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 Book Trailer! Well, here it is: The story behind one of the greatest cinematic disasters of all time, The Room! Authored by Greg Sestero, co-star, line producer, and Wiseau-whisperer for the cast, The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made reveals the secret truth behind the most mysterious director of all time, Tommy Wiseau! And boy oh boy, do you know you're in for a treat right away on the first page when you find out that among Wiseau's claims is that he's a vampire.  I first heard about this book on Paul Scheer's How Did This Get Made?! podcast, where Sestero came and shared a few stories along with his own Wiseau impersonation.  Here's one revelation: The infamous green-screened rooftop scenes are not in a studio...they were shot outdoors on a parking lot. The whole book is full of insanity like this, and is a worthwhile read if you've seen the movie or have an interest in film-making if only as a guide to what not to do. Just read the first few pages and see where it goes, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I don't want to share too much, because I'm still plowing through it, and also because you need to read this book. Oh my god, do you need to read this loving book. And if you don't?  "YOU ARE TEARING ME APAHRT, GOONS!"
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Oct 13, 2013 02:34
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Read an advance copy and it is indeed fantastic- my boss loved it and she hasn't even seen the movie.
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Oct 13, 2013 21:10
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I'm going to start out by re-asking the question I had in the Rifftrax thread when we started talking about this. How in the holy hell did Wiseau not get lynched? I mean, seriously, he treated everyone (except Greg) like utter poo poo, to the point of making Juliette Danielle (Lisa) cry in front of everyone and refusing to pay the entire crew because they said mean things about him. I feel like there's a lot to unpack here but I don't want to get ahead of everyone else.
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Oct 15, 2013 04:00
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Evil Mastermind posted:I'm going to start out by re-asking the question I had in the Rifftrax thread when we started talking about this. No kidding, he went through how many Directors of Photography? At the point I'm at, he's on his third. 
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Oct 15, 2013 04:50
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Ensign_Ricky posted:No kidding, he went through how many Directors of Photography? At the point I'm at, he's on his third.
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Oct 15, 2013 18:51
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Evil Mastermind posted:Wait until you get to the part about how they filmed the exterior shots of the "apartment building". Yeah, I finished the book last night, and that was loving nuts.
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Oct 15, 2013 23:30
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There's one thing I can't wait to read the book to find out... does it talk at all about how Tommy Wiseau was paying for the movie?
thexerox123 fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Oct 16, 2013 |
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Oct 16, 2013 04:35
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One rumor I heard about The Room is that the reason that clips of footage replay during different sex scenes isn't laziness: it's that the actress playing Lisa wouldn't let naked Wiseau near her again after the first time. Is this true?
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Oct 16, 2013 05:15
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thexerox123 posted:There's one thing I can't wait to read the book to find out... does it talk at all about how Tommy Wiseau was paying for the movie? Kind of? Wiseau owns/ed a line of clothing stores called Street Fashions USA, but something is still weird about the whole thing. William Bear posted:One rumor I heard about The Room is that the reason that clips of footage replay during different sex scenes isn't laziness: it's that the actress playing Lisa wouldn't let naked Wiseau near her again after the first time. It's not so much as she didn't want naked Wiseau trying to impregnate her navel so much as the crew couldn't take it anymore.
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Oct 16, 2013 06:36
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Ensign_Ricky posted:It's not so much as she didn't want naked Wiseau trying to impregnate her navel so much as the crew couldn't take it anymore. What I wouldn't give to watch footage of that scene with the perspective on the crew and their  reactions.
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Oct 16, 2013 07:47
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Ghostpilot posted:What I wouldn't give to watch footage of that scene with the perspective on the crew and their If the documentary happens, we may just get to see it. 
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Oct 16, 2013 08:02
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What amazes me about the behind-the-scenes stuff is how utterly lacking Tommy is when it comes to basic empathy. He doesn't seem to understand other people except in relation to himself and what he wants. And when he gets cornered on something, he honestly doesn't seem to get how to deal with it. And there are so many examples; when Sandy quits and Tommy follows him around calling him a sissy, when he basically body-shames Juliette, refusing to pay Dan for his wrecked boots, giving Greg the part of Mark even though someone else already had the part and had been filming it for weeks, flipping out when Kyle leaves because he has another acting job even though Kyle told him this months in advance...it's amazing and frightening at the same time.
