The Room
If you haven’t heard, the 2003 film “The Room” will be playing as the midnight movie at the Uptown this weekend in Minneapolis. This will be the first theatrical screening of “The Room” locally.
I’m sure most everyone on my friends list has heard of this movie by now, but if you haven’t, I invite you to read the film’s Wikipedia entry. Basically it’s a modern day version of an Ed Wood film, complete with writer/director who cast himself as the lead actor (and also credits himself as a producer and executive producer). It was made as a serious drama but it’s hilariously awful. In fact, the Rifftrax guys released a Riff for the film this summer and the movie has inspired midnight showings similar to Rocky Horror, where attendees dress up as their favorite characters and throw things at the screen like plastic spoons. It’s been mentioned on Jimmy Kimmel, Adult Swim, etc.
Some highlights from the Wiki entry you should be reading right now...
I’m sure most everyone on my friends list has heard of this movie by now, but if you haven’t, I invite you to read the film’s Wikipedia entry. Basically it’s a modern day version of an Ed Wood film, complete with writer/director who cast himself as the lead actor (and also credits himself as a producer and executive producer). It was made as a serious drama but it’s hilariously awful. In fact, the Rifftrax guys released a Riff for the film this summer and the movie has inspired midnight showings similar to Rocky Horror, where attendees dress up as their favorite characters and throw things at the screen like plastic spoons. It’s been mentioned on Jimmy Kimmel, Adult Swim, etc.
Some highlights from the Wiki entry you should be reading right now...
- Without any studio support, Tommy Wiseau spent over $7 million on production and marketing for the film. Wiseau bought a "complete Beginning Director package," which included the purchase of both a brand new film camera and a $30,000 digital camera intended for shooting the "making of." Wiseau, confused about the differences between 35 mm film and high-definition video, decided to shoot the entire film in both formats with two cameras side-by-side on the same mount.
- The film employed over 400 people, and Wiseau is credited as an actor, an executive producer, the writer, the producer, and the director. Wiseau had a number of problems with his behind-the-camera team, and replaced the entire crew two times. Kyle Vogt, who played Peter, quit the film halfway through the shoot. His lines in the last half of the film were given to Greg Ellery, whose character is never introduced, explained, or addressed by name.
- The bulk of the film takes place in Johnny and Lisa’s living room - a constructed set, which is notable for its red walls, columns in the corners, framed photos of spoons, a television behind a sofa, a sandpainting, and a spiral staircase that leads up to the bedroom. The characters all come and go as they please, often just opening the front door and walking in without knocking.
- In an early scene, halfway through a conversation about planning a birthday party for Johnny, Claudette off-handedly tells Lisa: "I got the results of the test back. I definitely have breast cancer." The issue is casually dismissed and never revisited during the rest of the film.
- The Room's dialogue features a number of idiosyncrasies: Lisa and Johnny are never referred to as "fiancées", only as each others' "future wife" and "future husband." There are a number of other similar instances, such as when Mark angrily yells, "Leave your stupid comments in your pocket!" Characters typically greet each other by their first name and seemed surprised to see each other ("Oh, hi Mark," "Oh, hi Denny," etc.) During discussions, some characters begin to wax philosophic with vague, seemingly irrelevant generalities and cliches ("People are strange these days," "Love is blind," etc.)
- The Room premiered at a Laemmle Theatre in Los Angeles on June 27, 2003, where Wiseau had rented limos and red carpet for the occasion. According to cast members, people in the theater began laughing at the film within the first ten minutes, and by the end, some of the crowd were "rolling around" and "crying with laughter". The film made less than $2,000 during its initial theatrical run.
- IFC.com described Wiseau's speaking voice in the film as "Borat trying to do an impression of Christopher Walken playing a mental patient." The Guardian called the film a mix of "Tennessee Williams, Ed Wood and R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet". The film has a number of fans in the entertainment industry, including Kevin Smith, Paul Rudd, David Wain, David Cross, Jonah Hill, Kristen Bell, Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Frank Black, and Alec Baldwin.
- Wiseau's recent claims that the film was intended to be a black comedy have been debated by those involved with the film. One anonymous cast member told Entertainment Weekly: "He is a nice guy. But he is full of shit. He was trying to put together a drama. It was basically his stage to show off his acting ability."