Bob Odenkirk has opened up about his remake of Tommy Wiseau’sThe Roomin an exclusive interview.The Roomwas originally released in 2003, and follows a melodramatic love triangle between Wiseau’s Johnny, his deceptive fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle), and his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero). Despite its issues, the so-bad-it’s-good movie ultimately became a cult classic.
Surprisingly, in 2023,Better Call Saul’sBob Odenkirk starred in a remake ofThe Roomin the lead role of Johnny.The Room Returns!was reportedly in post-production, with Brando Crawford directing and producing the movie for his company, Acting for a Cause, planning to donate all profits to the HIV/AIDS research charity, amfAR.
However, since this announcement andThe Roomremake released its first look, there havebeen no further developments surrounding the project, which was slated for release in 2023.A few clips from the unreleased film surfaced on the internet, including one of Odenkirk as Johnny, butThe Room Returns!remains something of a lost piece of media.
Now, in an exclusive interview withScreenRant’s Ash Crossan,while promoting the release of his recent filmNobody 2, Bob Odenkirk revealed Roomremake.Odenkirk talked about the experience, stating that he “did not do it to make fun of it,” before explaining a bit about why it hasn’t been released. Check out his comments below:
EXCLUSIVE: ScreenRant:One of my favorite things to do is Best First Movies, and I have The Room script signed by Tommy Wiseau. You did this remake of it, but it feels like it’s starting to maybe be lost media. What the hell do we need to do?
Bob Odenkirk:I don’t know what happened. I think that Tommy won’t allow it. First of all, I don’t know what he thinks of it. I did not do it to make fun of it. In fact, the opposite. I did it to see if I could make it work with me in the role - like, really honestly, doing it as well as I could do it. I tried to treat the words with respect, and so I thought that would be the most interesting thing I could do. And also, we did it for charity, so I don’t know why he won’t let it be released. But I think it’s a legal thing.
ScreenRant:I’ve talked to him a bunch of times, and his biggest thing is he doesn’t want to be made fun of. But if you’re not doing that…
Bob Odenkirk:You can see a scene from it on YouTube, and you’ll see I’m not making fun of it. I’m trying to do it really well. A lot of times, the characters in the room change their point of view, or they change what they’re thinking about, and I’ll put a thought moment in there that my train of thought changes. I just attempt to make it legit; I try to land it.
I don’t succeed fully, but sometimes I do, and I think that’s cool. The way I see it, we’re all Tommy Wiseau! We go out with our stories. They maybe have some holes in them; they’re not perfect ever, really. There’s almost no movie that you could say is really perfect, I don’t care what anyone says. And then you have to work the moments and try to sell them as an actor. It’s a continuum of The Room to Chinatown.
ScreenRant:I hope the whole thing sees the light of day at some point. I’d love to see it.
Bob Odenkirk:Yeah, I would love for people to see. I mean, I’d love to see it! I’ve only seen that one scene that’s on YouTube. And I tried, so I’m not embarrassed by it. And again, it’s for charity, the whole thing. So, Tommy should let us see it…
What Bob Odenkirk’s Comments Mean For The Room Remake
Evidently, there may be some issues with original creatorTommy WiseauregardingThe Roomremake’s release. Odenkirk says that he thinks “Tommy won’t allow it,” as it may be a “legal thing.“Wiseau is very conscious about people’s reception of his 2003 cult classic movie,with previous lawsuits filed against a 2016 Canadian documentary aboutThe Room.
Even Odenkirk hasn’t seen the remake outside of clips online,which is troubling. Overall, the situation is confusing, with no real answer provided for the lack of this project’s release. Nevertheless, Odenkirk stated that his intentions were good, and he’s “not embarrassed by it,” before light-heartedly remarking: “We’re all Tommy Wiseau![when it comes to] going out with our stories.”
Our Take On Bob Odenkirk’s The Room Comments
Odenkirk having not actually seen his version ofThe Room, despite playing the main character, is very strange. The whole movie was reportedly shot within a day in 2023, and there hasn’t been any further news following the announcement that the film was in post-production,which leads me to wonder whether 2023’sThe Roomwas ever actually finished.
The remake of Wiseau’sso-bad-it’s-good moviedeserves to be seen, not because it’s a celebrity remake of a cult classic, but because of the apparent creative sincerity behind it. RecreatingThe Roomas a dramatic challenge instead of mockery certainly feels like a fitting tribute, and I think we can all say that we’d love to see Odenkirk as Johnny.
