The Room (2003)

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Movie
Original title The room
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2003
length 99 minutes
Rod
Director Tommy Wiseau
script Tommy Wiseau
production Tommy Wiseau
music Mladen Milicevic
camera Todd Barron
cut Eric Chase
occupation

The Room is an American film directed by and with Tommy Wiseau from 2003 . The plot of the film primarily revolves around a tragic love triangle between a banker (Wiseau), his fiancé (Juliette Danielle) and his best friend (Greg Sestero), but a significant part of the plot is lost in incoherent subsidiary lines around the social environment of the protagonist.

The film has been described by several magazines and film critics as "the worst film ever". Originally the film was only shown in a few theaters in California, but developed into a cult film a few years later . The bizarre course of action, the grotesquely poor performance, the illogical dialogues and the numerous technical and dramaturgical errors give the film an involuntary comedy that is appreciated by fans of the film.

Although Wiseau attempted to retrospectively portray the film as a black comedy , the film is generally viewed as a failed tragedy . This view was also confirmed by some contributors. More than ten years after its premiere, the film was still shown in US arthouse cinemas and formed the basis for a computer game, a book and a play. In addition, the genesis of The Room was filmed under the title The Disaster Artist . A German dubbed version of Wiseau's film does not yet exist.

action

Johnny is a successful banker who lives with his fiancée Lisa in a house in San Francisco . You lead an intense love relationship, which is mainly characterized by frequent, devoted sexual intercourse. Despite the passionate relationship, Lisa is dissatisfied with her life and one afternoon confesses to her best friend Michelle and her mother Claudette that she finds Johnny boring. Although Michelle advises her to be grateful for what she has while her mother advises her that financial security is more important than happiness, Lisa decides to seduce Johnny's best friend, Mark. This gives in to Lisa's advances despite initial hesitation. Their affair continues throughout the film, although Mark appears reluctant every sexual encounter with Lisa and repeatedly tries to end the relationship.

Lisa decides to maintain the love triangle in order to secure Johnny's financial support. As the wedding day approaches, Lisa vacillates between glorifying and denigrating her fiancé to her family and friends; So she invents allegations of domestic violence, but at the same time defends it against criticism. After Johnny overhears a conversation in which Lisa confesses to her mother that she is unfaithful, he begins to record Lisa's phone calls in order to expose her lover.

Against the background of this affair, innumerable, loosely linked storylines develop, in which a number of characters are involved: Johnny's neighbor Denny, a student who is financially supported by Johnny and "loved like a son", has a strange argument with a drug dealer named Chris-R who Johnny and Mark overpower and turn over to the police. Denny also desires Lisa, which he ultimately confesses to Johnny. Johnny then explains to Denny that Lisa only loves him amicably, whereupon Denny immediately decides to propose to his girlfriend. Johnny is assigned a mysterious customer in his bank whose identity he swears to protect. Claudette struggles with a property, complains of failed relationships, and tells Lisa that she has breast cancer . Michelle and her boyfriend Mike sneak into Johnny and Lisa's apartment to have sex. Peter, a psychologist and friend of Johnny, defends Lisa's behavior, but still calls her a sociopath , which means that Mark temporarily tries to murder him. All of these storylines are introduced very suddenly and are never broken up.

At a surprise party for Johnny's birthday, to which all his friends are invited, Steven, a friend of Johnny's who had not appeared up to this point, observes a kiss between Lisa and Mark, who feel they are not being observed, whereupon he confronts them. Lisa shows no remorse, and Mark angrily tells Steven to keep what he has seen to himself. Johnny announces Lisa is pregnant, and Lisa reveals to Steven and Michelle that this is a lie she made up to "make it interesting". At the end of the evening, Lisa openly admits her affair with Johnny, whereupon the latter attacks Mark.

After the party, Johnny locks himself in the bathroom, whereupon Lisa immediately plans to leave him for Mark. Johnny finally leaves the bathroom to listen to the tape recorder he had plugged into the phone. After playing an intimate conversation between Lisa and Mark, he complains that all of his friends betrayed him, then ravages his apartment extensively, and finally commits suicide with a pistol.

After discovering the body, Denny and Mark blame Johnny's death on Lisa. Mark explains that he doesn't love Lisa and never wants to see her again. Denny tells Lisa and Mark to leave, but they stay and comfort each other while the sound of approaching sirens can be heard.

