Greg Sestero chats about his recent collaboration with his real life best friend Tommy Wiseau at the Marfa Film Festival.
It’s 20 years to the day that Greg Sestero first met Tommy Wiseau in an acting class in Los Angeles. Sestero laughs at the memory now — a meeting which has now landed them in the middle of nowhere for a screening of their latest collaboration Best F[r]iends at the Marfa Film Festival.
Not a duo to do anything by the norms, they insisted on conducting the Q&A to their film before the screening. Many in the audience to asked about their lives since the release of their cult classic best-worst-movie The Room, as well as their thoughts on James Franco and crew portraying their feats in the recent film The Disaster Artist.
Sestero in particular has been busy. Besides penning the memoir The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made which the movie is based on, Sestero also wrote and produced Best F[r]iends (which is currently being released by Lionsgate in two volumes, with Volume One going On Digital and On Demand September 25th).
After their screening, Sestero chatted about collaborating with his now longtime buddy Tommy Wiseau — who co-stars in Best F[r]iends with Sestero — and the advantages as well as challenges of creating a film with your best friend.
Write What You Know
In a particularly amazing feat, Sestero wrote the majority of Best F[r]iends in just four days. He wrote the two lead characters, Jon and Harvey, specifically for Sestero and Wiseau to reunite onscreen for the first time since The Room. Specifically, Sestero wrote Harvey’s dialogue with Wiseau’s delivery and tone in mind for Wiseau to use in his performance.
Spend Time Together
Coming from LA, getting to Marfa or Vegas means a long travel through the desert. In Best F[r]iends, Sestero’s characters Harvey and Jon travel is used to build their relationship and develop a bond which is stressed throughout the rest of the film.
Learn From Each Other
For fans of The Room, the lore about its production runs deep. While Sestero is quick to point out that both he and Tommy decided early on to shoot Best F[r]iends on just one camera this time, it was actually a scaled-back production with a tighter and leaner crew who was there give Sestero and Wiseau the support they needed to concentrate on their performances.
Push Through the Challenges of Filming
Even in the hot, high-altitude Marfa sun, Sestero and Wiseau pal around a morning cocktail hour with filmmakers and local fans. The overall production of Best F[r]iends took around six months, Sestero estimates. It’s finally beginning to culminate with the Marfa Film Festival as they wrap up the edit on Volume Two (where they screened a condensed version).
The Importance of Sincerity
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from chatting with Sestero, their wild pre-screening Q&A, and watching Best F[r]iends at the festival, is the importance of sincere filmmaking and character. Sestero’s goal was not to push for laughs, but to let his and Wiseau’s chemistry and relationship shape their onscreen interactions. It creates some humor and some very odd moments, of course, but it stays true throughout — which Sestero stresses has been the most important aspect of his and Wisaeu’s now two decades of friendship.
You can learn more about Best F[r]iends on the film’s website, or check it out when it hits digital on demand September 25th for Volume One. Volume Two is set for release in early 2019.