#movie:the-disaster-artist

[kevinpolowy]

Is 'The Room' creator Tommy Wiseau a vampire? 'Disaster Artist' cast attempts to answer film's burning questions.

Tommy Wiseau, the writer, director, star, and overall “mastermind” behind the midnight classic The Room, is an enigma. And the mystery surrounding him extends far beyond his conception of and, um, interesting decisions made while producing the infamous 2003 film that made him a cult hero.

The Disaster Artist, the new comedy starring James Franco as Wiseau, takes us on a wackadoo behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Room and poses three vital questions about the man: Where is he from? How old is he? And where did he get all his money? It’s not a spoiler to say The Disaster Artist, based on the book by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell and adapted for the screen by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, doesn’t go out of its way to definitively answer any of these.

So we asked the film’s cast (watch above).

Where is he from? “New Orleans,” James Franco laughed — echoing the very questionable claim made by Wiseau, who has what appears to be a very thick Slavic accent. “I’d assume Eastern Europe somewhere,” posited a more reasonable Seth Rogen (who plays script supervisor Sandy Schklair). “Romania,” guessed Ari Graynor (Wiseau’s romantic interest in The Room, Juliette Danielle). “I was gonna say Detroit,” added Paul Scheer (cinematographer Raphael Smadja).

How old is he? “About 23,” an again-unhelpful Franco mused. “I think he’s ageless like a vampire,” Scheer said. “I’m not convinced that he is not a vampire.” Added Rogen, “He’s 4,000.”

Where’d he get all his money? “Selling Levi’s jeans,” said Franco, clearly determined not to tip off anything that would tarnish The Mystique of Tommy Wiseau, who bankrolled The Room with a staggering $6 million budget. “I think like a vampire, you collect antiquities,” Rogen explained. “A pocket watch from this era, a chalice from that era.” Agreed Rogen and Graynor: “He sells them on eBay.”

So there you have it, Tommy Wiseau is an ageless vampire from Bulgaria.

The Disaster Artist opens in limited engagement on Friday and nationwide on Dec. 8.

Watch the cast talk about the weirdness of The Room:

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

James Franco holds court — and courts Oscar — in ‘The Disaster Artist’

James Franco’s ‘Disaster Artist’ trailer: Something strange going on in this ‘Room’ (watch)

Hollywood’s early Oscar picks: Stars at Governors Awards loving ‘Get Out,’ ‘Florida Project,’ and ‘Lady Bird’

[kevinpolowy]

With 'Disaster Artist,' Franco brothers hope they can bring 'The Room' creator Tommy Wiseau to the Oscars

The irony is not lost on Dave Franco.

His new film The Disaster Artist recreates the production of The Room, the 2003 movie generally regarded as one of the worst ever made and celebrated for its indescribable, hilarious awfulness at midnight screenings ever since. Yet given the overwhelmingly positive response its received since premiering at the SXSW Film Festival in March, it could be his ticket the Oscars.

Or more significantly, it could be the film that would bring Tommy Wiseau, the inscrutable writer, director, producer, star — dare we say, auteur — of The Room, to the Oscars.

“The best thing about going to the Academy Awards, if we have a chance, is getting Tommy Wiseau to the show,” Franco told Yahoo Entertainment at the Governors Awards (watch above). He’s already picked out his outfit, too: “His three belts, his glasses… black hair down to his ass.”

In the film — directed by and co-starring his brother James Franco as Wiseau — Dave plays Greg Sestero, whose autobiographical book of the same name the film is based on.

Even if The Disaster Artist doesn’t end up at The Big Show, though, Franco will be content with where the film has taken him. “Going into the first screening at SXSW, we were like, ‘We like this movie, who knows what anyone’s going to think?’ And so the fact that people have responded the way they have, it’s all bonus. If it all ended today, I swear to God I’d still be happy. So, let’s see what happens.”

Watch stars at the Governors Awards offer their early Oscar picks:

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

James Franco holds court — and courts Oscar — in ‘The Disaster Artist’

James Franco’s ‘Disaster Artist’ trailer: Something strange going on in this ‘Room’

Hot-button topics mostly avoided as Academy toasts honorary Oscar recipients

[kevinpolowy]

Do you need to see 'The Room' before 'The Disaster Artist'? The screenwriters weigh in

It’s a question that has been asked repeatedly online, and one we’ve fielded from friends and family members who’ve heard the buzz on the acclaimed new comedy The Disaster Artist: Do you need to see The Room, the infamous and epically awful Tommy Wiseau film chronicled by James Franco and company, before you see The Disaster Artist?

