Rent (film)

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Rent

Rent
Directed by Chris Columbus
Produced by Michael Barnathan
Chris Columbus
Robert De Niro
Written by Jonathan Larson (play)
Steve Chbosky & Chris Columbus (screenplay)
Starring Anthony Rapp
Adam Pascal
Rosario Dawson
Jesse L. Martin
Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Idina Menzel
Tracie Thoms
Taye Diggs
Music by Jonathan Larson
Cinematography Stephen Goldblatt
Editing by Richard Pearson
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) United States November 23 2005 (wide)
United Kingdom 7 April 2006
Running time 135 minutes
Language English
Budget $40 Million
IMDb profile
This article is about the 2005 film. For other uses, see Rent.

Rent is the cinematic adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name, released November 23, 2005. Production began March 15, 2005. The film's limited release date in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto on November 11, 2005 was cancelled, and the official premiere was at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre on November 17, 2005.

As in the original musical, the story of the film spans the course of one year. Whereas the musical only stated that the action begins and ends on a December 24, however, the movie provides precise yearly dates for the story (1989 to 1990). This creates some inconsistences within the text of the film; for example, the song "Today 4 U" contains a reference to the film Thelma and Louise, which was not released until 1991. [1] Columbus has said that these specific dates were included because he intended for the action of the film to be taking place prior to the 1990s gentrification of the Manhattan East Village, the neighborhood in which the movie is set.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Main article: Rent (musical)#Plot

The film's plot is largely identical to that of the original Broadway musical, although there are several minor differences between the two resulting from the filmmakers' decision to omit several songs from the original show.

[edit] Production

Many exterior shots were filmed in New York City; the interior and remaining exterior shots were filmed in San Francisco, Santa Fe, San Diego and Oakland.[2]

Until 2001, Spike Lee was to direct the film for Miramax. However, budgetary constraints and Lee's insistence on engaging celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Brittany Murphy stalled the project for a time.

In October 2004, Revolution Studios recovered the project, with Chris Columbus as the director and Columbia Pictures as the distributor. Columbus, himself an NYU student and graduate at the turn of the 1980s, and in the location where the musical and film are set, felt a connection with the characters and their experiences. He can actually be seen in the beginning as an irritated driver who finds his car windshield being washed.

The first trailer for the film featuring the song "Seasons of Love" surfaced on various Rent fan sites in early June 2005. The trailer was said to be shown before the films Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Crash in select cities beginning June 3 2005. MovieMusicals.net reported that the trailer would officially be released June 7 2005, exclusively on America Online; the movie's official blog announced it would also air during the June 7 episode of Access Hollywood.

A second trailer was released on August 25 2005, which featured some dialog from the film as well as music from the second part of the finale ("Finale B"). A third trailer aired during the September 2005 season premiere of Nip/Tuck, which contained new footage set again to "Seasons of Love."

[edit] Cast

[edit] Principal characters

All but two principal members of the original Broadway cast reprised their roles on film. Names in bold denote original Broadway cast members.

  • Anthony Rapp, Mark Cohen - A struggling filmmaker and Roger's roommate. Was dumped by Maureen for Joanne.
  • Adam Pascal, Roger Davis- An HIV positive ex-junkie rock musician.
  • Rosario Dawson, Mimi Marquez - An HIV positive heroin junkie and nightclub dancer. Roger's love interest.
  • Jesse L. Martin, Thomas B. "Tom" Collins - An HIV positive philosophy teacher and a former roomate of Maureen, Roger, Mark and Benny. Angel's love interest.
  • Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Angel Dumott Schunard - An HIV positive drag queen street musician. Collins' love interest.
  • Idina Menzel , Maureen Johnson - A performance artist and Joanne's girlfriend; Mark's ex-girlfriend.
  • Tracie Thoms, Joanne Jefferson - A Harvard graduated lawyer and Maureen's love interest.
  • Taye Diggs, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III - Mark, Roger and Mimi's apartment building landlord and ex-roomate of Collins, Roger, Maureen and Mark. Is now married to Allison Grey of the Westport Greys. Has an affair with Mimi.


