Bryan Cranston’s unique role in James Franco’s The Masterpiece

Of all the exciting films coming our way through the new year, one project is as exciting as you can get for many film fans: James Franco’s The Masterpiece. Based on the book The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, the film tells the behind-the-scenes story behind one of modern cinema’s biggest cult classics The Room. But while excitement remains, little has been heard about the film since it’s inception.

Directed by and starring Franco as The Room’s creator Tommy Wiseau, the film co-stars an array of talent including Seth Rogen, Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Zoey Deutch, Zach Braff, Josh Hutcherson, Sharon Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jacki Weaver and Bryan Cranston. Indeed Franco has just finished working with Cranston on comedy Why Him? and recently spoke about the uniqueness of the role Cranston plays in The Masterpiece.

Chatting to South China Morning Post, Franco said:

“It took eight months for [‘Why Him?‘] to go ahead and I asked Bryan to play Sheriff in ‘In Dubious Battle,’ and then I directed ‘The Masterpiece’ and he did that too. I asked if he would play himself, and he actually plays a version of himself from the early 2000s, so it’s Bryan Cranston from ‘Malcolm in the Middle.’ It just speaks to his love of cinema that he supports his fellow artists,” Franco said.

It’s unclear how “real” Cranston plays into the film, but it’s certainly an intriguing concept. When we will get to see the film, however, remains a mystery with the film still slated for release this year. Still, with such talent involved and the story itself, we’re sure it won’t be too long before we can get the plastic spoons out again and return to The Room.

Why Him? is in cinemas now.