The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell

I have heard the quote “The difference between life and the movies is that a script has to make sense, and life doesn’t,” many times. I can only assume that the people who said it haven’t seen The Room by Tommy Wiseau, which I am assured makes no sense. Though being honest I have yet to see it.

You may ask yourself why I haven’t seen The Room when I am interested enough in it to read The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. And the answer is that The Room is the type of movie you have to see in a group and I would prefer seeing one of the movie screenings for the first experience. Not a great answer, but it will have to do.

I started The Disaster Artist with some trepidation because I hadn’t seen the movie. I picked it up to read while I was waiting for other books. But I was almost immediately captivated by the strange world of Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero, who while not as odd as Tommy isn’t really all that normal either as he deals with insanity to follow his dreams.

The most important part of the book is the strange character of Tommy Wiseau, a person who you can somehow both pity and admire at the same time. In the descriptions, you discover someone who lives in his own world. A world where even without fame he is a superstar. A man willing to try anything and not afraid of what other people think and someone willing to go to almost any length to follow his dream. He is also a desperate and lonely man who seems incapable of understanding other people or the world. A man who can be abusive to the point where he can feel dangerous and at some points seems on the verge of self destruction.

I can’t accurately or fully describe Tommy Wiseau. I’m fairly certain that The Disaster Artist barely scratches the surface of this strange and bizarre character. Instead, I want to focus on one bit that struck me. Having finally finished his masterpiece The Room, he sent it to paramount for distribution. When that was turned down he didn’t give up. He released it himself, paying to have it shown in a theater for two weeks so it would be eligible for the academy awards. Beyond that he made up fliers and put them up everywhere, rented a billboard and had commercials.

If you ignore that all of that is for The Room it’s admirable and it makes me want to do far more in promoting the work I do. I want to believe in myself and my work the way he does, and I want other people to believe in themselves that much too. I want people to have a passion for the things they put into the world and with any luck they can create as much joy as The Room and The Disaster Artist have created.