When aspiring actor Greg Sestero meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.When aspiring actor Greg Sestero meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.When aspiring actor Greg Sestero meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 32 wins & 84 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGreg Sestero stated that when he was writing the book, Tommy Wiseau said that only two actors could play him in the adaptation: James Franco or Johnny Depp. Wiseau, who claims to have once lived in New Orleans, was a fan of Franco's performance in the film Sonny (2002).
- GoofsAt the end of the film, text states that to this day nobody knows how old Wiseau is, where he is from or how he made so much money. In actuality, his naturalization records can be found online that show he was born in Poland on October 3, 1955 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1984 in San Francisco. According to Sestero, he moved to France before immigrating to the United States and changing his name to Thomas Pierre Wiseau (likely from Tomasz Piotr Wieczorkiewicz or Wieczór). Furthermore, a documentary filmmaker discovered he was born in Poznan, Poland. However, it remains a mystery as Wiseau will not confirm these details, and how he became so wealthy is still not known.
- Quotes
[from trailer]
Sandy Schklair: Action!
[Wiseau enters the scene]
Tommy Wiseau: I did not hit her. It's not true. It's bullshit! I did not hit her. I did not.
[throws water bottle on the ground]
Tommy Wiseau: Oh, hi Mark.
[pause, then the crew applauds before Greg hugs Wiseau]
- Crazy creditsWhile Corona's song "Rhythm Of The Night" plays over the credits, you can hear Tommy(Franco) singing along to the song.
- SoundtracksIt Won't Be Me
Written by Jennifer Bone, Andrew Gonzales & Francine Reed
Performed by Francine Reed
Courtesy of Fervor Records
Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love primarily by James Franco, who directs, co-produces, and stars as Tommy. His brother Dave co-stars as Greg. The real life story is so beyond anything believable that if this were a work of fiction, it would immediately be dismissed as just that. Let me state upfront that I have not seen "The Room" (although I see it frequently listed as a midnight listing at my local art-house theater). From everything we witness in "The Disaster Artist", Tommy is so incredibly inapt yet convinced of his own talent, it reminds me of those American Idol auditions back in the day where certain contestants think they are super good yet they were horrible. Another similarity is the Meryl Streep movie "Florence Foster Jenkins" (about a real life wealthy NY socialite who thinks she sings well and nobody dares to contradict her, leading to a notorious Carnegie Hall concert). James Franco does an outstanding job in the lead role, and I'm going to predict that he will get a number of nominations in the upcoming awards season. It isn't until the very end of the movie (when scenes from the original "The Room" are played in parallel with the recreated scenes for "The Disaster Artist") that one gets a sense how incredibly meticulous Franco has been in recreating them down to the last detail. Absolutely amazing. Last but certainly not least, the movie features a bunch of other well-known performers, some of them in very noticeable roles (such as Seth Rogen and Alison Brie), and others in "blink and you'll miss it" roles (such as Sharon Stone, Zoey Deutch, Zac Efron, etc.). In an early scene of the movie, when Tommy and Greg become unlikely friends, they head over to Tommy's place, and Greg notices a prominent sign on the apartment's wall: "I Do Not Choose To Be a Common Man". Whatever you think of Tommy, he certainly is not your "common man"!
"The Disaster Artist" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati on not one, but two screens (a rarity). The Friday evening screening where i saw this at was attended very nicely, I;'m happy to report. The audience roared with laughter on many occasions. The positive word-of-mouth this movie surely will generate makes it likely to have long legs at the box office (at least within the art-house theater circuit). If you are in the mood for something truly different, I encourage you to check out "The Disaster Artist", be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.
- paul-allaer
- Dec 8, 2017
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- The Disaster Artist. Obra maestra
- Filming locations
- Majestic Crest Theater - 1262 Westwood Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA("The Room" premiere exterior/interior)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,120,616
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,211,345
- Dec 3, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $29,820,616
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1