Bob Odenkirk will lead “The Room Returns,” a charity tribute that has the cast perform the original 2003 script against green-screen backdrops from the film. The event premieres June 26 at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, with proceeds benefiting amfAR, The Foundat
By the time midnight screenings turn into a ritual. “The Room” stops feeling like a movie and starts feeling like a phenomenon. Now that same cult energy is being aimed at something bigger: Bob Odenkirk is stepping into the center of a “remake treatment — sort of” with a new tribute film called “The Room Returns.”.
First released in 2003. “The Room” has grown over 20 years into one of the definitive so bad it’s good cult classics of the 21st century. It’s inspired midnight movie screenings across the country. some of the internet’s most long-enduring memes. and even an entire film about its creation. “The Room Returns” leans into all of that, but with a charity mission baked in from the start.
The tribute comes from Acting For a Cause, an all-volunteer organization that produces special events for charity. Its first feature film. “The Room Returns. ” will have the cast perform the original script of “The Room” against a green screen displaying locations from the 2003 movie. Odenkirk is set to lead as Johnny. joining a cast that includes original “The Room” star Greg Sestero. plus Bella Heathcote. Mike Flanagan. Kate Siegel. Cameron Kasky. and Brando Crawford. who also stars and produces in the film.
The premiere is set for June 26 at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Proceeds from the event will benefit three charitable organizations: cancer research organization amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and Blue Collaborative, a non-profit production company that supports independent artists.
In a statement. Crawford framed the project as both a tribute and a deliberate act of improvisation against the movie’s own mythology. “‘The Room’ has spent twenty years proving that audiences don’t fall in love with perfection… authenticity is what brings them back time and time again (and most often at midnight screenings). ‘The Room Returns’ is our attempt to honor that legacy while raising money for causes we care deeply about. ” Crawford said. “‘The Room’ was famously shot across a year with a 6 million budget, and a mostly unknown cast. With ‘The Room Returns. ’ we are flipping the myth on its head: shot in a day. with no budget. and a cast and crew that puts butts in seats like Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk and Mike Flanagan. It’s an experiment that we made for art and impact.”.
“The Room” originally premiered in 2003 in a limited Los Angeles release, then spread further through the midnight movie circuit. Written and directed by and starring Tommy Wiseau. the melodrama centers on a love triangle between a banker. his fiancée. and his best friend. The film is often considered one of the worst films of all time. but it became a cult favorite for its bizarre storytelling and unconventional filmmaking style.
The movie’s reputation only grew: in 2017, “The Disaster Artist,” a film about the production of “The Room” starring brother James and Dave Franco as Sestero and Wiseau, was released and earned a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the Oscars.
Now. with “The Room Returns” arriving in a charity premiere at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on June 26—and with Odenkirk stepping into the role of Johnny—the question isn’t whether audiences will show up. It’s how a cult artifact built for midnight laughter will translate into an event designed to raise money for causes the cast clearly wants to help.
The trailer for the film is available in an IndieWire exclusive embed below.
Bob Odenkirk The Room Returns The Room parody charity film Acting For a Cause Greg Sestero Mike Flanagan Kate Siegel Bella Heathcote Cameron Kasky Brando Crawford Hollywood Forever Cemetery amfAR The Foundation for AIDS Research Blue Collaborative