James Franco Might Play Tommy Wiseau in Movie About Cult Hit 'The Room'

James Franco and weird career choices have become sort of a thing, and a few months ago he became attached to direct an adaptation of Greg Sestero's book, The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room, about his part in the making of the inexplicable cult favorite, The Room. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg would be producing, but Franco may have larger ambitions that will put him in front of the camera and in the role of The Room's...ummmmmm "unique" creator, Tommy Wiseau.

Rogen appeared on The Opie  & Anthony Show (ugggghh) and spoke a little bit about the project, saying that Franco "might play Tommy Wiseau". Franco reviewed The Disaster Artist for VICE and compared Wisseau's film to the work of P.T. Anderson, so he's obviously a huge a fan. But he also said Wisseau resembles a character from Bram Stoker's Dracula, with Rogen also making the vampire connection. 

If you've seen Wiseau in person he's a total misfit, but one with a strangely charismatic personality. Some of that is probably what bleeds into The Room because on the surface it just looks like another low-rent flick. Rogen says the plan is to go into some of the darker corners of Wiseau's personality, while exploring what keeps audiences packing midnight showings more than a decade after it opened.

Rogen: “What’s interesting is he’s had to restructure his thoughts on it to some degree. Because he wants the acclaim and attention but all that’s associated with somewhat acknowledging that it sucks sh*t. So I think he’s kind of in a weird position where he goes to the Q&A’s and introduces the screenings and I think now he kind of pretends, ‘oh, it’s a dark comedy’ or something like that. But it’s so clear that he’s wounded and torn. Which is interesting also — a guy who has to go around and perpetuate something that’s being received for all the wrong reasons, basically.”

Chances are when this movie finally does come out it will be just another of Franco's ambitious, challenging projects that audiences avoid like the plague. We'll see if any of it comes together as expected but the idea of Franco as Wiseau is worth getting a little excited about.  [via TheFilmstage]