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To adapt Sergio Leone, the history of cinema can be described as a display of the good, the bad and the downright bizarre, and it is in this third category that a film of questionable quality can sometimes take on a life of its own, due entirely to the reaction of the audience.

So to The Room, which is selling out theatres despite every natural convention dictating that it should have faded into obscurity after having been made years ago. The cinematic aspiration of Tommy Wiseau, The Room was conceived as a love triangle between Johnny (played by Wiseau himself), his errant fiancé Lisa (Juliette Danielle) and her cardboard cut out lover Mark (Greg Sestero). Oh yes, you heard that right.

Following its release in 2003, some critics were quick to tag The Room as amongst the worst films made, mixing as it does cavernous plot holes with lip bitingly bad acting and soft focus production values. Straight to DVD, or worse, seemed inevitable, but that was not to be the case for The Room. Instead, the film has evolved into a cult phenomenon with fans around the world.

At first, Wiseau was unsure whether to bring his vision to the stage or screen, eventually opting for the latter in the hope of a bigger audience. Avoiding the studio system, he instead personally raised a reported $6 million (£3.6 million) for the budget (replying "no comment" when asked about the origin of this finance), because he wanted to make the film on his own terms and the studios were "not on the same page".

As lead script writer, he then looked for the "words behind the words", attempting to infuse concepts that would make people think. Bringing the narrative to screen, however, resulted in some well documented plot holes (such as the moment when Johnny's young friend Denny is threatened by a drug dealer for an unknown debt, which then remains completely unexplained for the rest of the film).

"Let's talk about the drug dealer; what is behind the words when he wants the money?" asks Wiseau. "How does the audience react? I wanted people to think about that. Everything was done to provoke the audience. My hobby is psychology, human behaviour, so when writing the script I talked to a lot of people about the obstacles in life. The Room connects people because it has all the obstacles to human relationships; 'two is better than three, it has the drug dealer, etc' and it's about how people behave."

Despite having limited filmmaking experience, Wiseau set out to produce, direct and star in the 90 minute + feature. During the protracted production, he then fired three separate film crews because they "tried to manipulate" his project and when asked if these alternative voices could have provided an injection of clarity, Wiseau wholeheartedly disagrees. He is of the opinion that people do not give him enough credit for his "new concept", which was separate from the "cookie cutter of Hollywood".

A remarkable aspect of The Room's production was that the entire feature was shot simultaneously on both 35mm film and high definition video. Wiseau confessed to being "confused" as to which format to go with, but claimed that the rest of Hollywood was equally perplexed at the time. But after spending "a lot of money" to shoot both formats, would it not have been better to stick with just one?

"Oh yeah, I agree," he says, "but I was very hopeful about the possibilities of HD. There was a lot of controversy in Hollywood at the time about the new format, but there wasn't a comparison between the two."

After The Room ended a short run at a theatre in Hollywood, Wiseau says he received "thousands of emails asking to show it again". Therefore, the venue recommenced screenings, resulting in chaos as fans packed the aisles to watch the film. From here, The Room became a regular fixture in L.A. and other parts of the U.S. as its cult phenomenon spread like wildfire. One reason behind the film's popularity is that the audience gets fully involved with the performance. Fans throw spoons at the screen, bay with laughter and give their version of the classic line 'You're tearing me apart, Lisa!'

"The Room connects people," claims Wiseau, "you can watch, you can cry, you can laugh, you can express yourself. Some people like this kind of stuff and some don't. No one says that you have to throw a spoon at the screen but in America we like free expression and this is the movie where you can do it.

"It's OK to talk loud about what Lisa did, or the other characters; there is nothing wrong with that. In my opinion, there are fewer people expressing themselves. If you see a person yelling at the screen then most people will say 'God, this guy is crazy'. But we forget that expression is part of our nature."

Wiseau believes that anyone connecting with his film is, in a "conservative way", giving him credit. However, there is a sense that the serious dramatic points that he was trying to convey have been somewhat lost in translation. When people talk openly about The Room being the worst film ever, how does that make him feel?

"My answer would be the same six years ago as it is today," he says. "The audience has to decide whether they want to see The Room and you have to give them freedom for that expression. For me, it doesn't matter what they call The Room as long as we hopefully celebrate a seventh anniversary next year. I have said this many times, and I will say it again, I am on the same page with Tennessee Williams, Orson Wells, Hitchcock and the other people who are part of the industry of human behaviour."

words: Andrew Laughlin

www.theroommovie.com

See The Room in 2009, as follows:

5 September (9pm): Prince Charles Cinema, London
3 October (9pm): Prince Charles Cinema, London
9 October (8pm): Sallis Benny Theatre, Brighton
28 November (9pm): Prince Charles Cinema, London

Other shows are planned for Bristol and Birmingham.

For further information also see:

theroomuk.wordpress.com