Ten years ago, an independent filmmaker wrote, produced and directed his own film, called The Room. Year by year, its fan base has grown and grown, making it into a certified midnight movie phenomenon. It’s awkward at times and is almost a surreal experience. Some say it’s a black comedy. Others describe it as one of the best “so-bad-it’s-good” movies out there. None of these simple descriptions really do it justice – it’s an experience like no other.
Tommy Wiseau and The Room are coming to the Ken Cinema for the “Love is Blind” 10th Anniversary tour on Friday, October 11th and Saturday, October 12th. Advance tickets are available online at: https://tickets.landmarktheatres.com/(S(iqr1d4mazuj12rehueoz0pso))/Ticketing.aspx?ShowDate=10/7/2013&TheatreID=220
Just follow the link and click on the specific dates to purchase.
Mr. Wiseau was kind enough to speak to our site and answer a few questions. He’s a very nice, open and upbeat guy who really appreciates the response the film has gotten. The conversation switched from topic to topic in a stream-of-consciousness like manner. Readers will learn what Mr. Wiseau thinks of his growing fan base (as well as how he has noticed more and more lawyers at showings). You’ll also learn what to expect at the live experience, what the new blu-ray release of the film offers that no other blu-ray has, if the actor/director has ever encountered any of his celebrity fans, and how The Room is a little like eating Raisin Bran cereal. Oh, if you pick up the DVD or blu-ray, he really wants you to watch the “Behind the Scenes” featurette. Here are some highlights…
GK: You’ve made an independent movie that has essentially been playing in cinemas for ten years now. That’s longer than any Hollywood film. It must be a great feeling for you.
TW: Oh yeah, absolutely. I’m very happy and I’m actually a little shocked that we’re still around. I’m happy people have embraced The Room. You have probably noticed, it’s slightly different today than it was ten years ago. It’s too bad we didn’t have this kind of enthusiastic environment ten years ago. But that’s okay! (laughs)
GK: It must have been tough just to get your film seen early on. Did you have a plan to get it out to the public and as time passed did you notice how popular it was becoming?
TW: No, I was to make the movie and move on to the next project. And it did not come out the way I was planning. But actually, the more I think about it, it come out better. The original Room was supposed to come out as a play and still is. At the time, ten years ago, I was shopping it around, doing the research about the theatre because I’m a stage actor. A lot of the stuff which you find out about me online, 90% is incorrect statement and assumptions, people have a tendency to misquote me sometimes.
I always encourage the person who conducts the interview to see the “Behind the Scenes” of The Room. We have the footage on regular DVD as well as Blu-ray. Also, we have the audience reaction of what happened ten years ago. Now I’m laughing a little bit at some of the people… not at you, don’t misunderstand me… some of those people who wrote something about The Room and actually they did not do the research for it. Let’s put it this way. Let’s be nice. I feel good about it. I hope that we’ll be screening for ten more years. Move on, next question!
GK: This is a question about the live experience. I have seen your movie, but only on the DVD. For those who might be new to it, can you sum up what the live experience is like?
TW: Yeah, absolutely. I would say that you can laugh, you can cry, you can express yourself, but please don’t hurt each other! That’s one advice. The second advice… don’t be too serious! It is okay! This is Tommy Wiseau speaking. You can quote my name that it is okay with me that you can laugh about the subtle nuances. The movie’s imperfect, it’s okay to ask questions. We live, for God’s sake, in America, you know? So there’s nothing wrong with that. I would advise first viewers, very seriously, is that it’s a totally different cookie cutter from Hollywood (films).
People don’t realize that what you see on the big screen… it’s a different experience. I always encourage to see in the theater; it better with group of your friends than in your house. But in your house, you can actually see it with your friends too. Have a party, or whatever you want to do. To respond to your question, also I’d like to say that I put a lot of stuff in The Room. It’s not just what people go assuming. See the “Behind the Scenes” if you have time and see what the effort was with two cameras. (Note: Wiseau shot The Room with a 35mm camera and an HD camera at the same time). Yes, I was confused. I have no problem to say that. And at the time Hollywood was confused with the new format.
