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)

She's lying, I did not hit pause; I did not. Oh, hai Mark

Being a long time fan of the room, I was eager to delve into this book as soon as I got it. I listened hungrily over the course of a day & it was incredibly interesting and in depth. I only have two points against what would otherwise be an amazing read. (As is its just great, but amazing.) the timeline gets really muddled, especially towards the end when he starts the lead up into the release of the movie. The two main timeframes aren't differentiated clear enough for me to, at times, lose track of when things were going on.

The only other thing to add was the performance, overall it was pretty good but there were probably a dozen times over the course of this book that had really disjointed popping sounds & spikes in volume.

Just things to be aware of before you listen. Even considering those it's a definite recommend.

Hilarious.

Greg's impression of Tommy made this hysterically funny and personal, especially to those who have seen the room.

Greg Sestero knocks it out of the park.

I listened in three installments to this wonderfully told story about the friendship of these two men, Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau. Greg's recollections paint Tommy in a varied light, which makes me believe in their authenticity. Greg is honest about his frustration with the movie and the friendship, but is kind to Tommy even so. I cried, I laughed, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Funniest audiobook I've come across

I feel sorry for those reading this book in print. They are missing out on a great performance. Greg Sestero's Tommy Wiseau impersonation is dead on. It really is laugh out loud funny. One scene made my laugh so hard I had to listen to it again.

Answers some of the questions you may have.

if the movie wasn't enough for you, and you want to dig deeper into this mountain gold. get some answers, or just know wiseu more get this book

Couldn't stop listening

This is one of the first audiobooks that has made change my lifestyle in order to spend more time listening. Not only is the story amazing but Greg puts on a spot on impression of Tommy.

This is a must read for anyone who is a fan of the room.

Wow

What a story. It's completely insane, of course, but I couldn't stop listening. I will never watch this movie the same way again.

A Great Listen

A fascinating journey into a bizarre relationship. Greg's Tommy impression is more than worth it

Everything you wanted to know

The Disaster Artist is an excellent look into how The Room came to be. It's insight into Tommy Wiseau is something I did not expect to be in the book. It's literally the best information you can read if your looking for anything additional on the Room. It's humorous, but at the same time, a human interest piece. It humanizes Tommy. You see Greg's struggle with Tommy between friend and roadblock

Amazing story!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I highly recommend this audiobook, especially if you're a fan of The Room. The story behind it is so unbelievable that most of my friends didn't believe The Room itself was a real movie.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's hard to beat Tommy as my favorite character. You really couldn't make up anything like him.

What does Greg Sestero bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It's great hearing it from the man who lived it. And his impression of Tommy is spot on, it makes the book really come to life and puts you in those moments.