Talk:Tommy Wiseau

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Birthdate[edit]

{{editsemiprotected}} According to IMDb [1], his birthdate is 3 October 1968. Would the that be a usable source? According to this editing guideline regarding IMDb, the site is not suitable as a source for "any potentially contentious material about living persons (BLPs)". To me that sounds like any non-contentious material from an IMDb biography is acceptable, but I'd like to hear other opinions. 96.252.169.163 (talk) 17:00, 30 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Although this applies to the film project and not biographies on actors or directors, WP:RS/IMDB suggests that "The IMDb should be regarded as an extremely unreliable source" and that "Its content is user-submitted and often subject to incorrect speculation and rumor". And honestly...just looking at the man I do think his age is important but I'd like a more secure source. Tommy is pretty secretive about himself so I would like to find an actual source. Andrzejbanas (talk) 12:48, 28 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. --ANowlin: talk 13:28, 28 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for pointing me to that page Andrzejbanas. I'm unable to find an alternative source, I wouldn't know where to start looking other than online searching. Most of the references given in this article relate to The Room, in fact they are opinions and editorials on The Room which would be acceptable for that article, but are not suitable for a biographical article per wiki policy. As the only biographical information in this article comes from uncited or unreliable sources, perhaps the article should be considered for deletion? This was not my original position, but after reviewing the BLP page carefully I don't think this article belongs in an encyclopedia at this time. 96.252.169.163 (talk) 16:59, 30 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Wiseau has a significant cult following so I think he passes WP:ENTERTAINER. So I wouldn't be too hasty on deleting this article. I'm welcome to more opinions though. Andrzejbanas (talk) 17:31, 30 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with Andrzejbanas, Tommy Wiseau passes WP:ENTERTAINER: item 2 without a doubt (significant cult following) and item 3 as The Room is an "unique" contribution to the field. Jarkeld (talk) 19:07, 30 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not debating notability, certainly publishing The Room is adequate. However most of the biographical information about Tommy Wiseau lacks a reliable source with the exception of the interview (#2 on references at the moment). There's also an interview by the satirical The Onion but if you'll pardon the pun, that publication is a bit dicey for an encyclopedia reference. I tried to find other sources but he is apparently quite private with his personal info. I'm just wondering if we cut out all unsourced/unreliable info, there wouldn't be enough of an article left to merit inclusion. While there are many other sources, they pertain to The Room and that information belongs on the respective article; no need to duplicate it here. On a related note, should "The Tommy Wiseau Show" be removed from references, as it is not an acceptable source per consensus reached above? 96.252.169.163 (talk) 14:25, 1 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Tommy Wiseau is definitely in his mid to late 50s, not his early to mid 40s. Greg Sestero's book The Disaster Artist confirms he's much older than he claims to be, but falls short of revealing Wiseau's exact birthdate or age. Unfortunately, Wiseau himself has claimed 1968/1969 (depending on the interview) as his birth year since he began getting interviewed following the "success" of The Room. What happens in a situation where the subject of the article has religiously lied about their age? Would it be more accurate to add something like "c. 1955" as his birthdate? Shamrox (talk) 07:19, 15 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This article still has a definite birthdate in the infobox, but no source. - is this a problem? Elzbenz (talk) 08:11, 8 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Birthdate was removed 👍 Elzbenz (talk) 23:47, 17 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Contributor in separate section below cites (and shows screen shot of) a reliable source showing October 3, 1955 for a Thomas P. Wiseau, the only person in the entire US with the family name Wiseau. This is surely acceptable? Sah10406 (talk) 14:58, 28 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

According to his naturalization application in 1985, which is available to view on ancestry.com, he was born October 3, 1955 in Poland. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.124.30.198 (talk) 18:40, 21 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Does anyone know where this guy comes from?[edit]

I've scoured the web, but it seems nobody knows his nationality. Did he ever reveal where he is from in a way we can source?--66.31.76.134 (talk) 04:12, 3 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Most interviews I've read about him seem to have Tommy state his background is not important. So it's not clear. Andrzejbanas (talk) 16:15, 3 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, Belgium seems to be the favoured answer (and his surname backs that up) but no one knows for certain. —Half Price 16:30, 3 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If no one knows for certain, why does the introduction say he is "American"? I propose we remove that part, until we get some sort of confirmation. Just because he "prefers to be called American" doesn't make him so. TheIncredibleNix 20:58, 10 June 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by TheIncredibleNix (talkcontribs)