Inconsistencies and narrative weaknesses

In addition to the numerous connection errors, critics point out many general inconsistencies in the various storylines and the character representation. In particular, the main criticism of the film is that new narrative threads are constantly being introduced as part of the course of the plot, without dissolving them.

A common example of this is a scene in which Claudette, without warning and in the middle of a conversation about planning a birthday party, tells her daughter Lisa, “I got my test results back. It's definitely breast cancer. ”The matter is casually passed over and is not taken up in the conversation or anywhere else in the film. Other scenes, such as a violent confrontation on a roof, are also never explained.

In one scene, the main male characters in the film meet in tuxedos in Johnny's apartment. When Mark joins it, it turns out that he has shaved off his beard, which is underlined by a slow zoom, underlaid with dramatic music. There is no recognizable motivation for the entire scene, nor do the events have any influence on the film plot. The scene then ends abruptly with Peter stumbling while playing ball, whereupon the men decide to return to Johnny's apartment. Due to frequent inquiries about the meaning of this scene, Wiseau decided to mention it in an interview that comes with the DVD; however, instead of explaining the scene, he only points out that it is entertaining to play American football without protective gear. Greg Sestero was asked about the importance of shaving, but he simply replied, "If you only knew".

Emergence

The Room originally started out as a play that was completed by Tommy Wiseau in 2001. Wiseau then adapted the piece as a 500-page book, which he was unable to publish. Frustrated, Wiseau decided to turn the work into a film, which he also produced himself, in order to keep full control of the project. Wiseau kept a low profile on funding the project, but stated in an interview that he made some of the money by importing leather jackets from Korea.

He eventually managed to raise $ 6 million, all of which was also spent on production and marketing. As the reason for the relatively high cost of the film, Wiseau cited that many actors and crew members had to be replaced over the course of the filming and that each of the actors had a number of substitutes .

According to Greg Ellery, Wiseau rented a studio from the production company Birns and Sawyer , where he purchased a "Beginner Director's Package" that also included a new movie camera. Confused by the differences between 35mm film and HD video, Wiseau decided to shoot the entire film with two cameras at the same time.

occupation

In several interviews Wiseau has claimed that he selected the actors for the film from "thousands" of applicants. In fact, hardly any of the actors had film experience. For example, Carolyn Minott's role in The Room was her first ever role. Greg Sestero was initially hired as part of the film crew due to limited experience as an actor. On the first day of shooting, however, Wiseau fired the original Mark cast member, whereupon Sestero agreed to take on the role. Since it was uncomfortable for him to undress in the context of the sex scenes, he was allowed to keep his pants on.

Greg Ellery reports that Juliette Danielle was asked by Wiseau on the first day of shooting and immediately after their arrival on the set to share a love scene, which the other actors "watched in shock". Wiseau said Danielle was originally one of three or four fillers for the character of Lisa, and was picked after the original actress left production. Danielle reports that she was originally cast as Michelle, but was offered the role of Lisa after the original actress was fired because her "personality did not match the role". Danielle also claims that several actors have been sacked, including the original actress in Michelle.

Kyle Vogt, who plays Peter, told the production team at the start of filming that he could only be involved in the project for a limited time. When his engagement ended, not all of his scenes could be filmed and he left the production, although his character was to play a major role in the climax, which had not yet been filmed. His lines of dialogue at the end of the film were therefore unceremoniously transferred to Ellery, whose character is never presented in the film and is never mentioned by name.

script

The original script was significantly longer than the one used for shooting and contained a number of extravagant monologues. It was rewritten by the cast while filming because they found large parts of the dialogue incomprehensible. One of the cast claimed in an interview that the script contained dialogue “that was simply unspeakable. I know it's hard to imagine that there was worse stuff. But there was ”. Greg Sestero reports that Wiseau was keen to memorize the dialogues verbatim, but the cast managed to bring in a few improvisations. Wiseau partially synchronized his own dialogues for unknown reasons, which is why his lip movements often do not match the text.

