Who is Tommy Wiseau? It's still not entirely clear, and James Franco just made a whole movie about him. The film is called The Disaster Artist and it's based on the book The Disaster Artist, which chronicles the making of The Room. The Room is a popular movie for all the wrong reasons — it's been called "the Citizen Kane of bad movies" — but nevertheless it holds some sort of esoteric charm, and that's all thanks to Tommy Wiseau.
Despite the cult status of his movie, Wiseau remains a mystery. He has an unplaceable accent, though he said on Jimmy Kimmel last month that he grew up in Europe and New Orleans. (He has said in previous interviews that he has spent time in France.) The other mystery is his age — Wiseau is ageless, it seems.
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For The Disaster Artist, Franco took on Wiseau, down to the unrecognizable accent. In this exclusive clip of the film, Wiseau (played by Franco) meets the mother of the actor Greg Sestro (played by Dave Franco in the film). Sestro was a young actor when he met Wiseau — he was even seemingly on his way to success. (Sestro told Refinery29 that he auditioned for Gilmore Girls during his early years in Hollywood, something that also happens in The Disaster Artist.) The actress Megan Mullally plays Sestro's mother in the film. She's skeptical of Wiseau when she first meets him.
"Why is he driving a Mercedes?" she asks Sestro as he carries his luggage to the car. He's moving out so he can film The Room.
"It's complicated," he answers.
When she presses Wiseau for more information — like, say, his age — she's unsuccessful.
"A lot of questions, my God!" Wiseau says. Then, "I'm Greg's age!" At the time the film occurs, Sestro is 19.
Watch the full clip, at the top of the page. The Disaster Artist arrives in select theaters Friday, December 8.
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