The Neighbors (found Tommy Wiseau TV series pilot; 2007)

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The Neighbors Wiseau.JPG

Season 1 box art.

Status: Found

Date found: 1 Jan 2018

Found by: Monique La Barr

In 2007, Tommy Wiseau, director of the cult hit The Room, announced a sitcom titled The Neighbors. Fans of Wiseau's bizarre style were elated, but the project suffered from a very troubled production, and the first season did not come out until 2015. While the newer pilot for the 2015 incarnation was released with the rest of the season, the original pilot from 2007 had never been officially screened or released to the public.

Premise

The trailer depicts several random events occurring in an office, with no indication of what the series would be about, or who the titular neighbors are. Similarly, The Room does not describe the movie well at all, it only fits Wiseau's original idea of having a drama occur entirely in one room. The official website described the series as "a sitcom consisting of relationship [sic] between a group of neighbors who live in an apartment building".[1]

The pilot itself supposedly introduces the characters and deals with events such as a birthday party, affairs, and a bug infestation in the apartment. Wiseau played the protagonist, Charlie, while the rest of the characters were played by unknown actors (most of whom did not come back for the 2015 pilot).[2]

History and Status

Wiseau shot the initial pilot for The Neighbors in 2007, and shortly afterward he began looking for assistance in creating the full series. In 2009 he enlisted the help of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, two comedians who had previously boosted his popularity, to produce the series. However, nothing came of this. In 2012 the duo stated that they were no longer part of the project, as Wiseau wanted them to be creative influences while they had only intended to assist with the business end of the production.[3]

After 8 years in development limbo, a new pilot and three new episodes were released directly to Hulu on March 14, 2015, with two additional episodes added a few months afterward.[4] These six episodes feature only two returning actors from the original pilot (Branden Kong & Jennifer Lieberman), and make up the first season that was later released on DVD. The 2007 pilot remained elusive, though; all that had turned up was the original trailer for it and a short clip from what appears to be an early rehearsal cut.

On January 1st 2018, actress Monique La Barr uploaded the full pilot to her YouTube channel. It can be watched below.

Videos

The full pilot

7 minutes of footage from an earlier version.

References

  1. Synopsis from the official website Archived 17 May '08. Retrieved 13 Mar '17.
  2. Cast list from the official website Archived 26 Jun '08. Retrieved 13 Mar '17.
  3. GQ interview with Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim Retrieved 13 Mar '17.
  4. Huffington Post article on the 2015 Hulu release Retrieved 13 Mar '17.