James Franco is very, very into playing The Room’s Tommy Wiseau, not just in The Disaster Artist, for which he’s receiving raves, but also out in the wild. Nary a late-night interview has gone by without Franco dipping into the voice at least once, and if you stick around after the credits for the film you’ll see him improvise in character with a very special guest. But Franco is taking it even further by adopting Wiseau’s own marketing strategy.
In October, an ad for The Disaster Artist appeared on the same Los Angeles billboard that Wiseau himself rented for more than five years. The billboards are nearly identical, down to a number you can call to “RSVP.” Once upon a time, Wiseau answered the number, and now Franco is doing the same. The Disaster Artist Twitter account is even posting audio of some of the calls.
Seth Rogen confirmed on Twitter that Franco “has the phone with that number,” but some callers are still unsure as to whether or not they’re actually speaking with Wiseau. The guy below, for example, gets more excited when he thinks he’s speaking with Wiseau.
Of course, most callers will get a voicemail of Franco-as-Wiseau saying he’s “very busy guy,” but keep dialing and you could very well luck into an awkward, rambling conversation about breadsticks, Garfield, or chain restaurants like, as Franco calls it, “Chili.” Hear some more below.
Really, it’s just worth it to hear Franco’s version of Wiseau’s laugh, which might (absolutely) be the best part of his impression.