History Literature / TheDisasterArtist

* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: Wiseau's bank account is referred to as a "bottomless pit" by a bank teller, and Greg notes that it really must be for a bank teller to say something so unprofessional. How Tommy managed to actually ''acquire'' so much money

* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: Wiseau's bank account is referred to as a "bottomless pit" by a bank teller, and Greg notes that it really must be for a bank teller to say something so unprofessional.

* BoisterousWeakling: Tommy possesses both a remarkable amount of bravado and absolutely no ability to defend himself when backed into a corner. He writes an absurd threatening letter to CAA, one of the biggest agencies in L.A., saying that they don't have the "guts" to take on a potential superstar like him as their client, and acts like a total jerk to everyone around him. Whenever someone intimidating like Dan or Greg's mother calls him on his bullshit, however, he quickly caves. What makes this even more strangely amusing is that Tommy is not a small or physically weak man by any means, he works out on a daily basis and Sestero, who's not a small or weak man himself, describes him as having a vice-like grip and "cyborg-level strength".

In 1998, nineteen-year-old Greg Sestero was yet another young man with the dream of making it in Hollywood. During an acting class he noticed one of his classmates: a very strange man with an undefinable accent who was clearly unsuited for acting yet didn't seem to be embarrassed by it. Very quickly, he found the man's scenes to be both painful to watch yet highly entertaining. On a whim, Greg approached him and asked if he wanted to do a scene with him. Though clearly taken aback at this spontaneous act of interaction, the man agreed.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Not with ''filmmaking'', but Tommy's ludicrous wealth despite this extremely abrasive and bizarre personality and seeming ineptitude at virtually everything he's shown to do through Greg's account really gives off the impression that he would ''have'' to be this at whatever exactly he does for a living.

** While jokes about Juliette Danielle's looks were already un-called for, they look even worse now that it was discovered that Wiseau was looking for an impossibly beautiful girl and given his [[HeManWomanHater attitude towards women]] that he intentionally did things that were setting her (or anyone else that would play Lisa) up for failure. She only stayed through Wiseau's cruel treatment of her because she was supporting her family.

** He aspired for Lisa to be absolutely irresistable to men, like "[[Creator/AngelinaJolie Angelika Jolie]]."

* [[invoked]]DyeHard: Wiseau, whose natural haircolor is actually chestnut brown. Sestero discovers this firsthand after moving into Wiseau's L.A. apartment and seeing a copious amount of black hair dye stains all over his bathroom.

* [[invoked]]TroubledProduction: The book and ''The Room'''s reputation as a SoBadItsGood film owe their existence to how troubled the production was. Between all of Wiseasu's constant penny-pinching and PrimaDonnaDirector tendencies, Greg considers it a testament to the determination of the cast and crew that the film ended up finished at all.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The book opens with Sestero and Tommy going to eat at a high-end restaurant where Tommy dumps a water bottle onto his head after getting out of his car while wearing a trainwreck of an outfit. He believes that has no need to wait in line like everybody else and lies his way into getting a reserved table for them, and then browbeats their waitress into giving them an exclusive booth in the nicest part of the restaurant. A couple of girls invite them over for some flirty conversation, and after Sestero plays along and has a good time, Tommy snaps at them, driving them away by implying they don't do anything but drink. Later, Tommy conspires to drive out the other actor playing Mark so that he can have Sestero in the role like he's always dreamed. He doesn't get much better as the book goes on.

* LoopholeAbuse: Greg tells Tommy he can get a SAG card by being in a commercial. Tommy responds to this by writing, producing, directing, and starring in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fqAFCb4-ec a commercial for a company he owns.]]
** Greg entertains himself with the thought that after receiving Tommy's commercial, SAG went through their legal documents with a fined tooth comb trying to find a loophole that will let them refuse him membership.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The book opens with Sestero and Tommy eating at a high-end restaurant where Tommy believes he has no need to wait in line for a reservation. A couple of girls invite them over for some flirty conversation, and after Sestero plays along and has a good time, Tommy snaps at them, driving them away by implying they don't do anything but drink. Later, Tommy conspires to drive out the other actor playing Mark so that he can have Sestero in the role like he's always dreamed. He doesn't get much better as the book goes on.

* FanDisservice: The nude scenes, InUniverse. Ah, Tommy. Living proof that just because a man is seriously fit and works out regularly ''does not mean'' that he looks good naked.

* TheScrooge: Zig-Zagged with Tommy. While he's easily willing to ''buy'' instead of rent cameras and lenses to make an HD/35mm monstrosity, he's unwilling to buy extremely basic goods and services necessary for a film production such as generators, air conditioners and dinner for the cast & crew.

* TechMarchesOn: Why even big-name studios never purchase their equipment, which Tommy fails to realize. What is cutting edge now will be nigh obsolete in a year.