The script of the film is characterized in numerous places by inexplicable and abrupt changes in mood and personality of the characters, especially with Johnny, Mark and Lisa. In one scene, Johnny walks onto a rooftop terrace while he's in the middle of a tirade about a false accusation, but is instantly happy when he sees Mark. Shortly afterwards he laughs for incomprehensible reasons when he learns that an acquaintance of Mark has been badly beaten. In a scene in a cafe, Johnny - who doesn't yet know about Mark's affair with Lisa - suddenly interrupts a conversation with Mark by asking him about his sex life, only to get angry and suspicious when Mark refuses to answer. Immediately afterwards, however, Johnny becomes happy again, and the conversation continues unchanged.

A few scenes later, Mark tries to push Peter off the roof after Peter has suggested that Mark is having an affair with Lisa. Shortly before Peter falls to his death, Mark pulls him back onto the terrace, apologizes, and the two continue their conversation, unimpressed, without further appreciating the murder attempt that has just taken place. Lisa accuses much of the film about Johnny behind his back with the violence. Her friends and family don't take the allegations seriously at first, but when they do, Lisa suddenly begins to praise Johnny in the highest tones.

The dialogues, especially those of Johnny, are strongly characterized by repetitions and empty phrases, so Johnny begins almost every conversation with the greeting “Oh, hi!” And ends most conversations with “That's the idea”. Many characters also use the phrase "Don't worry about it" to end conversations. Almost all male characters in the film have lines of dialogue in which they praise Lisa's attractiveness, for example an unnamed friend Johnny's, whose only sentence in the film is: "Lisa looks hot tonight". Although a considerable part of the dialogue deals with the upcoming wedding, Johnny and Lisa are never referred to as fiancés, only as "future wife" and "future husband".

Filming

The shooting lasted about six months. The film was shot in a film studio in Los Angeles, but individual recordings were also made in San Francisco. The film's many rooftop scenes were shot in a studio in 2002, with the panoramic views of San Francisco added later. Over 400 people were involved in the film. Wiseau is named as a performer, executive producer , screenwriter, producer, and director in the credits . Of the other two people named as executive producers, one was not involved in the production, according to Sestero, while the other was already dead when filming began. Wiseau had some problems with the film crew, which was completely replaced twice during the course of the shooting. Some people had multiple tasks, such as Sestero, who not only played the mark, but also producer and assistant director and was also involved in the casting.

music

The score was written by Mladen Milicevic, a music professor at Loyola Marymount University . The soundtrack includes four romantic slow jam pieces that also run during four of the film's five sex scenes. Only instrumental music is played during an oral sex scene between Michelle and Mike.

marketing

The film was advertised almost exclusively on a single billboard. Located on Highland Avenue in Hollywood, it showed a close-up of Tommy Wiseau's face, looking grim with one eye half closed. Although conventional posters were also designed for the film, on which the main characters were seen against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, Wiseau opted for the portrait version because he found it more provocative. However, based on the picture, some passers-by believed that The Room was a horror film. Wiseau also paid for a small, Los Angeles-limited television and print ad campaign calling "The Room" "a movie that Tennessee Williams loved."

Although the film was denied success, Wiseau left the billboard standing for more than four years. The longevity of the bizarre representation turned the poster into a small tourist attraction as a result. When asked how he could afford to keep the billboard in such a prominent place for so long, Wiseau replied, “Well, we like the spot and we like the billboard, so we think people do "The Room" should see. [...] We sell DVDs, and they sell okay. "

Dispute over the direction

In an article in Entertainment Weekly on February 18, 2011, Sandy Schklair, the film's script supervisor, announced that he would be named as the second director of The Room . According to Schklair, Wiseau was so overwhelmed by his acting activities that he handed over the direction to him, but without wanting to renounce being named as a director. The claim is confirmed by one of the movie's cast members, but is denied by Wiseau.

Development into a cult film

The Room premiered on June 27, 2003 at the Laemmle Fairfax and Laemmle Fallbrook cinemas in Los Angeles. Wiseau also arranged a press screening in one of the two cinemas, at which the actors were also present. Wiseau himself drove up in a limousine, which was illuminated with a specially rented headlight. All guests received the film's soundtrack as a gift. Laemmle Fairfax and Laemmle Fallbrook showed the film over the next two weeks, grossing a mere $ 1,800. During one of the last demonstrations in the second week there was only a single spectator. It was about Michael Rousselet, a film critic of 5secondfilms, who discovered an involuntary comedy in the bizarre dialogues and the confusing directing of the film that made him enthusiastic about the film. While the film was still on, he called some friends and invited them to make fun of the film with him the next time it was shown. In the days that followed, Rousselet and some of his acquaintances visited the film several times and, through word of mouth, contributed to the fact that about 100 people were present at the last screening.

