What happens when great actors collide with what some consider the worst script ever written?
Most people in Los Angeles probably first knew about The Room because of the giant billboard on Highland Avenue in the early 2000s. Filmmaker Tommy Wiseau plastered his black-and-white face and the seven -letter title high above a car wash, leaving Hollywood baffled.
Since then, the film that Rogerebert.com labeled “so-bad-it’s-good” has become a beloved midnight movie staple (Fusion magazine called it this generation’s Rocky Horror Picture Show”), launched Wiseau and star Greg Sistero on a yearslong speaking tour and inspired The Disaster Artist, a star-studded reimagining directed by James Franco based on Sistero’s book of the same name.
Now comes The Room Returns. A shot-by-shot remake starring Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor Bob Odenkirk in the lead role. The film, directed by Brando Crawford, will make its Los Angeles premiere at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Friday night as a fundraiser for amfAR and Blue Collaborative. The project is billed as “What happens when great actors collide with what some consider the worst script ever written?”
Bob Odenkirk in The Room ReturnsCredit: Photo by Rafael Avcioglu
“It’s like a science experiment,” says Crawford. “Can an experienced actor save an amateur script? There’s something to be said about low-budget as a genre. What you can do with no money behind it is the true test of artistry.” Original actor Greg Sistero is joined by Bella Heathcote, Arturo Castro and horror director Mike Flanagan who also volunteered for the project.
Wiseau is reported to have spent $6 million of his own money to produce the original film, and took six months to film it. Crawford’s remake was completed in twelve hours and all against a green screen. Even the pug in the flower shop scene was digital. “Security for the event at Hollywood Forever costs more than what it cost to make the movie,” Crawford says. The filmmaker sent a cold email to Odenkirk’s people, and the actor agreed to participate. “We formed the shoot around his schedule hoping he’d show up,” Crawford says. “And he did.”
Director Brando CrawfordCredit: Photo by Rafael Avcioglu
Crawford, who grew up helping with his mother’s non-profit projects, conceived the idea of staging shows to benefit charity during COVID. During the lockdown, he produced Shakespeare plays online to benefit Acting for a Cause. “We got really lucky on our second play when Florence Pugh did it,” he says. I directed Jacob Elordi in Pride and Prejudice and David Corenswet and Margaret Qualley were Romeo and Juliet on Zoom.”
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What does Tommy “You’re tearing me apart!” Wiseau thinks of the interpretation? “I met with Tommy, and he approved the project,” Crawford says. “He’s exactly as you would imagine him. He’s fascinating and incredibly sincere. I think all it takes to be a great artist is to have a big heart and I sense that from him.”
Cast and Crew of The Room ReturnsCredit: Photo by Rafael Avcioglu
The Room Returns at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Friday, June 26 at 7:15
Cast & Crew Q&A to follow