past & when they do let some info."slip through", these details end up being questionable & far-fetched. With these people, you never really know what to believe - or not believe. And, after a while you stop trying to find out more about them because you don't trust that what they're telling you has any element of truth. However, the difference between TW & these people I've run into is that he had the cash to support/back up his unlikely dream - i.e. make a movie.

I also thought the ending was interesting, i.e. TW showing the movie to an actual audience, and everyone laughing their heads off - which increased as the film progressed. Obviously, he intended the film to be a drama, but it had the opposite effect on the audience. However, the audience reaction was very true to life. I.e., I have seen numerous films that try to be too serious & end up being unintentionally hilarious