IFH 244: Inside the Worst Movie Ever Made (The Room) with Robyn Paris

Welcome to the indie film hustle podcast episode number 244 my background are acting Film Production directing and I’ve studied them for many years. Keep in mind that you need many skills when you are starting any film Project related to real life. It was so odd casting from the back alley in Hollywood.

It’s the indie film hustle podcast where we show you how to survive and thrive as an indie filmmaker in the jungles of the film. And here’s your host Alex Ferrari. Welcome. Welcome to another episode of the indie film as a podcast. I am your host Alex Ferrari. Today’s episode is brought to you by Black Box black box is a new platform and community.

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I as you guys know, I am a fanatical fan of. Tommy was those cinematic Masterpiece the room and I had the absolute pleasure of meeting one of the actresses. That worked in the room Robyn Paris who was Michelle in the room and I met her at Sundance and really just started geeking and fanboying out with her and started asking her all sorts of questions about the room about Tommy about you know, how much the Disaster Artist was real all sorts of stuff and I said, you know what you just got to come on the show.

You’ve got to come on the show. I want to talk to you about the show and then she also told me that she’s now a filmmaker and she’s been a filmmaker for a while and she created a series A mockumentary. Series called the room actors. Where are they now? And it’s extremely funny serious. She’s gotten four episodes done already and she takes all the original cast or most of the original cast of the room.

And just does really fun like you memory stuff with it. They launched on funny or die and on YouTube and the reaction was insane went kind of crazy. So they have I think 10 or 12 episodes are trying to get made and they have a current Kickstarter going on right now, which I will leave in the show notes at in detail muscle, but we really just got into all sorts of fun talk about the room about Film Production what she saw behind the scenes of.

How the worst movie ever made got made, uh in the truth behind the cuz she was there first and uh, it’s educational. It’s funny. It’s entertaining. It’s a really fun episode guys. You know, I generally don’t bring anybody on the show unless there’s some value for you guys. But this is an episode that is not only valuable because you get the behind-the-scenes of the worst movie ever made, but it’s also just so fun to listen to and if you are a fan of the room sit back and enjoy some really juicy information about how this movie was made.

If you guys watch The Disaster Artist in a fan of that movie, you’ll definitely enjoy this episode. And we also talked about her filmmaking and how she’s making it as a director and moving forward in her career after the room and and how you deal with being in the worst movie ever made and if by the way if you guys have not seen the room.

Um, you got to get a group of friends over and watch the room. You just have to do it like while I was shooting on the corner of ego and desire. It just started coming up the room just kept coming up because of the Disaster Artist was hot at the time and during award season and I literally one of the nights that we were shooting.

I just grabbed everybody together and we rented the room and watched it the whole crew and I was the only one who had seen it before. And it was just so amazingly fun to watch it is so bad that it’s kind of like a star imploding on itself and turning into a supernova of just awesomeness. It is so so good.

It’s so bad. It’s so good. I can’t I can’t I can’t explain it any more you just have to experience it. But if you want to get a little bit about how this this thing was made, uh, please enjoy my conversation with Robyn Paris. I would like to welcome to the show Robyn Paris. Thank you so much for being on the show Robin.

I think you for having me Alex. It was it’s been it’s a joy. It’s a pleasure. I’m giddy to have you on and talk about uh talk about a project. I’m sure you’re tired of talkin about this point. You’re like no I can’t escape it. So I might as well embrace it and have fun with it. You know it for everybody who isn’t aware.

Um, anyone who listened to this podcast knows that I am a raving the room fan. I am fascinated with the movie. And Robyn and I met at Sundance, uh this year and uh, we um, actually Robyn is in uh, the movie a little bit if you want to talk a little bit about about um, our movie the one we did together, we could talk a little bit about that before we jump into the room sure.

We’re shooting the the um, the the party scene and lo and behold. Robyn is there and my producer comes like Robyn Paris the actress from the room is here. She wants to be in your movie. I’m like, I’m like no she’s not there’s no possible way that that she actually is here and he’s like, no she is there she is.

I’m like, oh my God, we have to write a scene for her right now. I’m put her in the movie if she was a good movie. So how did you what was from your perspective because I’ve been talk I talked to because that that whole movie on the edge of for everyone who doesn’t know it’s on the corner of ego and desire, uh, my new film that’s such a blur to me the whole process because we have done so quickly from your perspective.

How did you get introduced to the film? How did you say? Hey I’ll be in it. So from your perspective. I just want to know how you felt about it and how you got into it. First of all. Yeah, I mean it’s a little bit of a blur for me too, because it’s like it was like one it was I think that’s right and we were at a party at Sundance and I was just talkin to a few people and they were saying that you were doing this film and that you were in the Next Room shooting some scenes and I was like, that’s really cool.

And then somebody mentioned that somebody on your you guys had recently seen the room then it before we literally the whole crew. Sat down and saw the room. I was the only one who had seen it before and the experience was as you can imagine. Yes, I mean, yes, I get it. I love the room like a fan. I love seeing it so crazy.

It’s so funny. So, yes, they mention you guys were doing you adjusting the room and that there had been a scene, um in your movie where one of the main characters talked about how the room was his favorite movie. And that somebody said, oh wouldn’t it be funny if you were in in this movie and you like just showed up and I was like, yeah that be great.

I’d be happy to do that. Just let me know what you want me to do, right? I’m just here dancing having a few drinks. So um thing, I know they wouldn’t I think they talk to you that I talk to you and then like about 15 minutes later 20 minutes later. I was we were shooting the scene I think so. It seemed like that.

I think it was I think it even was a little bit more than 15 or 20 minutes because the moment that they said that you were you wanted to be in the movie to the point when we got to you was probably an hour. Okay. It was just because we were shooting like, you know, one of the biggest scenes of the movie and it was yeah and we were battling drunks and it was like, you know trying to get them out of the sides and it was insane it was you did it I didn’t make is that you shot that McVie in the middle of that party because it was really loud.

