Interview with Chris Columbus
Interview with Chris Columbus
Chloe
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/04
#0Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:02pm
Chris Columbus Interview
Rent Movie Musical Preview
From Fred Topel
Adding Gay Marriage to Rent: Director Chris Columbus revealed one major plot point he is adding to the movie version of Rent. “It speaks about having tolerance for all kinds of people and it talks about the fact that two gay people can be in love and deserve to be married. It’s one thing we deal with in the movie that wasn’t in the play, the concept of gay marriage, so we have a little bit about that. I could be shooting myself in the foot in terms of box office, I don’t care. I really believe strongly in this material.”
Dialogue vs. Story in Rent: “There are dialogue sequences in the movie,” Columbus said. “We had to do that. We couldn’t do it as a straightforward opera. So there were some songs that have been left out. I won’t mention them now, but there are some things we have to leave out. It’s a different process than doing the Harry Potter books where it’s like a greatest hits. For Rent, it’s more about what works as a film.”
Keeping Rent Real: Family friendly Chris Columbus assures Rent fans that he understands the material. “Yeah, we’re going to have grit. So you don’t have to worry about grit. The funny thing is people only know me from my work, but I lived in a loft with mice, which inspired Gremlins as well. So I used to throw the key down to the woman who later became my wife to come up and see me, so I lived that existence. I knew those guys, I lived in that kind of world, so I’m just going to bring that to the movie.”
The Theme of Rent: “I took my daughter to see it when I was trying to make up my mind. She said, ‘This movie could speak to everyone about not fitting in. You’re in high school and you feel like you’re on the outside of the group a little bit and you’re not really this Abercrombie and Fitch kind of person. It speaks to all of my friends.’ That’s why it’s important, particularly... the way the country is leaning these days in terms of gay marriages and not having tolerance for people that are different.”
R Rated Rent: The Rent movie will be rated R, “unless the Academy changes,” said Columbus. “The great thing about Joe[Roth, president of Revolution Studios] is we were at another studio for a bit and they were concerned about the fact that it was going to be an R rated musical, and we just felt that when Joe got involved, he said, ‘Make it the way it was intended to be made.’”
Shooting Rent: Shooting begins in March of 2004 between New York and San Francisco. “Exteriors New York, Interiors San Francisco, but interiors being building sets, so I’d build the same sets here as I would [in New York]. I just want to be close to home to shoot, so if I’m building the interior life, I’m going to build it the same way here as I am there.
Return of the Musical: “I love Chicago and I thought Chicago was important for a selfish reason. It’s going to get Rent made. Because Chicago was successful and was a good movie, it’ll help us with Rent.”
Team America's Rent Spoof: “The Lease thing, I heard about it. I haven’t seen it. I was dying to see that movie because I liked the first South Park movie, but I haven’t seen this one yet. But I don't know. I heard it’s funny.”
Rosario Dawson Cast in Rent: “She came into the room and she was so real. She was just so real, I loved her. I thought, ‘Wow, she feels like this character.’ And her voice has a real kind of grit to it, a real earthy quality. I can’t explain until you hear her, but she has a lovely singing voice. This is a movie you can’t get away with like West Side Story having someone dub voices. I needed great singers for this movie.”
Keeping the Original Cast of Rent: “There was a blip in Entertainment Weekly abut me hiring some of the original cast members saying that they were too old," said Chris Columbus. "Well, they’re not too old. They still look like they’re in their ‘20s. Tom Collins, who’d be played by Jesse, could be older than the other cast members. It’s part of what Rent is. So I wrote them a letter which will be in the next Entertainment Weekly and it’s basically about the fact that these people created these characters and lived through Jonathan Larson’s death. And as a result, that show was a memorial to Jonathan for the 18 months that they were all in it together. And they’ve tried to recreate it with other cast members and sometimes they’re successful. They’ve taken it on the road. But it’s never had the emotional honesty or integrity that it did when those people were in it. So we looked at a lot of people and then I met individually with each one of these cast people. I needed to meet with the people I haven’t seen on screen. So Taye and Jesse, I haven’t met with but I see Jesse on Law and Order every week and I see Taye on his show so I know that they can still do the roles. But I’ve met with Idina Menzel and Adam Pascal. Daphne is seven months pregnant, so… We’re not going with Frenchie. I found someone new, a woman named Tracy Thoms, whose had a lot of experience, is a fantastic Joanne. Anyway, so these people have been through it and I wanted to capture that emotion on film, so I thought it would be great to get them all back together. I just felt that they bring something to it that you rarely get to see on screen, that experience. And I think it’s going to be interesting. If you have people too young, you have people that are 21 playing those roles on camera, on screen, I don't think you’d buy it. I think you have to believe that they’ve lived a little bit of a life. And anyway, they all look like they’re in their ‘20s and it’s going to be a remarkable movie just because of the sheer power.”
