A24 has released the first teaser trailer for James Franco’s adaptation of The Disaster Artist, Greg Sestero’s memoir about being Tommy Wiseau’s costar and confidante during the making of cult classic The Room. And, no surprise, it centers on the film’s most iconic line.
Franco’s adoption of Wiseau’s bizarre speech patterns crystallize over the course of this short teaser, and his younger brother Dave Franco must be wearing Joseph-Gordon-Levitt-in-Looper prosthetics, because he really resembles Sestero. The set is also reminiscent of millions of midnight movie watchers’ memories, with the inexplicable rickety shack against a green screen:
The only part that may not track is the tone. From this teaser, it would seem like Franco is playing The Disaster Artist as comedy, whereas Sestero’s memoir is much more straightforward. Obviously there’s comedy to be had in The Room itself, but the adaptation might be better served if the tone leans more This is Spinal Tap. But this is just the first teaser of (hopefully) several, so we should get a better sense of the whole thing before release.
The Disaster Artist comes to theaters December 1 in limited release, followed by a wise release on December 8.