There’s a lot of dancing. Tons of drunk it was tons of drunks. I was battling off a drunk drunk actors that I would recognize who will remain nameless, um other people in the industry that would just you know, hey, man, you making movies like it was just it was it was insane and I had no security to block everything off.

So he’s just trying to you know, the funniest thing is that we were shooting one of the scenes and literally as I yelled action, I turned around and there must have been 20 people with iPhones recording it. And I’m and I’m thinking to myself you guys are all industry. Are you kidding? You’ve never been on a set before let alone set with like three people.

It’s not like a not on the set of Avengers, you know, this is not that impressive guys. I don’t understand but 1:30 in the morning when you’re drunk and you see a camera and some lights apparently everyone goes crazy and Sundance and there and we shot our scene in. And I think five minutes. Yeah, I believe it was two takes your max.

Yep, and five minutes. It was to takes you did fantastic and a good friend of my Sebastian Pledger agent. That’s right, and I had just met him the night the day before right knew him at least that was fun. But but that was and then that was it and then you were gone and I was gone. Yeah, next morning.

I was like, oh, that’s so funny. I was in a movie last night and then I say we’re like What like, yeah. Yeah, it was gonna feature last night. Yeah shot some scenes for a movie last night at a party at Sundance and every, you know, you’re not the only one RB who also plays a part in the movie are we had the exact same thing he was in another party and he actually, uh kept telling me I gotta go.

I gotta go shoot a movie and they’re like, you’ve got a screening what like no one understood like he’s like no I’m. In a movie what like no one no one got it. And then I send you the trailer and you’re like, oh my God, it’s a real movie. It looks so good. I am so blown away that you shot that in 36 hours.

I believe it. It was quickly with a it was an experience. So, but thank you again for being in the movie and it was an absolute thrill to work with you for those five minutes. Well, thank you for happy. Admitted of it was super fun. I can’t wait to see your finish movie. So how did you get into the film into the movie?

How did you get into the business in the first place? So I moved to LA in two end of 2001 to be an actor and the first audition when I got to La was for the room. No, yes, very first audition. I responded to an ad in backstage West and you know sent my headshot in they call Greg sestero was doing the casting who ends up playing Tommy’s best friend in the mood.

So he called me and I went to the set auditioned and. So that was the first you know movie I was in when I got to La literally off the turnip truck. You can straight to the room the casting what are the odds? I mean like that’s like the first thing off the literally you get off the bus this like, oh, let’s just go over to the room the most craziest experience of your life.

You literally the timing couldn’t have been better. I was from and how you look at it. I know it could not have it’s like a combination of the two both the best and worst thing to ever happen the what was the casting process like for the it was insane. I mean if you’ve seen the movie The Disaster Artist, they capture it pretty well.

Okay. I came to the Set. Uh, it was broad daylight it was. They were ton of people there and Tommy had a stand in front of camera. And he was like, okay now your best friend just died go and then he’d want you to be wailing with tears and then 30 seconds later. He say you just won the lottery go and yours and then if you didn’t switch on a dime, he’d be like, what’s wrong with you your best friend died.

You have no you have no heart, you know and. That’s how it went. So it was a miracle that anybody got cast and that I don’t know. I mean, I think I got cast because I showed up first to the audition. I was the first one there and I talked to Tommy one-on-one and he asked me a bunch of questions about myself and then I at the end of the conversation he was like, okay, I think I Castro and I’m like, um, do you want me to audition or so you didn’t audition?

I actually did I did audition. So I you know more people showed up and then I did the standard audition with everybody. As I read that chocolate is the symbol of love scene with Greg Ellery who ends up like Stephen and then I did the whole chicken, you know, what act like a chicken that’s one of the things I throw in that Tommy said, um, your best friend just died.

He won the lottery act like a chicken and so I did all that and um, yeah, so I did audition but I but I’m still convinced that the actual reason I got it was because I was the first one there. So I mean, this is your this is your first big Hollywood audition. Um, and I used. Term very Loosely.

Yeah, very very Loosely. You have no other auditions to kind of refer back to so you like. Go ahead and Chicago and I audition there. But yeah, not in La so Noel a auditions for you to kind of go back to how many people on the as far as the cash were concerned. We’re kind of newbies in the sense like may be done one thing or two, but, you know didn’t seem that anybody was like super super seasoned other than mother except I think.

Oh, yeah, the mother may be but every last person was super new I mean. I think to agree to do the room. You probably had to be pretty naive. I I just thought no one would ever see it. I knew it was bad so you so you wouldn’t see it. Did you read it? Was there a script? No, he wouldn’t show us the script there was a script but he would not show it to the actors because quote I quote Tommy you’ll just go on to try to steal it.

So he thought we were gonna steal it and so he wouldn’t share the whole script so we get like three pages and then he’d say, okay, you’re going to shoot these three pages tomorrow and we get it a lot of the day or maybe the day before and we’d have to just memorize those lines and I never knew where the scene fell and the context of the entire movie or the narrative had.

No idea which you know, which may seem came first which scene came cyclic that’s why it was so hard to give any kind of our character Arc or anything which is which is interesting because now that makes so much more sense when you watch the room because there doesn’t seem to be like a beginning middle or Arc or anything just like you have you you as actors have no idea what’s going on.

You just kind of thrown into a scene like act like what happened before did I do that? I get shot before then my mother died before like what and that’s every scene is like that you have to argue is quite genius if that’s what you’re going for going for total confusion on the part of the actors and characters and every scene and of the crew as well and everybody else as well.

Yeah, how was how was the crew while you were um working and how many how long were you actually on on the on the set meaning if shooting on production? I was there for a few weeks. Um, I came in I was a midseason replacement. Um, Julia who plays Lisa was originally Michelle and the first three Lisa’s quit and again, I know surprise surprise.