* BoisterousWeakling: Tommy possesses both a remarkable amount of bravado and absolutely no ability to defend himself when backed into a corner. He writes an absurd threatening letter to CAA, one of the biggest agencies in L.A., saying that they don't have the "guts" to take on a potential superstar like him as their client, and acts like a total jerk to everyone around him. Whenever someone intimidating like Dan or Greg's mother calls him on his bullshit, however, he quickly caves.

* BelievingYourOwnLies: Tommy, in spades.

* BoisterousWeakling: Tommy possesses both a remarkable amount of bravado and absolutely no ability to defend himself when backed into a corner. He writes an absurd threatening letter to CAA, one of the biggest agencies in L.A., saying that they don't have the "guts" to take on a potential superstar like him as their client, and acts like a total jerk to everyone around him. Whenever someone intimidating like Dan or Greg's mother calls him on his bullshit, however, he quickly caves.

* TheMentor: Tommy ''wants'' to be this to Greg. Greg quickly outgrows Tommy, to the latter's distress.

* WeirdAlEffect: [[invoked]] Greg mentions the possibility of Tommy's "You are tearing me apart, Lisa!" line becoming more well known than than Creator/JamesDean's [[Film/RebelWithoutACause "You're tearing me apart!"]], noting with some concern that a clip of Wiseau's version has ten time as many hits on Youtube as a clip of Dean's.

* WhatExactlyIsHisJob: Tommy Wiseau is '''absurdly''' wealthy, and no one has any idea how. He paid for ''The Room'''s $6 million budget out of his own pocket (yes, it really cost that much to make) and was in no danger of going bankrupt even after his movie bombed in theaters. A bank teller describes Tommy's bank account as "[[ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount a bottomless pit]]", and Sestero surmises that it must have been true if a bank teller [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness would describe it in such an informal and unprofessional manner.]] It's yet another strange detail about Tommy's life that he absolutely refuses to explain, under any circumstances.

* VoodooShark: Think of anything in ''The Room'' that doesn't make sense. The dialogue, the acting, the fact they green-screened a San Francisco skyline on a rooftop set that was '''in''' San Francisco. All of it will make '''less''' sense after hearing Sestero describe Tommy's explanation for it.

** Or green-screening in the skyline. "I don't want this to be no Mickey Mouse production. I want it look professional."

* AmbiguouslyHuman: InUniverse, Greg on occasion questions whether Tommy is actually a human being once or twice. His strange accent and mysterious origins were already well-known before this book came out, what the public didn't know were things Sestero disclosed like Tommy's ability to ''put himself to sleep and then wake up at will'' moments before arriving at their destination (something that Tommy would always explain as being a "vampire trick.")

* SmallNameBigEgo: According to Greg, Tommy's self-proclaimed greatest dream is to ''own his own planet''.

** To wit, Wiseau ''purchased'' half a million dollars worth of film equipment (a move not even most ''major studios'' would make), including his infamous side-by-side HD and 35mm film cameras yet has caused his second DP to resign because the former wouldn't rent a badly needed generator for $200 a day.

** Wiseau named Greg's character after the lead actor in ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley'': "[[Creator/MattDamon Mark Damon]]."

* WeirdAlEffect: [[invoked]] Greg mentions the possibility of Tommy's "You are tearing me apart, Lisa!" line becoming more well known than than Creator/JamesDean's [[Film/RebelWithoutACause "You're tearing me apart!"]] As YouTube shows a video of the former having more hits than that of the latter. He's not exactly sure if he likes this fact.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Tommy drives ''so'' carefully (constantly going at least 20 mph under the speed limit, and slamming on his brakes the second he sees another car in a parking lot, no matter how far away) that it warps back around to this. Plus, he doesn't know how to use windshield wipers. He claims to have been in two near-fatal car accidents, which is probably the case, though Greg doubts how true they are.
** Played straight by Tommy during his confrontation with Greg over him talking to his hippie friend about him.

* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: Wiseau's bank account is referred to as a "bottomless pit" by a bank teller.

** It's strongly hinted that Tommy wrote the quotes from reviews in all the promotional material for ''The Room'', which are from nonexistent sources such as "Entertainment Today" and "Series/BeverlyHills90210" and say the same thing: "Tommy Wiseau is the new [[Creator/TennesseeWilliams Tennesse [sic] Williams]], a true ragin' Cajun."

* ButThouMust: Every attempt to change Tommy's mind about a course of action is met with some variation of "I disagree with that" until the speaker gives up arguing in frustration (or quits the production altogether).

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Greg saw ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley'' and chillingly realized it was disturbingly applicable to his relationship with Tommy Wiseau. ''Tommy'' saw ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' and thought "I can make a better movie than that".