Updated March 9, 2022 909 votes 202 voters 27.4k views
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Vote up the wildest things that actually happened.
Tommy Wiseau's The Room is an enigma. It's not just a bad film - it's a film so inexplicably terrible that the realm of its awfulness doesn't even feel like it should exist on this planet. Between the out-of-sync, overdubbed dialogue, the plot lines that never resolve, and Wiseau's bizarre accent, it reads like an alien interpretation of a human love triangle. In fact, most of us wouldn't be surprised if Wiseau was an extraterrestrial in a human suit a la Men In Black. Yet, we can't help but love it - just ask the leagues of admirers that attend midnight showings and throw handfuls of plastic spoons at the screen in adoration.
The Roombehind-the-scenes is exactly the brand of bizarre that you'd expect from a film so bafflingly awful that it actually elicits a positive emotional response. Many people herald it as theCitizen Kane of bad movies, and it's so widely beloved that James Franco transformed its story into the Golden Globe-winning film The Disaster Artist.
Wiseau's path to success (or failure, depending on how you look at it) is deeply inspiring. He proves that you can achieve your wildest dreams with hardly any technical ability, as long as you never give up. After 14 years, Wiseau finally received his Golden Globe in 2018 by proxy, but it still counts. Or at least it should.
The Room versus The Disaster Artist is truly an exploration of awful. The former is the worst film ever made, and the latter is heralded as the highest form of art. So where do we draw the line? What makes our idea of terrible anything other than thinly-veiled genius? The true story behind The Disaster Artist questions our rigid ideas of success and has us screaming, "You're tearing me apart, Lisa!" And maybe, one day, if we all try hard enough, we'll forget the image of Wiseau's bare, pale butt that's permanently burned into our retinas.
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110 VOTES
It Took Tommy Wiseau 32 Takes To Say 'Oh, Hi Mark' With The Proper Level Of Conviction
Tommy Wiseau casually saying "oh, hi, Mark" after screaming about his girlfriend's abuse allegations is arguably one of the film's most revered scenes (and not because it's any good). According to co-star Greg Sestero, this Academy Award nominated piece of artistic expression took more than a few tries.
It took Wiseau a whopping 32 takes to perfect the lines, "I did not hit her! It's not true! It's bullsh*t! I did not hit her! I did not! Oh, hi, Mark!"
And he needed cue cards. The effort was clearly worth it because it was the performance of a lifetime.
110 votes
2
70 VOTES
The Rooftop Scenes Were Shot With A Green Screen Despite Having Access To An Actual Rooftop
Sometimes, the fake thing is better than the real thing... at least according to Tommy Wiseau. Despite the fact that production had access to a real San Francisco rooftop, Wiseau decided to shoot the scenes on a set with a green screen. When you have a $6 million budget, you have to spend it somewhere, right?
70 votes
3
64 VOTES
Johnny Was Supposed To Be A Vampire With A Flying Car
Tommy Wiseau constantly changed his mind about the film's plot lines, which was a point of contention for a few of his crew members. Had Wiseau gone with some of his initial instincts, the film may have been inconceivably more ridiculous.
Part of the genius of The Room is the insane ways in which Tommy Wiseau decided to blow through the film's $6 million budget (it was his money; he could spend it however he wanted). One of the biggest costs was the purchase of two cameras - a film camera and a video camera that simultaneously shot the same scenes from the same perspective. It's truly an inspiring waste of money in an industry where most people just choose to rent a camera or two, and it may have actually been worth it if even half of the scenes were in focus.
52 votes
5
39 VOTES
Tommy Wiseau's Inability To Memorize Lines Resulted In Overdubbed Dialogue
The Roomis a perfect storm of bad luck and lack of ability. This is most evident in the dialogue, which was overdubbed and often out of sync. The reason behind the overdub was Tommy Wiseau's issues memorizing lines. He needed to use cue cards. On top this, the sound crew had innumerable difficulties.
It's not just the sound that's off; it's also the picture. The Room has entire scenes that are out of focus because no one actually checked the camera lenses (don't worry, the uncomfortable sex scene is somehow crystal clear). Apparently, you don't always get what you pay for.
Even though it usually takes Paramount Pictures at least two weeks to get back to anyone, The Room was so egregiously awful, they rejected the film in just 24 hours. Instead, Tommy Wiseau created his own distribution network called Wiseau-Films, truly taking the idea of DIY to the next level. Wiseau certainly won't let haters tear him apart.