Greg Sestero's book the Disaster Artist states that according to TW himself, he came from the Eastern Bloc, is Catholic, and as a child was given the nickname 'Americanski'. These details suggest a Polish origin. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.115.50.202 (talk) 13:25, 16 October 2013 (UTC) I suggest deleting the mention of Czechoslovakia in the article. No mentions of specific countries are better than misleading the readers. Moreover, Greg Sestero's book does not give the name of Tommy Wiseau's home country, even though Poland seems to be a hot candidate to me. --L O U S (talk) 16:57, 22 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/tommy-wiseau-bio — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.117.166.6 (talk) 23:30, 6 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Howard Stern asked Wiseau where he is from ([2] at the 2:23:30 mark) and while he doesn't give him a direct answer, James Franco implies he is from Poland.--TriiipleThreat (talk) 16:43, 8 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Likely Poland. 70.161.200.120 (talk) 03:30, 6 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

He's from Poznan, Poland. Many sources point to this http://www.interfilmes.com/person_1127779_Tommy.Wiseau.html, https://news.avclub.com/a-redditor-sleuth-has-unraveled-the-mystery-of-tommy-wi-1798265534 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BML2uZ9eg9w at the 2:23:30 ark. Swagman au (talk) 13:07, 11 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Recent court documents that I have updated in the article itself seem to confirm Poland, as these were not contested on grounds of truth, merely on the grounds that Mr Wiseau prefered them not to be on the public record. I guess going to court put an end to that? Nubbins01 (talk) 18:42, 5 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2015 photo accuracy[edit]

Is the infobox image File:Twiseausf.jpg really Wiseau, or just somebody wearing the same brand of sunglasses? The photo subject appears younger than other contemporary photos of Wiseau, and seems to have blue tints in his hair. It was uploaded by a user who has made no other edits, as his or her "own work". --McGeddon (talk) 09:49, 17 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I'll go ahead and remove it, if nobody else has an opinion to the contrary. --McGeddon (talk) 17:49, 15 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 9 March 2016[edit]

Hello, I am Tommy Wiseau and I would like access to edit my own Wikipedia page. Many details need correction!! All info can be found at http://tommywiseau.com/tw-info/ Please let me know how I can do this, thank you Communitycop (talk) 04:38, 9 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done, and please note, this is not your Wikipedia page.
This is Wikipedia's page, about you, and it will include whatever material has been published in reliable, independent, sources, be that good or bad - presented from a neutral point of view.
As you have a clear conflict of interest, you should not edit this page, but suggest changes on this talk-page, supported by references from reliable, independent, sources; which allow the reader to verify it.
Please note that what "you know" is not acceptable, as it is not verifiable nor, for most purposes, are things on your web-site, or issued by your company, PR company or other agencies that are not independent.
I understand there has been some dispute about your Date of Birth - this is the sort of information that needs a reliable source, as unfortunately, many people in the film and music industries use false DoB's
- Arjayay (talk) 15:35, 9 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 9 March 2016[edit]

Please change Wikipedia photo to

File:Tommy-Wiseau.jpg
Tommy Wiseau

I, Tommy Wiseau, have released this photo into the public domain, thank you!

Communitycop (talk) 17:57, 9 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Not done for now: Unfortunately File:Tommy-Wiseau.jpg is currently tagged "This media file is missing evidence of permission"
That needs to be resolved before it can be added. - Arjayay (talk) 18:05, 9 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Okay thank you for educating me on this process and your patience. I have updated the licensing information and cited a source URL. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do, thank you! - Communitycop (talk) 23:12, 9 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The image on Commons is now credited to http://tommywiseau.com/tw-info/index.html, which says "Here are some photos I approve of using for Press, Interviews, Wikipedia, IMDB, Websites, etc. Please give copyright credit to: Copyright © 2016 Wiseau-Films. All Rights Reserved.", which isn't sufficient, and partially contradicts the templates on File:Tommy-Wiseau.jpg which claim "I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide." - releasing something for use by "Wikipedia, Websites, etc" and still reserving "all rights" on it is not the same as releasing it into the public domain.
If Mr Wiseau is releasing these photos into the public domain so that anyone can reuse them for any purpose (including commercial purposes), that's great, but he needs to say that explicitly on the web page that they're being taken from. --McGeddon (talk) 10:40, 10 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Photo rights have been cleared up and posted clearly on website [1] - Communitycop (talk) 07:28, 11 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