I think it was when they realize they’d have to do a love scene. And they’re like a fan out of here. Um, so yeah, and then So Lisa was playing Michelle she to lease and then they needed to fill the Michelle characters not that’s one thing did additional auditions and that’s when I came in and filled in the spot.

So they were already shooting they were already shooting when you did a addition exactly. They had already shot a cup for a couple months. How long was the final like was a six-month shooting a year shooting? How long did I shoot? I think it was like six months. Yeah, I remember in The Disaster Artist, even they characterize that it’s like going I just kept going and the money and the money always was there.

He just always had the money. It was like a bottomless well of money and there’s three different Crews. I was when I was there and I was only there for a few weeks. They were I think two at least two or three crews that that were different Crews, they would quit and then a whole new crew would show up because they would ya so they kept quitting remember professional crew and I guess they just got fed up with stuff.

Yeah, there were in La crew they were in La crew that was like. Okay, we’ll deal with this for a day or two. But this is enough. We can’t we can’t take this anymore because I’m assuming it wasn’t the most professional set in the planet know that’s a good assumption to say the least and what was Tommy’s directing style like.

And you can all that. Yeah, if you can call it that well, let’s see like for this Juliet where we have that pillow fight ever. You’re out of here. Remember that scene. I remember all the seeds Okay, so we had just met her literally like 20 minutes before and um, we’re on the set and then and we’re just talkin we’re doing the scene.

He goes, you don’t even seem like, you know each other you your best friends. Why don’t you you have a pillow fight girls have pillow fights. Girls do so Juliet and I are like, um, yeah, right that’s what we do. We had drink wine and beat each other with pillows. So we just that you know that he directed us to do that pillow fight you probably remember that and um, other than that a lot of times he was actually in it.

And so whenever he was in the scene it was hard for him to direct right? So that’s where that whole controversy comes in about the script supervisor. Sandy School are sure. Directing it directing the room which he would help for sure. He would help Tommy when Tommy was scenes like tell Tommy where to go and help with blocking and stuff like that.

But at the end of the day, do you want that credit? I know I don’t that that my don’t get that that like if you are the ghost director of the room, do you want to be known as the ghost director of the room like I. Yeah, it doesn’t make seconds. I mean everyone can I the reason it’s bad and it’s because of Tommy.

I mean, it’s the reason why it’s good and bad is because of Tommy. It’s 100 percent Tommy. It is bad exactly because there’s things in it like I mean you just. I mean, well the first of all obviously all women, uh, when they’re in their 20s have pillow fights, uh, a drink wine, obviously. Yeah, that’s my experience.

Every last one. Every last woman. It is it’s part of the DNA. Um, so the best example of the best explanation of Tommy ever is as a director I’ve heard was imagine an alien comes down to Earth takes over a body and then. This is the movie it thinks that would be a movie that mother earthlings would enjoy that’s good.

And that was like that’s because it’s such a look. We’ve all seen bad movies. We’ve all seen bad movies. I mean I saw Troll 2 and I think a little bit of my soul left me. Um, I like the documentary about the troll troll 2, which is amazing. Uh much better than the movie but we’ve seen bad movies have been movies throughout history Edward movies.

I mean forever, but there’s something so magical about this movie and and it’s hard to it’s hard to pinpoint it but from my analysis and maybe I love to hear what you think why people react the way they do to it. It’s that it is authentically Tommy. There is nothing bullshit about the movie he is not.

Trying to be it’s what he it’s hit its authentic. Yeah, it fully embodies. Tommy just is everything that Tommy is and the authenticity you can literally come on because if I would go to try to direct a bad movie like horribly that you know, you would smell it like oh, this is a guy who’s trying to be a good bad movie.

We’ve seen those movies before like Sharknado like, you know, They know what they’re doing. They know this is a bad movie. They know it’s ridiculous. They’re just having fun the self-awareness there. But Tommy has absolutely no self-awareness and thought he was making Citizen Kane. Yeah, and that is your right why it is so magically bad because the urn it’s so Earnest and he is there such an effort to be good.

Yes, and it fails so spectacularly that that. Is deeply I don’t know why sounds the district but that is the funny it is it is it’s just it fails on so many levels like when we were watching at that night before we shot the scene, uh, everybody was there like why is there another shot of San Francisco?

What’s going on? Why is that there? Oh, my like all my professional film making friends, but never seen this. They’re all sitting there going. After like 20 minutes they get and there’s some people in the audience that did not this is just horrible. I can’t watch this. Yeah, but the people who got it, they jumped on the ride and we’ll just like completely unboard and that’s the kind of movie it is but it’s a fascinating fascinating character study and I think the Disaster Artist did a really.

Uh interesting job with that relationship and with Tommy and all of that. What did you think of the Disaster Artist? I really liked it. I thought it was hilarious and I thought James Franco did a really good job at capturing Tommy. I mean Midway through I forgot I was even watching James Franco. It seemed like Tommy and um, I I thought they captured the friendship and the story really well and it would balance a lot of you know humor with Pathos and like sincerity.

And I thought it was a great. Yeah, I loved it. I loved it when we were sitting down talking for a few minutes. You said that the Disaster Artist got a few things that they took some creative license with what are the things that were kind of different between the Disaster Artist and reality? Yeah, the very end when everyone’s cheering in the theater at the premiere of the room that didn’t happened.

Absolutely the phenomenon did not start off with a bang. It was a slow burn this little burnt people obviously cheer now, but at screenings of the room, but. People may we were people were laughing certainly but it was a katrien people trying to contain their laughter right in the theater because they knew the Tommy meant to be a searing drama and instead it was a Laugh Out Loud Comedy.

I was sitting two rows or row behind Tommy and I was trying so hard to contain my laughter, but I ended up crying I was crying with laughter because you know, when you try to stop laughing it gets even worse, right? And um, so a lot of people were like that like we were really trying not to seem like we were.

