THE DISASTER ARTIST: What a Story

Note: Leave your stupid SPOILERS in your pocket!

"Los Angeles, everybody want to be star. You have to be the best and never give up."

- Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), The Disaster Artist

There is no one on Earth like Tommy Wiseau. Some have speculated he can not possibly come from Earth. But his story and how he became the 21st century equivalent of Ed Wood cannot be anything but some of the most human stuff you will ever hear about. I am talking about The Room, a 2003 film - a "dark comedy" masquerading as a Tennessee Williams-style melodrama - starring and written and produced and directed by Wiseau himself. It is a movie so laughably bizarre and enjoyably bad that it truly has become infamous. Hundreds of midnight screenings have been shown all over the world with Wiseau often attending and playing football with many of the attendees. But he has kept most of his own life shrouded in secrecy. It would keep even the most seasoned investigator up many sleepless nights just trying to decipher his accent. Fortunately, his best friend seemed to be up to the task.

Actor Greg Sestero, Wiseau's co-star in The Room and probably Wiseau's longest-lasting friend, found himself caught up in the cult cyclone following the film's release. The movie improbably had found an audience in people who loved “so bad it’s good” films. It had marathon showings on [adult swim] during April Fools’ Day (including an interview with Space Ghost). Wiseau and Sestero have both been on CNN, discussing the movie’s remarkable success story. Rather than dissuade himself from the potential embarrassment at being associated with it, Sestero decided to tell the full story of the making of the film. He and journalist Tom Bissell began writing the book, "The Disaster Artist" and released it in 2013 to worldwide acclaim. Fans of the film were delighted at all the behind-the-scenes madness being revealed while more serious critics were intrigued at the captivating story of not giving up on one's dreams. Naturally, Hollywood came calling. 

Greg (Dave Franco) is a young man struggling to make it in Los Angeles and to be taken seriously as an actor. In the midst of one of his acting classes, he finds himself awestruck by the fearlessness of one of his classmates, a mysterious man known only as Tommy (James Franco) who, despite having dubious talent, gives his all. Wanting to get to know him better, Greg begins a reluctant friendship with Tommy who agrees on the condition that Greg will never divulge anything personal he may learn about him. As the two of them become close friends, they become frustrated that no one in Hollywood will take a chance with them. Offhandedly, Greg suggests making their own movie. This throwaway comment lights a creative spark in Tommy that launches a major production: The Room. Greg warily agrees to play a role in the film as the best friend of the lead character, Johnny, played by Tommy. As their fellow cast and crew slowly begin to realize, The Room is not just a multi-million dollar vanity project by a madman but also the fast lane to the breaking of their sanity.

The Disaster Artist is the culmination of one of the most surprising underdog stories in Hollywood history. It is a vindication to all who have suffered through the film that there was something there that perhaps they did not see upon first viewing. In lesser hands, the movie would simply collapse on its "you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it" approach, but James Franco shines both as director and star. He builds a great camaraderie with his own brother Dave playing Greg. I must admit I had fears when the first teaser trailer was released as it seemed that James was simply doing a Tommy Wiseau impression. I am happy to say I was wrong and that he has enveloped himself in all things Wiseau in a way that almost does not seem possible, outside of Tommy himself. He perfectly captured Tommy's manners and speech patterns. The movie introduces a story element that does not come from the book so I am not sure of its authenticity: Tommy goes on various auditions and is eventually told by an acting teacher (Bob Odenkirk) that he may be best suited in playing a monstrous villain. Troubled by this, Tommy refuses this advice, believing he can be an American hero. This gives Tommy a humanity that might be harder to see without said motivation.

Where the movie falters is in the supporting cast. Ultimately, the movie is the story of Greg and Tommy. Casting a lot of famous faces brings the movie legitimacy but not much else. Naturally, fellow Frat Pack member Seth Rogen has a part as Sandy Schklair, The Room production's seemingly sole voice of reason, but he does not have many more scenes outside of what one sees in the trailer. Also, in the movie, he and Paul Scheer playing Raphael Smadja, The Room's director of photography, are fired off-screen. In the book, Schklair left the film's production because he was offered a job with Steven Spielberg's cinematographer Janusz Kamiński and Scheer's character stormed off the set after Tommy refused to find a new line producer after the job was basically forced upon Greg. I understand that it would have taken away a lot of screen time from the movie, but something better than nothing would have been preferred.

Another problem I have with the movie is the pacing. The movie, after a questionable "love letter" prelude featuring J.J. Abrams, Kevin Smith, Kristen Bell and Adam Scott, starts off on a breakneck speed going from scene-to-scene-to-scene. Once it stops and slows down to catch its breath, it does become very compelling. The book alternates chapters of the making of The Room and the real story of Greg and Tommy's friendship; it breaks up monotony and also allows for good laughs after very serious passages. The movie is straight linear from the first time Greg meets Tommy to the premiere of The Room; it takes forever to get to what the movie is being sold on - the making of the greatest bad movie ever made. There is also a whole section of the book dedicated to delving into Tommy's past; or at least a fairly convincing theory of his past. It is nowhere to be found in the movie. The ending of the movie finds Tommy quickly embracing the notion to call The Room a black comedy as opposed to the melodrama he intended it to be. This did not happen until after The Room was discovered by two college students in the final week of its bare theatrical release. But, I get it; it is only a two-hour movie and it needs a happy ending.

