By GREG SESTERO, TOM BISSELL (Simon & Schuster; 2013)
One of the standout books of the 2010s (and the subject of a semi-popular 2017 film), THE DISASTER ARTIST is a hilarious and endearing account of the making of THE ROOM (2003), apparently “The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made,” and the friendship that forged it.
Greg Sestero was a struggling San Francisco based thespian when he met Tommy Wiseau, a maddeningly eccentric European immigrant who made a fortune as a clothing manufacturer but always dreamed of becoming an actor. His friendship with Sestero helped nurture that ambition, and led to the creation of a downright atrocious film, made with $6 million of Wiseau’s own money, that’s gone on to become a massively popular cult item.
THE DISASTER ARTIST (2017) Trailer
THE ROOM (2003) Trailer
Sestero wound up co-starring in THE ROOM, and his account of its making is positively jaw-dropping. Among the revelations: the fact that Wiseau had enormous trouble remembering the lines he himself wrote, that his treatment of the cast and crew was somewhat less-than-tender (with the pic going through no less than three cinematographers) and that Wiseau placed a massive billboard advertising his opus on Sunset Boulevard and then promptly forgot about it (complaining about all the strangers calling the phone number it displayed).
Equally memorable are the details of the relationship that developed between Sestero and Wiseau, marked by mutual need, jealousy and Wiseau’s consistently unpredictable behavior. As described here, he’s precisely the sort of character no one would believe in a fictional context, a wily sort with innumerable quirks and a possibly dangerous edge (it’s not for nothing that Sestero prefaces most of his chapters with quotes from THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY). Yet there’s a definite affection between these two despite Sestero’s constant, and understandable, annoyance with Wiseau’s nutty antics.
As for myself, I was riveted throughout, and laughed out loud on several occasions. Truly, this book is far superior in every way to THE ROOM (which even on so-bad-it’s-good terms I find overrated) and an absolute must read for anyone interested in the Dream Factory’s skuzzier corners.