A second life and new glory for worst movie ever made
After more than 14 very strange, even terrible years, The Room finally got the wide theatrical opening that its eccentric producer, director and star Tommy Wiseau had always dreamed of.
The cult classic — generally considered the worst movie ever made — was shown Wednesday on more than 500 screens in the U.S. in its full, insane glory through Fathom Events.
The Room’s unintentional absurdity has been embraced by audiences in Rocky Horror-esque midnight showings ever since it flickered briefly in Los Angeles theatres in its original release. But the 2003 movie has reached new heights of seemingly unthinkable popularity since director/star James Franco’s award-winning performance as Wiseau in The Disaster Artist — a film that chronicles The Room’s wild creation.
Wiseau is delirious that devoted fans and newcomers will see his work widely — even if they find it unintentionally hilarious.
“I am ecstatic,” said Wiseau, who made headlines when he joyously bolted onstage Sunday during Franco’s Golden Globe acceptance speech for best actor. “You can laugh, you can cry. You can express yourself. But please don’t hurt each other. It’s something different and unique. Even if you do say it’s a bad movie or whatever. I want people to have fun with it.”
That likely wasn’t Wiseau’s intention when he set out to direct and star in a movie about the human condition starring his best friend, aspiring actor Greg Sestero. The Room features a meandering story centered around the love triangle between goodnatured banker Johnny (Wiseau), his duplicitous fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle) and his best friend, Mark (Sestero).
After Wiseau poured an estimated $6 million US of his own money (from unknown sources) into the project, the tale brought nothing but critical pans and audience giggles. Lots of giggles. Wiseau nonetheless funded a twoweek theatrical release — to make The Room eligible for Oscar contention — with an infamous Hollywood billboard featuring his brooding face.
“Tommy set out to write a great drama about human behaviour, but he has a very specific view of humans. Unlike any other view,” says Scott Neustadter, who co-wrote The Disaster Artist screenplay with Michael Weber. “When the movie wasn’t received the way he thought, Tommy said: ‘You react to it as you want.’ He’s brilliant that way.”
The Room became a mainstay of late-night screenings that have spread from L.A. around the U.S. Wiseau estimates there are about 200 a year, often with him in attendance and featuring enthusiastic audience interaction — including throwing plastic spoons whenever the utensil is inexplicably featured onscreen.
Franco was hooked after reading Sestero’s 2013 tell-all book, The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made. He donned prosthetics and a flowing black wig to play Wiseau. Brother Dave Franco plays Sestero and producer Seth Rogen stars as The Room’s perpetually perplexed script supervisor Sandy Schklair.
Franco took the cast and crew to a public Room screening, seen at the end of The Disaster Artist. Neustadter said it was a ball.
“The movie is so strange, it’s helpful to experience The Room with an audience,” Neustadter said. “It’s the bizarreness of the whole thing. Sitting around with other people, you’ll turn to them and say: ‘Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?’ ”