Columbus Interview
#1re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:08pmInteresting. Thanks!
insomniak
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/7/04
#2re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:09pm
Thanks, Chole.
He seems to have the best intentions but... it sounds condescending to call it naive. The OBC really don't look twenty and I don't know that the show really is supposed to be a 'memorial'. I haven't read the script, so I won't comment on that.
Type_A_Tiff
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/04
#3re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:15pmI am actually looking more and more forward to having Chris directing this movie. I had my apprehensions before, but he seems to understand fans concerns and such. Don't know how I feel about the gay marriage thing. Wonder how he's planning on addressing it in the film. I'm still half-liking, half-cautious about the OBC joining the movie, and my fears have not lessened considering he said hasn't met Taye or Jesse yet!
"It's not always about you!!!" (But if you think I'm referring to you anyway, then I probably am.)
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"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
Chloe
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/04
#4re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:16pmHe didn't say they looked twenty, but "in their twenties," which I'm interpreting as mid to late. It sounds to me like the original cast made a big impression on him, and he's hoping to recapture that feeling - which may be naive, as you say. I would expect all of them to bring something new to their parts, from the experiences they've had since. That could be the saving grace, the new combined with the chemistry from the past.
#5re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:20pmI'm very relieved after having read this - it sounds like he knows what he's doing. I'm glad he looked at it sort of as a memorial for JL - that's what it should be, and only the OBC understands that. That's why I thought it was vital that they be involved.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
insomniak
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/7/04
#6re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:21pm
Or it could mean disaster. Who knows if a fraction of the OBC and newcomers will have the power that the entire original cast did?
To answer my own rhetorical question: No one. We won't know until we see it. I'm going to wish him the best and give him a chance, but I'm cautious.
Updated On: 11/22/04 at 11:21 PM
amasis
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/7/04
#7re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/22/04 at 11:29pmThanks for posting that, Chloe. And insomniak, you're right. No one knows. But so far I'm not too worried.
Rodney Hicks
Swing Joined: 5/29/04
#8re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 3:39pm
Hey There. Just wanted to let you know if you didn't already. That the original intent for Rent per Jonathan Lasrson were for the characters to be in their Mid to Late 20's and Collins and possibly Joanne Early 30's. Just to let you know.
The actors that Chris Columbus hired to be a part of the Rent film are all more than perfect to not only reprise their roles but to bring another emotional experience to it. No one will ever no what it was like for us at that time and quite frankly when we were going through it we couldn't have really grasped the magnitude of it all. But now that years have passed and lives have been lived it is all the more reason why they are chosen to do this picture. And why the two Rosario Dawson, and Tracie Thoms (knowing both of them, new cast members will bring their own personal thing to it as well. I am sure that what you will witness on screen will be nothing short of amazing. I can guarantee that. They actually began rehearsals in San Francisco today. Well obviously some of them have. Save for Jesse, Taye and Idina until they fulfill their other obligations. It think that people should really reserve their judgments and criticisms until you see the finished product. Because from what the script dictates and what I personally know of these people and what they've been through it is going to be magic. Sorry for the very long rant. You take care and be well.
R
BEKA531
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#9re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 6:07pmdoes anyone else see this?? how on EARTH is that the theme of rent? in rent they all fit in, they're a FAMILY, remember? there is no "outside group". the theme of rent is dealing with death in the midst of happiness and creating art.
stacey717
Featured Actor Joined: 10/27/04
#10re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 7:12pm
Thanks for posting the interview...
I very glad to hear it *will* be R-rated (I get annoyed when they dumb down/ clean a movie up because of the rating, which can ruin it sometimes)
The only thing at all about this film I could be kinda on edge about is the new gay marriage part...I hope he places it in smoothly (which is very probable and completely workable considering the source material) and doesn't just hack it in there because of the political message you know most of hollywood wants to push into the limelight
I'm definitely not saying its bad, I think its very important an issue and deserves to be addressed--why shouldn't people be allowed to marry who they please--but the way it could be done, if not done properly, will seem like it really was just thrown in there to make a political statement and not because it was complelely relevant--if its not put in smoothly, it won't seem natural and will seem out of place (but it shouldn't be too hard to make fit in the movie...it's a just in case type thing)... if that makes sense... kinda like the first act versus the second half of The Frogs as performed at LCT this summer/early fall past...
