So a few days ago I reviewed The Room, which is largely viewed as one of the worst films ever made. The Room holds such a special place in people's hearts that the cult following has grown over the years and I was surprised to find out some really interesting things about the making of The Room because of this really wonderfully done documentary of sorts.
The movie is presented in a way that really shows how independently wealthy Tommy Wiseau (played by James Franco) and Greg Sestero (played by Dave Franco) became friends at a actor training class and kind of hit it off so to speak. They end up being roommates in L.A. and try to make it as actors. It shouldn't be surprising that this is an exceptionally difficult dream to pull off and neither one of them experience any real level of success.
After being shamed in public by a Hollywood bigwig Tommy is brooding when Greg gives him the idea to just make his own movie. Now I don't know if this is actually true but it certainly would be a defining moment in Tommy's life. If he hadn't decided to make his own movie there is an absolutely wonderful chance that no one would ever know who he is.
they did a really good job making Franco look like Tommy
I had previously said that watching this movie without seeing The Room first would make it very difficult to understand what is going on. I want to withdraw that comment. After watching I realize that the film is made very well and actually stands on its own, it is not necessary to have seen The Room (although i still highly recommend that you do.)
As The Disaster Artist progresses, you can't help but feel bad for Tommy as he seems like he is a genuinely good guy who just isn't willing to accept the fact that he doesn't have any real acting ability or know a great deal about the film industry. The people he hires have no choice but to listen to him as he is the sole financier of the movie, but the rest of the cast and crew start to lose their patience with him over time as the filming goes way over schedule entirely because of Tommy's actions such as turning up late or insisting on certain scenes be a special way in his bizarre vision.
such as this scene where Tommy laughs about a story Greg is telling him about domestic abuse and insists that it is part of the film
Overall, i would say that this movie is actually one of the better movies I have seen in a while and I believe that since it is based on a book by a guy that was actually there for all of the actions the movie depicts, we can believe that it is not a work of fiction.
I was happy to learn at the end of the movie that The Room, despite making $1800 initially against a budget of $6 million, has made its money back over time and routinely sells out midnight showings at theaters around the world.