Following a rapturous “work in progress” premiere at South by Southwest, A24 scheduled The Disaster Artist for a December 1 release date, right in the heart of awards season. Is James Franco’s loving tribute to one of the best-worst movies of all-time, The Room, getting Oscar buzz any crazier than The Room becoming a phenomenon in the first place? I saw the film at SXSW and mostly liked it (and loved Franco’s performance), despite not being a huge The Room guy, but it’s not my opinion that counts; it’s Tommy Wiseau’s.
And according to Franco, the director/star/enigma is a fan.
He didn’t see it until SXSW, and we were unsure of what he was going to think, especially because he said, [mimicking Wiseau’s accent] “Greg book only 40 percent true.” It was like, well, that’s what we based it on, so what are you going to think about our movie? And that screening was so successful, it was like a rock concert… I was like, “So, Tommy, what did you think of the movie?” And he said, “I approve 99.9 percent.” And we were like, “What was the 0.1 percent? He said, ‘I think the lighting, in the beginning, a little off.” (Via)
If there’s one thing Tommy Wiseau knows, it’s lighting.
Here’s The Disaster Artist teaser trailer.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