That was a rollercoaster ride because Hollywood was set out for 35mm. They didn’t like HD. The Room is the only feature length movie, by definition (at 99 minutes), to be shot at the same time with two cameras (HD and 35mm). What you see in the theater is the 35mm. For some of the theatrical releases right now the theater uses a digital format, but we use a hi-res from a blu-ray. The blu-ray was generated from the 35mm. So it’s not generated from HD. It’s just a technical thing.
GK: Yeah, I guess, you just wanted to cover all your bases and have both available?
TW: People, they have a tendency to mix up the two formats. There’s a huge difference when you look up the DVD and blu-ray. I would actually say it’s from 40% to 80% better. We just released the blu-ray. And I’m very happy because, again, I did something very unusual which some of the mainstream media doesn’t pick up on. Eventually they will… (laughs). We have, for example, subtitles; French, German, Italian, Spanish, four languages that you can see as an option. Let me stress this – option – you don’t have to, it’s up to you. But you can see English and French on the same line. I get many emails from fans of the movie The Room and people who study foreign languages like French or German say, “Hey, I never saw such a thing.” But I say, “Now you do!” (laughs) So again, the blu-ray is the only released format that you have this option where you can see two languages at the same time. Of course, you can mix French and German but go with only the format English or just go with the English subtitle. So again, I’m very proud of it and eventually people give me credit, but not yet. Move on, next question! (laughs)
GK: And people will be able to pick up the blu-ray at the show?
TW: We will have them available. I got such a great response from our blu-ray, it’s overwhelming to be honest with you. We also have audience reaction from what happened ten years ago. To be honest with you, I’m trying to be more open right now when I do interviews. Because people think that I’m, you know… it is what it is, The Room. I’m a professional actor, that’s the fact. But my life is a really crazy a little bit, from time to time. The Room has craziness, but in a positive way. Not negative whatsoever. Move on, next question. (laughs)
GK: Okay. And there will be a Q&A at the show?
TW: At the screening, the Q&A will be before, everything they want, pictures, will be before. The Q&A will be before the movie and hopefully everyone will have a groovy time. And now the new thing about The Room. I call it “The Room… it’s not just a movie, it’s an event.”
GK: I’m curious about the question sessions. Because the fans are so passionate, have you gotten any questions that have surprised you?
TW: Oh yeah, I have dozens. This one’s in my head still. One of the girls said, “Can you marry me?”
GK: You get a lot of marriage requests?
TW: It happened several times, actually. But the first one I remember very well. Because that was the time it was screening on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. It was screening six times on six screens at almost the same time. So we had a Q&A, Q&A, Q&A, you know? So that was exciting. I’m very excited always when I travel. Now I try to travel once a month. Not as often, but once a month, that’s enough.
GK: I looked on your site and you’ve had screenings in Poland and all over the world now.
TW: We just had a screening in Portugal and Poland. Portugal, they will be having another screening there, it was very successful. We had very good screenings up in Canada. We have them in the UK regularly, Australia, New Zealand. New Zealand is very big for us, as well as Australia. Australia’s really crazy. So I may go next year to Australia, and the UK, I’m going in February. But they have regular monthly screenings at the PrinceCharlesCinema. It’s very nice. The UK, it’s such a warm people. I say we may learn from the UK, kindness and the way we conduct ourselves. But at the same time we have such a unique culture. You go into France, you spot an American very quickly because we like to talk and we like to laugh. (laughs) We also did have a screening in France, in Paris, so I was very excited. It was a sold out audience. They liked it, actually. I’m very proud to report that. Very positive thing in the past two years I’ve noticed that even mainstream media, they understand now, that certain stuff did not happen by accident. I don’t know how many years it will go on, but hopefully we have ten more years. In ten years, I will talk to you when I’m an old man. Next question!
GK: You mentioned previously that there was a book version of The Room too.
TW: It’s 800 pages. It’s been written already. I’ve got a couple of interests. However, we’ll see what happens. But eventually it will be published. One of the books, which is called The Room, of course. And the second one, the difference between the 35mm and HD. And I don’t really want to publish it myself, I’ll be honest with you. Because it is what it is. This is a different industry that I would like to hook up with. A publisher, they may work with me, we’ll see what happens. The Room is based on the 800 pages. Let me stress this, not 500 pages, but 800. Somebody wrote an article saying it’s 500. No, it’s 800! What I did with The Room, I condensed everything for 99 minutes.
