The fandom and power behind The Room as a cinematic vehicle is something that has never been, and might never be, replicated. People far and wide view the film with a very strange cocktail of irony and love, gleefully proclaiming it the worst film ever made. While most objectively bad films fade into obscurity, the Tommy Wiseau-created flick has persevered. Most people would shy away from the notoriety of being a part of such a project, but Greg Sestero, a long-time friend of Wiseau and co-star in The Room, has joined in the fun. Literally writing the book on the subject, Sestero has been a beacon of self-effacing joy in the bizarre atmosphere of cult-viewings of The Room. Recently, to many fan’s surprise, Sestero spearheaded a new project with Wiseau, and this time, it was… actually good? We were lucky enough to be able to sit down with Sestero and discuss how he had achieved what seemed impossible in the brand-new epic duology, and new cult favourite, Best F(r)iends Volumes 1 and 2.

So, fifteen years after the release of The Room, you’re here with a new project involving Tommy. When making it, did you feel the pressure to recapture the magic of The Room?

I really was excited to do something new. I knew that, with The Room… you can’t ever recreate that. This was about moving forward, remembering who you are making this movie for, but at the same time trying to give them something fresh and different. I focused on trying to tell a weird story about Tommy and I.

What was behind the choice to split Best F(r)iends up into two distinct films?

I think they are just so different in their experience and what they give you, that I just think we would have lost what was so unique and interesting about each film if you just condensed them into one movie. The first one is an L.A. Noir film, and the second is a Breaking Bad-esque Coen Brother’s strange desert-vibe movie with a really crazy character that comes in. After testing, we realised it would be best to let them be their own experiences.

And Volume 1 won a cinematography award, which is incredible.

Yes, definitely. Again, it was doing something different. It was a little bit like the book… I wanted to tell the story about something universal.

The Disaster Artist was an incredible achievement. What was behind the decision to write the book? Was there a moment that you realised that this was a story you HAD to tell?

I knew people liked The Room, and I knew that the story behind the making of it, that Tommy and I were friends before, and the journey behind it was crazier than The Room but, at the same time, more relatable. I was able to tell this Hollywood story that I felt like hadn’t actually been told before.

Were you ever afraid of ‘telling too much’?

I knew that the mystery is such a big part of what makes the story of Tommy so special. I made sure that every time I gave insight into something, it would always open up a new question. I was never giving people the full story—I never wanted anyone to know where he was from, but I wanted them to understand what his motivation was and a little bit more about where he was coming from.

Were you expecting the book to blow up as much as it did, leading to a Hollywood adaptation?

That was always the goal! I always thought it would be a good movie if it was handled properly. I always wanted it to have a cinematic feel. I was obviously surprised, but I was thinking early on… could Javier Bardem play Tommy?

Were you ever afraid of fracturing your relationship with Tommy while writing the story?

He always knew that I was writing the book, and I interviewed him a lot. He was the first person who knew I wanted to write a book. It was coming from a place of wanting this to have a good story and a positive outlook on everything, and he understood that.

On a Reddit AMA, he said he ‘Read it twelve times and liked it 50%’.

I don’t think he’s even read it once! I think he is very specific in what he thinks and, he’s happy. It brought so much attention to The Room and more people know about it now, so I think he’s fine.

How was pitching Best F(r)iends to Tommy?

I think he wanted to work again, and he wanted to be an actor. This was a chance for him to play a part where we would take him seriously and really try to capture him. I was surprised he was so willing to go for it. I think he did, and he did a great job.

The first film did have a lot of your personal story threaded through it. After splitting the films up, did you take the opportunity to go zanier with it, or did you want to stay true to that real connection to your own lives?



It is still a story about friendship, but it does get a little crazy. I wrote it as one story, so there isn’t any kind of disconnect. It’s just a really surreal version of our friendship.

Was this a different experience stepping onto this set than the set of The Room?

Tommy was a lot more prepared. It was less about trying to discover filmmaking and more about what we had planned to do and how we would achieve it. He took to that more than being in charge, I think.

I suppose he had always wanted to be the new Marlon Brando. Do you feel like he suited the acting role more than he did the directing and writing role?

Yeah, I think him just being a persona and a character captures his best traits.

In the Disaster Artist as well, you do talk about his performance, and how you always looked up to his confidence. Did that play a part in wanting to work with him again?

Honestly, I never thought I would work with him again. I was afraid that everything would have been too self-aware. But really, I wanted to see what would happen if we allowed him to perform in a lead role that actually took him seriously.

I’m hoping there was a lot more water on the set of Best F(r)iends than the set of The Room.

Yes! Lot’s of Red Bull and water!

So even though you were inspired a lot by your own experiences and your relationship with Tommy for this film, did you look to any other film-makers for inspiration on this?

I would say Nightcrawler, Drive, Double Indemnity and Breaking Bad. I made a list of movies or shows that I had seen and really responded to. I wanted to do something in my own style, but with those influences, that I really loved.

So you wrote a book, and then a screenplay. How was it different?

The screenplay allowed me to write it without over-thinking too much. The book did give me a lot of good practice in writing for Tommy and I. The book was a lot more intimidating and a lot more difficult. The screenplay is more a blueprint, where the book was the whole journey.

Did a lot of the script for Best F(r)iends change in filming?

We adapted quite a bit. Just with the limitations of Tommy in certain scenes, and trying to do as much as we could do with what we had.

Was it difficult to write a script that fits with Tommy’s quite distinct tone?

It’s good because I can write the way he thinks. We would be generally prepared, and he would be able to change some things on the day.

So what’s next after Volume 2?

I’m working on a horror film, actually! With one of the actors from Volume 2, so you’ll get to watch out for him.