The Disaster Artist

This is one of the funniest, most entertaining and interesting books I've ever read. I'm aware of the history, cult following and creation of “The Room” and of the insanity/hilarity that is Tommy Wiseau. I've even seen “The Disaster Artist,” the film that this book is adapted into, but reading the book is even more entertaining with added details, lines, and just wacky shit that Tommy says and does through in public. I couldn't put this one down. Now I want to watch “The Room” in full. I've only seen the essential clips but seeing the full film will definitely add a lot more context I'm certain. It's one of the most fascinating stories ever in filmmaking and in Hollywood and it's absolutely essential for anyone who's interested in movies. I also need to see “The Disaster Artist” again. It's been a few years since I initially saw it and it's so great.

This was a very entertaining story that I thoroughly enjoyed. The central character, Tommy is off-the-dial strange and mysterious. He's apparently developed a number of bizarre methods for dealing with some of his personal issues. While his behavior borders on paranoia and seems to tenacious about his privacy, he's going full out after his dream of being a famous actor. The fact that the author, Greg is a young, straight-laced guy with the similar aspirations (which is how they met) makes him the perfect straight man for Tommy. The wide range of mysteries about Tommy along with his unpredictable behavior work well in holding your interest. Unfortunately not all those mysteries are resolved in the end.

Tommy is an emotional and dynamic guy who is primarily led by his id and seems to have no qualms about it. He can be boorish and wildly insensitive. It's often not possible to detect his motives, but all in all he comes off as a likable character.



I watched both movies

Definitely worth a read,

This book is a ton of fun. I HIGHLY recommend getting the audio book so you can hear Greg Sestero's dead-on impression of Tommy Wiseau. And honestly, his affection for (and intermittent frustration with) him. There are a few “bless his heart” moments where Sestero stumbles over what is clearly Tom Bissell's wording, but overall he does a lovely job of bringing the whole tale to life, and generally seems like a nice, talented guy. The collaboration of Sestero and Bissell works perfectly - clearly Greg provided the story, and the emotions, and Tom wove it all into evocative, flowing narration.

This story does a wonderful job of showing that Tommy can be unreasonable, obnoxious, deluded, immune to feedback and indeed reality, but also that he's sympathetic in some ways. This was exactly the right tack to take. It lets the audience continue to laugh at Tommy's creation and at Tommy himself, but also recognize his longing for the Hollywood dream and appreciate his grit and hard work.

Amazing. Funny, sad, confusing, cringeworthy, human.

Wie The Room nog niet gezien heeft: meteen doen. Het is een ervaring met meer dan veel Ed Wood-allures: een barslecht scenario (geschreven door Tommy Wiseau), geproduced door een producer die niet weet wat hij doet (Tommy Wiseau), met een hoofdacteur zonder aantoonbaar talent (Tommy Wiseau).

Niemand weet precies wie Tommy Wiseau is (is hij Pools? misschien), hoe oud hij is (hij zegt in de twintig, misschien is het in de zestig), waar zijn vele miljoenen vandaan komen (shady klerenverkoop? real estate?), en vooral: waarom hij dit allemaal doet. De film heeft miljoenen dollars gekost, hij heeft stapels gespendeerd aan promotie, en het is echt objectief uiterst slecht.

En dan dit boek lezen, en de film opnieuw bekijken met andere ogen.

Sestero is hoofdpersonage twee in de film, en al jaren Wiseau's “beste vriend”, wat dat ook moge betekenen. Hij schrijft door elkaar twee verhalen in The Disaster Artist: zijn leven tot en met The Room en het verfilmen van The Room zelf. Naar het einde van het boek komt daar een derde verhaal tussen: het leven van Tommy Wiseau, voor zover Greg het naar beste oordeel en vermogen kan reconstrueren.

The Disaster Artist leest vreemd: het voelt aan als een niet-professioneel boek, als dat iets betekent. Het is duidelijk dat Sestero geen schrijver is, en ik weet niet in hoeverre co-schrijver Tom Bissell de pen zwaar vastrgehouden heeft, maar het klinkt alsof het één lang interview is. Het had gemakkelijk geweest om het allemaal in het belachelijke te trekken; dat is niet gebeurd.

Wiseau is een tiran, jazeker, en een charlatan en een controlefreak, maar tegelijk is er ook een meer dan een beetje onderhuids vreemde asexuele mancrush tussen hem en Greg Sestero. En is het duidelijk wat voor een gebroken en kwetsbaar persoon er onder het personage zit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6RQ8rC8hc

Ik ga dringend nog eens The Room moeten bekijken.

Slow to start (for me at least) because I didn't care much about Babyface. But my godd! s o good now!

Leave your stupid comments in your pocket!

The emotions this book made me feel: deep life alteringly strong laughter, genuine tears, and the sensation of wanting to scream “how are you still alive?” at a person. This book was an excellent psychological case study. It was a story of twisted and strange friendship. It was also the story of...art? Well, that may be debatable.
There were also moments when it felt like a thriller and I feared for the writers life, before reminding myself he must be alive because...he wrote it.
I fully recommend it, and one day when I teach psychology...it will be in the syllabus.

I read this on a flight, and it made for an entertaining journey. If you're a fan of The Room, this reads exactly like the behind-the-scenes you always hoped existed. It's chalked full of amazing Wiseauisms and maintains a Very Funny level all the way through. I'm going to need to watch The Room again in light of having read this book to keep an eye out for all the gaffs.

All jokes aside though, Sestero obviously has a soft-spot in his heart for Wiseau, and he brilliantly portrays everyone's favorite punching-bag exceptionally sympathetically. This book has enough Feels to have taught me something about friendship.

If you're interested, here are the quotes I liked from the book:
http://sandymaguire.me/books/greg-sestero-and-tom-bissell-the-disaster-artist.html

I pretty much read this whole book like this O_O Like, WHOA.

This is one of the most fascinating and bonkers stories I've ever read. I LOVED it. I would only recommend it to those who have already seen and enjoyed The Room. If you have not seen The Room, I would recommend that you go watch The Room. Watch The Room five times. Then read this.

I actually already knew a lot about the making of The Room but this book has sooo much crazy behind the scenes information. It truly answers the question “How did this get made?” (Answer: “Barely, and because of Tommy Wiseau's possibly illegally obtained fortune.) What an intensely beautiful trainwreck. I also admire Sestero for writing about Tommy Wiseau with a real sense of compassion and humanity, while still conveying how difficult it is to work with him. (And LIVE with him, oh my god.)

I was also pretty compelled by Greg Sestero's story of trying to make it as a young model/actor in LA, although his story is less compelling than Tommy's... because Tommy is a whirlwind of mystery.

I was wary of this, worried it might reveal too much of the truth behind its enigmatic source material. To my complete surprise, it stands on its own as a genuinely mesmerizing tale of friendship, tragedy, and, yes, the late American Dream. You'll find answers to many of the strange questions everyone has after a viewing of “The Room,” but you'll also find yourself brimming with new ones that are bigger and more difficult to answer. Plus, it's loaded with countless ridiculous scenes and one-liners that made me laugh more than anything else I've read recently.