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| Scene from The Disaster Artist |
Released: December 8, 2017
Release Number: 59
Directed By: James Franco
Starring: James Franco Dave Franco, Ari Graynor
Plot: When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.
Notable Awards:
Oscars
Nominations:
-Best Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globes:
Wins:
-Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) - James Franc
Nominations:
-Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
Screen Actors Guild
Nominations:
-Outstanding Performance by a Male actor - James Franco
In the echelon on pop culture, there has been no film in the 21st century more ubiquitous with awfulness as that of The Room. If you're a fan of films that are charming in spite of their incompetence, there's a good chance that the name Tommy Wiseau means something to you. It makes sense then why renegade artists like James Franco would be so drawn to the story to the point of adapting a behind the scenes comedy about the film. With Franco returning to work with A24, The Disaster Artist was a unique project for the studio that combined the best of modern comedy in a story that was both a loving tribute to The Room as well as a criticism of the man who created it. The film is far from the truth of how the film was made, but it was another unique success story from a studio who enjoyed testing the limits of what indie cinema could offer.
The origins of The Disaster Artist came from the making of The Room. When the film became a notorious sensation, it created one of the strangest cult films of the century. With many fans lining up to midnight screenings, it was a success in spite of its huge levels of incompetence. The popularity drove actor Greg Sestero to write a book about the making of the film called "The Disaster Artist," which itself was an acclaimed novel unto itself in spite of causing a rift between him and director Wiseau. Because of the love for The Room was so big, actor Seth Rogen bought the rights for the book in 2014, leading to a series of pre-production duties. Among the big developments was the announcement that Rogen hired Dave Franco to play Sestero. Franco would announce this at one of the 2014 midnight screenings. His brother James would be playing Wiseau.
James would also be serving as a director, adding a subtext to the overall project. Wiseau was an actor and director in The Room, which made Franco's decision make sense. The two met each other during pre-production and James discovered that Wiseau was a fan of his. Wiseau, as depicted in the film, is a major fan of James Dean. James had played him in a TV movie, for which he won a Golden Globe. It was because of this role that Wiseau thought it would be a good idea to cast him. His second option was Johnny Depp, though there's no telling how that would've gone. With everything in place, the film began shooting with several allusions to The Room implanted in the film's DNA. Some of the characters were subtle references to other projects, such as the presence of How Did This Get Made? podcast hosts Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and June Diane Raphael - who were key in getting Sestero's book popular. Similarly, James directed the entire film in character as Wiseau - accent and all - which bothered Rogen at first but would become a cute little quirk by the end.
Among things that the film prided itself on was its dedication to The Room's sloppiness. This meant that there were 20 minutes from the film that were reenacted with movements and vocal patterns studied exhaustively.Those who know the film will notice however that Wiseau and Franco's films aren't entirely equal, as Franco's didn't incorporate the poorly dubbed audio in their reenactments. However, the film's greatest tribute was in casting Wiseau and Sestero in significant roles, the latter of whom created an original character for a post-credits scene. While the film took many liberties, Wiseau has claimed that the film is more accurate than Sestero's book and said it was by 99.9%. There's speculation on what was different and the general consensus has been that the lighting in the first scene was different. Meanwhile, other scenes such as when Sestero gets a job offer from Bryan Cranston actually never happened. The finale is also fabricated, as there's no evidence that the premiere happened like that. It only makes Wiseau's theory of it being entirely honest a bit harder to grapple with.
The film would premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March of 2017 to uproarious applause. With positive word of mouth from fans, the film would begin its slow release in the Fall. Among the marketing elements was a cheeky nod to the original film's release. Following The Room's release, Wiseau had a billboard up promoting the movie with his apartment's phone number. The Disaster Artist did a similar stunt for the film with a phone number that sometimes had James Franco answer the phone in character. The film would enter release on Juliette Danielle's 37th birthday, who played Lisa in the original. With positive feedback, the film's release would be a success while managing to make $30 million on a $10 million budget. The film was successful enough to earn an IMAX release, which would be the first A24 released film to ever earn that.
