Interview by Brian Burmeister
ACTOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR GREG SESTERO, STAR OF THE ROOM AND AUTHOR OF THE DISASTER ARTIST

Greg Sestero has worn many hats in his creative career. As an actor, he’s been in numerous films and TV shows, most famously portraying Mark in the cult classic The Room. He’s written multiple movies as well as a memoir, The Disaster Artist, about his experiences making The Room and working with the famously eccentric Tommy Wiseau. Now, he’s moved into the director’s chair with the 2021 horror film Miracle Valley and the forthcoming science-fiction thriller Forbidden Sky.

Brian Burmeister sat down with Greg Sestero last December, following Sestero’s event, at The Fleur Cinema in Des Moines, Iowa. Their conversation traversed Sestero’s “journey of stimulating ideas and creativity,” including his onset experiences, his writing process, and his advice for fellow creators.

Brian Burmeister: Your next movie is the alien abduction film Forbidden Sky. What can you tell us about the film?

Greg Sestero: Some of my favorite films come from the 80s and 90s. And I feel with what we’re getting nowadays we’ve sort of moved away from that. There are films of quality, but there’s just a certain connection to films of the 80s and 90s, the way they were shot and the aesthetic. So I really want Forbidden Sky to be a throwback to those films. And I really want to shoot some of it on 35-millimeter film. I know that sounds familiar, shooting some on digital, some on 35 [which is how The Room was filmed], but I really want to do something visually creative with Forbidden Sky. It is a story about an alien abduction, and it revolves around a father who is a sci-fi writer/actor and his daughter. It revolves around the Roswell crash and the fallout, and it plays into a lot of intriguing mysteries, conspiracies. One thing I also love about 80s and 90s films is that they were very straightforward. You got into the adventure, and you escaped into that world for 90 minutes or so. I’m very excited to shoot on location and make something that would fit into like the Close Encounters, Fire in the Sky element. I can’t wait. I’ve never worked in this way or made a film like this. It might have the least amount of The Room references—but there will be some. 

Brian: The concept trailer for Forbidden Sky recently came out. How soon are you hoping to get filming? 

Greg: It’s funny, I didn’t realize it, and it was totally accidental, but one year ago we were here talking [in an interview for Wicked Horror] at Fleur Cinema. And then the decision was made to do some screenings of Big Shark, and I was like, Des Moines was so cool, I think they’d eat it up. And here we are, and oddly enough, on this day nine years ago, The Disaster Artist started filming. So I’m hoping maybe next year we’re doing a preview screening of Forbidden Sky.

Brian: Since you brought up Big Shark, what can you tell us about the film?

Greg: So Big Shark is Tommy Wiseau’s second film, which he’s helmed. And I got the chance to see Big Shark for the very first time with Tommy sitting next to me—a lot like the first time I saw The Room with the crowd—and I was just amazed at the participation, the energy of the crowd. I mean, they just get into it, and it’s a whole lot of fun. People are in there, and The Room crowd is such a smart crowd; they found little moments to start interacting with, and I’m sure the crowd tonight is going to do that. It’s really fun, engaging, and people are entertained throughout. 

Brian: Miracle Valley was your directorial debut, and you wore so many hats simultaneously with that movie—acting and writing as well. What were some of your favorite experiences working on that film?

Greg: I think with Miracle Valley what was so much fun with that whole project is I moved to Arizona. I was living in a ranch in the middle of nowhere. I moved down there on May 1, and I knew I had to make a movie wrapped by the end of December. I had to finish making a film, and I moved there with only that intention. It was so much fun to wake up every day and say, My only purpose is to make a horror film. How fun is this? I’m living in the desert. I love Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I love The Hills Have Eyes. And I am living there, looking out going, I get to make a horror movie, but I’ve got to make it by the end of the year. It’s so fun because it’s wide open—the world is wide open—but then as time is going, you got to figure out: What am I going to make? And I remember settling in and taking in the scenery and thinking. And then I took a drive one day, and I came across this really weird, old, abandoned church. And I came across these cult members who told me about the cult of Miracle Valley. So that was the inspiration for that. I started writing it. I was living in the environment that I was writing, where we were going to film. It was like a filmmakers’ dream because I’m sitting there at night, and I’m looking out at the windows and catching the way the moon hits the living room windows—like that could be a scene where the cult shows up or someone gets killed. So I think the fact that we pulled it off and were able to film in so many unique places, like Fallingwater [in Mill Run, PA], Lake Powell [in northern AZ/southern UT]—I think that the scope of the movie, tying in some of the local culture of Patagonia [in southern AZ], was what I really enjoyed. And when I watch the movie, it takes me right back to that scenery and those times. And I think any time you’re part of a project that you can flip it on and start watching it and it brings you back to a really great time in your life, I think that’s a real gift. 

