The Room was unanimously panned by critics for its poor screenplay, dialogue, production values, direction, and cinematography, in addition to Tommy Wiseau’s terrible acting. Several publications dubbed the film as the worst film ever made. But did you know that the character Mark was based on a Hollywood actor?
Tommy Wiseau, the producer, director, and lead actor of the film, named one of his characters after Matt Damon. Unfortunately, he misheard the actor’s name and thought it was Mark instead of Matt.
Who is Tommy Wiseau?
Tommy Wiseau is quite secretive about his early life that he would tell conflicting stories about his origins. He claimed to have lived in France in some of his interviews and later on said in other interviews that he grew up in New Orleans. Wiseau was very cryptic, even about his age. Based on other interviews, it seems like he was either born in 1968 or 1969.
Greg Sestero, a friend of Wiseau, claims that he was born much earlier than he would claim and that he came from an Eastern Bloc country based on his US Immigration documents.
Wiseau finally admitted that he originally came from Europe for the first time in years.
Long story short, I grew up in Europe a long time ago, but I’m American and very proud of it.
Tommy Wiseau
Wiseau had shared several self-contradictory stories throughout his career. From being wrongfully arrested in a drug raid to working several odd jobs in San Francisco and even a near-fatal car crash. No one knew for sure what was real and what was fake.
In 2011, Wiseau started a YouTube series called Tommy Explains It All, where he would talk about various topics from film simple how-tos and film. By 2019, he starred in the pilot for an animated web series called Space World.
Wiseau still remains private about the details of his personal life and family. He told Entertainment Weekly that his private life will always remain confidential, and his professional life should be professional. (Source: Los Angeles Times)
The Room, The Worst Film Ever Made
The Room is an American independent film released in 2003. The film was written, produced, and directed by Tommy Wiseau. The film focuses on the melodramatic love triangle between Johnny, Lisa, and Johnny’s best friend, Mark. The film’s whole premise is relatively shallow, and the screenplay was poorly written.
In addition to the generally poor production, Wiseau also decided to grace the audience with his poor acting skills. Several critics called the film one of the worst films ever made, the Citizen Kane of bad movies.
The films’ budget was estimated to be around $6 million, which was funded by Wiseau himself. He claimed that he would buy up and rent out large retail spaces to amass his personal wealth just to fund his passion project. Unfortunately, the film only made $549,602 in the US and Canada. Worldwide sales didn’t help break even the production costs by only making $5 million. (Source: IMDB)