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Oct 16, 2013 19:00
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Evil Mastermind posted:What amazes me about the behind-the-scenes stuff is how utterly lacking Tommy is when it comes to basic empathy. He doesn't seem to understand other people except in relation to himself and what he wants. And when he gets cornered on something, he honestly doesn't seem to get how to deal with it. I think if the "backstory" listed for Tommy is at all true, that sort of past could certainly cause an individual to develop a form of sociopathy.
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Oct 17, 2013 05:34
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Got the book at the recommendation of my brother, and finished it in one evening, something that I rarely do. It explains quite a bit about how the Room was even made, and it acutally told a cool story at the same time. I went in, expecting just a behind-the-scenes look at the movie, but it actually turned into something of a bizarre, heart-warming tale. I want this book turned into a movie. It'd make for an excellent feel-good comedy movie.
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Oct 17, 2013 12:08
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One thing I like about the book is that Greg Sestero doesn't use the book to gloss over his own faults as he lays Tommy's bare. Oftentimes throughout the book Greg comes off as a self-absorbed jerk.
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Oct 18, 2013 00:02
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Jitzu_the_Monk posted:One thing I like about the book is that Greg Sestero doesn't use the book to gloss over his own faults as he lays Tommy's bare. Oftentimes throughout the book Greg comes off as a self-absorbed jerk. The only time I got anything like that was when Tommy told him to shave his beard...but I felt his resistance was more Greg trying to have some control over a situation that was quickly spiraling out. Also, rewatching the movie now, I can't believe I never noticed how Tommy's hair is a black that doesn't exist in nature before. And from the photos in the book, I'm just gonna say that Juliette is actually very attractive as a brunette. Blonde just doesn't work on some people.
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Oct 18, 2013 08:36
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I also finished this in one sitting, and was completely enthralled, even though I've only watched the movie once. Aside from the interesting subject matter, it is written very competently, even "well". Everyone grab this book if you are at all interested in film.
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Oct 22, 2013 00:41
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thexerox123 posted:There's one thing I can't wait to read the book to find out... does it talk at all about how Tommy Wiseau was paying for the movie? I'm not done with the book yet but Greg says he has no idea where Tommy's money came from. The crazy part is that it wasn't like Tommy was pouring all his money into the movie seeing as there's lot of weird stuff like Tommy owning a new BMW and keeping a nice apartment in LA that he apparently hadn't actually lived in in 5 years.
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Oct 26, 2013 02:39
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muscles like this? posted:I'm not done with the book yet but Greg says he has no idea where Tommy's money came from. The crazy part is that it wasn't like Tommy was pouring all his money into the movie seeing as there's lot of weird stuff like Tommy owning a new BMW and keeping a nice apartment in LA that he apparently hadn't actually lived in in 5 years. Plus being willing to buy an SUV right at the dealer for a flat check. The Room cost $6 million to make. Think about that.
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Oct 26, 2013 04:42
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Only 60% through and it's gratifying in a weird way to learn that however weird Tommy Wiseau is onscreen, he's actually much more insane in real life.
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Oct 26, 2013 05:51
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This book is great. Tommy Wiseau He Can Do Your Project (or Be Part of It) Well, with Passion and Dedication
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Oct 26, 2013 08:29
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:Only 60% through and it's gratifying in a weird way to learn that however weird Tommy Wiseau is onscreen, he's actually much more insane in real life. My guess from what we hear about in the book is that Wiseau got paid off a massive sum of money because of the car accident that wasn't his fault, and may be/have been addicted to painkillers (when he disappears for months and tells Greg he's "in hell" it sounds to me like someone who has relapsed and is trying to quit). I suspect that he used some of that money to buy a building and collect massive rent from it. He also may have been legitimately brain damaged by it (which would help explain such a big payoff and some of his behaviors). He comes off as far too incompetent and weird to actually be involved in organized crime himself, and I don't really buy the theory that he has a rich family either. There is also a ton of evidence to support the theory that he was kind of in love with Greg.
