Found out the director of 'The Room' used his own money from selling leather jackets

I was reading an article about Tommy Wiseau last night and it said he funded the whole movie himself. He made the cash by importing leather jackets from Korea and selling them in San Francisco. That explains a lot about the weird sets and costumes. Anyone know other movies where the budget story is just as wild as the film?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thomas2mo ago

Seriously, it's just a movie... not some big mystery to solve.

abbychen2mo ago

That "explains a lot" take is a bit harsh. The weirdness is the point and what makes it last. The budget story is just one part of its legend.

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matthewsullivan1mo ago

The Room is the perfect example of a movie where the funding backstory is just as bizarre as what ended up on screen. @abbychen is right that the weirdness is what makes it memorable, but the leather jacket detail still cracks me up. There's that 90s movie "The Wizard of Speed and Time" which was partially funded by the director selling his comic book collection. Also "Pi" was made for like sixty thousand dollars with the director maxing out credit cards and asking family for loans. Those shoe string budgets usually lead to the most interesting results in my book.

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