It’s hard not to be at least a little bit intrigued by The Disaster Artist. Not just because it tells the chaotic story behind the production of The Room, but also because it stars both Dave and James Franco in its leading roles, while James also directed it, too.
Since the Franco boys have been working professionally in Hollywood for several years now there was never going to be a sibling rivalry during production for “The Disaster Artist.” But the fact that they are brothers means they were always going to have done something bad to each other at some point in the past. It just comes with the territory.
Before I sat down to talk to Dave and James Franco about “The Disaster Artist” earlier month I asked my own siblings what questions I should ask the pair. This provoked my younger sister to suggest that I should enquire about the worst things they’ve ever done to each other, something that as the youngest member of our brood she herself was on the receiving end of.
It was too tantalizing a question not to ask, and the immediate revelation that 39-year-old James basically used to torture 32-year-old Dave with the aid of a sleeping bag meant it was definitely worthwhile.
“You used to zip me up fully in a sleeping bag and tickle torture me from the outside so I literally couldn’t get out,” Dave Franco recalled. “I think that’s actual torture.”
James Franco’s excuse for committing this crime was pretty lame, as he responded, “That was like 30 years. At least 30 years ago.” Especially as Dave then reminded him, “I am only 32!”
But Dave was by no means the innocent party in all of these shenanigans. “He stole my cats,” James Franco offered as a retort, with a solemnness that suggested he still misses the little felines.
“I did,” Dave Franco remorsefully confessed, before adding, “Those cats have the greatest life ever. You have to admit that.”
“They didn’t have a choice. I suppose they did have a choice,” James Franco explained. “They would sleep with him because he fed them and they probably wanted to go with him.”
Thankfully they were able to get past these disputes and make “The Disaster Artist,” which has received sterling reviews ever since it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival back in September, and has even been touted as an Oscar contender.