Along with Lady Bird, it looked like 2017's Fall releases would be heavyweights during awards season. The first sign came during the Golden Globes where James Franco won Best Actor (Comedy or Musical). During his speech, he gave a shout out to A24, claiming that they had him since Spring Breakers. They also invited Wiseau onstage, though Franco notoriously refused to let him give a speech. While it wouldn't be the end of Franco's awards campaign, the following day would produce its own set of conflicts as news came out that the actor sexually harassed several women. It's contestable as to whether this is what kept Franco from earning a Best Actor Oscar nomination, especially given his general acclaim from every other group. However, the screenwriters would earn a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, which became the first by duo Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. They too would lose, making that year's Academy Awards a fairly consistent shutout across the board for A24.
With everything said, the film's critical reception was once again very positive. On critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film would earn a 91%. James Clay of Fresh Fiction noted clearly that "This isn't the next coming of a great meta-masterpiece, but its largely a damn good retelling of one of Hollywood's most beautiful disasters." Tomas Trussow of The Lonely Film Critic also noted that it was about more than celebrating bad movies, suggesting that "The Disaster Artist is more about circumstance and the unexpected virtues of vanity projects than it is about who the people at its center really are. It still comes off as a wildly entertaining ride -- and one I'd happily take again." Keeva Stratton of Rescu (Australia) reflected the negative reviews when writing "Perhaps this one is just for the die-hard fans, burning to know how such a bad film was ever brought to life. Clearly, I'm not one of them." Among The Room's stars opinions was Sestero's, who claimed to be a bit disappointed that the film didn't explore Wiseau's backstory more and only emphasized when he met Sestero.
In most senses of the word, The Disaster Artist was another big success for A24. It not only reunited them with James Franco on another project, but it received major awards while raising awareness for The Room to a more mainstream audience. In the year following the film, Sestero and Wiseau have gone on to work on other projects together, including a two part film called Best F(r)iends. Franco is likely to come back around in time. Still, it was an exploration of what it means to make art and be passionate about it no matter what. The next film, and the final for 2017, would be a bit different from the other films of the Fall. It's a film that returned the studio to western cinema, producing another compelling story that was exciting and full of memorable moments.
Up Next: The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)
Oscars
Nominations:
-Best Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globes:
Wins:
-Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) - James Franc
Nominations:
-Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
Screen Actors Guild
Nominations:
-Outstanding Performance by a Male actor - James Franco
In the echelon on pop culture, there has been no film in the 21st century more ubiquitous with awfulness as that of The Room. If you're a fan of films that are charming in spite of their incompetence, there's a good chance that the name Tommy Wiseau means something to you. It makes sense then why renegade artists like James Franco would be so drawn to the story to the point of adapting a behind the scenes comedy about the film. With Franco returning to work with A24, The Disaster Artist was a unique project for the studio that combined the best of modern comedy in a story that was both a loving tribute to The Room as well as a criticism of the man who created it. The film is far from the truth of how the film was made, but it was another unique success story from a studio who enjoyed testing the limits of what indie cinema could offer.
The origins of The Disaster Artist came from the making of The Room. When the film became a notorious sensation, it created one of the strangest cult films of the century. With many fans lining up to midnight screenings, it was a success in spite of its huge levels of incompetence. The popularity drove actor Greg Sestero to write a book about the making of the film called "The Disaster Artist," which itself was an acclaimed novel unto itself in spite of causing a rift between him and director Wiseau. Because of the love for The Room was so big, actor Seth Rogen bought the rights for the book in 2014, leading to a series of pre-production duties. Among the big developments was the announcement that Rogen hired Dave Franco to play Sestero. Franco would announce this at one of the 2014 midnight screenings. His brother James would be playing Wiseau.
James would also be serving as a director, adding a subtext to the overall project. Wiseau was an actor and director in The Room, which made Franco's decision make sense. The two met each other during pre-production and James discovered that Wiseau was a fan of his. Wiseau, as depicted in the film, is a major fan of James Dean. James had played him in a TV movie, for which he won a Golden Globe. It was because of this role that Wiseau thought it would be a good idea to cast him. His second option was Johnny Depp, though there's no telling how that would've gone. With everything in place, the film began shooting with several allusions to The Room implanted in the film's DNA. Some of the characters were subtle references to other projects, such as the presence of How Did This Get Made? podcast hosts Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and June Diane Raphael - who were key in getting Sestero's book popular. Similarly, James directed the entire film in character as Wiseau - accent and all - which bothered Rogen at first but would become a cute little quirk by the end.