References

Please change default photo to

File:Tommy-Wiseau.jpg
Tommy Wiseau

Photo rights have been released for public domain; anyone can use these images for any purpose and the validation is stated clearly on website. [1]

Communitycop (talk) 07:23, 11 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

 Partly done. I've added the photo to the article, but I don't think a picture from 1994 (a decade prior to his film work) is the best representative image for the infobox - I've taken another image from that source for that, instead. Thanks for releasing the images under a CC-0 licence. --McGeddon (talk) 09:49, 11 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

IMDb information[edit]

So I don't know when the information was put there, but Wiseau's full Bio on IMDb seems to have a chunk of information including the oft-debated DOB, a supposed birth name, and claims of where he trained to be an actor. A quick search of this supposed birth name brings up an old thread from /r/theroom from over two years ago, and some unrelated deceased man from Warsaw on the Polish Wikipedia. Assuming any of this information is verifiable, where did it come from and can anything reasonably be done with it? Schiffy (Speak to me|What I've done) 23:26, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Middle Name[edit]

Looking at this edit. Do we have a citation for his middle name? - Scarpy (talk)

We also have User:Ronhjones previously removing that same detail with reference to an OTRS ticket. Without cite and with apparent OTRS objection, we can't say it. Ronhjones, could you comment on the nature of the objection, for example, whether this middle name is problematic (OTRS ticket disputes the fact, and by extension makes any cite that supports it dubious), or the inclusion of any middle name (for whatever personal/privacy reasons, even if we could find a reliable source for this or some other name)? DMacks (talk) 18:12, 26 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I looked for this OTRS ticket and couldn't find it. Could someone provide a link? Porphyro (talk) 20:46, 26 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
OTRS ticket:2016121910022522 - simple claim that the name is just "Tommy Wiseau". Ronhjones  (Talk) 20:53, 26 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you, User:Ronhjones. Is there anything about birthdate in there? User:Rms125a@hotmail.com is using that same ticket as basis for removing that info as well, but noted at User talk:Rms125a@hotmail.com#Tommy Wiseau birthdate that he did not actually know what the ticket confirmed/refuted/objected-to. NB, I know that's not the only reasonable objection to this info. DMacks (talk) 21:46, 26 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Nothing much else - at one time the article also said he is a Polish director (unsourced), and the ticket stated he is American. In the original e-mail it was stated that the picture change was not liked. That's all there is. Ronhjones  (Talk) 22:04, 26 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

==Birth name== According to Polish Wikipedia, he may have been born as Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz ("Thomas Pierre Wiseau" is NOT a Polish name). Another source states Piotr Wieczorkiewicz. Of course, it could also be Piotr Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz or Tomasz Piotr Wieczorkiewicz. Quis separabit? 22:27, 26 July 2017 (UTC) ::: What do you think @Volunteer Marek?? (Only asking because I know you are of Polish descent.) Quis separabit? 22:29, 26 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Wiseau naturalization record[edit]

Here is the naturalization record mentioned in the article, http://imgur.com/a/49gYI. --Victar (talk) 14:46, 11 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

We don't non-WP:RS examples of this. Ancestry.com, which claims to have this item, is already not acceptable on its own for BLP content, and a totally anonymous image-hosting site would be even less-so. DMacks (talk) 13:13, 15 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@DMacks -- the Church of Latter Day Saints and the United States Department of Homeland Security (formerly United States Immigration and Naturalization Service) are unreliable? Quis separabit? 01:09, 6 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, many sources are not allowed to be used at Wikipedia, mostly because membership at one of these cites is required to read the source. But, hopefully, on this page, I can say Thomas Pierre Wiseau was born Tomasz Piotr Wieczorkiewicz in Poland on October 3, 1955, according to such sources, but I will add a disclaimer, "according to sources not permitted at Wikipedia." Daviddaniel37 (talk) 21:16, 25 December 2017 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2606:6000:6146:7300:716D:6B6B:BA63:A4D (talk) [reply]