Chris Columbus got the idea to give the original cast first dibs on the roles when he talked to Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel about the musical and felt that they all still looked the same as when they premiered the show in 1996. Only Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker, the original Mimi and Joanne respectively, were not cast in the film. Rubin-Vega was pregnant at the time of casting and (at roughly 35) was too old to play a character of 19. Walker herself stated that she looked too old to play the part of Joanne and therefore refused the offered role.[citation needed]

Taye Diggs' role as Benny in the Original Broadway Cast of RENT assisted in launching his acting career, which includes the movies How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Chicago, as well as the lead in the critically-acclaimed TV show Kevin Hill. [citation needed]

Idina Menzel (Maureen Johnson) and Taye Diggs (Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III), are a married couple outside of the movie. They originally met during the original 1996 Broadway run of Rent, both as a part of the original cast. Idina Menzel since went on to play Elphaba in the original cast of Wicked.

Jesse L. Martin and Taye Diggs were both in Ally McBeal - Martin as Dr. Greg Butters and Diggs as Jackson Duper.

Jesse L. Martin had to take leave during the second half of the 2004-05 season of Law & Order to participate in the film. His character was shot and hospitalized to explain his absence.

Anthony Rapp's first movie, Adventures in Babysitting, was directed by Columbus. He has also acted in a number of other films, including A Beautiful Mind in which he played Bender.

Tracie Thoms had auditioned for the role of Joanne several times on Broadway before finally landing the role in the movie.

[edit] Supporting characters

[edit] Casting rumors

Marc Anthony, Wilson Cruz, Frenchie Davis, Joey Fatone, Neil Patrick Harris, Audra McDonald, Brittany Murphy, Jai Rodriguez, Justin Timberlake, and Rikki Lee Travolta were rumored to be interested in or considered for roles in the film prior to Chris Columbus becoming director. They were not cast. It was soon after Columbus took over that the decision was made to give the original cast the first shots at their own roles.[citation needed] However, some of these people, including Frenchie Davis and Joey Fatone, were cast for a time in the play. Plus, Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice of the Spice Girls, played Mimi on Broadway for a time.

Cruz, Davis, Fatone, Harris and Rodriguez previously performed in the stage version at different times.[citation needed]

[edit] Rating

In the US, the film has officially been rated PG-13 by the MPAA. The rating was actually taken into consideration with creative decisions in during script writing and filming. Even with changes (such as removing pervasive profanity), director Chris Colombus still expresses amazement that the film received a "PG-13" due to risque scenes and content. In Quebec it is rated PG. In the U.S., it is rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Material Involving Sexuality & Drugs and for Some Strong Language.

In the UK, the film was rated 12A by the BBFC.

[edit] Reception

The movie was moderately successful, and earned generally favorable reviews. It had the second-highest grossing opening weekend for a Broadway musical adaptation, surpassed only by Phantom of the Opera, released the year before. A lack of recognizable stars likely limited its mainstream appeal, however. The film's marketing campaign focused heavily on Rent's Broadway reputation, and some critics argued the film was too much of a fan service, though arguably this was in fact an open motivation of the picture.

Among fans, there was some controversy over the song cuts, and the decision to include spoken dialogue. Many feel that too many songs weren't included or turned into dailogue, while others insist that the cuts were necessary.

The DVD release, with its many features, was favorably received by fans and sold well.

[edit] Differences between the stage and movie versions

Many of the original songs from Broadway were cut in order to add dialogue to the film and make the flow of the plot seem more natural, whereas on Broadway, it was a rock opera with very little spoken dialogue. The numbers "Christmas Bells", "Happy New Year A & B", "Contact" and "We're Okay" along with all of the answering machine messages (Voice Mail #1-5) and (Tune Ups #1-3), which are sung in the musical, were among the cut. Some of these songs were turned into spoken dialogue, in order to maintain a "realistic" setting. One song, "Halloween," a solo sung by Mark, was cut because it didn't "fit in with the pacing" of the film. Also, the second part of "Goodbye Love" was intended to be in the film, but it ended up being cut because Columbus considered it somewhat of an emotional overload, which lessened the emotional impact of the final moments of the film. Additionally, the scene was cut because, up until this point in the film, Mark and Roger had always used spoken dialogue to speak to each other. Both scenes are on the second disc of the DVD set as special features.

