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Rent
Apr 3, 2005 21:11:33 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Apr 3, 2005 21:11:33 GMT -5
As you probably know, the film adaptation of Jonathan Larson's rock opera is in production right now. It will be released on November 11, 2005. It's directed by Chris Columbus -- not the obvious choice, but from what he's said about the project he seems to get the show. A lot of Jonathan Larson's friends, family, and collaborators have been involved, and have expressed their faith that Columbus will deliver Jonathan's vision to the screen. Based on all of this, and the news from the set, I think the movie stands a decent chance of being worthy of the show we know and love. Among the Columbus decisions which give me hope, he has cast Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Jesse L. Martin, Taye Diggs, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia in their original roles. For those of us who cringed when a previous incarnation of the project threatened Justin Timberlake as Mark, this is something of a miracle. So if you want to know what there is to know about the Rent movie, here are the sites to hit. On this broadwayworld.com board, Anthony Rapp posts regular updates about what's going on with the movie. He also answers questions. His screen name is Whiteboy Spice. This is absolutely the best source for information about the film. If you hold Rent and its original cast close to your heart, there's a lot there to squeal over. On the other hand, that board is over a hundred pages long, and it's a drag hunting through it for gold. Fortunately, there's Kimi, who runs an excellent new fansite, forget-regret.net. Among the site's many nice features is this complete archive of Anthony Rapp's posts, with movie news highlighted. Rentthefilm.com is another fansite, this one devoted entirely to the movie. There's a message board and a news archive. The site seems poised to grow. See the Internet Movie Database Rent page for confirmed production details, plus an active message board with occasional insider scoops. Compulsive Bowlers has long been the web's standout message community for people obsessed with Rent. There's a board devoted to the film. Among other things, it's a good resource for links to pictures from the set. To get you started, there are pictures here, here, and here.
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Rent
Apr 4, 2005 13:26:16 GMT -5
Post by Darius on Apr 4, 2005 13:26:16 GMT -5
I can't say I know much about the Rent movie - though I now certainly have the resources to find out! And I like the show, but don't have strong feelings about the movie coming out - except that I love the small resurgence of the movie musical which has occured in the last few years. Dating way back to "Little Shop of Horrors" and moving into "Everyone Says I Love You" and then exploding with "Moulin Rouge" (one of my favorite movies in the history of the world - agruably my very favorite) and the "Chicago", "Phantom", now "Rent". It's gaining a little bit of steam and that makes me very happy. Darius
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Rent
Apr 4, 2005 18:45:48 GMT -5
Post by Jen G on Apr 4, 2005 18:45:48 GMT -5
Eh. Chris Columbus sounded great talking about The Sorcerer's Stone, too, and though his adaptation proved faithful, it lacked the spirit and energy of the source material. So I am less than thrilled, despite the presence of the original cast members. I heard whispers about Spike Lee directing, and I think that would have been an infinitely wiser choice on the studio's part. Chris Columbus proves that enthusiasm and faithfulness to the original work do not make for a powerful movie experience.
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Rent
Apr 4, 2005 19:31:36 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Apr 4, 2005 19:31:36 GMT -5
I know, I know. My heart sank too when I first heard that Columbus was directing. But enough of the other stuff I've been hearing has given me hope. Our old friends from the OBC have expressed complete happiness with the way it's turning out. They're especially thrilled, it seems, with the new recordings, which were produced by what's-his-name who produces all of Green Day's stuff. Anthony Rapp says that Jonathan's music has never rocked so hard.
Spike Lee sounded like a good choice, but I really didn't like the ideas he was talking about -- casting Justin Timberlake and Marc Anthony, for instance. I was completely ambivalent, if not nauseated, at the thought of the film, until I started reading up on it. I am now guardedly psyched.
