Tommy Wiseau And Greg Sestero Interview: Best F(r)iends, Dead Bodies And Imagine Dragons
It's been 15 years since The Room, but Tommy and Greg are finally back.
To celebrate the release of Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero's first movie in 15 years, Best F(r)iends: Volume One, we were lucky enough to sit down with the two filmmakers to discuss how the project came together, their biggest influences and, of course, The Room.
Josh Brown: Hi guys, how are you doing today?
Tommy Wiseau: Very good, thank you.
JB: Congrats on Best F(r)iends: Volume 1, I really enjoyed it. What inspired you to get back together and make another movie after so long?
Greg Sestero: For me I, you know, I didn't know what to expect from The Room. Safe to say, I didn't know it was gonna be what it became. And then obviously The Disaster Artist, with the book and then the movie happening, it was a couple years ago and I really thought there was more to Tommy and than just The Room, and Tommy as an actor had never really been given the right part to play that I felt showcased what he had to offer.
So, it was a combination of things, and I thought it would be a great time to come together and make a new film. I was writing TV show ideas and all that, and once I kind of thought of Tommy as a character, the script came together in like four days. It was just something I really thought we could do that would be so different from The Room, and challenge ourselves all these years later.
JB: Yeah, it seems like a complete role reversal compared to The Room where Tommy came to you, as you came to Tommy this time around. What was it like for you, Tommy, to alleviate some of the control on this movie in comparison to other projects you've directed and took the lead on?
TW: First of all, I don't control anybody's projects, okay, that's one thing because you assume something here. I'm an actor, so Greg call me and say "hey, do you wanna do this movie?", I say "okay I will do it." We didn't play into politics. Greg's been my best friend for a while, and I think, I always encourage him to say "okay let's do movie." You know, I always say don't steal from The Room, and don't be too obsessed. Grab the piece of paper, write the script and grab the camera and make movie, basically.
Simply put but that's how he decided to do it and I was very proud of Greg and still am. And that's what happened, so I am professional actor, you know, I'm ready for Hollywood, I've been doing a few projects already as you know. So Tommy Wiseau, you might have the impression I'm in control, but I'm not a control freak, I'm a professional actor. That's the bottom line. But definitely, Best F(r)iends was a good, unique project, and what I think I noticed is that people embraced that, so I'm very happy for that.
JB: Oh definitely, it's a collaborative process, and obviously the movie is based on the two of you, and that chemistry between you both is such a unique selling point. How much of your real friendship formed the foundation of these characters in Best F(r)iends?
GS: Well it was inspired by a road trip that we took quite a few years ago, when we went up to California Coast to check out Bodega Bay and its weird mortuary that was up there. And so, things got a little bit strange, I think Tommy thought there was a scheme going on, which there wasn't! But it was always kind of a road trip we talked about over the years, so the movie was based on that, and there was a funny instance that happened when we first met in acting class.
You know, I approached him and said "do you wanna do a scene together?" and his first impression of me was that he thought I was homeless [laughs] and I never really understood why and I thought it was very funny. But also at the same time, I realised at the time that in some ways I was, you know emotionally, and I thought that was kinda an interesting observation. So when I was coming up with my character and where he was at, I thought it would be interesting to explore a variation of our friendship in a very different world.
Up next: David Lynch, movie influences, and working alongside real dead bodies...