The Masterpiece (film)

The Masterpiece is an upcoming American biographical comedy film directed by, co-produced by, and starring James Franco. Based on Greg Sestero's non-fiction book The Disaster Artist, the film depicts the early friendship of Sestero and Tommy Wiseau, the filmmaker behind the 2003 cult film The Room, and the making of the film itself.

The film stars James and Dave Franco alongside a supporting cast featuring Seth Rogen, Josh Hutcherson, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, Hannibal Buress, Andrew Santino, Zac Efron, Alison Brie, Sharon Stone and Bryan Cranston. Principal photography of the film began on December 8, 2015.^[1] It is scheduled to be theatrically released in 2017.^[2]

Cast

• James Franco as Tommy Wiseau, the writer, director, producer, and star of The Room who portrays "Johnny"
• Dave Franco as Greg Sestero, the line producer and actor who portrays "Mark" in The Room
• Seth Rogen as Sandy Schklair, the script supervisor
• Josh Hutcherson as Philip Haldiman, the actor who portrays "Denny" in The Room
• Ari Graynor as Juliette Danielle, the actress who portrays "Lisa" in The Room
• Jacki Weaver as Carolyn Minnott, the actress who portrays "Claudette" in The Room
• Hannibal Buress as Bill Meurer, the owner of a stage rented by Wiseau
• Andrew Santino as Scott Holmes, the actor who portrays "Mike" in The Room
• June Diane Raphael as Robyn Paris, the actress who portrays "Michelle" in The Room
• Zac Efron as Dan Janjigian, the actor who portrays "Chris-R" in The Room
• Nathan Fielder as Kyle Vogt, the actor who portrays "Peter" in The Room
• Alison Brie as Amber, Greg Sestero's girlfriend^[3]
• Sharon Stone as Iris Burton, Greg Sestero's agent
• Melanie Griffith as Jean Shelton^[4]
• Paul Scheer as Raphael Smadja, the first DP
• Megan Mullally^[5]
• Bryan Cranston as himself^[6]
• Kate Upton
• Dylan Minnette
• Judd Apatow^[7]
• Zoey Deutch as Bobbi
• Stephanie Beard as Bonnita Boudreau
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Sid
• Jason Mitchell as Nate
• Zach Braff as Himself
• Randall Park as Male Actor
• Jerrod Carmichael as Actor Friend
• Casey Wilson as Casting Director
• Greg Sestero as Casting Agent

Tommy Wiseau also has a "contractually obligated" cameo opposite James Franco.^[8]

Production

Development

In February 2014, Seth Rogen's production company Point Grey Pictures announced it had acquired the book and life rights to The Disaster Artist. James Franco will direct and play Wiseau, and his brother Dave Franco will star as Sestero. Franco stated The Disaster Artist was "a combination of Boogie Nights and The Master".^[9] On September 8, 2014, it was announced that Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, screenwriters of The Fault in Our Stars, The Spectacular Now, and 500 Days of Summer, would write the script for The Disaster Artist.^[10] Cinematography for The Disaster Artist is by Brandon Trost, who previously shot This Is the End and The Interview.^[11] The title was changed from The Disaster Artist to The Masterpiece in April 2016.^[12] It has been announced that it will most likely receive an R rating.^[13]

Casting

In June 2014, James Franco's younger brother, Dave Franco, informally announced at a midnight showing of The Room that he had been cast in the co-starring role of Greg Sestero. Upon asking Tommy Wiseau, through a Q&A session, his thoughts about him playing Sestero, Wiseau praised the decision.^[14] As New Line Cinema sought to acquire The Disaster Artist in October 2015, one of the film's producers and James Franco's frequent collaborator, Seth Rogen, was negotiated for the role of The Room's script supervisor Sandy Schklair.^[15] Schklair expressed concern over the film's portrayal of him, as Rogen did not pursue contact with him, despite his offers to sit down and discuss the film.^[16] The remainder of the principal cast was revealed in the days prior to the beginning of filming in early December 2015: Josh Hutcherson plays Philip Haldiman, Ari Graynor as Juliette Danielle, Jacki Weaver as Carolyn Minnott, Hannibal Buress as Bill Meur, Andrew Santino as Scott Holmes, and Zac Efron as Dan Janjigian.^{[17][18][19][20]} Dave Franco's fiancée, Alison Brie, is reported to have joined the cast in the role of Sestero's girlfriend at the time.^[21] Sharon Stone was announced to have been cast as a Hollywood talent agent.^[22] Sestero announced in January 2016 that Bryan Cranston was cast in the movie in an undisclosed role, then announced in November 2016 that he would be playing himself during his time working on Malcolm in the Middle.^[23]

Music

Dave Porter composed the film's score.^[24]

Filming

Principal photography began on December 8, 2015, in Los Angeles.^[1] Filming ended on January 28, 2016.^[25]

References

External links

• The Masterpiece at the Internet Movie Database
• The Masterpiece at Rotten Tomatoes