After stealing scenes in comedies Neighbors and 22 Jump Street, Dave Franco is stepping into more dramatic (though potentially just as hilarious) territory by joining his brother James in The Disaster Artist, a movie about the making of Tommy Wiseau’s legendarily awful cult classic The Room.
We reported back in May that, in a bit of pitch-perfect casting, James Franco, who is also directing, would be taking on the role of Wiseau. Dave, however, will not be portraying Wiseau’s brother. Instead, he’s playing Greg Sestero, the actor who played Mark in The Room and whose book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room will serve as the basis for the film.
Dave Franco confirmed the news over the weekend at a Los Angeles screening of The Room when he asked Wiseau, also in attendance, “Tommy, how do you feel about me playing Greg Sestero in the movie?” during the post-film Q&A session.
The crowd cheered, and Wiseau replied, “That’s what I say: It’s a good choice!”
The pair took a picture together, which James Franco then posted to his Instagram account:
With well-received supporting performances in Warm Bodies, Neighbors and Now You See Me under his belt, Franco is finally stepping up into leading roles. He’s leading The Intern’s Handbook for Sony, and reports indicate that Sestero is more the main character than Wiseau in The Disaster Artist, so Dave may actually end up stealing the spotlight from his brother.
The Disaster Artist, which being produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (through their Point Grey Productions), and James Franco (through his Rabbit Bandini Productions), sounds like a very interesting and entertaining project. If you’ve seen The Room, you’ll agree that it is bafflingly bad, so any movie that attempts to shed some light on just how that film came together is all right in my book.
