9 Reasons to Get Excited About James Franco’s ‘The Disaster Artist’

9. The ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Connection

Of all the films influencing The Disaster Artist, Franco is quick to point to Sunset Boulevard, a 1950 noir film that follows a writer who gets mixed up with a delusional former starlet named Norma Desmond. Quick aside: if you haven’t seen Sunset Boulevard, don’t be turned off by the fact that it’s 67 years old and in black and white. The film is brilliant, and it’s just as stirring today as it was in 1950. The Billy Wilder film is arguably one of the greatest movies ever made, and it’s the most excellent movie about Hollywood ever produced. In other words, aspiring to Sunset-Boulevard-level brilliance is a lofty goal indeed. But, Franco doesn’t shy away from the comparison, saying that like Sunset Boulevard, The Disaster Artist is “both a critique and a celebration” of the Hollywood system.