I think we all were and then after that after the movie there was a party and no one was everyone was just awestruck like our Jaws are on the floor and we were looking around like oh my what was that? Right? And I didn’t approach Tommy because I just knew I couldn’t lie believably and I didn’t want to have to you know, I didn’t want to say.

That was amazing or did he feel it? Did he did he understand that he that it was not well received or was he still in delusional world that night of yeah, I don’t know for sure. I feel it because I feel like. He didn’t go well from this perspective. Okay, he must have heard the chuckles. I don’t know he must have but okay.

So in the Disaster Artist when he and Greg go to the lobby and they discuss it and Greg’s character is like, you know, you made something that people aren’t enjoying listen to them. They’re loving it and then go back in there and then they then I do I don’t believe that that happened that night perhaps it did a week later a couple weeks later sure.

But yeah, it took a little while. Um. Reframe The Narrative or we framed the situation in general. What was the reaction of the other actors that you saw how were there any that were absolutely pissed other people that were just could not stop laughing thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread whether reactions as you know have to use their names, but just what are the actions of some of the other actors some of the other actors were devastated.

Um, and then others were just like, okay. Well we knew it was going to be. But this was really really bad. Um, they were for me it was a hat there was so many things that were really a happy surprise like the things I didn’t know were in the room that were so funny like the rooftop scene. I mean all of the rooftops seems like you got so you basically got the joke right away.

I husband and I were dying laughing and then the next morning we woke up and we were quoting lines to each other from the room. And then we were crying with laughter again. I mean we were just seriously laying there laughing so hard we were crying. So for me I was like, well, I don’t think anybody will see this.

But if they do it could get a cult following because it is crazy funny. So you you are you so you literally caught that right away. You caught what this could be and you were basically reacting as a room fan. Right away off the first screening. Yes, because I was in so few of the scenes that you know, and I was like, oh, yeah, my scenes are fine.

I wasn’t devastated by the scenes. I was in they were totally fine and I thought it I just enjoyed the rest of it like how crazy it was and how irrational so yeah. I just thought it was hilarious from the beginning and obviously the pillow scene was the highlight but uh chocolates of course, of course, of course.

Put your put your insults in your pocket. I can’t just I’m sorry. I can’t help it. Um now what is the weirdest thing you saw on the set? Um, oh, well, I didn’t physically see this actually see this but the makeup artists they had. Well I had to get airbrushed every day because Tommy didn’t like freckles and he had got him so he got airbrushed every day as well his entire body obviously obviously got to look Flawless sunscreen and um, the term Flawless is loose word used in certain range.

Yeah, what’s doable? Yes, so the day they had to do the but seen I came back. It was like the next day after they shot the naked but scene with Tommy and the button in the belly the belly button hump. I didn’t mention that. Okay. I didn’t really know about that the Recycled sex scene until I saw it on screen, right?

So that was a treat but um. They said you will not believe what happened. I said what happened? He said yesterday we had to airbrush Tommy’s but and then we had to keep touching it up all day long the court makeup artist. Oh my God. That was that was the thing I heard about when I came back to this set.

But I I just eat of people quit all the time. Um, there was a documentarian following us around all the time on set filming us behind the scenes. So literally we couldn’t even change he would follow us. There wasn’t a changing room for the actors. It was just a little tent and so in order to change we had to duck behind cars in the burns and Sawyer parking lot and then the documentarian would be following us with his camera.

I remember telling him like dude. I’m trying to change here. So yeah that it was great because obviously as he says his ass is what’s gonna sell International. Yes. Yes, you really want China? He’s in China. Um, it’s so and then you obviously kept living in La so when you kept driving by the billboard, what was the what was your feeling when you first saw this billboard?

I was like that is still up. I can’t believe it’s still there. Um three years right was like two or three years. I think it was made it even been five years. Like where’s the money coming from? No one knows. No one knows no one still to this day. Nobody knows where the money came from So for anybody who’s listening and doesn’t we’re talkin about in La for five years.

There was a billboard on what was it? Like on I don’t even know. I remember what street it was on it was on island and Fountain so it’s a fairly fairly predominant billboard. Uh, and it was this shot of of Tommy with the room with his with his number on it to set up screenings and it just stayed there it became like this landmark in LA and everyone’s like what is this room thing?

And I remember when I got here I got here in 2008. And when was shot 2000-2002 and it came out 2003 right? So by then already been 5 years. So it already picked up the the cult following at this point where I walked into a theater and I saw the poster like midnight showing of the room and every and I’m like and I asked my La friends like what’s the room they like?

Oh, you’ve got to see the room and that’s the way the whole thing went like the whole phenomenon of the worldwide is like you have to see the room. Yeah, it was a lot of it was word of mouth. I mean, I think most of it was word of mouth. But because the mouth the word of mouth was so passionate and people who saw loved it so much it worked.

And now do you have you I’m assuming you’ve gone to some screenings. I’m assuming you’ve signed an autograph or two. Yes, what is what is your reaction as going to the screenings and then have other have there been any like conventions you’ve gone to like, I mean sure comic book conventions are movie conventions or anything like that that you attended.

I haven’t got any conventions. Um, when I go to the screenings a lot of times, I’ll go with a group of friends and we’ll dress up a lot of times I’ve warned digs because I like to be a fly on the wall. Just react. I’ve been to a couple screenings in my hometown of North Koreans Borough North Carolina, and that’s been really fun and they I was on the news.

They’re crazy. That’s so awesome affiliate. Uh, yeah talking about being in the worst movie ever made, right? Girl makes good in the worst movie ever made, right? Yeah, great story one day. I’ll have something really great. I can talk about so, uh, yes, so I love going to the screenings. I love meeting the fans and and um just you know everyone reacts to it and I enjoy it and I like I get some new out of it every time I go and the way you reacted to my actor in in my movie as a fan of the room.