Among things that the film prided itself on was its dedication to The Room's sloppiness. This meant that there were 20 minutes from the film that were reenacted with movements and vocal patterns studied exhaustively.Those who know the film will notice however that Wiseau and Franco's films aren't entirely equal, as Franco's didn't incorporate the poorly dubbed audio in their reenactments. However, the film's greatest tribute was in casting Wiseau and Sestero in significant roles, the latter of whom created an original character for a post-credits scene. While the film took many liberties, Wiseau has claimed that the film is more accurate than Sestero's book and said it was by 99.9%. There's speculation on what was different and the general consensus has been that the lighting in the first scene was different. Meanwhile, other scenes such as when Sestero gets a job offer from Bryan Cranston actually never happened. The finale is also fabricated, as there's no evidence that the premiere happened like that. It only makes Wiseau's theory of it being entirely honest a bit harder to grapple with.
The film would premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March of 2017 to uproarious applause. With positive word of mouth from fans, the film would begin its slow release in the Fall. Among the marketing elements was a cheeky nod to the original film's release. Following The Room's release, Wiseau had a billboard up promoting the movie with his apartment's phone number. The Disaster Artist did a similar stunt for the film with a phone number that sometimes had James Franco answer the phone in character. The film would enter release on Juliette Danielle's 37th birthday, who played Lisa in the original. With positive feedback, the film's release would be a success while managing to make $30 million on a $10 million budget. The film was successful enough to earn an IMAX release, which would be the first A24 released film to ever earn that.
Along with Lady Bird, it looked like 2017's Fall releases would be heavyweights during awards season. The first sign came during the Golden Globes where James Franco won Best Actor (Comedy or Musical). During his speech, he gave a shout out to A24, claiming that they had him since Spring Breakers. They also invited Wiseau onstage, though Franco notoriously refused to let him give a speech. While it wouldn't be the end of Franco's awards campaign, the following day would produce its own set of conflicts as news came out that the actor sexually harassed several women. It's contestable as to whether this is what kept Franco from earning a Best Actor Oscar nomination, especially given his general acclaim from every other group. However, the screenwriters would earn a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, which became the first by duo Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. They too would lose, making that year's Academy Awards a fairly consistent shutout across the board for A24.
With everything said, the film's critical reception was once again very positive. On critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film would earn a 91%. James Clay of Fresh Fiction noted clearly that "This isn't the next coming of a great meta-masterpiece, but its largely a damn good retelling of one of Hollywood's most beautiful disasters." Tomas Trussow of The Lonely Film Critic also noted that it was about more than celebrating bad movies, suggesting that "The Disaster Artist is more about circumstance and the unexpected virtues of vanity projects than it is about who the people at its center really are. It still comes off as a wildly entertaining ride -- and one I'd happily take again." Keeva Stratton of Rescu (Australia) reflected the negative reviews when writing "Perhaps this one is just for the die-hard fans, burning to know how such a bad film was ever brought to life. Clearly, I'm not one of them." Among The Room's stars opinions was Sestero's, who claimed to be a bit disappointed that the film didn't explore Wiseau's backstory more and only emphasized when he met Sestero.
In most senses of the word, The Disaster Artist was another big success for A24. It not only reunited them with James Franco on another project, but it received major awards while raising awareness for The Room to a more mainstream audience. In the year following the film, Sestero and Wiseau have gone on to work on other projects together, including a two part film called Best F(r)iends. Franco is likely to come back around in time. Still, it was an exploration of what it means to make art and be passionate about it no matter what. The next film, and the final for 2017, would be a bit different from the other films of the Fall. It's a film that returned the studio to western cinema, producing another compelling story that was exciting and full of memorable moments.
Up Next: The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)
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