The Disaster Artist

This book is a ton of fun. I HIGHLY recommend getting the audio book so you can hear Greg Sestero's dead-on impression of Tommy Wiseau. And honestly, his affection for (and intermittent frustration with) him. There are a few “bless his heart” moments where Sestero stumbles over what is clearly Tom Bissell's wording, but overall he does a lovely job of bringing the whole tale to life, and generally seems like a nice, talented guy. The collaboration of Sestero and Bissell works perfectly - clearly Greg provided the story, and the emotions, and Tom wove it all into evocative, flowing narration.

This story does a wonderful job of showing that Tommy can be unreasonable, obnoxious, deluded, immune to feedback and indeed reality, but also that he's sympathetic in some ways. This was exactly the right tack to take. It lets the audience continue to laugh at Tommy's creation and at Tommy himself, but also recognize his longing for the Hollywood dream and appreciate his grit and hard work.

I pretty much read this whole book like this O_O Like, WHOA.

This is one of the most fascinating and bonkers stories I've ever read. I LOVED it. I would only recommend it to those who have already seen and enjoyed The Room. If you have not seen The Room, I would recommend that you go watch The Room. Watch The Room five times. Then read this.

I actually already knew a lot about the making of The Room but this book has sooo much crazy behind the scenes information. It truly answers the question “How did this get made?” (Answer: “Barely, and because of Tommy Wiseau's possibly illegally obtained fortune.) What an intensely beautiful trainwreck. I also admire Sestero for writing about Tommy Wiseau with a real sense of compassion and humanity, while still conveying how difficult it is to work with him. (And LIVE with him, oh my god.)

I was also pretty compelled by Greg Sestero's story of trying to make it as a young model/actor in LA, although his story is less compelling than Tommy's... because Tommy is a whirlwind of mystery.