On this day in movie and book history - The Disaster Artist (2017)

The Disaster Artist

directed James Franco,

written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber,

was released in the United States on December 8, 2017.

Based on the book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell.

Music by Dave Porter.

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Cast:

James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, June Diane Raphael, Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas, Andrew Santino, Nathan Fielder, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Hannibal Buress, Bob Odenkirk, James Dean, Judd Apatow, Kristen Bell, Ike Barinholtz, Adam Scott, Kevin Smith, Keegan-Michael Key, Lizzy Caplan, Danny McBride, Zach Braff, J. J. Abrams, John Early, Joe Mande, Charlyne Yi, Kelly Oxford, Tom Franco, Zoey Deutch, Sugar Lyn Beard, Brian Huskey, Randall Park, Jerrod Carmichael, Casey Wilson, Lauren Ash, Angelyne, Bryan Cranston, Greg Sestero, Tommy Wiseau.

Recommended reading - The Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist

My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made

by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell.

 

Published by Simon & Schuster.

Published 2013.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1451661193

ISBN-13: 978-1451661194

 

Description:

From the actor who lived through it all and an award-winning narrative nonfiction writer: the inspiring and laugh-out-loud funny story of a mysteriously wealthy social misfit who got past every road block in the Hollywood system to achieve success on his own terms – the making of The Room, “the Citizen Kane of bad movies.” – Entertainment Weekly.

The hilarious and inspiring story of how a mysterious misfit got past every roadblock in the Hollywood system to achieve success on his own terms: a $6 million cinematic catastrophe called The Room.

Nineteen-year-old Greg Sestero met Tommy Wiseau at an acting school in San Francisco. Wiseau’s scenes were rivetingly wrong, yet Sestero, hypnotized by such uninhibited acting, thought, “I have to do a scene with this guy.” That impulse changed both of their lives. Wiseau seemed never to have read the rule book on interpersonal relationships (or the instructions on a bottle of black hair dye), yet he generously offered to put the aspiring actor up in his LA apartment. Sestero’s nascent acting career first sizzled, then fizzled, resulting in Wiseau’s last-second offer to Sestero of costarring with him in The Room, a movie Wiseau wrote and planned to finance, produce, and direct – in the parking lot of a Hollywood equipment-rental shop.

Wiseau spent $6 million of his own money on his film, but despite the efforts of the disbelieving (and frequently fired) crew and embarrassed (and frequently fired) actors, the movie made no sense. Nevertheless, Wiseau rented a Hollywood billboard featuring his alarming headshot and staged a red carpet premiere. The Room made $1800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. One reviewer said that watching The Room was like “getting stabbed in the head.”

The Disaster Artist is Greg Sestero’s laugh-out-loud funny account of how Tommy Wiseau defied every law of artistry, business, and friendship to make “the Citizen Kane of bad movies” (Entertainment Weekly), which is now an international phenomenon, with Wiseau himself beloved as an oddball celebrity. Written with award-winning journalist Tom Bissell, The Disaster Artist is an inspiring tour de force that reads like a page-turning novel, an open-hearted portrait of an enigmatic man who will improbably capture your heart.

On this day in movie history - Casino (1995)

Casino

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese,

based on the book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi,

was released in the United States on November 22, 1995.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison, Philip Suriano, Erika von Tagen, Frankie Avalon, Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Jerry Vale, Joseph Rigano, Catherine Scorsese, Oscar Goodman, Gene Ruffini, Dominick Grieco, Richard Amalfitano, Richard F. Strafella, Casper Molee, David Leavitt, Peter Conti, Cathy Scorsese, Steve Vignari, Rick Crachy, Larry E. Nadler, Paul Herman, Salvatore Petrillo, Joey DePinto, Heidi Keller, Millicent Sheridan, Nobu Matsuhisa, Toru Nagai, Charlene Hunter, Dom Angelo, Joe Molinaro, Ali Pirouzkar, Frankie J. Allison, Jeff Scott Anderson, Jennifer M. Abbott, Frank Washko Jr., Christian A. Azzinaro, Robert C. Tetzlaff, Anthony Russell, Carol Wilson, Joe Lacoco, John Manca, Ronald Maccone, Buck Stephens, Joseph P. Reidy, Joe La Due, Fred Smith, Sonny D'Angelo, Greg Anderson, Stuart Nisbet, Tommy DeVito, Frank Adonis, Joseph Bono, Daniel P. Conte, Paul Dottore, Richard T. Smith, David Rose, Jonathan Kraft, Michael McKensie Pratt, Patti James, Ruth Gillis, Carol Cardwell, Dean Casper, Nan Brennan, Karyn Amalfitano, C.C. Carr, David Varriale, Darla House, Carol Krolick, Frank Regich, Herb Schwartz, Bret McCormick, Clem Caserta, Jed Mills, Janet Denti, Cameron Milzer, Leain Vashon, Jim Morgan Williams, Brian Le Baron, Shellee Renee, Alfred Nittoli, Carl Ciarfalio, Jack Orend, Linda Perri, Ffolliott Le Coque, J. Charles Thompson, Michael Paskevich, Mike Weatherford, Eric Randall, Gwen Castaldi, Brian Reddy, Roy Conrad, Andy Jarrell.