After the film was removed from the program, visitors to the final screening began emailing praise to Wiseau for the film. The volume of letters encouraged Wiseau to arrange another nighttime screening of The Room in 2004 . With the film's reputation as “the worst film of all time,” the screening was a success and attracted two more in July and August 2004. The demand for tickets then increased rapidly, which meant that Wiseau was soon able to book further screenings in several cinemas in and around Los Angeles. This success also contributed to the fact that some celebrities became fans of the film and promoted it to their circle of friends, such as Kristen Bell , Paul Rudd , David Cross , Will Arnett and Patton Oswalt . Actress Kristen Bell and television producer Rob Thomas in particular promoted the film with great enthusiasm, with Thomas even including allusions to the film in his television series Veronica Mars . The film subsequently developed into a cult film internationally and has already been shown by Wiseau in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. The film is currently shown on the last Saturday of the month at the Laemmle Cinema in Los Angeles, and tickets are usually sold out early. Similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show , it is common for fans of the film to interact with the film as it is shown. For example, some dress up as their favorite characters or throw plastic spoons, which is an allusion to a framed photo of a spoon that is on a table in Johnny's living room for unexplained reasons in the film. The visitors also occasionally throw footballs and drown out the screening with insulting comments about the inferior quality of the film, but also with quotes from it.

In Europe, for example, the film is shown regularly in the Huset KBH in Copenhagen. The German premiere took place on May 9, 2014 as part of the trash film festival B-FILM Basterds in Nuremberg .

Reviews

A reporter from the magazine “Variety” who was present at the premiere later wrote that most viewers asked for their entry fee back within the first 30 minutes. IFC.com described Wiseau's voice as " Borat trying to imitate Christopher Walken , who plays a deranged man ." The Guardian described the film as a cross between " Tennessee Williams , Ed Wood and R. Kelly's Trapped in The Closet ."

The film was not discussed in the German-speaking media when it was released. Bernd Graff wrote in the Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2012 : “This celluloid inferno is epic in its failure, it is dangerous to health, it is only for people with very healthy blood pressure. Everyone else gets sick when they see this film, for life, incurable, and unsaved. "

The Rotten Tomatoes film site currently has 26% positive reviews for the film.

DVD

In December 2005, The Room was released on DVD . In the US, the film is also distributed online directly through Wiseau Films, as well as GreenCine , Netflix , and Amazon.com .

The bonus material on the DVD includes an interview with Wiseau interviewed by Greg Sestero. Wiseau is sitting in front of an open fireplace, which is surrounded by some props from the film. Next to him is a large, framed poster of the film. Wiseau simply answers many of the questions with apparently inadvertently contradicting statements. When asked to explain the scene in which the men in tuxedos are playing football, he simply replies that it is fun and challenging to play football without protective gear. Just like in the film, Wiseau also extensively added audio to himself in the interview.

The DVD also contains a half-hour documentary, which does not have any commentary and essentially shows the film crew how they prepare for the recording.

In December 2012, the film was also released on Blu-Ray.

more publishments

computer game

In September 2010, Tom Fulp, owner of the game site Newgrounds , published the browser game The Room based on the film , in which the plot of the film is re-enacted from Johnny's point of view in the style of a 16-bit adventure.

book

In October 2013, Greg Sestero published a book entitled The Disaster Artist at the publishing house Simon & Schuster , in which he describes his experiences during the shooting.

The disaster artist

In February 2014, James Franco secured the rights to film Sestero's book. He directed, produced, and starred Tommy Wiseau on The Disaster Artist . Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are involved as co-producers . Franco's brother Dave plays Greg Sestero. The tragic comedy The Disaster Artist premiered at the South by Southwest on March 12, 2017 and received standing ovations and very positive reviews. It was released in the US on December 1, 2017. Franco received the Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau .