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Oct 26, 2013 22:53
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precision posted:My guess from what we hear about in the book is that Wiseau got paid off a massive sum of money because of the car accident that wasn't his fault, and may be/have been addicted to painkillers (when he disappears for months and tells Greg he's "in hell" it sounds to me like someone who has relapsed and is trying to quit). I suspect that he used some of that money to buy a building and collect massive rent from it. He also may have been legitimately brain damaged by it (which would help explain such a big payoff and some of his behaviors). What the ever loving poo poo! Now I have to read this to know how much of this is remotely true.
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Oct 27, 2013 05:02
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Something obviously happened to Tommy because in older pictures he's not exactly good looking but his face isn't quite as messed up. Like he doesn't have the drooping eyelid.
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Oct 27, 2013 07:45
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VanSandman posted:What the ever loving poo poo! Now I have to read this to know how much of this is remotely true. Just remember that a LOT of Tommy's "backstory" is open to severe interpretation, even the hypothetical parts that start popping up at the end of the book. I have a feeling some of Tommy's money must have come from the "Street Fashions USA" business -and as Greg makes it pretty clear that if Tommy was involved in anything criminal, it was counterfeit Levis- exporting shoddy "American" clothing overseas also fits with the story about Tommy making money selling leather jackets to Korea. Also, is anyone else surprised that Tommy hasn't murdered Greg for writing this book? I mean, he was drat near ready to plow both of them off the road in his Benz just because Greg told a friend some quite complimentary things about him...  Then again, this is Tommy Wiseau we're talking about, so after watching The Godfather for the 50th time, he'd probably just leave the head of a seahorse in Greg's bed.
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Oct 27, 2013 09:16
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precision posted:My guess from what we hear about in the book is that Wiseau got paid off a massive sum of money because of the car accident that wasn't his fault, and may be/have been addicted to painkillers (when he disappears for months and tells Greg he's "in hell" it sounds to me like someone who has relapsed and is trying to quit). I suspect that he used some of that money to buy a building and collect massive rent from it. He also may have been legitimately brain damaged by it (which would help explain such a big payoff and some of his behaviors). Payouts for car accidents, even accidents that result in long-term disability, don't generally yield anywhere near the amount of money that Wiseau seems to have between his film-making expenditures and real estate holdings. He's not even really disabled--physically he's more than healthy, and he's capable of managing his own affairs, running a business, albeit in his own weird way. At any rate, a car accident involving a payout of $10M+ would have made the news. At minimum, there would be a legal record that reporters would have found when he became a famous and enigmatic figure. After reading the book I thought there were two possibilities, or some combination of them: (1) Tommy made the fortune himself, probably by trading in Asian knockoffs of fashionable clothing and accessories. He says at some point that his business involves importing leather jackets from Korea. It may be that he somehow became a major importer of bootleg junk and was wholesaling it around California, and then he made some fortunate land purchases with that money that multiplied his wealth after the real estate market in SF exploded. Sestero rightly points out that professional criminals wouldn't trust a guy like Tommy to do much of anything, but counterfeit jeans is a pretty low-intensity criminal enterprise. It's not exactly running heroin. (2) Tommy inherited his money, not from his family, but from Drew Caffrey, who was posthumously credited executive producer on The Room. Tommy's sexuality is a pretty obvious subtext in the book, and in the biographical sketches that Sestero assembled there are repeated references to older men trying to pick him up. Speculatively, maybe this Caffrey guy had money and owned the real estate, and Wiseau was with him in a long-term relationship and wound up the beneficiary of Caffrey's will when he died.
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Oct 27, 2013 09:37
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Ensign_Ricky posted:Also, is anyone else surprised that Tommy hasn't murdered Greg for writing this book? I mean, he was drat near ready to plow both of them off the road in his Benz just because Greg told a friend some quite complimentary things about him... Hell, I was honestly worried that Tommy was going to kill Greg in the part where they're in the car. I mean, I know this is Greg writing about things that happened in the past but my actual reaction to that scene was "oh no Tommy's going to kill Greg now!"
