Tommy Wiseau, star of 'The Room', presents his Stanley Cup Playoff bracket
LOS ANGELES – Puck Daddy needed a celebrity to help pick the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Someone with enough edge and chutzpah to make the tough decisions.
Fortunately, the right guy fell right into our laps, thanks to the good people of RiffTrax who said Tommy Wiseau, the creative mastermind of “The Room,” the most unintentionally hilarious film ever made, was around Los Angeles and doing interviews.
Wiseau wrote, directed, produced and starred in the film.
OK, so we were loose with the term "celebrity." But in his own right, Wiseau has created one of the most absurdly enduring pieces of art in recent cinematic history. “The Room” is bad. Really bad. Wiseau is the brain behind this film that has inspired a cult following, which includes midnight showings worldwide, and a book by one of his co-stars about the making of the film called “The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made.”
We interviewed said co-star Greg Sestero, back in October. "The Room" will simulcast in movie theaters via RiffTrax on May 6.
Say ‘hi doggy’ to a pooch on the street, and if the owner laughs, you know he or she has seen this film.
And Wiseau’s hockey knowledge? He said he likes the Sharks and his favorite team moment is, “when the guy did the goal on the ice, like a swimming thing. “
Inform him that the Sharks and their coach decided to part ways that exact day?
“Oh my god, everybody is getting fired,” he says, referencing Jim Harbaugh and his beloved San Francisco 49ers.
He has rollerbladed. He mentions his brother played roller hockey. Ask him about “Slap Shot” with Paul Newman and he goes, “The Paul Newman! I saw this one. It was OK. It’s not like I was crying about it.”
And since you have him there, you can ask him other sports questions about “The Room,” like, “Why is the NCAA logo on the football in ‘The Room’ blacked out?"
“It was a copyright. We respect copyright, haha,” Wiseau said.
He loves sports, even if he may not fully get them and believes the football tossing scenes from “The Room” has brought American football to other countries where the film is screened.
“We screen all over the world, UK, Australia, Canada and other countries and people throw football during the screening of ‘The Room,’” he said.
If he could have one athlete star in a movie, it would be a "Laker guy" but can't decide between Shaquille O'Neal or Kobe Bryant if he had a choice.
“The Lakers, I don’t know if you remember four or five years ago, the best of the best,” he says, though he frowns when he notes that now the “teamwork, like everything else, is not there.”
But you know what? We’re a hockey blog and we wanted his picks because, he’s Tommy Wiseau, and … you want to know his thoughts on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, even if some of the first round series have started and some teams own series leads, which was explained to Wiseau.
The photo at the top of the blog are his selections. And Wiseau went with a sentimental favorite to win the Stanley Cup: the Detroit Red Wings. Why? Because he thinks the temperament of downtown Detroit reminds him of New Orleans for some reason and he wants a comeback for Detroit like he’s seen with NOLA.
“I had this screening in Detroit. It was so funny. You know what? I don’t know if you know Detroit. It’s disaster downtown,” he said. “It’s awful, but we had such a spectacular screening, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know what to say. It’s so different, so I hope they can win for the spirit. That reminds me of New Orleans with the spirit.”
He thinks Pittsburgh will beat the Rangers.
“I don’t know why I say Pittsburgh, but I think it does.”
He pauses when he gets to the Penguins and the Islanders in Round 2.
“That’s a tough one … this could be good too. You know what? l'm into Pittsburgh,” and then writes it in.
Detroit vs. Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Final?
“You know what, I will give Detroit a repeat of what New Orleans did!”
After taking Chicago over Anaheim in the Western Conference Final, he appears stumped with the Blackhawks against the Red Wings. Forget the Original Six rivalry tones that will stoke the NHL and NBC fires with #rivalrynight for a best of seven game series. With Wiseau it’s all about the team he hopes will win.
Not the team with the best chance – Chicago, which was explained to him by the interviewing reporter. Why? Who knows. Because Wiseau is the disaster artist – to phrase the book title – and he wants to see a place that has been called a mess succeed. Maybe it’s this unique view of humanity that makes him so different and makes his work with “The Room” so special to so many, myself included.
Tommy Wiseau: “That’s a good one, I’m leaning towards Chicago, but I want Detroit to win, I don't know why?”
Puck Daddy: “Go with your gut Tommy...”
Writes in Detroit
TW: “OK. Did we complete it?”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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