I’m assuming is the way you react to other fans. Like you’re so so humble. You were just kind of like, oh, you’re a fan. Oh great. Oh you want to talk about Tommy? Sure. I’ll talk about like I’m sure this is like a daily basis. Do you get recognized on the streets? I mean sometimes I do but not that much.

I stay. I mean I live in West LA and I’m like in my area most of the time and I think if I when I got recognized a couple times at Sundance and then if I’m off in the Hollywood area, I get recognized more but because I think there’s just more people there who have seen their room and um, so I just not like I get recognized that much.

Uh, ya know what point did you because we talked about this a little bit off. At what point? Do you accept what this is and go along for the ride as opposed to fight because I’m assuming there were some actors who just wanted to have nothing to do with it. I want my name off of it. I don’t want to be involved with this but you decided to go the other way like you know what this is fun.

I’m gonna jump on board. When was that moment in your in your life? Let’s see 2008 Entertainment Weekly did a four or five page spread about the room and I was interviewed for that and I guess it had been slowly gaining some traction up until that point and little been telling about I was in film School.

Mentioning. Oh, you know what? A lot of celebrities are becoming fans. And and you know, um, I guess Paul Rudd is a fan and all you know, and I was like, oh, I think it’ll just run its course, you know, that’s great. But you know and then when Entertainment Weekly did the full spread I was like, oh crap, it’s not going anywhere.

It’s not gonna go it’s just and um, I think I was sort of. Out of film school not really embracing at that much snot. I just really didn’t I didn’t really think about it that much because I um was you know, I wanted to be taken seriously and I feel like if you advertise that you’re in the worst movie ever made, it doesn’t really necessarily lend itself to people respecting you that’s not good for the branding.

Exactly, but so I got you know what I’m just gonna ignore it. It’ll go away and that just did not work. And um, I think I was at a screening in Hollywood and I had a blonde wig on I was with a bunch of friends. So we were there to have fun and. Michael Cera was in line behind me up and we started talkin to him and he’s like, why are you in a blond wig?

And I said, oh I just like to be a fly on the wall and kind of not, you know not have people know who I am and stuff. He’s like why not? You should just really embrace it. I mean, this is one of the most fun things there is to do in LA. I like to come, you know, I come here all the time to see the room and and I was like, you know, it’s not that I was I mean I was obviously there so it wasn’t like hiding from it fully but.

That was good advice in terms of embracing it because. I realize I cannot it won’t go away. And um, I’m really bad that to there on your face on your face right there front and center. It’s a Mike Tyson tattoo on your face. You’re not getting rid of it. It’s not good. So that’s why I decided eventually to do the mockumentary because I write comedy and I had been a comedy writer for a long time.

And um, and I just had this idea of wouldn’t it be funny if these room actors kept trying to escape it and like. They could not Escape the Room which is basically true and um just exaggerated and poke fun at it and have fun with the struggle of these actors trying to escape from being in this the worst movie ever made and never being able to tell me a little bit about the movie that you’re Direct.

Yes, so it’s a mockumentary, uh web series and it features all of the actors from the movie The Room seven out of nine of us. So Tommy and Greg aren’t in it. Um, and it basically follows them as they struggle with either embracing or shaking the stigma of appearing in the worst movie ever made and most of them are trying to shake it and they can’t.

Um, so we just see everyone suffering in their own way. Um, like Juliet is married to her her first stalker and this basically stocks her around the house re-enacting scenes from the room and said that’s that’s her life. Danny Philip who plays Danny in the room is working Danny, um, because it’s the only place where he could get hired and uh, so Danny people come into Denny’s they recognized him as Denny from the room and they start reciting lines and then he can’t he like he ends up taking it out on them and he gets fired and yeah, every episode features a different.

Well the first three episodes feature to room actors, and then after that every episode features one room actor. Are you in one of these episodes? Yes, I minutes good too. Okay, and I’m married. I’ve been married eight times and I keep getting divorced because every guy Mary does the room. Oh face behind

my back that my boyfriend in the movie makes. Oh and I’m assuming they always wanted to pillow fight. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I kicked her pillow fight in that so so so you do know this a web series or is this going to turn into a full-blown document or mockumentary that you release as a feature? How is it how you doing?

Well, I have four episodes done now and each one’s about eight minutes. So it’s about 30 minutes of programming that I’ve already done and they’re out there. They’re on funny or die and they’re on YouTube and then I’ve got six more episodes written and ready to film and I’m just trying to raise money for those now.

I’m about to do a Kickstarter campaign, um to get the funds to shoot the remaining six and it’s going to be also in find your dies Amazon platform soon. Oh contracts with them now. Yeah, so that’s really exciting. Um, and yeah, so when it’s all said and done it’ll be over 60 Minutes of stuff. So I don’t I don’t have plans to edit together into a feature anything.

I think I’ll just keep it as the web series because there’s so many different room actors that kind of fits to just have each episode focusing on one or two of the room actor. How did you how did you get everybody to be on because I’m so everybody embraced this at this point. Yeah, um, I pitched it to Juliet Kyle Carolina Greg sestero when I saw them for a documentary mini-documentary Greg was doing about for the book launch Disaster Artist and they were all interested in you know, so I said, okay, I’ll send you my short that I’d written in at the time.

It was just a short 10 minute movie I sent to Juliet and she got back right back to me. She’s like, oh my God, I love it. Let’s do it. We’ve got to do it. So she was really encouraging and held as kind of. List for saying yes, we should definitely do this because I was nervous. I was worried. They wouldn’t want to make fun of themselves or because I have Juliet she starts out drunk in a bar and sexy red dress and she’s hunched over like a drink and I was like, I didn’t know if Juliette would Wanna Make fun of just, you know, the fact that she was in this movie, but she was totally game and excited about it.