Play

On June 10, 2011, a play based on the film's original script was performed at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center. Wiseau and Sestero were involved in the play as Johnny and Mark.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernd Graff: The Room: Worst film of all time . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 28, 2013. Accessed December 5, 2013. 
  2. ↑ Clark Collis: 'The Room': Worst movie ever? Don't tell that to its suddenly in-demand star. . In: Entertainment Weekly . December 30, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  3. ↑ Nihar Patel: 'The Room': A Cult Hit So Bad, It's Good (audio) . In: National Public Radio , May 5, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Robyn Paris: How 'The Room' Turned Me Into a Cult Movie 'Star' . In: Back Stage . April 30, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  5. ^ Motion Picture Purgatory: The Room . Dreadcentral.com. December 10, 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f Tommy Wiseau: The Complete Interview (s) . In: The Portland Mercury , August 13, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2013. 
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Steve Heisler: Tommy Wiseau . In: The AV Club . June 24, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  8. ^ Scott Tobias: The Room . In: The AV Club , March 26, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2013. 
  9. ↑ The Room DVD Bonus Features: Q&A
  10. ↑ a b c d Sam Weisberg: An Interview with The Room's Main Star, Greg Sestero . In: Screen Comment . July 20, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Clark Collis: The Crazy Cult of 'The Room' . In: Entertainment Weekly . December 12, 2008. Accessed July 31, 2011.
  12. ↑ a b c Shatkin, Elina: LAist Interviews Tommy Wiseau, The Face Behind The Billboard . In: LAist , April 27, 2007. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 12, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / laist.com 
  13. ↑ a b c Conor Lastowka: RiffTrax Interview with The Room's Greg Ellery . In: Rifftrax . June 12th, 2009. Archived from the original on June 17th, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 12, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blog.rifftrax.com
  14. ↑ The Room DVD bonus features: The Making of The Room
  15. ↑ a b Interview with The Room's Juliette Danielle . In: Praxis Magazine . Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  16. ^ A b Steve Heisler: The Room's Greg Sestero, Best Friend Extraordinaire . February 23, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  17. ^ Dan Snierson: The Battle Over 'The Room' . In: Entertainment Weekly . No. 1142, February 11, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  18. ↑ a b Bathroom Reader's Institute, The. “The Worst Movie of All Time?” Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader. Pub. 10-25-10, Portable Pr / Baker & Taylor Pub.
  19. ↑ Showings . Theroommovie.com. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  20. ↑ Announcement from the organizer of July 1st, 2014. This refers to an email from Wiseau Films in which it says: "As per your e-mail we can approved your screening of The Room; keep in mind that this will be the first official screening of The Room in GERMANY [sic!]. "
  21. ↑ a b Matt Singer: "Everyone Betray Me!": A Primer on 'The Room' . In: IFC . March 24, 2009. Archived from the original on October 17, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 12, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ifc.com
  22. ↑ Steve Rose: Is This the Worst Movie Ever Made? . In: The Guardian , September 10, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2013. 
  23. ↑ The Room at Rotten Tomatoes (English)Template: Rotten Tomatoes / Maintenance / Various connoisseurs in Wikipedia and Wikidata
  24. ^ The Room Blu-ray . In: Blu-ray.com . Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  25. ^ Ward, Kate: 'The Room: The Game': Good Idea . September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  26. ^ Clark Collis: 'Room' actor Greg Sestero to write memoir . In: Entertainment Weekly , May 26, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011. 
  27. ↑ Kieran Turner-Dave: Understanding 'The Room': An Interview with the Stars of 'the Worst Movie Ever Made'. (No longer available online.) The Independent , February 15, 2013, archived from the original on February 21, 2013 ; Retrieved December 6, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blogs.independent.co.uk
  28. ↑ James Franco plans to film the making of the cult film "The Room" by Tommy Wiseau ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at kino-zeit.de, accessed on February 11, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kino-zeit.de
  29. ↑ Christopher Hooton: The Disaster Artist: James Franco's film about Tommy Wiseau's disasterpiece The Room is being tipped for an Oscar on independent.co.uk (accessed March 16, 2017)
  30. ↑ Peter Debruge: SXSW Film Review: 'The Disaster Artist' on variety.com (accessed March 16, 2017)
  31. ^ The Room: Live announcement . Archived from the original on January 5, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2013.