If you were allowed to do that, wikipedia would be full or references referring to "sourcnes not allowed at wikipedia". At which point, it wouldn't be wikipedia anymore. Deathlibrarian (talk) 10:35, 19 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Is this link from HuffingtonPost considered reliable as to Poznań, Poland being Wiseau's birth place? Quis separabit? 01:14, 6 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Outsider artist?[edit]

A passage in the current edit mentions that Tommy could be considered an outsider artist? Perhaps we should add him to Category:Outsider artists 2001:569:701D:8B00:1065:1FCD:3554:92B9 (talk) 07:23, 8 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

c class[edit]

https://ores.wmflabs.org/v2/scores/enwiki/wp10/814933635 -- Marthadandridge (talk) 23:53, 11 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 18 December 2017[edit]

David7494 (talk) 16:21, 18 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Please add X to Y that his birthday and city of birth is: October 3rd, 1955 and in Poznan, Poland [1] David7494 (talk) 16:21, 18 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Not done for now: Please provide a reliable source that proves your addition. Thank you -- HindWikiConnect 16:29, 18 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]
IMDB is not a reliable source. See WP:NIMDB. -- HindWikiConnect 16:31, 18 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 20 December 2017[edit]

change "businessman" to "designer" which he is more widely known for designing underwear, shirts, jeans, belts, backpacks, caps and watches 173.198.9.50 (talk) 05:07, 20 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

 Partly done. The claim that he's a businessman appears to be about a jeans store he used to run but it's been gone for ages. If it's about the production company he owns, that's covered by "filmmaker" and even if it weren't, it needs a more specific term than "businessman" anyway. I'm not comfortable adding "designer" without a reliable source; please see WP:RS and know that we need something third-party (meaning not Wiseau's creation) that isn't obviously promotional. Did anybody write an article emphasizing the design stuff? CityOfSilver 14:21, 20 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Cite your sources[edit]

64.175.40.229 (talk) 01:15, 25 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 4 January 2018[edit]

(Born October 3, 1968) Jared1799 (talk) 16:23, 4 January 2018 (UTC) [reply]

Taft-Hartley Report | SAG-AFTRA[edit]

64.175.40.235 (talk) 00:29, 7 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 19 April 2018[edit]

Tommy Wiseau (/wɪˈzoʊ/,[1] /ˈwaɪzoʊ/)[2] is an "American" actor and "filmmaker". Mathymoo (talk) 11:08, 19 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. L293D ( • ) 12:47, 19 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: I think he wants to remove the American part because Tommy Wiseau's birthplace is unknown to the public. The Optimistic One (talk) 22:11, 19 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 2 June 2018[edit]

If you look at the infobox, there is a big space in-between occupation and years active. When the last user edit it before, the user accidentally left it spaced out by mistake when he was editing the occupation section last time. Here's an example on what I'm talking about that need to be fixed.

Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tommy_Wiseau&diff=842502866&oldid=842502766

174.192.27.22 (talk) 20:44, 2 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

 DoneBroccoli & Coffee (Oh hai) 21:07, 2 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 9 August 2018[edit]

Tommy Wiseau is incorrectly stated as Polish-American. Although his background isn't perfectly defined he is certainly not Polish-American.

Change "Thomas Wiseau (/wɪˈzoʊ/,[1] /ˈwaɪzoʊ/)[2] is a Polish-American actor and filmmaker" to "Thomas Wiseau (/wɪˈzoʊ/,[1] /ˈwaɪzoʊ/)[2] is an actor and filmmaker of unknown origin".; which is factually accurate.

