The Disaster Artist

My Life inside 'The Room', the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made

By: Greg Sestero, Tom Bissell

Narrated by: Greg Sestero

Nineteen-year-old Greg Sestero met Tommy Wiseau at an acting school in San Francisco. Wiseau's scenes were rivetingly wrong, yet Sestero, hypnotized by such uninhibited acting, thought, "I have to do a scene with this guy." That impulse changed both of their lives. Wiseau seemed never to have read the rule book on interpersonal relationships (or the instructions on a bottle of black hair dye), yet he generously offered to put the aspiring actor up in his LA apartment. Sestero's nascent acting career first sizzled, then fizzled, resulting in Wiseau's last-second offer to Sestero of co-starring with him in The Room, a movie Wiseau wrote and planned to finance, produce, and direct - in the parking lot of a Hollywood equipment-rental shop.

Wiseau spent $6 million of his own money on his film, but despite the efforts of the disbelieving (and frequently fired) crew and embarrassed (and frequently fired) actors, the movie made no sense. Nevertheless, Wiseau rented a Hollywood billboard featuring his alarming headshot and staged a red carpet premiere. The Room made $1,800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. One reviewer said that watching The Room was like "getting stabbed in the head".

The Disaster Artist is Greg Sestero's laugh-out-loud funny account of how Tommy Wiseau defied every law of artistry, business, and friendship to make "the Citizen Kane of bad movies" (Entertainment Weekly), which is now an international phenomenon, with Wiseau himself beloved as an oddball celebrity. Written with award-winning journalist Tom Bissell, The Disaster Artist is an inspiring tour de force, an open-hearted portrait of an enigmatic man who will improbably capture your heart.

©2013 Greg Sestero and Thomas Carlisle Bissell (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This downright thrilling book is a lot like watching Tim Burton's Ed Wood: it's sometimes infuriating, often excruciating, usually very funny, and occasionally horribly uncomfortable, but it's also impossible to look away from." ( Booklist, Starred Review)

Great Book

Fascinating behind the scenes glimpse at one of the most bizarre film productions. Entertaining and well read.

It’s rare that the audiobook is better than print.

Sestero’s narration provides life to Tommy more than the printed word could. It’s less of an impression than it is a second person simultaneously telling the story.

Fantastic performance of an excellent work about a fascinating movie and fascinating people.

Brilliant

Greg Sestero offers a performance and impression of Wiseau that rivals (if not trumps) James Franco's. In addition to a fantastic reading of his book, Sestero seems to have a near perfect recollection of the events that unfolded leading up to the Room's premiere. Sestero is a brilliant writer, and offers up more than just a backstage memoir of The Room's filming--that is to say, in this book, you may also find an impressive portrait of Los Angeles in the early 2000's, and a deeply honest depiction of an aspiring actor's journey through the relentless oppressors of the Hollywood film industry. The book is beautifully written, and stands alone as a story--but, I highly recommend the audio book if you have any admiration for the performing arts. I decided to download the audio book a few weeks after watching the motion picture adaptation, and immediately became immersed in all of the details that the film adaptation couldn't include. Now, if only Tommy would release his version of the story, and narrate his book...

Amazing

I did not want it to end I want a second one and I want it to be about tommys life what happened to his parents. Y is he so exotic. Thank you for this masterpiece

It takes work to make a movie this bad.

What made the experience of listening to The Disaster Artist the most enjoyable?

To those who have seen "The Room" with a zealous midnight crowd, talking to the screen, throwing plastic spoons and having a great time (the only way one should see it) - this inside making-of story is absolutely fascinating. But even if you haven't seen the movie, the story of eccentric mystery director, Tommy Wiseau, and his weird friendship with author/actor, Greg Sestero, is equally as entertaining.

What other book might you compare The Disaster Artist to and why?

The closest I can think of is "Ed Wood: Nightmare of Ecstasy (The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr." - in that it explores the life of a bad movie maker and their "art."

Which character – as performed by Greg Sestero – was your favorite?

Sestero reads his own story and does a vocal impression of Tommy Wiseau throughout the read that I thought helped paint a vivid picture of his unique experience (I've met Tommy and Greg's impression is pretty good).

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I listen as I drive and looked forward to the story resuming each time I got in the car.

Any additional comments?

I love stories about movie-making. This story is a fun ride - effortlessly humorous and written with great clarity. In the history of Hollywood movie-making, director Tommy Wiseau is a one-of-a-kind personality. The fact that his lousy movie became a phenomena is a beautiful miracle, illuminated by Sestero's recollections.

She's lying, I did not hit pause; I did not. Oh, hai Mark

Being a long time fan of the room, I was eager to delve into this book as soon as I got it. I listened hungrily over the course of a day & it was incredibly interesting and in depth. I only have two points against what would otherwise be an amazing read. (As is its just great, but amazing.) the timeline gets really muddled, especially towards the end when he starts the lead up into the release of the movie. The two main timeframes aren't differentiated clear enough for me to, at times, lose track of when things were going on.

The only other thing to add was the performance, overall it was pretty good but there were probably a dozen times over the course of this book that had really disjointed popping sounds & spikes in volume.

Just things to be aware of before you listen. Even considering those it's a definite recommend.

Hilarious.

Greg's impression of Tommy made this hysterically funny and personal, especially to those who have seen the room.

Greg Sestero knocks it out of the park.

I listened in three installments to this wonderfully told story about the friendship of these two men, Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau. Greg's recollections paint Tommy in a varied light, which makes me believe in their authenticity. Greg is honest about his frustration with the movie and the friendship, but is kind to Tommy even so. I cried, I laughed, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Funniest audiobook I've come across

I feel sorry for those reading this book in print. They are missing out on a great performance. Greg Sestero's Tommy Wiseau impersonation is dead on. It really is laugh out loud funny. One scene made my laugh so hard I had to listen to it again.

Answers some of the questions you may have.

if the movie wasn't enough for you, and you want to dig deeper into this mountain gold. get some answers, or just know wiseu more get this book