So we put it to The Disaster Artist‘s screenwriting duo, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer, The Spectacular Now) at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards (watch above).

“By design, we wrote the first draft of the script with only me having seen The Room,” said Neustadter. “Weber didn’t actually watch it while we were writing the thing. Because we wanted to make sure that it wasn’t for a very small pocket of audience and that everyone could enjoy it. Because it’s really not about [The Room], it’s about these two guys and their friendship and their dream to make movies.”

In other words, as Neustadter put it, “Hopefully no.”

“You can watch it in either order,” said Weber, who quoted one of the Disaster Artist‘s costars (and connoisseur of bad cinema), Paul Scheer. “He said it best, ‘If you’ve seen The Room, The Disaster Artist is a sequel. But if you haven’t seen The Room, The Disaster Artist is a prequel.”

The Disaster Artist is now playing, while The Room will play nationally for one night only Jan. 10.

Watch the cast of The Disaster Artist talk about the weirdness of The Room:

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

Will ‘The Disaster Artist’ help boost ‘The Room?’ Tommy Wiseau speaks from the Golden Globes

Is ‘The Room’ creator Tommy Wiseau a vampire? ‘Disaster Artist’ cast attempts to answer film’s burning questions

‘Disaster Artist’ star Paul Scheer on acting opposite Tommy Wiseau and the future of ‘Galaxy Quest’

[kevinpolowy]

'The Room' Twunderwear: James Franco is not into the Tommy Wiseau-branded boxer briefs, but it does make one of internet's best deals

We were recently looking to procure a copy of The Room, Tommy Wiseau’s midnight favorite and masterpiece of awfulness that inspired James Franco‘s hilarious new making-of comedy The Disaster Artist, when we stumbled upon what might be one of the best deals on the internet.

For the bargain basement price of $19.99, you can purchase a copy of The Room on DVD (Blu-rays are for suckers) and also receive a pair of Tommy Wiseau-designed boxer briefs otherwise known as “Twunderwear.”

The Room, in all its epic awfulness for your home enjoyment (just don’t watch it alone), AND a new pair of drawers to boot? How could anyone possibly pass this up?

James Franco, for one, is not extending his appreciation of all things Wiseau below the belt. “That was one thing where I was like, ‘I don’t need that,'” the actor-director told us at The Disaster Artist‘s Los Angeles press day (watch above), where he was joined by his brother and co-star Dave Franco.

James, you don’t know what you’re missing.

The Disaster Artist is now playing in select cities and opens nationwide Friday.

See the three questions the cast can’t answer about Tommy Wiseau:

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

James Franco and ‘The Disaster Artist’ stars explain the weirdness of ‘The Room’

James Franco finds his ‘own Coen brother’ in ‘Disaster Artist’ collaborator Dave Franco

‘Disaster Artist’ star Paul Scheer on acting opposite Tommy Wiseau

[kevinpolowy]

James Franco finds his 'own Coen brother' in 'Disaster Artist' collaborator Dave Franco

James Franco was enrolled in the filmmaking program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (one of multiple degrees the actor-director has received) when the thought first dawned on him: “I remember being there and being like, ‘Oh man, I wish I had a Coen brother,’” he told Yahoo Entertainment (watch above) in reference to Joel and Ethan Coen, the fraternal duo behind films like The Big Lebowski and Fargo. “Like I would actually think that, like, ‘Where’s my Coen brother? Where’s my Coen brother?’”

And then another thought dawned on him. “I was like, ‘Dude, you’ve got a brother!’”

That would be Dave Franco, James’s younger brother. While James, 39, had been acting for over a decade, Dave, 32, was coming to his own at the time, taking tiny roles in films like Superbad and Milk and landing an arc on the ABC Family drama Greek.

