Q & Andy: Tommy Wiseau

The writer, director, and star of The Room—the best worst movie ever made—is inscrutable, witchy, and, in his own twisted way, kind of brilliant. Ahead of the release of James Franco’s The Disaster Artist, a film about the making of that legendary disasterpiece, the icon of cult cinema submitted to some questions from the writings of Warhol.

 

ANDY WARHOL: Do you keep a diary?

TOMMY WISEAU: I write on scraps of paper. I do it every other day. I write about people’s lives or how people look or my experiences. I’m very detailed—it’s like a script. 

WARHOL: How were you discovered?

WISEAU: I did A Streetcar Named Desire on the stage and a few other plays, but because of The Room, people discovered me more. But “discover” can mean several different things—it’s subjective. That would be a good title: Discover. Or maybe Discovering.

WARHOL: What was your first job?

WISEAU: I used to work for General Motors. I was a technician on the assembly line. That was a long time ago. 

WARHOL: What’s the craziest thing a fan has sent you?

WISEAU: One time I got a teakettle. Recently I got a black rose. I don’t know why it was black, but it was. I get a lot of flowers. 

WARHOL: Do you go out at night?

WISEAU: Yes, I go to clubs, different places. At nighttime you can see a lot of stuff. 

WARHOL: What do you think about love?

WISEAU: Love is very complex. If a lot of people love each other, the world will be a better place to live. Actually, that’s a sentence from my script. Love is also full of electricity—if you do not feel the electricity within your body, then it’s not love.

WARHOL: What do you think of American kids?

WISEAU: They are also very complex. My dream is to organize basketball and football games between not just colleges and schools, but also between cities, for kids. Sports are beneficial for the youth, and there’s not enough of them—that’s why I included football scenes in The Room. 

WARHOL: Why can’t it just be magic all the time?

WISEAU: Let’s face it: people don’t have respect for other people. That’s the story here. When everyone is respected, then we can all live within magic. 

WARHOL: Do people tell you you’re beautiful?

WISEAU: Actually, believe it or not, they do.

WARHOL: Some movies work and some don’t. Can you tell from reading the script?   

WISEAU: The answer is absolutely yes. 

 

THE DISASTER ARTIST IS OUT IN THEATERS NOW.