The Disaster Artist

In 2003, The Room—written, produced, directed and starring a wealthy social misfit of indeterminate age named Tommy Wiseau—opened on two screens in Los Angeles. Described by one reviewer as “like getting stabbed in the head,” it earned a grand total of $1,800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. Now in its tenth anniversary year, The Room has become an international phenomenon to rival The Rocky Horror Picture Show: fan conventions have been held in London and Las Vegas; there are now celebrity impersonators; thousands of websites exist solely for fans to dissect every detail of its creation; followers dress up as its characters for Halloween parties and events; thousands have flocked to screenings across America where they will quote every line verbatim back at the screen—which is exactly what people do when they see Citizen Kane.