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Rent
Apr 7, 2005 13:22:55 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Apr 7, 2005 13:22:55 GMT -5
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Rent
Apr 10, 2005 14:50:36 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Apr 10, 2005 14:50:36 GMT -5
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Rent
Apr 12, 2005 11:49:16 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Apr 12, 2005 11:49:16 GMT -5
To me, one of the great things about the stage version of Rent is that the show's beauty has never been undermined by choreography. I like musicals, but I find so many of them unwatchable because of silly kick-lines and other irrelevant displays of dancers' agility. On Broadway, as choreographed by Marlies Yearby, Rent's non-organic stage movement was wisely confined to the highly interpretive number "Contact," which is hard to imagine on film. (According to what I've read, "Contact" won't be in the movie.) The dancing in "La Vie Boheme" always worked well, because of the lack of synchronized staging. It looked like what the script said it was: A bunch of friends at a party, dancing freestyle on tabletops. But I have been concerned that the movie might be weighed down with dance. After reading this recent article about Keith Young, the film's choreographer, I feel better. The article runs, in part:
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Rent
Apr 19, 2005 18:37:04 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Apr 19, 2005 18:37:04 GMT -5
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Rent
Apr 24, 2005 17:05:02 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Apr 24, 2005 17:05:02 GMT -5
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Rent
May 11, 2005 11:33:48 GMT -5
Post by Noah on May 11, 2005 11:33:48 GMT -5
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Rent
May 15, 2005 22:47:24 GMT -5
Post by Kim on May 15, 2005 22:47:24 GMT -5
I'm a little confused by all the "late 80's" references. Rent takes place in the 90's, right? Otherwise all that Alexi stuff with the cell phone number and email address doesn't make any sense.
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Rent
May 16, 2005 1:14:59 GMT -5
Post by Noah on May 16, 2005 1:14:59 GMT -5
Rent itself is a little confusing that way. Alexi Darling could have had an e-mail address and a cell phone as early as 1988. It's a bigger problem that Candace Gingrich didn't come out until 1995, though as an activist lawyer it's possible Joanne is aware of Gingrich's lesbianism before it's widely known. Apparently, the decision to invoke the late eighties in the film's production design is motivated by the increased importance of the Alphabet City riots as a plot element. In the stage version, they're only alluded to, but the film will really show the riots, with Maureen's "Over the Moon" performance in their midst.
The actual riots were in Tompkins Square Park in 1988 and 1991. The 1988 tent city riots are a landmark in police brutality, as about fifty homeless residents of the park were severely beaten by cops who had tape over their badge numbers. The 1991 riot took place on Memorial Day, after which Mayor Dinkins closed the park for more than a year of renovation. This included destroying the park's historic bandshell, the site of so many important concerts and rallies in the sixties. People had been living in it. When the park reopened in the summer of 1992, it had a midnight curfew, and the East Village was a much different place.
The pop culture references in Rent often suggest the mid-nineties -- when Jonathan finished writing it -- but the social backdrop of the plot suggests the East Village of 1988 to 1991 -- when he started writing it. I think of Rent as a nineties piece, too, though, because it characterized the years in which it opened, more than the years in which it seems to take place. From what I've read, the late eighties thing is really just an aesthetic guideline for the designers, and the movie itself won't place the story in a specific year.
I just did two tours in a row tonight, so I'm spouting information like an obnoxious uncle. Anything else you want to know?
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Rent
May 17, 2005 14:06:01 GMT -5
Post by Noah on May 17, 2005 14:06:01 GMT -5
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Rent
May 20, 2005 13:48:30 GMT -5
Post by Noah on May 20, 2005 13:48:30 GMT -5
Access Hollywood did a short segment on the Rent film yesterday -- which you can watch online, thanks to Kimi at forget-regret.net. As usual, Access Hollywood offers an utterly vapid series of dumb quotes and quick cuts, but there are also some tantalizing glimpses of "La Vie Boheme," "Will I," "Seasons of Love," and the cast. Everyone looks great, and everyone reiterates how fortunate it is that so much of the original cast is intact. (Those who bemoan Columbus's participation should keep in mind that it was he who fought for the OBC. Spike Lee wanted to destroy Rent by casting Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and Beyonce.) The Life Cafe set looks great, too. It is a larger space than the actual Life Cafe, but it's otherwise incredibly faithful to the look and feeling of the Alphabet City restaurant, and it's pretty thrilling to see them doing "La Vie Boheme" in a realistic location. The Access Hollywood clips, however brief, make the film look not only great, but faithful to the spirit of its source. This article from the Access Hollywood website contains most of the quotes from the video, and also a very nice photo gallery from the set.
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Rent
Jun 1, 2005 16:55:46 GMT -5
Post by Noah on Jun 1, 2005 16:55:46 GMT -5
Quite unexpectedly, I saw the Rent trailer last week at a showing of Revenge of the Sith. The trailer looks GREAT, I think, and should allay some concerns about the film. The cast looks vital and vibrant, the art direction a perfect evocation of the East Village when it was gritty. "Seasons of Love," out of context, is always a little cheesier than it needs to be, but the arrangement and the voices sound incredible. I can't wait to hear the rest of the score. According to moviemusicals.net, the trailer will be released online on June 7. In the meantime, if you can't wait, there's a reasonably watchable camcorder bootleg of it over at Compulsive Bowlers, and also at Forget Regret.
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