My Interview With Tommy Wiseau

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

God knows there are worse things that people have gotten rich from.....

...and worse people who have received the Nobel Prize.

I knew it!  I was hesitating saying "Nobel Prize" because I knew someone would turn it into a political discussion. 
Can't we just get beyond this Thunderdome?

And I want it on record.....wasn't me.   

[Courtney]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

Oh I'll say it. I'm allergic to Penicillin. Am I allergic to The Room? HELLZ NAW. The Room wins.

[gbeenie]

 

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Oh I'll say it. I'm allergic to Penicillin. Am I allergic to The Room? HELLZ NAW. The Room wins.

Can we get a Med-Alert bracelet with Wiseau's picture on it?

[Nergol]

I didn't ask him about RiffTrax. I did, however, ask him about Tim & Eric.

Though the @TommyWiseau on Twitter is a fake, the @TheRoomMovie on Twitter is genuine.

Tommy and his agent have agreed to send me a DVD copy of the full 22-minute pilot of The Neighbors for review on the podcast. I promised that I wouldn't copy or distribute it. I will, however, be happy to describe it in full detail.

[Kete]

Tommy and his agent have agreed to send me a DVD copy of the full 22-minute pilot of The Neighbors for review on the podcast. I promised that I wouldn't copy or distribute it. I will, however, be happy to describe it in full detail.

Would you be able to perform a reenactment?

[Thrifty]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

God knows there are worse things that people have gotten rich from.....

...and worse people who have received the Nobel Prize.

Seriously.  Aaron Klug is a fucking hack.  I could pull better research on crystallographic electron microscopy out of my ass.  And my 4 year old nephew knows more about biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes than he does. 

[Doctor Who?]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

God knows there are worse things that people have gotten rich from.....

...and worse people who have received the Nobel Prize.

Seriously.  Aaron Klug is a fucking hack.  I could pull better research on crystallographic electron microscopy out of my ass.  And my 4 year old nephew knows more about biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes than he does. 

Sorry I can't think of anything else to say.

[Kete]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

God knows there are worse things that people have gotten rich from.....

...and worse people who have received the Nobel Prize.

Seriously.  Aaron Klug is a fucking hack.  I could pull better research on crystallographic electron microscopy out of my ass.  And my 4 year old nephew knows more about biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes than he does. 

No kidding!  Of all the unriffed material out there, I think his Symposium at the Royal Society in 1970 is the most deserving.  I can't believe Mike hasn't trashed it yet.  I'm working on my own iRiff for it.  Here are some of the highlights:
Before Klug even says a word, I just yell out, "This does not add materially to your previously published work!"
Then when he finishes the subject of phase contrast electron microscopy, I say, "That's what she said!"

[Thrifty]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

God knows there are worse things that people have gotten rich from.....

...and worse people who have received the Nobel Prize.

Seriously.  Aaron Klug is a fucking hack.  I could pull better research on crystallographic electron microscopy out of my ass.  And my 4 year old nephew knows more about biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes than he does. 

No kidding!  Of all the unriffed material out there, I think his Symposium at the Royal Society in 1970 is the most deserving.  I can't believe Mike hasn't trashed it yet.  I'm working on my own iRiff for it.  Here are some of the highlights:
Before Klug even says a word, I just yell out, "This does not add materially to your previously published work!"
Then when he finishes the subject of phase contrast electron microscopy, I say, "That's what she said!"

I'll totally break my "don't buy iRiffs unless an official Rifftrax has been done" rule for that.  I'm laughing already.  Someone really needs to put his Lithuanian ass in place.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

God knows there are worse things that people have gotten rich from.....

...and worse people who have received the Nobel Prize.

Seriously.  Aaron Klug is a fucking hack.  I could pull better research on crystallographic electron microscopy out of my ass.  And my 4 year old nephew knows more about biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes than he does. 

No kidding!  Of all the unriffed material out there, I think his Symposium at the Royal Society in 1970 is the most deserving.  I can't believe Mike hasn't trashed it yet.  I'm working on my own iRiff for it.  Here are some of the highlights:
Before Klug even says a word, I just yell out, "This does not add materially to your previously published work!"
Then when he finishes the subject of phase contrast electron microscopy, I say, "That's what she said!"

I'll totally break my "don't buy iRiffs unless an official Rifftrax has been done" rule for that.  I'm laughing already.  Someone really needs to put his Lithuanian ass in place.

AAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!  You made me think of that shot of him naked!!!!

[Thrifty]

I'd like to know how much money he's actually made from the success of The Room.

Whatever it is, it's WAY too much.

I don't know if I agree.  Tommy created something that has given me, and tons of other people some sort of pleasure.  Yes, it's not being enjoyed how it was intended, but does that mean that he shouldn't get rich from it?  Penicillin was an accident that garnered Alexander Fleming awards and accolades.  I'm not saying that The Room is as significant as Penicillin, but maybe we should consider Tommy Wiseau for a Nobel Prize.

God knows there are worse things that people have gotten rich from.....

...and worse people who have received the Nobel Prize.

Seriously.  Aaron Klug is a fucking hack.  I could pull better research on crystallographic electron microscopy out of my ass.  And my 4 year old nephew knows more about biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes than he does. 

