James Franco’s Rabbit Bandini Productions has optioned book and life rights to The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the book published last fall by Simon & Schuster from actor Greg Sestero and journalist Tom Bissell. Franco will direct and co-produce the book adaptation with his Rabbit Bandini partner Vince Jolivette, and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Point Grey Productions. Ryan Moody is writing the script.
Sestero and Tommy Wiseau co-wrote and starred in the 2003 feature film The Room, which some have called the worst movie ever made. Wiseau directed, produced and financed the pic, which was self-released only in Southern California before word-of-mouth spread. It has since achieved cult status for its hole-filled plot and poor production values, earning it a place in the midnight show slots usually occupied by pics like Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Among the Room converts is the CAA-repped Franco, who reviewed the book on Vice in December, calling Wiseau “part vampire, part Hollywood dreamer, part gangster, part Ed Wood, and super lonely” and equating the novel to being a combination of Boogie Nights and The Master and praising it for going beyond being just a bunch of anecdotes from the set of a bad movie. Last month, Franco posted on Instagram that the book was his: “A new Franco joint, starring both Francos – produced by seth and evan Wazzup now?!”
Here’s the trailer for The Room:
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