Other deleted scenes featured on the DVD include: an extended version of the scene just before "Without You" where Mimi, Roger, and Benny have a heated argument, and Angel graciously tries to calm them down when she suddenly accidentally lets slip that she may have had something to do with the death of Benny's dog. This scene was cut because Columbus didn't want to dwell on the Mimi & Benny relationship at that particular moment; a small scene right before the second part of "Goodbye Love" where Benny pays for Angel's funeral, and Collins tells him that he just paid for the funeral of the person that killed his dog, after which Benny reveals that he was aware of this the whole time and expresses his dislike for the dog (The scene was cut because it was a humorous moment that took the "tension" out of the preceding scene); a scene between Roger and Benny in the Life Cafe where Benny tells Roger that he just wanted to be a friend to Mimi, but that she still loves Roger (it is unknown why this was cut); and an alternate ending featuring the cast standing onstage as they were in the opening of the film, with only Angel missing and an empty spotlight shining in his place. Angel then walks on to rejoin the cast during the last lines of "Finale B", also pointedly taking Collins' hand for a moment as he (only called she while in drag) walks by him. This ending echoes the original Broadway show, where Angel rejoins the cast at the end (This ending was not used because it took the audience out of the emotion of the moment. It also said to the audience, "This didn't just happen. These people were just acting, and Angel's alive & well.").

The movie included a scene of a commitment ceremony between Maureen and Joanne, which culminated in the song "Take Me Or Leave Me" - and the breakup of Maureen and Joanne's relationship - after a hotly jealous Joanne blew up at Maureen for being too "friendly" with other women. In the original musical, there was no commitment ceremony scene, and the fateful argument between Maureen and Joanne took place while the two of them were rehearsing for another protest. They would eventually reunite during "Without You" and break up again in "Contact."

[edit] Bloopers & Trivia

  • When Chris Columbus signed on to direct, he approached the reluctant Robert De Niro to talk him into producing the film. De Niro actually cried when he read the script and saw the show on Broadway one night. He later admitted that it was because it was "so beautiful", and he had an actor friend back in the late 70s who died of an unknown virus, which turned out to be AIDS.[citation needed]

Here is a list of problems with the film and interesting facts.

