Of The Worst Ever Made
It’s an interesting experience to become famous by being in a film lauded as one of the worst ever made.
“I mean, it’s been pretty incredible,” said Greg Sestero, one of the stars of the notorious cult classic “The Room.” “It’s like, you know, you make a movie you didn’t think anybody would ever see. You’re basically helping a friend make their film. And then all of a sudden, people watch it and they talk about it, and then it’s playing around the world.”
Sestero found himself “baffled and intrigued” by how “The Room” became a phenomenon. Nearly 20 years after it was made, people are still talking about it - and still showing it on big screens, as it will be shown at the Midtown Cinema two nights this weekend.
Sestero will be attending the screening, both to talk about the process of making “The Room” and his book based on the experience, “The Disaster Artist.” The book was then turned into a film of the same name, just as Sestero had hoped; his goal was to “make a great film about a bad film”.
He will also be promoting his upcoming film project - one that he actually does have faith in - titled “Miracle Valley.” A teaser for the movie will be shown at the screenings.
“It’s a great time to talk about the new film that I made, and also give a chance for people to experience the greatest bad movie ever made,” Sestero said. “There’s a good amount of people who love the film [”The Room”] and have been exposed to a certain section of it, but there’s still a lot of people that have yet to discover the whole story.”
Sestero’s attempt to document his own version of that story, “The Disaster Artist,” was far more lauded that the melodramatic and often confusing original product.
According to Sestero, he had never actually intended to be involved in “The Room.” He had agreed to help the film’s director and writer, Tommy Wiseau, a friend he’d met in an acting class. But he found himself in a lead role of Mark. (Even people who haven’t seen the film are likely to know the famed “oh hi Mark” line reading that Wiseau gives in a scene from the movie that went viral online.)
And while he didn’t expect the movie to become seen by any kind of large audience, he wasn’t surprised by audience’s reactions. Especially when it came to Wiseau’s eccentric performance - and if his public appearances are any indication, that eccentricity extends to his personal as well.
“It was weird because it was never a movie, a professionally released film,” Sestero said of “The Room.” “It was shown in one theater. And it was built up for being a movie that audiences really loved for, you know, those reasons. When I first met Tommy in the acting class, and I was sort of like the first fan of that style. I kind of knew, obviously, if people saw [his work], what they would be drawn to . So I always was intrigued by that aspect.”
By spinning his experience in “The Room” into “The Disaster Artist,” Sestero found a way to make the leap into other projects. Three weeks after the book had been published, he was contacted by James Franco and Seth Rogan for the movie rights. He’s since appeared in the Netflix series “The Haunting of Bly Manor” and has other projects in the works.
“I think ‘The Room’ is a movie you watch and it’s something you engage with, and laugh at,” Sestero “And I think the book was sort of humanize the story, and me. It gave it some more depth, and I think that those the combination of ‘The Room’ and the book is a great companion on on moviemaking and just what it’s like to try to be an artist.”
Ultimately, he views his experience in “The Room” as a “unique gift” and something he has a good sense of humor about. He remains close with Wiseau, referring to their bond as “sort of like you have with family.” But he can’t speak to Wiseau’s reactions to the viral sensation that his movie has become over the years.
“I think more than anything, him being the person who wrote the film and put everything into it - if I were in those shoes, I don’t know how I would respond,” Sestero said. “But I think at the end of the day, as somebody who wants people to be entertained, I’m sure he was happy that they would line up and see it now for for many years.”
The screening of “The Room” with Greg Sestero on Jan. 23 is sold out, but a second screening has been added at 7 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the Midtown Cinema.
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