Tommy Wiseau says Netflix turned down an offer to add The Room to its streaming service. Wiseau's infamous midnight movie classic still endures as the gold standard of so-bad-they're-good movies even 17 years after its initial release. This is due in part to the film adaptation of Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell's book The Disaster Artist. The latter movie is available on Netflix in the U.S. and depicts much of the behind-the-scenes process that led to The Room's creation.
But despite the success of The Disaster Artist and James Franco's memorable performance as Wiseau, The Room exists on its own plane of entertainment. Watching it is an entirely different experience from The Disaster Artist, a real, polished Hollywood production. Netflix accepted Franco's adaptation into its streaming universe, but would not do the same for the disaster that inspired it.
As Wiseau himself revealed Monday on Twitter, "Netflix said no" when he ostensibly approached the streaming giant about adding The Room to its lineup. Despite its absence from paid streaming services, The Room is available on Blu-ray and DVD through Wiseau's website, Amazon, and other outlets. The writer/director/star previously put the entire movie on his own YouTube channel, but the video is no longer available. Wiseau also said in 2018 he wants to turn The Room into a Broadway play, giving fans a chance to experience the story in person.
Though his most famous creation isn't on Netflix, Wiseau himself is - as "Henry" in The Disaster Artist. In order to acquire the rights to depict Wiseau's life on screen, Franco agreed to let Wiseau have a cameo in The Disaster Artist in a post-credits scene. In the cameo, Wiseau shows up with shorter hair and glasses but speaks in his familiar voice at a rooftop party. He approaches Franco, portraying Wiseau, and the two have an appropriately bizarre back-and-forth.
Despite making his presence felt in The Disaster Artist and on Netflix, Wiseau may never produce anything remotely as noteworthy as The Room. It's surprising it's not available on any streaming services, but there are possible logical reasons. The Room's sex scenes, which are essentially softcore porn, could be giving companies pause. Netflix also attracts an audience that's used to high production values and competent filmmaking, so The Room's transcendent awfulness would probably baffle unsuspecting viewers that stumble upon it. Still, that doesn't take away from the movie's status as a cult classic and a tour de force of bad acting, incomprehensible writing, and inept direction. It's going to be hard to beat for the title of "best bad movie ever." Plus, devoted fans of The Room are likely willing to pay for the Blu-ray, anyway.
Source: Tommy Wiseau