  • The scene on the F train is inaccurate in several ways.
    • In the protest scene there are posters for Splenda sweetener which was developed in the 2000's rather than in 1989.
    • The outside of the train is that of the R40 car model, while the inside is that of the R32.
    • The poster on the left side of the rear of the train is that of the Freelancer's Union, but the organization was not founded until 1995 and the scene takes place in 1989.
    • The woman sitting in front of the train disappears between camera movements.
    • The outside of the train features the current Metropolitan Transportation Authority logo (often referred to as the "Pac-Man" logo), which was only introduced in the mid 1990's. The outside also features black rectangles at either end of the cars to cover two recent add ons. The one at the end with the slant covers stickers promoting the city's bid to host the 2012 Olympics. The rectangle at the other end covers an American Flag, which was added to all MTA equipment after September 11, 2001.
    • There is no train station by Tompkins Square Park, which spans from 7 St. to 10 St. and Avenue A to Avenue B. The nearest F stop is at 1st Ave. and Houston St.
  • In the last couple of bars of "What You Own", there is graffiti on the roof that says Angel; This was purely coincidental.
  • The tune that Roger plays during through out the movie is Musetta's Waltz, a piece from the opera La Boheme which Rent is based on.
Official Region 1 DVD artwork, DVD release date 21 February 2006.
Enlarge
Official Region 1 DVD artwork, DVD release date 21 February 2006.
  • When Maureen, Joanne, and Mark are leaving Buzzline after their meeting and the group is stopped on the street (while Joanne is telling Maureen she wants her to commit), there is a CVS Pharmacy behind Joanne. However, CVS did not have any stores in Manhattan until the mid 1990s. Also during this scene, the most obvious anachronisms of the movie are apparent: in the background, current-model Yellowcabs and other vehicles are visible driving past, not the late-80's models. As stated by director Chris Columbus in the DVD commentary, the film's small budget did not allow for the control of a New York City street.
  • At Maureen and Joanne's engagement party, when everyone is asked to toast their engagement, Maureen's glass is already empty. However, this may not be a blooper, as Maureen is regretting her decision to commit to Joanne, and is drinking out of nervousness later in the scene
  • During the song Take Me or Leave Me when Maureen and Joanne are on the pool table, after one breaks the billiard balls, the two in the camera shot are one color, but when the camera focuses again on the same two billiard balls, they are a different color.
  • In the shot at the end of 'Rent', when Mark's on his way down to see Benny, Roger's hand is on the railing. In the next shot, Roger's hand can be seen at his side, and he places his hand on the railing.
  • In the shot of the outside of the apartment in "Rent" when Roger starts singing, you can see Mark walking down the sidewalk outside carrying his bike. In Mark's next shot, he's on his bike cruising down the street.
  • In the song "Today 4 U", Angel mentions "Thelma & Louise", when that movie wasn't made until 1991.
  • In the group dance scene in the song "Tango: Maureen", after the double hop (when they sing: "...you pretend to believe her...") the leftmost couple can be seen making a mistake as the female loses balance.
  • In 'Goodbye Love', Roger makes a grammar mistake, may or may not have been an intended blip from the lyricists: "Mimi: I gave a mile Roger: Gave a mile to who?!" when it should have been "Gave a mile to whom?!"
  • When Mark plays his movie during Finale B, there are scenes that he never really shot, like "Today 4 U". Mark is present for that number earlier in the film, but he never picks up his camera, nor is there a camera visible anywhere in the room.
  • In the song "Rent", Roger lights many candles around the apartment ('How do you start a fire when there's nothing to burn'). Later on in "One Song Glory" and "Light My Candle" the candles have disappeared.
  • In "Rent", Collins is mugged on his way into Mark and Roger's building. The music during this scene is a guitar solo that goes on for much longer than it does in the original show version. This is because in the stage show, Joanne takes part in the song as she calls Maureen to tell her that the sound equipment is broken. This part takes place right before Collins sings ('How do you stay on your feet when on every street it's trick-or treat'). They cut Joanne's part from the number, and so they needed to fill the space.
  • In "I Should Tell You", Rosario Dawson and Adam Pascal had to sing while walking through a blizzard of fake-plastic snow. They ruined a great number of takes by inhaling the snow as they sang, which made them cough.
  • In the "They Bought My Footage" segment, the snow on Mark's shoulders continually disappears and reappears.
  • In "La Vie Boheme", there is a very brief shot during which Collins inexplicably disappears. It is when there is a group shot of everyone on the table shouting, "Fight AIDS!" In the background to the right, you can see Angel standing on the bar counter, where she went after "...Angel Dummot Schunard will model the latest fall fashions from Paris, while accompanying herself on the ten-gallon, plastic pickle tub." When she climbs up there at first, Collins is standing beside her, writing on a blackboard. He is there during the next few shots, but in the "Fight AIDS!" shot, Angel is obviously alone. Collins has disappeared. The camera switches to a close-up of Mimi for a moment, then pans back to show the Life Cafe as the background. You can clearly see that Collins is standing beside Angel, and in fact he takes her hands and leads her down the counter.

[edit] DVD information

Rent was released on DVD in the United States (Region 1) on February 21, 2006, in 2-disc fullscreen and 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen formats. DVD extras include an audio commentary with director Chris Columbus, Anthony Rapp, and Adam Pascal as well as a new feature-length "making of" documentary, deleted scenes, and musical performances, a documentary on the life of the original playwright Jonathan Larson, and PSA's. This added value content was produced by Automat Pictures.

Rent was released on DVD in the United Kingdom (Region 2) on August 14, 2006, in dual-layer 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen format (rated 12 by the BBFC). The "making of" documentary is not available for this version; instead there are trailers for other Sony Pictures DVDs (such as Mirrormask and The Producers).

[edit] Technical information

Rent was filmed in Super 35 mm film format.

[edit] Soundtrack

The 2-disc soundtrack, containing 28 tracks, was produced by Rob Cavallo and released on September 27 2005. This version of the soundtrack was originally packaged in eight different slipcovers, each featuring one of the eight most prominent characters in the film. The first single, "Seasons of Love," was released exclusively on the iTunes Music Store on August 2 2005; a music video was released on Apple's QuickTime website the same day.

