/Film Boston: Paul Verhoeven Introduces Robocop; An Interview With Tommy Wiseau, Director Of The Room
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Lots of cool film-related stuff happens inBoston, Massachusettsand not that many people are here to document it, preserve it and spread the word about it. Special screenings, Q&As, panel discussions — we have them all, and frequently too./Film Bostonaims to be a bi-weekly column that will bring you audio and video content from film-related events around the Boston area. If you don’t live in Boston, I hope that this column will give you a window into some of the cool stuff that happens here regularly. If you do live here, hopefully you’ll come here to get the heads-up on what’s been going on, and what is to come.
After the break, directorPaul Verhoevenexplains whyRobocopis a Christ metaphor, and I speak with the enigmatic director ofThe Room,Mr.Tommy Wiseau. You can find all past versions of /Film Boston by going tohttp://www.slashfilm.com/boston
On April 12th, 2010, legendary director Paul Verhoeven was in town to promote his new book about Jesus Christ,Jesus of Nazareth. TheBrattle Theaterhosted a discussion of the book with Verhoeven, and followed it up with a screening of his dystopian classic,Robocop. You’ll find the video below (fast forward to one minute into the video to get to the good stuff). A big thanks toMaxwell Clarkfor capturing this footage for us!
I’d heard about how screenings ofThe Roomwere pretty raucous, so when I learned that theCoolidge Corner theaterwould be screening the film, this time withdirector Tommy Wiseau in attendance, I had a feeling that I was in for a real treat. There were three screenings of the film, two at midnight and on at 9:30 PM last Sunday. I discussed my experience at these screenings onthis week’s /Filmcast. For those who are unfamiliar,The Roomis generally regarded as one of the worst films ever made. Wiseau wrote, produced, and directed the film, and appeared as its main star. Here’s a clip from the film:
Wiseau and his colleagueGreg Sestero(who plays Mark) were on hand to do a Q&A each night before the film screened. I was lucky enough to have a chance to chat with Wiseau. You’ll find that interview below. Usually, I like to sum up what is discussed in my interviews, but after watching this interview repeatedly, I still don’t really have any idea what is going on. As my colleague Adam said on the /Filmcast, this interview will remove any doubt that the hilarity inThe Roomis in any way intentional:
I also spoke with Greg Sestero about some of the unresolved plotlines inThe Room. Only hardcore fans need check out this interview.
And in case you doubt the enthusiasm behind this film, here’s footage I took right outside the theater, 10 minutes before the midnight screening began. Hundreds of people were already in line, and when Tommy stepped outside, the crowd exploded. Tommy soaked it up, as anyone would.
Usually, I use this space to list cool stuff happening in Boston. Since I’m coveringIFFBoston, this week’s list will be very abbreviated. Just a couple of things I have time to mention today:
Wednesday, 4/28, 8 pm– IFFBoston’s closing night filmSaturday Nightwill be playing atCoolidge CornerAll week–Coolidge Corneris screening a restored print of Akira Kurusawa’sRashomon.
For now, /Film Boston is an experiment, a movie travelogue of sorts. I know the camera audio/video quality can be better, but I hope you find it viewable/listenable, as well as entertaining and interesting.
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