The Disaster Artist (2017)

When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, 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.

Director:

James Franco

Writers:

Scott Neustadter (screenplay by), Michael H. Weber (screenplay by)

Stars:

James Franco, Dave Franco, Ari Graynor

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 31 wins & 79 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dave Franco	...	Greg / 'Mark'
James Franco	...	Tommy / 'Johnny'
Seth Rogen	...	Sandy
Ari Graynor	...	Juliette / 'Lisa'
Alison Brie	...	Amber
Jacki Weaver	...	Carolyn / 'Claudette'
Paul Scheer	...	Raphael
Zac Efron	...	Dan / 'Chris-R'
Josh Hutcherson	...	Philip / 'Denny'
June Diane Raphael	...	Robyn / 'Michelle'
Megan Mullally	...	Mrs. Sestero
Jason Mantzoukas	...	Peter
Andrew Santino	...	Scott Holmes / 'Mike'
Nathan Fielder	...	Kyle Vogt / 'Peter'
Joe Mande	...	Todd

Storyline

Aspiring actor Greg Sestero befriends the eccentric Tommy Wiseau. The two travel to L.A, and when Hollywood rejects them, Tommy decides to write, direct, produce and star in their own movie. That movie is The Room, which has attained cult status as the "Citizen Kane" of bad movies.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | acting | bromance | film within a film | based on true story | 

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

M

Did You Know?

Trivia

Besides an interview for Esquire and a video for Funnyordie.com, brothers James Franco and Dave Franco have never worked together or appeared on-screen together until this film. Dave almost appeared as himself with his brother in This Is the End (2013), but he was later excluded because his character would have had to die and it was considered too sad for the already dark comedy. James was also considered for a role in '21 Jump Street (2012) respectively starring his brother Dave.

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Goofs

The infamous rooftop scene actually took 32 takes to get right; not a deliberate 67 takes in Franco's version.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kristen Bell: If you were to ask the five best filmmakers in the world right now to make a movie like this... it... it wouldn't even be in the same universe.
Ike Barinholtz: I was blown away. Like, like three minutes in, I turn to my friend, "This is the fucking greatest movie I've ever seen in my life."
[chuckles]
Adam Scott: It has withstood, like, ten years? And people are still watching a movie and talking about a movie. People aren't doing that about whatever won the Oscar for Best Picture ten years ago.
Kevin Smith: What genius is ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There is a scene after the credits where James Franco as Tommy Wiseau has a conversation with Henry, who is played by the real Tommy Wiseau in a cameo.

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Connections

References Mystery Men (1999)

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Soundtracks

It Won't Be Me
Written by Jennifer Bone, Andrew Gonzales & Francine Reed
Performed by Francine Reed
Courtesy of Fervor Records

User Reviews

Loving pastiche of a cult film catastrophe

Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau met at a San Francisco acting class in 1998. A young, nervous model, Greg was amazed by the bombastic, crazed performances of Tommy. Greg agreed to be his scene partner and had soon moved to Tommy's LA apartment on a peppercorn rent.

As Greg started to find some success as an actor in Hollywood, a jealous Tommy decided to make himself a star, pumping six million dollars into a film he wrote, directed, produced and played the male lead. Greg was given a supporting role, and the cult 'best worst movie ever made' The Room was born.

Like many others, my experience with The Room began watching with friends, before cinema screenings and listening to audiobook The Disaster Artist written by Tom Bissell and Greg Sestero himself. This book is revelatory not just for its depiction of the massive tensions on the set of The Room as Tommy's behaviour cost him crew after crew, but in showing the strange, interdependent friendship of Tommy and Greg.

The Disaster Artist film adaptation plays off the ironic success of The Room, now played to packed midnight screenings in a manner akin to The Rocky Picture Show. It is also able to deftly pit the emotional core of the film Greg (Dave Franco), against the force of nature that is Tommy Wiseau (played by James Franco).

James Franco is able to capture some of the bizarreness of Tommy, most memorably in a scene where Tommy prances around naked while bellowing orders at an enraged crew. Franco has finally found the role where he can be as weird as he likes, thanks to Tommy's unplaceable accent, black locks, missing millions, and unwavering narcissism.

The script is a lighter version of the downright madness Greg Sesestro recalled, and while amusing before shooting of The Room starts it could have done with some more of that deranged bent. Seth Rogen also comes into The Disaster Artist at this point, and is a highlight as the bemused script supervisor Sandy.

What is an enjoyable film takes on a whole new level at the premiere, as the loving homages to The Room comes to life. Seeing James Franco do his take on 'you're tearing me apart!' and the many other classics is a reminder of what makes watching The Room so hilarious in the first place.

The Disaster Artist has huge fun imitating scenes of The Room, even showing their recreation side by side with the original (one with HD cameras and the other in 35mm, a nod to Wiseau's inexplicable decision to shoot in both formats simultaneously).

It's clear the Franco brothers love The Room and its cult fans. This film is unashamedly made for them, talking head celebrities opening The Disaster Artist by waxing lyrical about their own obsession with Wiseau's 'masterpiece'. As one of the converted to the 'so bad it's enjoyable' this made the film all the better, though I also questioned how much crossover appeal The Disaster Artist will ever have to those with no previous knowledge of The Room.

The most obvious comparison to The Disaster Artist is Tim Burton's Ed Wood, a biopic of the director who made the notoriously awful Plan 9 From Outer Space. While both are ready to mock their subject's failures, Franco and Burton also have a clear admiration for their subject's tenacity. We can all deride Tommy Wiseau, but what feature film have you made recently?

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 2017 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

The Disaster Artist

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,211,345, 3 December 2017

Gross USA:

$21,120,616

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,820,616

Company Credits

Production Co:

Good Universe, New Line Cinema, Point Grey Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos IMAX 6-Track

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1