Why it’s essential
At its core, is a memoir of a spectacular blunder. The subject of this book, The Room, is widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made, and its status as such has made it a household name, seen frequently on indie theater marquees to this day. While most behind-the-scenes media seeks to supplement the legacy of or add crucial details to important cultural touchstones, author ’s laugh-out-loud personal account demystifies one of the strangest films of all time.
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What is The Disaster Artist about?
The Disaster Artist follows the true story of Greg Sestero, a young actor with big dreams of making it in Hollywood. On a fated day, Sestero met with Tommy Wiseau—an enigmatic man with a strange accent and a fat wallet—who was hellbent on bankrolling his own big Hollywood movie. Through this book, Sestero documents every step of his downright bizarre experience with the creator of one of the greatest "bad" movies of all time.
Editor’s review
Seth listens in order to find immersive, emotionally resonant storytelling that steeps him in other points of view. Anything is fair game so long as it sparks the imagination, be it dark fantasy, memoir, historical fiction, or popular psychology.
During my first college semester, I was relentlessly diligent in my pursuit of a social life. Through the endless array of dorm parties, club signups, and free cupcakes, I came across a fellow freshman who pitched me a club idea of his own— "The Z Movie Society." Basically, the vision was that we would meet weekly and watch movies with infamously bad critical receptions. Through the deluge of shark-infested weather patterns and Nazi militias on the moon, one film shined through, a film with a surprisingly straightforward plot.
The film in question was The Room, the story of a man who slowly realizes that his wife is cheating on him with his best friend. The star and creator of the movie, Tommy Wiseau provides one of the most baffling film experiences I’ve ever enjoyed. Wiseau had never acted let alone created a movie before, and so relied on his instincts when it came to script, direction, and performance. He is both serious and silly, reading his lines (which he wrote himself) either with robotic swiftness or completely over-the-top emotional gusto. Yes, the plot makes no sense and the instances of green screen usage were egregious, but I was mostly interested in Tommy Wiseau, the ringleader of this exceptionally weird experience. Where did he come from? What accent does he have? And, above all else, why the hell did he feel compelled to make this movie?