The Room is the best bad movie ever made. The story of how it got made is unconventional. The man who got it made is incomprehensible. The way it took the world by storm is unbelievable. I deeply implore you, if you have never seen the movie: please give it a try. You may be bewildered, you may be angered but you just might be enraptured by its madness. The Disaster Artist is the blaze of glory that The Room has finally attained; the same Hollywood that would not accept Tommy is now putting his implausible story onto the silver screen. As Tommy would no doubt say, "You can laugh, you can cry, but don't hurt yourself."

P.S. Wait around for the very end of the credits for a post-credits surprise.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

In the interest of full disclosure, this author must admit a serious bias towards the source material. In that I am a massive fan of The Room. I have been to both the RiffTrax version of The Room (in theaters, not live in Nashville) and the unriffed version (here in Memphis) with hundreds of shouting fans. I also bought The Room on Blu-Ray for $36 (it did not just come with the movie but also a draw-string backpack and the T-shirt you see me wearing above), but it was worth in that Tommy Wiseau signed it to me personally; you can request this if you purchase this through his official website. And to top it off, I was able to meet the one-and-only Greg Sestero when he came to town as part of a book festival. He talked about the book, Tommy, making The Room and near the end of his panel, he invited folks to come on stage to read from the original draft of The Room's script. When it came time to offer the role of Johnny, I turned around to see how many hands would go up. None of them did. Nobody was making their way to the stage. I thought, "Screw it. This is truly once-in-a-lifetime." So I went onstage to read Johnny in a shameful Tommy Wiseau impression opposite Greg Sestero. Greg was a true gentleman, very kind and patient. I responded by accidentally saying, "Hi, Mark," instead of his real name. Whoops! Still, the experience was genuinely thrilling. I got to take a picture with him, he signed my Blu-Ray copy of The Room and my hardcover copy of "The Disaster Artist". I think the world of Tommy and Greg and respect their immense talent. They have a new movie coming soon called Best F(r)iends that I am most definitely seeing the first chance I get. 

OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL: There's No Place Like Disney

It's amazing to think how one director can change Hollywood history in the span of one year. The year? 1939. The director? Victor Fleming. You may not recognize him, but the two films he made that year are among the most popular ever made: Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz (both adaptations of popular books).

While Gone with the Wind was an ambitious undertaking like never before, The Wizard of Oz was actually not the first time the Yellow Brick Road had made it to the silver screen. Silent and black-and-white versions had already been attempted, but Fleming wanted to bring Oz into a whole other cinematic world: color. With its memorable characters (including an unforgettable villain), bright and impressive scenery and its unmistakable theme song, "Over the Rainbow" (which was nearly cut from the film), The Wizard of Oz was nothing short of magical.

A sequel was briefly considered by the filmmakers, but by then, Judy Garland was a superstar and they were unable to make a deal. Still, Oz continued to thrive in other films like The Wiz, a 1978 adaptation with an all African-American cast including the great Diana Ross and the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson in his acting debut. Then in 1985, Walt Disney Pictures made an unofficial sequel to the 1939 film, Return to Oz, directed by Walter Murch (screenwriter of George Lucas' THX-1138; he was later asked to direct an episode of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"). However, the public was revolted by the sharp change in tone from the 1939 original and the film bombed. However, it has gained a fanbase who appreciate its much darker canvas.

Flash-forward to 2009 - Walt Disney Pictures decides to take a new approach to the books of L. Frank Baum: the origins of the Wizard of Oz himself. The project passed under three studio chiefs: Dick Cook, Rich Ross and Alan Horn. At the same time, director Sam Raimi had just finished his return to horror, Drag Me to Hell; before that, he had helmed the enormously successful Spider-Man trilogy. At one point, he had considered a Warcraft movie at Warner Bros. until recently when it was given to Duncan Jones (director of Moon and Source Code). Then, he went to Disney where he was offered Brick, the working title of the film about the origins of the Wizard of Oz. Disney had attempted to cast actors in the lead role, including Robert Downey Jr. (who was more preoccupied with Marvel's The Avengers and Iron Man 3; both Disney films) and Johnny Depp (who had already been signed to Dark Shadows and Disney's The Lone Ranger). But it was Raimi who made a call to an old friend: Academy Award-nominee James Franco, who had played Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy, would now take on the moniker of Oz: The Great and Powerful.