Sorry I can't think of anything else to say.

I felt the need to derail the unnecessary interjection of political shit by talking about the 1982 winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry.

[Nergol]

OK, the interview is now live on the blog and on iTunes. Trust me, you'll want to listen, even if just for the bump at the beginning of the show.

Now, as a little bit of something special, I decided to post something here as an exclusive for all you Room fans. As you may or may not know, Tommy won't do an interview unless the questions are sent to him in advance. Then he emails back the answers in written form. And then you do the interview. The thing is, as you might imagine, the interview gets different, and deeper, answers than what he emailed back. So, while you should still listen to the interview, I will now post here the complete written set of questions and answers. These are presented as-is, and I have made no changes at all to Tommy's answers:


Q: I think it would be fair to say that The Room has become the kind of movie that people refer to as a "cult classic". Are you satisfied with the level of success that The Room has achieved? Are you surprised by it?

A: I love it.

Q: Like the films of David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, or Quentin Tarantino, your films seem to evoke very strong reactions from audiences. The reactions to your films seem to be either very positive or very negative, with very little "in between". What do you think it is about your films that makes them so controversial?

A: I like people to connect to my creation. I always ask myself the question what is behind the words, what if? The button line is that I like it and I always will like it when people have fun with "The Room" and connect to it directly or indirectly. About negative statements I just don't thing about them, and the fact is that some of these negative people they don't know what are they talking about it.

Q: The passion behind The Room clearly shows through. But I've always wondered if there was some level of personal pain behind it, as well. Was there a real-life "Lisa" in your own past who broke your heart and inspired the story of The Room?

A: We have many Lisas, many Markes, many Dennys, many Johnnys, and many other characters from "The Room" in the world. Also you and your friends are in "The Room" too.

Q: Looking at The Room, the influence of Tennessee Williams really shows through. But who are your other influences besides Tennessee Williams?

A: First I inspire myself every day of my existence. But, my creativity is connecting to the creativity of Orson Wells, Hitchcock, James Dean and others, because we are on the same page. We are dealing with people and many issues related to human existence in this planet earth.

Q: Every artist is, and should be, their own worst critic. Keeping in mind that even George Lucas changed some things about Star Wars when he re-released the original films as Special Editions, let me ask you this: Looking back at The Room now, having grown as both an artist and as a human being, what, if anything, would you change about it if you had the chance?

A: Not much, except I will be shooting only in one format, which is only 35mm print. "The Room" is my twelve (12) year work. "The Room" is "The Room" period!

Q: Many people who know about The Room may not know about your documentary film, Homeless In America. And yet, your documentary has been generally very well-received, and has even been used as a teaching tool in classrooms. What gave you the idea to do a documentary? Do you think you'd ever do any more documentary work?

A: I like variety, and yes I will do another documentary.

Q: Many people first encountered you through Tim & Eric's show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Please tell us how you got to be involved with Tim & Eric. Will you be working with them again in the future?

A: The producers of the Tim & Eric show contacted me and ask me if I can work with their sow. I said yes. Sure , I might work with them again.

Q: Your latest project is a television sitcom called The Neighbors. Having done a dark love story and a documentary on the rather serious subject of homelessness, what made you decide to make your next project a sitcom?

A: It's fun, and I like challenge.

Q: What's the current status of The Neighbors?

A: I'm waiting for TV network phone call. (in this case any TV network?)

Q: If The Neighbors does not get picked up by a network, have you considered the idea of bringing it (or any other future projects) directly to the internet in the way that, for example, Joss Whedon did with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog?

A: "The Neighbors" should be showing on the TV first,  and later maybe on the internet.  However it's up to producers or any TV network and people who like to work with me.

Q: Are you working on any other projects besides The Neighbors? Do you currently have any plans for another feature film?

A: Yes, I do.

Q: Tommy Wiseau, in a lot of ways you remind me of that Frank Sinatra song, "My Way". I think that everyone, whether they love The Room or hate it, can admire the dedication that you put into making that film come together. Lots of people have a dream, but very few of them actually make their dream come to life. You had a dream to make that film, and even though I'm sure a lot of people told you that it couldn't be done, through a lot of hard work and dedication, you made that dream a reality. And you did it your way. And I think that's just plain admirable.

A: You're right, your statement is correct.

You can laugh, you can cry, you can express yourself, but please don't hurt each other.

-Tommy Wiseau

[Doctor Who?]

A: We have many Lisas, many Markes, many Dennys, many Johnnys, and many other characters from "The Room" in the world. Also you and your friends are in "The Room" too.

I don't know about the rest of you but I have never come across anyone that acts like anyone in The Room.  Wiseau is 100% insane.

[stansimpson]

"Oh hai Geek Tragedy."

Finished listening to the podcast today.  Great job, guys!  I was especially thankful for the tidbits about Avatar's release date (which somehow bypassed my other movie news sites) and the Russian Gadget cult (which I posted in the Weird News thread with credit to you guys).  At the very end, I was just waiting for you to ask "...and what was the symbolism of doggy?"  I'll go ahead and assume that was gonna be the question following "the symbolism of Mark shaving".  It was nice how Tommy seemed very pleased with your questions ("I like your questions.  They are very creative").  And, yes, the opening 5 seconds is awesome.