And also, the AFI (American Film Institute) event, where we had two years ago, this event in WashingtonDC. We did actually had The Room live in the theater, meaning we preformed it. I’m very proud of it. We did it two years in a row, it was very successful. People really enjoyed it. Some of this stuff you can probably find on Youtube. I was very proud of it. Eventually we are doing it on Broadway. Not off Broadway, let me stress this again, on Broadway.
GK: You’ve achieved great success with this independent film. Do you have any advice for young independent filmmakers?
TW: Absolutely. The answer is yes. I always say think about 20% first before 100%. That’s not only related to making film, but anything you do in your life. We’re always greedy in America. It’s obvious, I will admit it myself. I want everything now, right now, this minute! Well, real life is different. So think about 20% first, then 40%, 60%, and gradually you have 100%. Because it is complex. It is difficult to get a film released, especially for an independent movie… any movie, you know?
It’s easy to an outsider, whatever you call it, to criticize somebody but then you must look at it differently. I look at it much differently than ten years ago. Today, I would say to any producer, writers, do original projects and try to believe in what you want to present on the big screen or when you’re writing something. The more sincere you are, the better.
When people see The Room, they say, “I hate this movie. I don’t like this movie.” But you must ask yourself as an individual, what is behind the words? Does the guy actually hate the movie, or is he saying that because maybe the fact is that he doesn’t like it. It’s okay. But when you say the same phrase, “I hate it!” with such hatred it’s spinning in a totally different direction.
So you see again, we have choices what we like. It’s the same as eating cereal. Raisin Bran, for example. Raisins, I hate it. But you know what? I still eat it. There are something in the ingredients, I do like it. So The Room is the same thing. And you know what, I can rebut anybody with any discussion, negative people, I will still be happy. And you know what, I’ve never had a bad screening. People ask me, “Did you ever have a bad screening?” I say, “No, I never have.” If I have 20 people or 2000 people.
But we had a big screening in New York in September, over 1500 people showed up. That’s crazy. We had everybody. I don’t know how it will be in San Diego, but I’ve been in San Diego before. Hopefully a lot of people will show up.
GK: There are a lot of Hollywood actors like Kristin Bell and Paul Rudd, people who have spoken quite fondly about The Room. I was wondering if you’d ever encountered any of them personally?
TW: I’ll be honest with you. I’ve met everybody in Hollywood. Some people I did, I will not drop a particular person, because that’s not how I am. Well, I’ll give you one name. You know Jonah Hill? He’s a fan of The Room. He used to be, I don’t know if he is now. (laughs) I told him that I’m very happy with this. They actually see something that made them happy. Alec Baldwin for example, also I met him and he was very enthusiastic.
Right now I’m much more brutal with ideas to actually doing performance, because I’m a professional actor. I studied under Stella Adler. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Jean Shelton in San Francisco. She actually studied with Stella Adler. She is now 80 years old. Adler is a pioneer of acting. They have a school here in Hollywood as well as New York. She passed away. But my teacher studied under her. And again, she was one of the best teachers. I also studied acting in San Francisco. The more skills you have, the better. The good news is I’m happy with what happened and I think that people now are saying, “Hey, I enjoy this.” Because we have a lot of repeat customers. I’ll be honest with you. I’m sometimes surprised. Sometimes I ask who’s in the audience and we have a lot of lawyers in the audience. I don’t know why. (laughs)
GK: Really?
TW: I don’t know if this is just a coincidence, I don’t believe it. There’s something there. They like to see something. I have no idea right now. Each time I have a screening, I ask if we have any lawyers and hands go up. So I don’t know, you know? My point is we have all kinds of different people. Some people say they’re a cult. I don’t like when people call The Room a cult (film). But you know what? It’s okay with me. Because I’m pro-freedom. Again, I like when people express themselves. I really enjoy it. I will say this. I’m just trying to enjoy it because sometimes people are too serious. Let’s put it this way. It’s just a movie, for God’s sake!
GK: It’s been a pleasure talking to you.
TW: Thank you. Everyone have a great, groovy time.