The Disaster Artist Trailer ReactionBy Quinn OxleyJuly 18, 2017You know that phenomenon of being unable to look away as you pass a flaming wreck on the highway? You feel for whomever was involved and you pray everyone is okay, and yet you lock eyes with the mess out of sheer morbid fascination. This is the best way to describe anyone’s relationship with 2003’s The Room.

In 1999, a strange man with midnight-black curls, an ambiguously Eastern European heritage, and a dream, saw The Talented Mr. Ripley and promptly started work on a screenplay that he hoped would resonate so intimately with the audience that they would be unable to sleep for weeks. What resulted from this crazed marathon writing session was The Room. In case you’ve never heard of this cult classic, it’s one of the best worst movies of all time, and it’s not without its shortage of enrapturing production history. It’s one of those movies where “directed by/produced by/written by/starring” are all satisfied with one name, and that name is Tommy Wiseau.

I’ve been an avid acolyte of the Wiseauian Church for nearly three years now, and let me tell you: this is one of the most enveloping stories I’ve ever followed. The Room in and of itself is so… I mean, so, so miraculously awful that it demands you look closer at the mind behind it. But there’s no delving into the psyche of this Chinese finger trap of a man without emerging a raving lunatic. That’s where The Disaster Artist comes in.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting any news on this film’s development ever since I learned of its existence. I’ve read the book; I’ve followed it from simply the idea to its cast list to its first behind-the-scenes photo, and the day has finally arrived that we get to see the first trailer.

From what little we’ve seen so far, I can see that The Disaster Artist is made in good fun as a celebration of the lunacy that was the production of The Room and the enigmatic incomprehensible superhero that is Wiseau. The cast has perfectly captured the frustration that the crew experienced while working with him, responding in kind to James Franco’s distant, scatterbrained eccentricity.

I cannot wait for this movie.

And if you’ve been feeling weak or lightheaded, here’s your daily dose of irony: a lot of fans are touting James Franco as an Oscar contender for his role as one of the worst actors of all time, and this movie about one of the worst movies of all time received a standing ovation at its SXSW premiere.

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