Rent, the movie
In the event anyone is still reading this blog here's a trailer for the upcoming cinematic release of RENT. This is a movie I never thought would get made. It was being talked about almost immediately after the success of the Broadway show became apparent. But so many things made this project seem unlikely. First the creator of the musical, Jonathon Larson, died before it even premeired. Second, the themes of the show were so outside the main stream of the time that it would surely be subjected to lots of pressure from any sudio that chose to produce it. Third, the issue of Poverty and AIDS seemed to have been passed by.
But the reality is poverty and AIDS are just as terrible diseases today as they were in the late 80s. Now, the biggest problem the film faces is the age of the actors. In a bold courageous move, the films producers went back to many of the original performers from the Broadway show and cast them in the movie. It helps that most of the originally undiscovered talent has since gone on to have successful acting careers on TV, Film, and Broadway. So they've developed as actors. It also helps that they're coming back to roles that they are intimately familiar with.
So now, the film I never thought would get made is almost here. You may or may not know that I saw the show 16 times in total. Once in NYC with the Original Cast. 15 times at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. A few times I paid full or near full price for the tickets, but most of the viewings were through 'the line'. The line was for die-hard fans who would often sleep overnight outside the theatre to get front-row center seats for $10-$20. The sound was awful, and you always left with a crick in the neck, but being so close to the stage made you feel almost a part of the show. In fact, the producers could have stopped this practice at anytime, but somehow figured out that the die-hards in the front row helped spread the energy of the show to the rest of the audience and helped make it the success that it was.
The message of RENT, that there is no day but today, and that love can carry us through, is as powerful as ever. I hope that the world falls in love with the movie just as so many of us RENT-heads did with the musical.
But the reality is poverty and AIDS are just as terrible diseases today as they were in the late 80s. Now, the biggest problem the film faces is the age of the actors. In a bold courageous move, the films producers went back to many of the original performers from the Broadway show and cast them in the movie. It helps that most of the originally undiscovered talent has since gone on to have successful acting careers on TV, Film, and Broadway. So they've developed as actors. It also helps that they're coming back to roles that they are intimately familiar with.
So now, the film I never thought would get made is almost here. You may or may not know that I saw the show 16 times in total. Once in NYC with the Original Cast. 15 times at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. A few times I paid full or near full price for the tickets, but most of the viewings were through 'the line'. The line was for die-hard fans who would often sleep overnight outside the theatre to get front-row center seats for $10-$20. The sound was awful, and you always left with a crick in the neck, but being so close to the stage made you feel almost a part of the show. In fact, the producers could have stopped this practice at anytime, but somehow figured out that the die-hards in the front row helped spread the energy of the show to the rest of the audience and helped make it the success that it was.
The message of RENT, that there is no day but today, and that love can carry us through, is as powerful as ever. I hope that the world falls in love with the movie just as so many of us RENT-heads did with the musical.
posted by John | 9:49 AM
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