The greatest movie of all time is hard to pinpoint with nominees like movies such as The Godfather and Casablanca. However, what has been decided as the worst movie of all time? There has been no controversy in deciding that The Room can be nominated as the worst movie ever made in history, yet that is what attracts so many people to the film. It is the textbook definition of a movie being, “So bad it is good.” The Room was written, produced, financed, directed, and starred by the eccentric Tommy Wiseau. However, he did not create the movie alone. Tommy Wiseau met 19-year-old Greg Sestero at an acting class in San Francisco in 1998. After the two bonded over their interest in becoming, “A star in Hollywood,” they became each other’s partner in crime. While being denied as actors countless times, Greg and Tommy grew to become sick of this countless chain of rejection. To solve this predicament, the pair decided to create their own movie. Greg believed this was an impossible idea, yet it seemed like Tommy already had a blueprint for this production. When Greg questioned funding, Tommy Wiseau stated, “We don’t worry about money, we worry about movie.”
On June 27, 2003, The Room was released. According to The Disaster Artist, by Greg Sestero, the movie only made $1,800 in its opening weekend. Additionally, the movie was only screened at midnight because Tommy Wiseau claimed that it would lower crime rates since everyone would be watching The Room instead of committing crime. After this disastrous opening, the movie was largely forgotten. Tommy Wiseau disappeared off the face of the earth. Both Greg and Tommy thought this was the end of The Room’s legacy, but in reality, it hasn’t even begun yet. As the years passed, The Room gained more and more attention. It was deemed a cult classic. From quotes such as, “Oh hi, Mark,” and, “You are tearing me apart, Lisa!,” The Room cemented itself as an unbelievable Hollywood success story. Tommy spent six million dollars out of his own bank account and thought that $1,800 would be his only return. The Room’s newfound popularity gave him more than he could ever ask for.
After partner in crime, Greg Sestero, realized the fame their movie was suddenly receiving, Greg decided to write a book, The Disaster Artist. It focuses on the creation of The Room, along with his personal experience working with the mysterious Tommy Wiseau. All fans of the movie had many questions about Tommy, such as, “Why did Tommy make this movie? Why is this movie so weird and who even is this guy?” The answers to those questions were never given by Tommy and still remain unknown. Tommy Wiseau enjoys keeping to himself now, as he rarely makes any appearances anywhere. On the other hand, since Tommy is not sharing his story, Greg Sestero is speaking out with what he understands of Tommys’. Greg decided to help out with the creation of the movie, The Disaster Artist, made by James and Dave Franco, which is based on Greg’s story of the making of The Room. Simultaneously, Greg is going around the country telling his story and commentary to fans.
On September 25, Greg Sestero came to the Enzian Theater in Maitland. There, he presented his live commentary on The Room. With his commentary, he revealed some secrets about the movie and Tommy. However, he also released some upcoming news. Greg Sestero announced that he is creating an animated series of The Disaster Artist, with the Franco brothers reprising their roles. He presented a clip of the upcoming series. Before the movie started, Greg shared many stories about Tommy Wiseau’s strange antics and requests on the set of The Room.
One particular request was Tommy Wiseau wanting his car to fly off a roof in one scene of the film, despite it having no correlation to the plot. When asked why he wanted this, he simply said, “I don’t know. Maybe Johnny is vampire.” As Greg was revealing these comedic secrets of the movie, the audience could not help but be in awe and hysterics. Greg Sestero was a great performer and was able to laugh at himself in the movie.
When Tommy first presented the rough draft of The Room to Greg, he was dumbfounded and couldn’t believe what he read. Greg Sestero came to the realization that Tommy was not some ordinary man; he was quite a mystery. Greg came to the conclusion that Tommy was a pathological liar, since Tommy claimed he is from New Orleans. But that does not align with his strange Polish-like accent. Tommy Wiseau’s age is also one of his many mysteries. He claimed to be Greg’s age, around 19 at the time, despite being noticeably older. Tommy’s age is unknown. How he got his hands on six million dollars for the production of his movie is unknown, and where he was born remains unknown. So the question still remains about the guy behind the worst movie ever made, Who is Tommy Wiseau?
