At nineteen, Greg Sestero knew he wanted to be an actor. Against his mothers better wishes he participated in an acting school in San Fransisco and this is where Greg met the quirky Tommy Wiseau. Tom had a strange accent, and had a very unique way of doing things and thinking. He was a huge frustration to all who had to act with him. Greg however, was memorized by Tommy’s uninhibited ways.. not caring or even acknowledging others opinions.
A friendship developed between Greg and Tommy. Greg was curious about Tommy’s belief that he would be a famous actor, his avoidance of anything about his past, and apparently a bank account that had no bottom. As Greg’s career goals start to take off, Tommy still struggles not understanding why his photos he sends out to acting agencies go unanswered.
Then Tommy starts writing his own screen play. A screen play that eventually Tommy put in over 6 million of his own money into creating throughout a time where many were fired for not agreeing with Tommy’s bizarre vision. The movie,The Room eventually is finished with crazy plots introduced and not finished, and becomes known as “the Citizen Kane of bad movies” (Entertainment Weekly), which is now an international phenomenon, with Wiseau himself beloved as an oddball celebrity.
Why this audio? I found this one in an Audible $4.95 sale and thought it sounded interesting. I had never heard of the movie and after listening to the audio sample (of you must listen to the audio sample and hear how Tommy talks) I was really interested. Greg Sestero who flawlessly narrates this book, is also the Greg who was with Tommy through all of this so is giving his first hand account.
The craziness of Tommy’s ideas, refusal to change a thing, and how the movie is made and Greg explaining what to watch for in the movie – honestly makes me want to try and watch this movie that sounds painfully ridiculous. It looks like their are many sites on line that you can stream the full length movie. (I just watched a think on You Tube called Everything Wrong with the movie The Room in 8 minutes…. I think that is enough of seeing the movie for me). While the movie looks horrible – the audio was pretty good.
I enjoyed the crazy truth of this non fiction audio. I found that when I wasn’t listening to the audio, I couldn’t wait to get back to see what Tommy would do next. This is an excellent example of how the truth really is greater than fiction.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 11 hours and 38 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Tantor Audio
- Audible.com Release Date: May 19, 2014
Book Journey 
Wow! That does sound a bit weird, but like you, I’m curious. I’ll listen to the audio sample like you suggested and see what I think.
I listened to the audio sample and liked the narration, but my library doesn’t have the audio so I put the book on my ” Summer Reading List”. Thanks for introducing me to the book.
This makes me think of the story of director/producer Ed Wood. After seeing the movie about him starring Johnny Depp, I said to my friend, “Who comes up with this craziness?” and was told he was a real person and critics were saying the movie was very true to life!
This book is so high on my TBR list! Definitely will be picking this up before the year ends. I met Tommy Wiseau and he’s a pretty nice guy. “The Room” has a cult following and it definitely is worth the watch. 😉
This definitely sounds like an interesting listen!
This sounds good. I like books about the entertainment industry.