Information found in "The Disaster Artist" by Greg Sestero further backs up this claim. 64.132.221.195 (talk) 17:58, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: Per WP:EDITREQ#General considerations, an edit request can only be completed if it is either an uncontroversial improvement (there's been plenty of talk page discussion about this, so not uncontroversial) or if the request is already supported by a consensus of editors at the talk page (which there isn't). Please continue discussion here. ‑‑ElHef (Meep?) 18:56, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 5 March 2019[edit]

Please add "maybe Johnny is vampire" to his quotes Professionalbusinessman (talk) 12:32, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Mstrojny (talk) 12:37, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Biographical Information From Public Record[edit]

I've found some information on Tommy from San Francisco County Superior Court documents, specifically a name change. The case number is CNC-16-552013 and is public record. It seems to authoritatively confirm most of the disputed information we've seen throughout the edit history of this article, as well as on IMDB. Here's an overview:

Document dated 04/07/2016 Name change from "Thomas Pierre Wiseau" to "Tommy Pierre Wiseau" Birth date of 10/03/1955 Birthplace of Poznan

Here's an excerpt of the filing with the relevant info: https://i.imgur.com/Bxp495w.jpg Here's a direct link to the case in the court records: https://webapps.sftc.org/ci/CaseInfo.dll?CaseNum=CNC16552013

I'm not sure how/if this information can be included and cited in this article, but this is definitely a good start. Ronjoe (talk) 17:06, 4 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Please delete this article, as since nothing about Tommy Wiseau can be verified and he repeatedly gives false information, that means that making a genuine biographical article on him is impossible and full of unreliable data, and as such, just like the David Firth article that was removed (a man who's done far more and has been involved with far more projects), it should not be an article on Wikipedia.
If David Firth doesn't have enough for a biography across all his projects, Tommy Wiseau certainly does not when none of his information is verifiable or accurate, according to the man himself and his contradictory statements. JohnnyRogerz (talk) 05:09, 1 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]
This article is not based on things Tommy Wiseau has said, it is based on things that independent, reliable, secondary sources have said. There's a big difference. ThadeusOfNazerethTalk to Me! 07:53, 1 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 8 May 2020[edit]

83.28.8.184 (talk) 21:50, 8 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Name should be changed to Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz

 Not done: per WP:COMMONNAME. GoingBatty (talk) 22:31, 8 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Furthermore, his current legal name is Tommy Wiseau as well... Ronjoe (talk) 18:40, 11 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 11 July 2020[edit]

Birthplace= Poznań, Poland He may restrict his birthdate, but not birthplace 5.173.205.65 (talk) 15:35, 11 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done. It's not clear what changes you want to make; you also need to provide reliable sources that support any such changes/additions. –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 23:48, 11 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 20 January 2021[edit]

Tommy Wiseau or Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz(in polish), who was born in Poznań, Poland is American... 62.122.116.36 (talk) 16:33, 20 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Needs reliable sources, either secondary sources or from the subject himself, but not government databases. – Thjarkur (talk) 16:35, 20 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Why is Wikipedia deliberately blocking new, confirmed information on Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz (Tommy Wiseau)?[edit]

Even photos from his youth surfaced. Very clearly his. Hello? — Preceding unsigned comment added by LordParsifal (talkcontribs) 02:18, 12 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The court case is a pretty good source.

Anyway, that's some interesting retconning. I scrolled up the edit history after making this section, and found an admin's note saying that Wikipedia won't allow personal info of Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz to surface as he's a living person and personally doesn't want that, and that Wikipedia honors that. Though it's weird because that court case specifically proved that there is nothing wrong with presenting truthful information about the origin of "Tommy Wiseau." LordParsifal (talk) 14:39, 12 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

What is the reason why English Wikipedia no longer displays personal info about Wiseau?[edit]

Some time ago a couple of Polish news websites reported that the personal information about Wiseau including the information about him being Polish was removed from English Wikipedia and some of them implied that it was because Tommy himself requested/demanded that it is removed from Wikipedia. Is that true? Krzys Pe (talk) 11:22, 14 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

There was a user called Communitycop who claimed to be Wiseau, but he gave 4 different ([3] [4] [5] [6]) birthdays, which is strange. I also doubt the real Wiseau would make edits like this. Prinsgezinde (talk) 21:03, 17 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 31 March 2022[edit]

Please, add info written below.

Tommy Wiseau real name is Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz (born 3rd of October 1955 in Poznań, Poland).

If wikipedia is a FREE encyclopedia, there isn't any amount of money in the world that can change the truth and the truth is written above. Show us your liability.

Thank you in advance. Concerned reader 37.30.36.144 (talk) 18:43, 31 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Cannolis (talk) 19:09, 31 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
is https://radaris.com/p/Thomas/Wiseau/ WP:RS ? .... 0mtwb9gd5wx (talk) 06:14, 10 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]