cult film 'The Room,' which inspired 'The Disaster Artist,' getting wide release in January

Cult film The Room is getting a lot more attention lately thanks to James Franco‘s new film The Disaster Artist, which is a behind-the-scenes dramatization of the making of The Room. The original film, which was written and directed by, and stars Tommy Wiseau, only played on one screen in Los Angeles in its original 2003 run, but will now get its widest release ever, hitting 600 theaters nationwide for a special one-day event on January 10. In NYC you can see it at the Union Square 14 and AMC Empire 25. Tickets for all nationwide showings are on sale now.

Tommy Wiseau talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the rerelease:

“It’s really great because it’s going to tackle the other areas where people aren’t aware of the room still,” Wiseau tells THR. From Alaska to Hawaii, Utah to Florida, screenings will take place in multiple cities. He adds that he’s hoping to also have a screening at the Hollywood Bowl on the film’s 15th anniversary, June 24.

“I’ve never called it a cult phenomenon, or whatever they call it,” adds Wiseau, in his signature enigmatic way. “I call it a free expression, that’s what The Room represents. I encourage people to express themselves in the screenings. A ton of people ask me, ‘Why do you encourage that?’ I say, ‘Why not?’ What I wanted was to give them a smile and it’s their choice if they want to express themselves.”

A bonus for The Room and Tommy Wiseau fans, there will be a new trailer for Best F(r)iends: Volume Two, the new film featuring Wiseau and his The Room co-star Greg Sestero (who wrote this film as well as the book The Disaster Artist was based on), which will be out in the near future. The film also features Paul Scheer (who is also in The Disaster Artist) and you can watch the first trailer for the film (and the trailer for The Room and The Disaster Artist), below.