And what a Greg and Tommy think about all this and how come they’re not in the movie. So Greg sestero is super supportive and he couldn’t. Because he had signed a non-compete agreement when he made the deal with the Disaster Artist. We shot this way before the disaster artist came out and um, and but he was really supportive.

So he signed our poster and some of our Kickstarter rewards and he reposted our original Kickstarter campaign and shared it and stuff. But then Tommy um, yeah, um, Tommy was a didn’t he first came to me and he was like, why don’t you and I’m like, well, I’m happy to invite you, you know, I’d love to have you.

So will you be a part of it? And he was like, well you want the pay $250,000. I’m like, yeah, so that’s not going to happen. And um, yeah, so then give me a hard time about my Kickstarter campaign. He wanted me to blur out the poster. He wanted me to blur out footballs roses chocolates and spoons all of which were in my Kickstarter campaign because he owns those, you know owns the rights the spoons.

What if he owns the rights to this phone’s please no, you have to let me know. What does that mean? I’m just you know, he does own the rights to his movie poster. So I did blur that out then after I did that he you know came back. He’s like no you blew up the spoons chocolate your blood the football you blow out the Roses.

You know, I’m like no copyright. I was like, he can’t have copyrights on the spoons getting away a fan thing. Anyway. Well, no. Okay. So everybody who’s not who has not seen the room was listening. In the movie, there’s frame pictures of spoons. Yeah for no apparent reason in the movie. Do you know what the reason is that?

Do you even have any idea as anyone ever they came with a frame, you know, they were just the standard photos that came and the frames and I don’t know why anybody would sell because usually I was like cool who puts spoons like that’s ridiculous. I’ve seen one of those. I’ve never seen that either other than the room, but it worked out beautifully because throughout the movie there’s framed pictures of spoons.

So every time the audience see spoons, they throw plastic spoons at the uh at the screen so for everyone listening, Which is one of the most fun parts of going to a room screening is throwing those spoons fine. I was I was The Rocky Horror Picture Show guy for a long time when I was in high school.

He loved going there with the rice and the the toilet paper and all the things that you would throw um durang it. So I’m assuming the room is the new generation of that. That’s what a couple journalists have called it. They call it the new Rocky Horror Picture Show and that’s gonna live for it’s not gonna go away.

I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon. I don’t I don’t think so either it because I mean I went to a screening and there was a bus of 15 year olds had come from the Inland Empire with their parents at as a graduation gift to get to ride into Westwood to see a screening of the room and they have to see it here.

This is like Mecca. You have to have to see it in Hollywood in order to see it. It’s it is by far one of the most fascinating Hollywood stories ever. It really is and I do agree with you. I think the Disaster Artist did it justice the book was wonderful. I love the book. I read the book cover to cover.

I was just. And as I was reading it, I’m like no, there’s no no is so funny. This couldn’t have happened. No, and I actually had the pleasure, uh while I was directing, uh, some commercials. I hired a sound guy. His name was salt. I don’t know if you know who salt is salt was. One of the audio Engineers on the room.

Wow, and it went like wildfire on the set. He was the guy who was the sound guy in the room and we got his great sounds sounds fantastic and I would just run to him like. Salt first of all great names old. Um, secondly, it’s a true. He’s like, yes, this is all true because it’s really thick accent.

It’s all true. He was a maniac maniac he was fantastic, but it is but um, so how by the way since you now worked all the other actors, how are they doing? What are they doing? Our they’ve kind of how do they Venture off? Into other things of after the room. Yeah. So, um Juliet lives in Texas now, she’s married and she is does graphic design, I believe and it’s a Kyle is still in La he plays Peter in the room.

He still here. He does still does acting. And he has a day job. I think it either Sony or busy doing their Tech so their text and then Dan Genji and lives in Texas. Also, he is in I believe banking or insurance. He seems to be doing pretty well. Um Philip lives in Arizona. He’s a journalist. He just got married like a couple days ago like last week.

Okay, um, and then Carolinas here she lives in the South Bay and she is an actress still she does commercials and Print Work and things like that. The Greg Ellery he just moved from Illinois back to California, and I’m not sure what he’s doing. He was for a while. He’d just rejected the room. He was a holdout on my show.

He I had emailed him and he didn’t respond about being in it. And I did the kickstarter campaign without and but with all the other actors and finally, um, I heard back from him saying, okay. I’ll be in it that being in it. He’s awesome. He is a funny funny guy. I’m really glad he’s in it and then who else and then you and you now are a doc you’re a filmmaker as well as an actress.

Yeah, mainly writer director and an actress um for I don’t send my I don’t go out like I was a commercial actress for a long time, but. I decided to focus mainly on writing and directing and then I’ll put myself in stuff or make my own projects or if my friends make projects. I’m in theirs, but I like I had been in I was in the room and then I was right after that.

I was in one other bad movie. Um, and I did some good movies good shorts too, but I thought I could especially some in Chicago and then some out here too. They went to Great festivals. But after I was in those two bad movies, I was like, you know what I’m not going to do another bad movie. I’m not going to do a movie until I know for sure that it’s that’s good, you know, and then I went to right after that decision.

I went to film school at UCLA and thought about five film school to go to. No, I loved it and studied screenwriting and my screenwriting and then was focusing on writing and then just recently started directing and um now I’m in a phase where I’m just kind of making a ton of things that I write myself and then I make and I put myself in them.

I’m not necessarily the main character, but I throw myself in wherever and um, yeah now do you were uh, you were also in another documentary called room full of spoons. Can you talk a little bit about that Doc and. The controversy behind it. Yes. Um, so that was filmed so long. I think I filled my part in that in 2013 tigers.

So, um that’s been in the works for a while. And um, you know, he used to have a good relationship with Tommy. Um, his name is Rick Harbor the director of that and um, then it’s just they had a falling out and Tommy got mad and and so then Tommy has been very upset about the film which is a documentary and looking at the making of the room and Tommy’s background and where Tommy is from and how Tommy got his money and.