Brian: If you could pick some film or TV roles from your past that are special to you but which people might not have seen, what would you recommend?

Greg: I’d say a couple of years ago, I made a movie called The Christmas Tapes. I was able to work with these really cool filmmakers from Australia. We did a little shoot earlier in the year, and it was called Infrared. They were like, We loved what you did with the character, would you want to do a Christmas movie? I was like, Oh yeah. So The Christmas Tapes is on Amazon and Tubi now. In the film, I show up, it’s Christmas Eve, I knock on the door of this family’s house. I’m like, hey, my car broke down, and I’m carrying this box. And I walk in and it’s going to take 90 minutes for the car service to come help me out. I’m like, I’ve got 90 minutes, I want to show you some films, and it starts from there. It’s a crazy, wild ride. Dave Sheridan’s in it. The Christmas Tapes is something that if you’re in the right mindset, it can bring you a lot of fun.

Brian: You were also a part of Netflix’s critically acclaimed The Haunting of Bly Manor. What was that experience like, including working with Mike Flanagan? 

Greg: Mike Flanagan was incredible. He was such a great collaborator and gave me a shot. He had read my book The Disaster Artist and really enjoyed the story. So I got a chance to be there for a couple weeks, work on a few episodes. I mean, what a set. What an experience. What a great team. And it was just so cool to pop up in that and surprise so many people. I’ve kept in touch with Mike, and we got a chance to work together on the tribute to The Room where we shot the scenes from The Room. Mike’s not only a great director, but he’s also a really good actor. He plays Peter. 

Brian: For those that don’t know, it was kind of a whirlwind between when The Disaster Artist book came out and when wheels started moving towards its film production. What was that experience like for you?

Greg: It was really cool… When I wrote The Disaster Artist, my main goal, like end-all purpose, was for that story to be turned into a film. Because I knew if we were to put it on the page, someone could digest it and see what a compelling movie it could make. So, three weeks after it came out, James Franco reached out, and from that moment on, everything changed—the excitement level, the scope of The Room, the scope of the book. And making the movie started nine years ago. Being on set—what an incredible experience that was making that movie and getting to meet some of your favorite actors, watching them play out these scenes that you had lived that you thought were traumatic or sad. And you realized, Hey, the whole journey amounted to something amazing that people wanted to turn into a movie. And then during the break between when they were editing The Disaster Artist and it was released, Tommy [Wiseau] and I went out and made Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 and Volume 2. I thought, Hey, I loved being on set the last time. So I wrote a script, and we made the films. And then The Disaster Artist came out, we did the festivals, which was surreal and just so much fun to share that movie and story with the world. It was in Portugal and in all these different festivals around the world. And then it went right into Best F(r)iends Volume 1 and Volume 2, releasing those, working with Lionsgate who also released the Bluray of The Disaster Artist. And then through all that, the ride of releasing all those movies, and then sitting for a moment and seeing I’m going to move to Arizona and now make Miracle Valley. And that led right into the pandemic. And it was during the pandemic when I took a UFO night tour in Sedona, Arizona, that I got the idea to make a UFO movie. It’s been this journey of stimulating ideas and creativity that have continued to pile up. 

Brian: Looking ahead, even beyond Forbidden Sky, are there other projects you have in mind?

Greg: It’s funny. So I have Forbidden Sky. I’m also adapting my Home Alone: Lost in Disney World story from a script I wrote at age 12 to now an animated novel. So I’m working on that, which is a dream come true. And then I just finished a draft today of a social thriller, which is a really crazy true story about a stalker. A few people have read it and said it reminded them a lot of Baby Reindeer, which I have not seen, but they’re like, This is Baby Reindeer. So there’s those three projects.

Brian: Let’s focus on writing for a second. You’ve been so busy for several years now with writing. What does your writing process look like? Is it something where you travel around with a notebook, constantly jotting ideas down? Do you have a whole story mapped out in your mind before you sit behind your computer?