The brothers have crossed paths in some projects since, but the new comedy The Disaster Artist — directed by James Franco about the making of the epically bad midnight screening classic The Room — marks their most prominent collaboration yet. James stars as enigmatic Room creator Tommy Wiseau, while Dave is second billed as Room actor Greg Sestero, whose autobiographical book of the same name inspired the film.

“We essentially spent the most time we’ve ever spent together,” said Dave. “Because he’s seven years older than me, so when we were growing up, the age difference was so much that we were just in our own worlds. And so now I see him all the time, which is great.”

Since making The Disaster Artist, which has earning raves since its March debut at the SXSW Film Festival, Dave said he and his older bro have paired up to work on additional projects, including next year’s comedy Zeroville, in which James once again directed and Dave once again co-stars.

It appears James finally does have his own Coen brother, though we did have to remind him that he has another sibling. Their middle brother, Tom Franco, is an actor as well and the founder of an art collective in Berkeley, Calif.

“But I won,” laughed Dave.

The Disaster Artist is playing in select theaters and opens nationwide on Friday.

Watch: Here are the three questions The Disaster Artist cast can’t answer about Tommy Wiseau:

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

James Franco holds court — and courts Oscar — in ‘The Disaster Artist’

James Franco’s ‘Disaster Artist’ trailer: Something strange going on in this ‘Room’ (watch)

Hollywood’s early Oscar picks: Stars at Governors Awards loving ‘Get Out,’ ‘Florida Project,’ and ‘Lady Bird’

[kevinpolowy]

James Franco and 'The Disaster Artist' stars explain the weirdness of 'The Room,' implore you not to watch it alone

Do you need to see The Room in order to enjoy The Disaster Artist? It’s a question being posed across the interwebs as James Franco‘s new making-of comedy nears release. My answer: No, you don’t have to see The Room to enjoy The Disaster Artist, but you need to see The Room because it’s one of the worst movies ever made, and therefore so horrible it’s awesome, which is why it now rivals The Rocky Horror Picture Show as America’s favorite midnight screening.

James Franco, who directs and stars as The Room‘s mystifying mastermind, Tommy Wiseau, admits to that he was a latecomer to the cultural phenomenon. “Our friends were going, back in the early days — Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Michael Cera — they were all part of it,” he told Yahoo Entertainment (watch above). “I just thought it was a part of L.A. weirdness.” It wasn’t until the 127 Hours Oscar nominee discovered Greg Sistero and Tom Bissell’s book The Disaster Artist, which would ultimately provide the blueprint for the film, that he was lured into the Bizarro World of Wiseau. The experience is “transformative,” as Seth Rogen put it.

The film’s cast cautions that if you haven’t yet seen The Room, however, watch it with one its legendarily enthusiastic crowds, who shout out lines, chant loudly, and throw plastic spoons at the screen. “[The midnight screening] is the best way to get indoctrinated to The Room,” said Paul Scheer, who plays the film (within a film)’s cinematographer and knows a thing or 176 about awful movies as one of the hosts of the podcast How Did This Get Made? “You have to be like, ‘We’re all going to have this experience. We’re going to guide you through it. Don’t walk out. We’ll hold your hand… It’s a tough movie to get movie because the genre is different than what you’re used to seeing a bad movie in.”

Or whatever you do, just don’t make the mistake of watching it alone, like stars Dave Franco and Ari Graynor. “I watched it in a hotel room by myself, which is not the way to see that movie for the first time,” said Dave Franco (Neighbors), James’s younger brother. “I finished that viewing feeling very unsettled.”

The Disaster Artist opens in limited engagement Dec. 1 and nationwide Dec. 8.

Watch Dave Franco talk about their dreams of bringing Tommy Wiseau to the Oscars:

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

James Franco holds court — and courts Oscar — in ‘The Disaster Artist’

James Franco’s ‘Disaster Artist’ trailer: Something strange going on in this ‘Room’ (watch)

Hollywood’s early Oscar picks: Stars at Governors Awards loving ‘Get Out,’ ‘Florida Project,’ and ‘Lady Bird’

[ethanalter]

James Franco Holds Court in 'The Disaster Artist'