Oscar "Oz" Diggs (James Franco) is a turn-of-the-century circus magician with dreams of becoming a "great man" like his hero, Thomas Alva Edison. However, he's not that nice a guy, not respecting his only friend in the world, Frank (Zach Braff). He is currently in Kansas where he makes his living as "Oz, the Great and Powerful" in his magic show on stage. When he is asked by a little girl (Joey King) in a wheelchair to help her walk in the middle of his show, Oz is unable to help her and is subsequently booed off the stage by the angry audience. Even angrier is the circus strongman coming to kill him after flirting with his wife. Oz manages to escape via a hot air balloon, but quickly finds himself in an even worse position: uncontrollably heading towards a raging tornado. In the middle of the twister, Oz pleads for his life, promising to be a better man if he lives.

Amazingly, Oz does live, but as you've probably guesssed he's "not in Kansas anymore". He's found himself in the beautiful yet strange land of Oz, where he first meets a young woman named Theodora (Mila Kunis; she and Franco had previously appeared together in Date Night). She tells him she is a witch and that, being that he has fallen from the sky and appears to know magic, that he must be the Wizard from the prophecy who can save their land. They quickly fall for each other as they travel to the Emerald City. On the way, they're joined by a flying monkey in a bellhop suit named Finley (voiced by Zach Braff), to whom Oz privately confesses that he is not the Wizard Theodora thinks he is and forces him to play along.

Upon arriving at the Emerald City, Oz is told that he can be King of the land and rich beyond his wildest dreams, but as Theodora's sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) warns, he cannot have it all until he vanquishes the Wicked Witch on the other side of the kingdom. With no other options, Oz reluctantly sets out on his quest with Finley at his side. They come upon the ruins of China Town, a place made of actual china, where they find a scared young China Girl (voiced by Joey King) who joins their quest to defeat the Wicked Witch. However, once they arrive at their destination, they find that the witch they're looking for is not so wicked and that Evanora might have some interesting changes in store for her sister.

After the billion-dollar success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Disney started putting fantasy epics into production. Oz is the first through the gate (a sequel is already being planned without Raimi's involvement), with Maleficent (starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Oz's production designer Robert Stromberg) close behind, Cinderella in the works (with Cate Blanchett attached as the Evil Stepmother and Kenneth Branagh to direct) and just announced, a new take on Beauty and the Beast "brilliantly" titled The Beast. It's no secret that Disney is in the business of copying its own success ad infinitum - some hits (the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Tron: Legacy, The Muppets, Marvel's The Avengers and the upcoming films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wreck-It Ralph) and a lot of misses (Old Dogs, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Mars Needs Moms, Prom and John Carter).

So after all this discussion of history and business strategy, what did I finally think of Oz: The Great and Powerful? I really liked it, certainly more than Alice in Wonderland (which had the insanely hot but no fun Mia Wasikowska). It helps to have a guiding hand like Sam Raimi to bring in curious parties who might not have come to the film otherwise. The choice to start the film in black-and-white and 1:33:1 and then expand to color and 2:40:1 is a nice touch to the original. Franco is certainly talented and capable as a leading man, but he must have gotten smiling lessons from The Terminator. Every time he smiles, it's ridiculous. The supporting cast is good, but it's not hard to point out which Witch is truly wicked, which one has the capacity to be wicked and which one is the real Good Witch. James Bond's wife, Meg Griffin and Marilyn Monroe (sorry, had to go there). The makeup on the Wicked Witch of the West is quite well done, but the Witch in the original movie didn't have green eyes (or Mila Kunis' cleavage; sorry, went there again). And an apple?! Really?! Why not use a potion or something, you're a witch! Ugh!!

Some have called Zach Braff's monkey character, Finley, annoying much like the infamous Jar Jar Binks. He makes a similar declaration of a life debt to James Franco's Oz. In all honesty, I didn't find him annoying, bu the life debt was completely pointless and unnecessary. Was it ever brought up again? Nope. There's a sequence where Oz nearly falls off a cliff. A good way to incorporate it is if Oz had fallen off the cliff and Finley saves him, saying, "I can't continue my life debt to you if you're not here," or something to that effect. Make it count if you're going to use it. A good joke in the film has Oz explaining the three Ups to Finley, the third being "Shut Up". In the rest of the film, Finley rambles to cover Oz's secret that he's not a Wizard to where Oz should tell him, "Third Up," which would have been a great running gag. Oh, well.

The movie is this odd blend of the original Oz and Raimi's own Army of Darkness. Yes! A guy falls from the sky. He is part of a prophecy to free a kingdom from evil. He goes on a quest which cultimates in a graveyard. The woman he falls in love with is turned evil. Before his final fight, the hero teaches others about advanced technology. The Deadite Witch even shows up in both movies -- ok, not really, but it looks enough like her.

It does have its problems and its missed opportunities, but Oz: The Great and Powerful is a decent Disney flick if not a great one. Raimi has the brains, Franco has the courage and Michelle Williams, Braff and King have the heart. The only thing is that these parts don't always work when they should.

P.S. BRUCE CAMPBELL!