Originally released in 2003, The Room has become a
phenomenon. The independent film has gained a rabid cult following,
with Rocky Horror-style midnight screenings at which fans quote
lines and act out scenes—including Saturday’s special screening
at Cinema 21, which hopefully will be the first of several.
With its interminable sex scenes and abandoned plot threads, some
could say The Room is a “bad” movie, but this raises the
question of what makes a movie “good.” Is it a comprehensible script?
Believable acting? Sets that don’t look like they’re going to topple
over at any second? The Room contains none of these elements,
yet that hardly detracts from its remarkably high entertainment value.
In fact, The Room may have you questioning the reasons you’ve
ever enjoyed anything in your life—as well as serving as
incontrovertible proof that making a movie is very, very difficult.
I was a little nervous to speak with The Room‘s mysterious
writer/producer/director/star Tommy Wiseau. But on the phone, Wiseau
was remarkably candid—no, I didn’t find out where he got the six
million dollars to make The Room, nor where his bewildering
accent came from, but he was enthusiastic about The Room and
upcoming projects.
MERCURY: There are fans in Portland who have
only seen The Room on DVD, but you recommend
seeing it more than once in the theater. Is there something important
about sharing the experience with a large group of people?
TOMMY WISEAU: The reason I say to see it at least two or three
times, even four times, is because there is so many obstacle. If you be
honest, objectively speaking, there’s no way in the world you can grasp
all this stuff. And I don’t care how good you are, how intelligent you
are. You may have a diploma from Oxford…. I will argue with you
[that] there’s no way in the world you can see all the obstacle and
then fully analyze the movie.
What other filmmakers are you inspired by?
I inspire myself every day of my existence. But my creativity is
connecting to the creativity of Tennessee Williams, Orson Welles,
Hitchcock, and others, because we are on the same page.
Is there one project in particular you’ve always wanted to
do?
Actually yes, but I cannot tell you, I’m sorry, man. The reason for
it is because you will print and you may actually… um, okay, lemme
tell you this way. I give you little hint. It’s related to Batman.
Okay? And I rest my case….
Since you’re a nice guy I’ll give you another clue. You’re from
Portland, you guys are very nice people. It’s related to one of the
actors who just passed away, and I think I give you enough clue. So
actually, I did little scene on the Comic-Con. I don’t know if you’re
familiar with San Diego?
Yes.
We have really great reception there! I did this scene, actually,
with two Batmans. I played the character, and again, I don’t want to
say it. You do the research.
For a complete transcript of our email and telephone interviews with Tommy Wiseau, go here.