[edit] Track listing

Official Motion Picture Soundtrack, released 23 September 2005.
Enlarge
Official Motion Picture Soundtrack, released 23 September 2005.

Disc 1

  1. "Seasons Of Love" (#33 US) - Joanne, Collins & Cast of RENT
  2. "Rent" - Mark, Roger, Collins, Benny & Tenants (including Mimi and Angel)
  3. "You'll See" - Roger, Mark & Benny
  4. "One Song Glory" - Roger
  5. "Light My Candle" - Roger & Mimi
  6. "Today 4 U" - Collins, Angel & Mark
  7. "Tango: Maureen" - Joanne and Mark
  8. "Life Support" - Gordon, Roger, Steve & Cast of RENT
  9. "Out Tonight" - Mimi
  10. "Another Day" - Roger, Mimi, Collins, Mark & Angel
  11. "Will I" - Steve, Gordon & Cast of RENT
  12. "Santa Fe" - Roger, Mark, Angel & Collins
  13. "I'll Cover You" - Angel & Collins
  14. "Over The Moon" - Maureen (sung live on film by Idina Menzel [Maureen] and is a different take than was used in the movie.)

Disc 2

  1. "La Vie Boheme" * - Cast of RENT
  2. "I Should Tell You" - Roger & Mimi
  3. "La Vie Boheme B" * - Mimi, Mark, Angel, Collins, Maureen, Joanne & Roger
  4. "Seasons of Love B" - Cast of RENT
  5. "Take Me Or Leave Me" - Maureen & Joanne
  6. "Without You" - Mimi & Roger
  7. "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" - Collins, Joanne & Cast of RENT
  8. "Halloween" - Mark (cut from the film; included on the DVD as a deleted scene)
  9. "Goodbye Love" - Mimi, Roger, Benny, Maureen, Joanne, Mark & Collins (Cut from film after the line 'I can't believe this is goodbye'; included on the DVD as a deleted scene)
  10. "What You Own" - Roger & Mark
  11. "Finale A" - Mimi & Roger
  12. "Your Eyes" - Roger
  13. "Finale B" - Cast of RENT
  14. "Love Heals" - Cast of RENT (bonus track on the soundtrack which didn't appear in the film or Broadway play; originally supposed to run during the credits, but was taken out because it didn't "fit" with the rest of the film.)

[edit] Notes

  • On Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart for the week ending August 20, 2005, "Seasons of Love" debuted at #68.
  • "La Vie Boheme A" and "La Vie Boheme B" are joined together on the highlights album.
  • Notes on the bonus track Love Heals (taken from the CD case booklet of "RENT: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"):
Jonathan [Larson] wrote LOVE HEALS while working on RENT, to help in the efforts of Love Heals — the Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS education. Alison was one of the first heterosexual women to contract AIDS from a "one night stand." He wanted to help her and the organization in the best way he could: with music. Although not written for RENT, we have included this bonus track as a tribute to Jonathan and to help further the cause of AIDS education.
  • the soundtrack uses the Broadway ending for "Tango: Maureen". On the soundtrack, and in the show, Joanne's line "My Maureen" is echoded by the sound equipment. The movie left this out and she just says the line.

[edit] Musicians

  • Tim Pierce (acoustic guitar, electric guitar)
  • Greg Suran (acoustic guitar, electric guitar)
  • Suzie Katayama (cello, accordion)
  • Jamie Muhoberac (piano, organ, keyboards)
  • Tim Weil (piano)
  • Gregory Curtis (organ)
  • Paul Bushnell (bass guitar)
  • Dorian Crozier (drums, percussion, programming)

[edit] Single

A CD single for the track "Take Me or Leave Me" was released, as was a double 12" vinyl promotional single.

[edit] Track listing

CD

  • Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Radio)
  • Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Remix)
  • Take Me or Leave Me (Gabriel D Vine's Big Band Disco Remix)
  • Take Me or Leave Me (Jackie and Jorio Club Mix)
  • Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Dub)
  • Out Tonight (Mark!'s Redux Club Remix)
  • Light My Candle (Monkey Bars Remix)


[edit] Interviews

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

[edit] Videos

  • Trailer
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