Um all this stuff they even go to Europe they go to Eastern Europe Poland where Tommy is from and the interview his family members. Oh, they found his family. Yeah. No wonder he’s losing his mind. So he was really mad about that. And um, he tried he got a court injunction to shut down prevent the release of that movie Tommy did so the movie never got released.

Well, apparently the court injunction was lifted. I thought it was back in December Rick made an announcement on his Facebook page that it had been lifted, but they were some still some legal issues in the way and I don’t think it’s been released yet. I know he was going to play it a couple festivals and Tommy stopped those from happening.

Um, so yeah, I was really worried for a while time was gonna try to do that with my show, but he hasn’t had all like I haven’t heard. Tommy at all since that Kickstarter campaign, I did back in 2014. So he’s been totally fine with my luckily with my show because you don’t want it’s kind of like do you want to hear from Tommy or you don’t want to hear from me?

It’s like. I mean, yeah, Tommy’s if I heard from Tommy and he were nice I would be happy to hear from Tommy sure. You didn’t want to hear any threats from Tommy which he had been when I first did the kickstarter. He was threatening me. Yeah, like the thing about blurring all this stuff about and then you know, I will try to take you down from Kickstarter and stuff like that and and I kept saying look this isn’t about you.

It has nothing to do with you. It’s about the room actors and what they’re doing now, and I think once my show. Came out. He realized that and literally haven’t heard a peep because you’re not you’re not you’re kind of making fun of it. But you’re kind of you’re filling your your um, putting gasoline on the fire of the Mythos of the room with this movie.

You’re not kind of trying to go after him personally. Yeah, exactly. I’m making fun of all the rest of us and sure. Yeah, there’s room jokes. There’s a ton of room jokes, but they’re designed for room fans, but it’s not targeted at Tommy and his background or anything like that. That’s it’s it’s been an adventure and it’s an adventure that will be with you for a while and um, I don’t even know.

If something like this happened to me, I don’t even know how I would have reacted. So I’m I’m I’m so thankful that you came on the show to talk about uh the inside scoop on the room and and your project now. Where can by the way where can people support your project. Um, I’m about to launch another Kickstarter campaign and I’ll give you the link so that when you are this, hopefully it will have launched and that’s going to be in a few weeks.

Okay, I’ll put up with the link. If you have the link you could say it but I’ll put it in the show notes either way. And I’ll also if you want to watch the show, if you haven’t seen it yet. You can go to YouTube, um forward slash Robyn Paris and you can watch the whole show their or Funny or Die /ab in Paris.

Is it? Okay if I put those in the show notes as well just actually put the clips there so they can watch the whole thing. That be great. Yeah, absolutely. So if you guys want to watch, uh, the first four episodes it will be in the show notes as well. Now I’m gonna ask you a few questions that I ask all of my guests.

Okay. What advice would you give a filmmaker wanted to break into the business today? Obviously not to go for a casting at the room. But um as you try to appear in the worst possible movie, right exactly the the worst that will become a cult flavor it and will live on in infamy for the rest of Eternity.

God your life. That’s the first thing you do second second. Well, I guess I would say use what you have in a way because as a writer, you know, they say write what you know, which to some extent is good. For me, I’ve been writing about all kinds of things all kinds of Comedy, but what gave me a chance to direct and I found that I love directing and I want to keep doing it every chance I can get was taking something that happened in my life and making it funny something that I actually struggled with like being in the room and make trying to make it work for me.

So I would say if you’re a filmmaker and you want to get something off the ground think about what you have to offer in your specific life. Like what have you lived that you could either poke fun of if you’re a if you do comedy or that you could actually just you know, if you’re a drama that you could bring to life and show a dramatic moment in your life.

Um, you know, write a short. Right, right something that you can pull from your own life. And then and then when you either do a crowdfunding you can speak from personal experience, you can say this is why I’m doing this and you have like a real passion for for the reason, you know your motivation for why you’re doing it and I think people respond to that and will help you will help you by being on your crew or giving you some money through crowdfunding or your you know family because it’s something they know you care about and I guess I have to say.

Because I think there’s a lot of fear involved with putting yourselves out there and kind of just taking a step in a direction. You’ve never gone before and I think just for me I faced a lot of fear with when I did this project just or people. I think this is stupid or they could just going to be like, oh, you’re just acting from the room.

Like what do you think you could do this, you know, but I think you have to face a figure. You really have in a you can Pace It Is by taking a step in the direction every day to face it. Right and at the end of the day you have to you have to walk your own path and not pay attention to what other people think or other or be free of the good opinion of others as they say in many ways.

Yeah 100% don’t trust yourself. If you think something is great and you know, you can make it great believe in that. I mean it work for Tommy. It is weird because it did it didn’t know he got everything he wanted. I mean, he literally got everything he wanted he did. He wanted to be worldwide famous.

He wanted to be taken seriously by Hollywood which in a kind of way. He did with the Golden Globes. You know, he almost got it for the Oscars as well. But um and he did it was it was nominated for best screenplay. Yeah. Now he was in these other two movies best friends part 1 and part 2. He’s getting decent reviews for people are saying Tommy’s actually good in this the role written for him.

He’s really good, right he can’t stretch but if you get if you hit it down the middle with Tommy, you’re gonna get something good. Yeah only imagine. It’s like working with him on set like as a director trying to direct Tommy was oh, Oh my gosh, you could you could hire him. I’m sure 250,000. Yeah, I think show up anywhere $250,000.

Um, it’s my really bad Tommy impression. Um – mines were able to can you uh, tell me what book had the biggest impact on your life or career.

Wow. Um, let’s see I feel of this is so like. You know Uncle literature Eddie class or some but I really love the Great Gatsby. I loved it and I read it a couple times. I don’t think I fully got it when I was younger and I read it and then I read it later as an adult and I guess what I like is the striving and the desire to be more than you are because.