Greg: Yeah, it’s really fun—I think writing is the most interesting part. It’s my favorite. My favorite thing to do—my most efficient creative process—is to get up in the morning, grab your AirPods, listen to a movie soundtrack that inspires you, grab a coffee, and just go for a walk. Let the ideas come, and just make notes on your phone. I’ll do an hour, hour-and-a-half walk, and I’m ready to go. The dialogue’s there. The scenes are there. You sit at your computer, and it just flows out of you because a lot of times you just sit. I don’t feel that’s in any regard of life. It’s just sort of stifling. So when I get out and I’m moving and I’m walking, it just opens up. That’s what I did with The Disaster Artist. I would walk for two hours every morning, and, man, I’d have pages of dialogue of things Tommy said. Everything just came out. It was page after page after page of so much content. So I’ve kept that with me ever since. That is the way to do it: get your mind going, get your blood going, get a coffee, and things just start coming out. It’s amazing what you find—moments you never would have thought of if you didn’t approach it in that way. 

Brian: You’ve been touring all over the world with The Room and now as a double feature with Big Shark as well. Any chance you’ll do a double feature of Best F(r)iends Volumes 1 and 2?

Greg: So, yeah, we did a decent amount of that when it came out. And I really feel what’s cool is, over the years, I love to see people that have discovered Best F(r)iends and their appreciation for it. For a while I thought of doing a mash cut taking Volume 1 and 2 into one film, which would be a fun challenge. But it would be cool to do something with Best F(r)iends and give people a chance to see them again because Best F(r)iends, especially Volume 2, to this day, was one of the most joyful experiences that I’ve ever had working on anything. I remember we were in the Old West where they used to make all the big John Wayne westerns in Texas Canyon with those high arching rocks and beautiful blue sky. I was out there filming with a really close friend that I hadn’t spoken to in a while, Rick Edwards. We were now reunited together. And he’s just like John Wayne come to life or Clint Eastwood, and he’s got his hat on, and we’re out there filming. And I remember thinking, we had just shot The Disaster Artist with Bryan Cranston, Sharon Stone—all these people I had looked up to for so many years—but being out there shooting this story that I had written with Rick in mind, and being out in the Old West, it was just like, this is the coolest day. And I thought, Man, this is the most fun I’ve ever had making movies. So I love when people enjoy Volume 2, and I’d love to keep sharing it. 

Brian: Obviously you see excited fans everywhere you go. Are there some standout, positive fan memories that you’ve had that have really stayed with you?

Greg: Yeah, oh man, I’m so thankful for people that come repeatedly and how much joy it brings them. Honestly, it’s like we’re a big group of friends. We love movies in the same way. It’s fascinating to get people’s thoughts and feelings and opinions. I always love when people are together now, dating or married, because of The Room, because that’s what it’s all about. If you can bring connection, bring joy to people, make their lives better, and the fact that it affected them so much that they now have found love because of these movies, that’s the whole ballgame to me. 

Brian: People are always interested in what other people are watching. Reflecting on some of your recent viewing habits, what are some of your favorite films or TV shows?

Greg: I haven’t had a chance to see much, but I will say The Substance was really strong. It had a great effect on me, watching it live with the crowd. And I did enjoy MaXXXine, which was the wrap up to the X trilogy. I did go to the theater and see that. And I also enjoyed Toy Story 2, which I hadn’t seen, and that was something that surprised me. I thought there was some good storytelling there. There’s a lot of big lists I need to get going on and watch. I did watch the Ripley series on Netflix. I went in because The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of my favorite movies. I went in being a little pessimistic, but I will say, it was phenomenal, just a phenomenal series.

Brian: To close the interview, I always love to ask: What advice do you have for other creative people—writers, actors, anyone who is following their passions?

Greg: I would say try to do something creative every day. Start your day with an outlook that there’s somebody out there really excited and waiting on what you’re working on—that it means a lot to people or will mean a lot to people. So try to take each day—whether you have five minutes, ten minutes, an hour—take that time and just chip away at something creatively. One of my favorite cities, Rome—they say it wasn’t built in one day. Just keep building, and it’s amazing what momentum will do if you just keep chipping away.

Brian Burmeister is an educator, writer, film lover, and cat cuddler. He would like to thank Greg Sestero for being so kind and generous with his time.