Greg Sestero of The Room Reaches Kickstarter Goal for Alien Abduction Film Forbidden Sky

Cult disasterpiece The Room is celebrating its 20th anniversary as the most infamous modern American melodrama this week, and suffice to say we were ready for the occasion at Paste, writing not just one but two different tributes to the effects that Tommy Wiseau’s epic passion project has had on both the concept of “bad movies” and our own enjoyment of off-the-wall cinema. We should have known, though, that we would hardly be the only ones commemorating the occasion–The Room star Greg Sestero was waiting in the wings with his own bombshell. The actor is taking to the director’s chair for an upcoming alien abduction thriller called Forbidden Sky, and as it turns out, the sci-fi project has just passed its $200,000 Kickstarter funding goal. So rest assured, it seems we will definitely get to see how Sestero handles an ambitious-sounding genre project.

Forbidden Sky is about a former sci-fi TV star turned crackpot late-night radio host (Art Bell, perhaps?), who inadvertently becomes the link between humanity and an alien civilization, who insist they will only communicate with him. The structure seems to evoke sci-fi and horror films such as Pontypool and 2019’s The Vast of Night, while shots in Sestero’s sizzle reel include snippets from movies such as Fire in the Sky and Videodrome. It’s hard to say exactly what the tone will be, but it seems more like serious sci-fi thriller than anything with a hint of comedy or parody … though Sestero does mention Neil Breen in a joke, so who knows? For what it’s worth, it does seem like a sincere effort to us–even if Sestero is also teasing the possibility of a Tommy Wiseau cameo.

Forbidden Sky can apparently boast a soundtrack from Daniel Platzman of Imagine Dragons, and Kickstarter rewards for backers include selections that are both obvious and esoteric. In addition to the opportunity to get digital screeners, etc., one can buy “executive producer” status for a modest $5,500. And there’s one artifact that The Room geeks may not be able to resist: For $10,000, you can own the actual denim jacket worn by Sestero in The Room and Dave Franco (as Sestero) in The Disaster Artist. Now that’s a piece of Room ephemera anyone would want, right?

The campaign for Sestero’s Forbidden Sky has about 60 hours left, so if you want to grab one of those rewards, the window to do so is closing fast. You can check out the Kickstarter project here. Between this and Wiseau’s long-delayed film Big Shark apparently arriving in August, 2023 could end up being a banner year for alumni of The Room.