Imagine writing, directing, producing and starring in a six million dollar independent film that is widely considered one of the worst ever made, and having it turn you into a global icon because audiences find your drama unintentionally hilarious. This deep dive cuts through internet mythology to trace the factual timeline of Tommy Wiseau, a man who hid his real name, age and country of origin for decades while his face loomed over Los Angeles billboards.

We follow the shifting stories about France and Louisiana, the immigration records that place his birth as Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz in Poznan, Poland, in 1955, and the psychology of a Cold War immigrant building a blank slate. Then we track the money: busing tables, selling bird toys near Fisherman's Wharf, the irregular blue jeans business Street Fashions USA, and the commercial real estate ...