Maybe a week ago JPX emailed me that Tommy Wiseau would be appearing at a screening of his 2003 cult classic "The Room" in NYC on April 30th, and when I wrote I was tempted to go, JPX counseled me that would be a little crazy. Fortunately, I didn't have to choose between sanity and Tommy, because just a few days later I found out Tommy was slated to appear this very weekend at the Coolidge Theater in Brookline as part of his "Love is Blind" tour. The Friday and Saturday midnight shows were already sold out, but I quickly purchased tickets for the Sunday night show, and emailed some other local
fans.
I didn't want to get my hopes up, so it wasn't until we actually saw Tommy outside the Coolidge that we knew for sure this was really going to happen. He looks exactly like he does in the film, only shorter. And total bonus: Greg Sestero was there too! Mr. AC and I met up with Angela, Chris, and Sam inside the theater. Chris was in character as scruffy Mark, and had brought his sister Jessica and her boyfriend John, who had never seen the film before. I
was torn between envy and compassion for the newbies.
The spectacle kicked off with a lengthy and bizarre Q & A. I had been wondering if Tommy's personality in interviews was an act, but on seeing him I think there's actually something off about him. His comments were a combination of weird, tangential, vague, irritated, guarded, condescending, and intentionally or unintentionally funny. He often didn't seem to understand what people said. Fortunately the crowd was behind him, so when one poorly mannered questioner asked Tommy what it was like to make a bad film, the questioner himself was booed. Greg Sestero was super laid back
and quiet.
Finally the film was played, to copious fanfare, commentary, applause, and spoon-throwing.
Mr. AC had the brilliant idea of leaving the theater slightly before the end of the film, so as to get a good spot on line for the meet and greet, and so glad we did. We were about 10th in line, and therefore were still somewhat awake as we had the opportunity to meet the boys, get our schwag signed, and best of all have our pictures taken. Tommy was very polite and solicitous in person though he did grab my chest without warning, saying "your husband is going to kill me!" I reassured him that it was all right. Fortunately Mr. AC got it on camera. Greg was extremely handsome in person, and so normal, chatting about the screening and asking us how often we'd seen the film, that it actually compounded the surrealness of the experience. To our surprise, both Mr. AC and I ended up feeling totally starstruck, and someone will have to pry the signed, talking Tommy bobblehead out of Mr. AC's cold dead hand.
11 comments:
Fantastic AC, you guys get to do the greatest stuff.
How have I not seen the Room?
I haven't seen this either, but one of Julie's UCLA classmates is in it.
Sounds like a good romp, AC.
JSP, I did a post on The Room a long time ago. I purchased The Room after I first posted about it but I still haven't watched it.
On another note, I didn't know we could just grab boobs whenever we feel like it!
hah hah catfreeek, actually we have the most boring lives on the blog; we only post about the good stuff.
johnny, that's between you and your god.
octopunk, do you know the name or character played by the classmate?
jpx, you so need to watch this. just do not watch alone. and only celebrities (from a-list to z-list) can grab boobs whenever they feel like it.
and weirdly enough i incorporated tommy wiseau into my dream last night, yet somehow it ended up being a neurotic work dream. i dreamed i assessed tommy for psychiatric help, and decided i didn't want to treat him because he was such a basket case and arranged to turf him off to a supervisee (so far so good). then in my dream i realized jpx would kill me if i didn't keep him as a client and tell jpx good inside dirt (again, totally realistic) so i had to finagle to get him back as a patient. then i was running late and had to pee and couldn't find enough coffee before the appointment (aka the usual neurotic work dream). sigh.
It's Robyn Paris, she plays the character named Michelle.
AC, JPX doesn't have to watch it alone, he can watch it with me. He's been saying forever that we need to see it. I honestly know nothing about it, which is why I haven't pushed the issue. Is it really a must see?
cool, michelle is a prominent part! robyn must have great stories.
whirlygirl, it's only a must-see if you enjoy truly terrible movies. the first time i watched it, i told the friends who recommended it, "i don't know if i can keep watching this, and i don't know if we can be friends anymore." fortunately i got through it, and we are all still friends.
It's definitely a must see in LA, not just because it's awful but because it has such a cult following. I should post the picture of Robyn on here when we went to see it. She wore a wig so her "fans" would not recognize her. It's hilarious. Now's she's more of a writer, and her legacy in this film will live forever!
Hey! It's me, Robyn, aka Michelle from The Room. Julie posted this link on my facebook page. Hilarious stuff! Yeah, I have some funny stories. Suffice it to say, filming The Room was ALMOST as funny as watching it. Tommy is certainly a character and he is definitely not faking it. He is exactly the way he seems so you can imagine what the filming was like!
julie, i would really love to see that picture up on the blog!
woohoo, robyn! i bow to you. i am super impressed with your fortitude and good nature, given that you made it all the way through that shoot.
julie is right, without question your legacy as michelle will live forever! :)
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