After breaking through in the woefully short-lived series Freaks and Geeks, James Franco‘s first major starring role came in the 2001 made-for-TV biopic James Dean, where the young actor won accolades for his immersive portrayal of the Method-acting master. Flash-forward 16 years later, and Franco is once again receiving raves for disappearing into the skin of another celebrated movie icon who, appropriately enough, also has a thing for Dean. Last night at the Toronto International Film Festival, Franco debuted his new film, The Disaster Artist, in which he directs himself as Tommy Wiseau, the enigmatic writer, director, producer, and star behind the contemporary cult classic The Room. Screened as part of TIFF’s Midnight Madness series, the theater was packed with Room fans who were vocally appreciative of Franco’s performance, which faithfully replicates all of Wiseau’s distinctive tics and mannerisms on display in his vanity trip… or, if you prefer, auteurist masterwork. (Watch the just-released trailer for The Disaster Artist, which opens in theaters on Dec. 1, above.)

James Franco welcomes the #tiff17 Midnight Madness crowd to #TheDisasterArtist world premiere. (Warning: NSFW language.)

A post shared by Yahoo Movies (@yahoomovies) on Sep 11, 2017 at 9:20pm PDT

The crowd wasn’t alone in cheering and applauding every awkward football toss and “Oh, hi Mark.” Wiseau himself was in the audience for The Disaster Artist‘s raucous world premiere, and took the stage afterwards alongside Franco. “I love it 99.9 percent,” the Room multihyphenate set of Franco’s dramatization, which is based on the tell-all making-of book penned by Wiseau’s co-star and real-life pal Greg Sestero (played by Franco’s brother, Dave Franco, in the film). That missing 0.1 percent may be due to some lingering resentment over the fact that Franco wasn’t Wiseau’s first choice to play himself. According to the Disaster Artist director, the first name that Wiseau tossed out was Johnny Depp, and Wiseau even pushed Franco to offer the role to the Pirates of the Caribbean star on the off-chance he might say yes. For what it’s worth, The Disaster Artist makes clear that Wiseau’s pie in the sky “Why not?” approach to filmmaking is the reason we were gifted with The Room in the first place.

James Franco introducing the real Tommy Wiseau after the #TIFF17 world premiere of #TheDisasterArtist pic.twitter.com/Akg8VM3r7o

— Yahoo Movies (@YahooMovies) September 12, 2017

Depp may not have worked out, but Franco’s star turn here is, in many ways, his own version of Captain Jack Sparrow — not to mention Ed Wood, the legendarily awful filmmaker that Depp embodied to perfection in Tim Burton‘s eponymous 1994 tribute. It’s not just the long hair and unique speech patterns that bring Captain Jack to mind: it’s also the way that The Disaster Artist‘s Wiseau practically leaps off the screen as a flesh-and-blood person completely separate from the actor playing him. Standing alongside Wiseau at the post-screening Q&A, it was clear that Franco indulged in a fair bit of mimicry in crafting the character see onscreen. But there’s also an earnestness and lack of guile that the real Wiseau, who is now several years into his post-Room career as a midnight movie gadfly and showman, doesn’t project quite as readily. And according to Dave Franco, his brother was Wiseau even when the cameras weren’t rolling, which occasionally confused some of the famous faces that visited the set to film top secret cameos.

Watch Dave Franco talk about his brother staying in character on set:

Dave Franco confirms that his brother stayed in character the whole time on The Disaster Artist set. #TIFF17 pic.twitter.com/XLljgERu4Y

— Yahoo Movies (@YahooMovies) September 12, 2017

It would be cruel to list too many of the big-name actors and comedians who are part of The Disaster Artist‘s stellar ensemble, playing people from Wiseau’s orbit or, in one hilarious case, past versions of themselves. (We’ll cap the cameo roll call at Seth Rogen, Paul Scheer, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, and Melanie Griffith.) And it’s a testament to Franco’s committed portrayal of Wiseau that none of those co-stars — whose performances aren’t necessarily intended to be as immersive of his own — jolt us out of the movie’s reality. The Disaster Artist closes with a postscript that mentions how the real Wiseau personally funded The Room‘s initial two-week theatrical run in L.A. to ensure his epic qualified for Oscar consideration. Sadly, neither he, nor the movie, received any nomination. Based on the jubilant TIFF reaction to The Disaster Artist and Franco’s performance in particular, this is a case where art probably won’t imitate life.

Read more from Yahoo Movies: 

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