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Oct 27, 2013 15:47
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EvanSchenck posted:(2) Tommy inherited his money, not from his family, but from Drew Caffrey, who was posthumously credited executive producer on The Room. Tommy's sexuality is a pretty obvious subtext in the book, and in the biographical sketches that Sestero assembled there are repeated references to older men trying to pick him up. Speculatively, maybe this Caffrey guy had money and owned the real estate, and Wiseau was with him in a long-term relationship and wound up the beneficiary of Caffrey's will when he died. Ohhhh, I hadn't even considered that, but it makes a lot of sense. It'd explain why Tommy didn't seem to have had money for very long when Greg met him. I still think addiction to something is part of it, at various points. Or brain damage. I think you would have to be very high or very brain damaged to fail at getting a single short line right for two hours, to say nothing of... everything else he does. (Seriously, what's the deal with the hot water?)
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Oct 27, 2013 19:50
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I love that this man would have made a far more interesting and weird movie than the actual movie he made.
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Oct 27, 2013 20:49
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Burkion posted:I love that this man would have made a far more interesting and weird movie than the actual movie he made. You mean like Johnny's vampire car or the adventures of Chris-R?
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Oct 28, 2013 00:32
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muscles like this? posted:You mean like Johnny's vampire car or the adventures of Chris-R? The Adventures of Chris-R would be an amazing movie. Just an hour and a half of him holding a gun to someone's head and yelling "WHERE'S MY loving MONEY?" over and over.
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Oct 28, 2013 00:38
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Chris-R really is one of the best acted parts in the movie. Actually the only character whose part could be called "phoned in" would be Steven...but considering how he ended up being cast that's hardly surprising.
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Oct 28, 2013 04:18
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Real, actual brain damage (perhaps sustained in one of his car accidents) could explain so, so much about Tommy. The forgetfulness, the falling asleep suddenly, maybe even the weird accent. It's obvious to anyone who watches The Room that he's eccentric but the book makes him seem barely even functional or lucid.
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Oct 29, 2013 18:41
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precision posted:and may be/have been addicted to painkillers (when he disappears for months and tells Greg he's "in hell" it sounds to me like someone who has relapsed and is trying to quit). I was thinking about this, and I actually wonder if he might have been in jail for the counterfeit clothes? Is there a way to look up Tommy's arrest record??
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Oct 29, 2013 23:59
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I have this book on my wish list for Christmas but I may not be able to hold out that long.
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Nov 1, 2013 02:05
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Hijinks Ensue posted:I have this book on my wish list for Christmas but I may not be able to hold out that long. You spend money, no Mickey Mouse poo poo!
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Nov 1, 2013 02:36
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Ensign_Ricky posted:I was thinking about this, and I actually wonder if he might have been in jail for the counterfeit clothes? Is there a way to look up Tommy's arrest record?? The proceeds of his crimes probably would have been seized and he wouldn't have enough money to bankroll The Room. Unless they couldn't prove his fortune was due to what he was charged with but I very much doubt Tommy was a canny criminal.
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Nov 1, 2013 03:55
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Similarly I doubt Tommy's money came from real estate/owning rental properties because he shows multiple times that he doesn't have any consideration toward other people using "his" property. Like when Greg and Tommy ended up living together.
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Nov 1, 2013 12:43
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Well, when he visits the big Street Fashions building and the guy treats him like he owns the building, it seemed plausible enough to me. Landlords can get away with being pretty drat crazy and/or incompetent, especially if it's a business place. Who knows how he got that building, but if anyone can figure out the address it should be on record who owns/owned it. Maybe I'll go by next time I'm in SF.
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Nov 1, 2013 18:30
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Neurosis posted:The proceeds of his crimes probably would have been seized and he wouldn't have enough money to bankroll The Room. Unless they couldn't prove his fortune was due to what he was charged with but I very much doubt Tommy was a canny criminal. Eh, it was just a thought. And yeah, Tommy would be more the prize patsy in a criminal enterprise. In fact, you could say that he would've been the Johnny. 
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Nov 3, 2013 06:58
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