That’s what I find relatable and I just feel like for me like I mean I came to Hollywood. I was I had dreams of I’m going to be in the filmmaking industry and I had no connections. I mean my dad’s a dentist like my parents are all back in North Carolina. Nobody knows we don’t we know nobody and I kind of just felt like uh with the Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby that that character of just trying to kind of come to some place where you don’t really fit and trying to make a name for yourself.

That was relatable to me and it’s kind of a sad, you know, but but like and hopefully that’s not you know, it’s for me my life I think is good and you know things are going great and I’m really excited but there’s something about how challenging I think it is in Hollywood to kind of make your way.

Oh, it’s extremely challenging it really is but you have to keep like like you have to keep uh striving. Yeah, you have to keep striving no matter what and uh, just just keep hustling as I say all the time. Got to keep that house going without question. Yeah, totally totally and I think things are gonna work out better than they did in the book exact sort of a downer and if that’s a spoiler alert guys, I’m sorry.

The books been out for a little bit. So that’s that’s on you. Right and there’s been a few movies as well. Um, I’m sorry cut that out now. Um, what is the lesson I took you the longest to learn whether in the film business or in life. Oh, um, yeah, I think in life as the film business to um, not worrying about what people think and we touched upon that before and also not feeling that I I think I should have tried directing earlier, but I always thought that no one will list like known listen to me.

I thought how. Why would they listen to me? Why would a whole crew of people I could I get you have no idea how much I get that from from people who contact me the like how do you handle like a group of people like I go I go either if it’s a guy or girl go guys, you’ve got to. Be able to control United control but take command of the army of your of your of your squad because if you don’t, uh, the you won’t be able to make it.

Unfortunately you pick a career that takes a group effort to make is not painting. It’s not, you know, writing a song in a guitar. It’s it’s a very expensive very collaborative art for. Correct. Yeah, correcting you if you don’t believe in yourself, then it’s very hard. I think to command the respect of accrue for me.

It took me a while to get there. And now I feel like I’m fully there like I totally believe in myself, but and I think I had kids also and I think having kids and like telling everybody what to do. All the time was just helpful for me to just learn how to. Like that, I feel like a crew is maybe it also took me getting older.

Yeah, and I think you just get maturity when you get older and you know how to handle things better, but. I feel like I treat a crew not in a condescending way, but kind of like, you know, we’re all family. We’re a family on a set and we need to all collaborate and listen and work together while and respect each other, but the respect each other is really important and that means no attitudes.

No kinds of no complaining that kind of thing. I don’t like I would I just don’t tolerate that. You know of an actor comes up and goes pay me $250,000. You don’t it’s not working. Right. Yes, that’s just not gonna fly. You know, it happens all the time, right? Um, now what are three of your favorite films of all time?

Obviously besides the room. Okay. Yeah besides room because that’s a given right right back to the future is my all-time favorite movie of that movie. I love the trilogy of the trilogy in. Yeah, me too. I love the third one also a ton. Um ET and I just said so great. Um and well, so I have a lot of comedies that I like, um, but one of the very first comedies I ever saw and I just like made me want to be a screenwriter I think was Tutsi or just made me want to be an entertainment.

Sure. I just I love and I love cross-dressing movie Fire to mrs. Are Some Like It Hot. I’m like, oh left Some Like It Hot the first script I ever wrote the first feature I ever wrote was these were these two women who dress as male Talent managers to struggling actresses who dresses male Talent managers in order to manage their own careers.

That’s I that sounds familiar. There was a movie that did was it I don’t know if it was a gag or some I remember something like that not too but like maybe even episode of Friends. Who knows? Yeah, you see women dressed as men in movies. You don’t know right? Generally. It’s always the other way around.

Uh, but uh, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and um, But I haven’t seen to on. Oh, you have to like you too long as I’m laying out all the cross-dressing movies of the last 50 years. My audience is like Alex I had no idea you have like I just know them. I just came to know that I just know them don’t ask.

Why are you right now? Where can people find you in your work? Okay. Oh, yes. So, um Robyn Paris Robbins with why um, and then I my the room mockumentary is where I have information about the show and then I’m at Robyn Paris on Twitter and at Paris on Instagram and official Robyn Paris on Facebook if you want to.

Like me there or whatever follow or all that stuff, you know, and that’s weird. It’s weird as I know. It’s weird. It’s been like can I tweet you like I can’t stand doing I can’t stand what anyone says can I tweet like I’m a grown adult. I’m a grown adult and I’m saying tweet. I know it’s just it’s like the weirdest thing for me still but I get it.

It’s the world that we live in today Robin. It has been absolute pleasure talking to you and thank you so much for being so honest and uh raw about your experience, uh in honestly the best movie ever made without question and and the pillow scene alone is uh is worth the price of admission for anybody.

That’s right. That’s right. The classic. Thank you so much Robin. Appreciate it. Or having the Alex. I really appreciate it, too. I want to thank Robyn again for coming on and just just being so kind with her time and talkin about the room again that she’s probably talked about that movie. Just nauseam for the last 10 years or so Robin.

Thank you so much for being on and guys if you are fans of the room, you’ve got to watch her mockumentary series. I have two episodes on the in the show notes at indie film episode, so you can watch what she does what she did and hopefully help her with her Kickstarter campaign to finish off the series.

It’s super fun, and if you’re a fan of the room you’ve got to watch it. So, thanks again, Robin. If you haven’t already guys head over to filmmaking podcast and leave a good review for the show. It really really does help us out a lot. Just do it on your iPhone do it, uh on your computer on your laptop on your iPad, wherever you can get to uh the show, please just leave us a good review in five stars would be really really helpful and help us be found by more and more filmmakers.

So this information could get out to them and as always keep that house going keep that dream alive, and I’ll talk to you soon. I did not hit  her I denied. Oh, hi Mark. Thanks for listening to the indie film hustle podcast at indie film hustle.