The Disaster Artist

My Life inside 'The Room', the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made

By: Greg Sestero, Tom Bissell

Narrated by: Greg Sestero

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Nineteen-year-old Greg Sestero met Tommy Wiseau at an acting school in San Francisco. Wiseau's scenes were rivetingly wrong, yet Sestero, hypnotized by such uninhibited acting, thought, "I have to do a scene with this guy." That impulse changed both of their lives. Wiseau seemed never to have read the rule book on interpersonal relationships (or the instructions on a bottle of black hair dye), yet he generously offered to put the aspiring actor up in his LA apartment. Sestero's nascent acting career first sizzled, then fizzled, resulting in Wiseau's last-second offer to Sestero of co-starring with him in The Room, a movie Wiseau wrote and planned to finance, produce, and direct - in the parking lot of a Hollywood equipment-rental shop.

Wiseau spent $6 million of his own money on his film, but despite the efforts of the disbelieving (and frequently fired) crew and embarrassed (and frequently fired) actors, the movie made no sense. Nevertheless, Wiseau rented a Hollywood billboard featuring his alarming headshot and staged a red carpet premiere. The Room made $1,800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. One reviewer said that watching The Room was like "getting stabbed in the head".

The Disaster Artist is Greg Sestero's laugh-out-loud funny account of how Tommy Wiseau defied every law of artistry, business, and friendship to make "the Citizen Kane of bad movies" (Entertainment Weekly), which is now an international phenomenon, with Wiseau himself beloved as an oddball celebrity. Written with award-winning journalist Tom Bissell, The Disaster Artist is an inspiring tour de force, an open-hearted portrait of an enigmatic man who will improbably capture your heart.

©2013 Greg Sestero and Thomas Carlisle Bissell (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This downright thrilling book is a lot like watching Tim Burton's Ed Wood: it's sometimes infuriating, often excruciating, usually very funny, and occasionally horribly uncomfortable, but it's also impossible to look away from." ( Booklist, Starred Review)

A MUST for fans of The Room

I have seen the new movie, and I can say, while the movie "The Disaster Artist" is entertaining. The Audiobook/book is better. I only wish, there was an epilogue, what they did from 2003 onward.

Surprisingly eloquent

This is the kind of story that changes minds. I've always believed that Wisaeu was a crazy person without any sense of humanity, but this first hand account of what he's really like may have you questioning your opinions on a lot of things. I couldn't have enjoyed this book more.

Exemplary

Couldn't. Stop. Listening. Ever since I was introduced to the Room, it's only natural to want to know how such a "masterpiece" of a movie could've came together. Greg Sestero provided me a front row seat to not only how the Room came about, but into the mind of Tommy Wiseau. Greg's voice of Tommy is absolutely spot on and gives the listening experience an added level of realism. Can't recommend this audiobook enough. I do recommend seeing the movie first so you can get the most out of this book.

A surprisingly great read

Wow! I did not expect to have as much fun reading this as I did. With a first time author as Greg is I thought maybe he'd be too focused on himself and his self-promotion. Or maybe it would be too focused on the just the making of The Room movie. Or that the focus of Tommy Wiseau would be too mean. Sestero is an amazing writer in this.

He does blend in some of his own story which heightens the overall theme of the book. Yes, the making of The Room is definitely covered but it, again, is used to bolster the message of the book. While I'm not sure of the truth of everything in this book, Sestero's treatment of Wiseau seems very fairly balanced. He treats him as the odd human he is but not as a joke. Sestero also is very candid about himself and of Wiseau in this book.

I was not at all expecting this book to have the heart and message it did have. It also had a lot of laughs and not just at the expense of Wiseau's unusualness. James Franco, star of movie of this book, in an interview with SAG, recommended the book and talked about all the themes that I did end up seeing. It is clear that he was the perfect person to buy the rights and star in the film. I highly, highly recommend this book for anyone interested in movies, The Room, people with odd people in their life, or wanting to read just an interesting "this can't possible be real" with a message book. Final Grade - A+

a couple of bizarrely told toward the end

but overall a complete hoot. interesting insights into Hollywood from an uncommon perspective. and so well performed!

He does the voice!

If you're one of the thousands of people who've been captivated by The Room, do yourself a favor and read this book. Greg Sestero narrates the book perfectly, a with heartfelt, honest voice that really brings the text to life. His impression of Wiseau's voice is spot on. It sounds just like him. The book itself is excellent, honest and compelling and the pacing of the memoir is masterful. Combine that with Sestero's performance and you have a narrative as interesting as the room is weird.

Pleasant surprise

I'll admit I bought this book to only get clarity for a movie I thought was one of the funniest things I ever experienced. Then as I listened to the story of these 2 polar opposites and their journey through filming this movie I gained a respect for the movie the room that I originally just wrote off as another b list movie and understood it as the culmination of one mans dream regardless if that was the original dynamic of the movie.

Great Story, Uneven Narration

I had never seen The Room, but of course had to watch it while listening to this book (wow!) The book is well written and the story is absorbing, funny, maddening, and sometimes quite sweet. My opinion of both Tommy and Greg changed multiple times during the reading...who is using who, here? I can't pinpoint why the story is so fascinating; it just is! Sestero's narration is kind of weird. His Tommy impersonation is hysterical, but his own voice is flat and uninspired. He perks up around chapter 6, but there's a definite lack of energy throughout. Don't let that stop you from getting the book, though, it's very good and I enjoyed it a lot!

Great story and narration

I've never actually watched the full film The Room, that being said I don't think you need to have seen or even heard of The Room to enjoy this book. Greg Sestero is great at narrating and the story is an emotional roller coaster, on one hand it's hilarious, but at the same time sad and moving. This is the only audible I've actually decided to write a review on because it has me that conflicted in a good way. I wish Greg Sestero the best and based on this hope he does more narration. As for Tommy, I hope he is in a good place cause what he did nobody really has the guts to do and for that, among other things, I applaud him.

Prepare to be obsessed

Underdog, misfit, lunatic, artist. Tommy Wiseau is many things but boring isn't one of them. This hilarious true story about the making of a cult classic and it's unlikely auteur will tear you apart with laughter, inspire you and leave you thinking about what it really means to chase your dreams.