Way back when it was announced that James Franco would be adapting The Disaster Artist, a behind-the-scenes memoir about the making of the infamously terrible The Room, it was easy to think of the project as a goofy passion play. The subjects, filmmaker Tommy Wiseau and his hilariously inept movie, were nothing if not rife for mockery. But as early film festival reviews began coming in and the marketing campaign kicked into high gear, it became clear that The Disaster Artist was not some cockeyed attempt at derision, but a true tribute to Wiseau’s absurdity.
Based on the book by Greg Sestero, who played Mark in The Room, and journalist Tom Bissell, the film follows Wiseau from his arrival in Hollywood to his unexpected and ironic stardom after his movie took on cult status. As the above new trailer makes clear, The Disaster Artist depicts Wiseau as a sort of anti-hero. He’s a man who’s so completely delusional he doesn’t hear his own accent, yet so maddeningly driven that you can’t help but respect him. Check out the intriguing new preview above.
Franco directed The Disaster Artist and stars as Wiseau, while his brother, Dave Franco, plays Sestero. The cast also features Seth Rogen, Paul Scheer, Josh Hutcherson, Alison Brie, and Ari Graynor, plus Zoey Deutch, Zac Efron, Lizzy Caplan, Bryan Cranston, Kristen Bell, Adam Scott, Sharon Stone, Jason Mantzoukas, Hannibal Buress, Zach Braff, J.J. Abrams, and Wiseau himself.
The Disaster Artist opens in limited release December 1st, with a wider release coming December 8th.