I think he'll should a fine job in proving himself able to do more 'adult' projects with this film...
#11re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 8:13pm
“There are dialogue sequences in the movie. We had to do that. We couldn’t do it as a straightforward opera."
WHA'!!?? I cannot get over how annoyed I am by that. Why couldn't ya, Chris? ROAR!!! BTW, comparing Rent to Gremlins??? WOWZERS!!!
lol. This is mostly fluff. I'm just getting nervous.
Variations on a Theme blog: http://panekattack.blogspot.com/
Chloe
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/04
#12re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 8:16pm
Rodney, thanks for your input. It's very interesting to hear about the original intent regarding age.
Beka, I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about Rent as a lot of other people here, but I took the comments about outsiders to refer to the Rent characters in relation to the world at large, as represented by their parents, and not in relation to each other.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#14re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 8:29pm
thanks for this interview...
it should interesting to see this movie. Are they planning on putting it directly to video? Or in theaters... becuase I hope they go in theaters
As for the whole taking out songs... they better keep 'One Song Glory'... and both intros of Act I and Act II.
NIL MAGNUM NISI BONUM "No greatness without goodness."
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Chloe
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/04
#15re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 8:53pmI'm sure no one's *planning* for it to go straight to video. That usually happens with either very low budget features or films that end up a total disaster. We know Rent is not the first, and I'm certainly hoping it won't be the second either.
kates
Featured Actor Joined: 10/12/04
#16re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 9:12pmMaybe I'm loosing it, but does he mean Fredi when he mentions Frenchie?
"Commit a little mortal sin, its good for the soul"
Updated On: 11/29/04 at 09:12 PM
#17re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/29/04 at 9:13pmThat's what I thought. *shakes head*
Aryn007
Understudy Joined: 3/24/04
#18re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/30/04 at 8:26amPlease, I have a feeling he'll keep songs like "One Song Glory". It's a fairly important song (not to mention a popluar one among the fans). Stuff like "On the Street" or "You'll See" or possibly even "Light My Candle" are the more likely to be replaced with dialouge.
TheGaIsSilent
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/25/04
#19re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/30/04 at 9:25am
Hmm... I'm still reserving the right to be very nervous.
That being said, I believe that "OSG" and "LMC" are both in the script, whereas "Halloween" and "Contact" are not...
JOHN LITHGOW
I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!
camerangel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/30/04
#20re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/30/04 at 12:07pmAnd see Halloween is one of my favorites..
"All work and no smut makes Cammy lose her edge." ~DG
"Someday I'm going to have a baby and I'm gonna name her L'il Mimi Marquez and I and will sing to her every day and when she's a toddler I will say "L'il Mimi Marquez, clad only in a bubble diaper, will perform her famous play pen handcuff dance to the sounds of breast milk being pumped!" ~Kringas
"Someday I'm going to have a baby and I'm gonna name her L'il Mimi Marquez and I and will sing to her every day and when she's a toddler I will say "L'il Mimi Marquez, clad only in a bubble diaper, will perform her famous play pen handcuff dance to the sounds of breast milk being pumped!" ~Kringas
erinrebecca
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/29/04
#21re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/30/04 at 12:35pmI think everyone is going a little crazy about these issues with the movie. Everyone should just take a deep breath and trust in comments like the one Rodney left earlier in this thread. They know what they're doing. And if it turns out that the movie isn't how YOU imagined it to be, then so what? It's not like it's the end of the world. Seriously, all the angst I've seen over this is just a little much.
camerangel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/30/04
#22re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/30/04 at 12:47pm
I agree.. there is really no point angsting over it.. Granted we all want it to be good, but until it's done and in theatres there is no point.. I trust what I have been told that it is good at this point.. and yes as much as we love the various songs from the show, we all know that they can't all be in the movie..
"All work and no smut makes Cammy lose her edge." ~DG
"Someday I'm going to have a baby and I'm gonna name her L'il Mimi Marquez and I and will sing to her every day and when she's a toddler I will say "L'il Mimi Marquez, clad only in a bubble diaper, will perform her famous play pen handcuff dance to the sounds of breast milk being pumped!" ~Kringas
"Someday I'm going to have a baby and I'm gonna name her L'il Mimi Marquez and I and will sing to her every day and when she's a toddler I will say "L'il Mimi Marquez, clad only in a bubble diaper, will perform her famous play pen handcuff dance to the sounds of breast milk being pumped!" ~Kringas
Luvkostars
Swing Joined: 11/30/04
#23re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/30/04 at 1:04pm
Ryan Davis over at stagespace.com blasts Chris Columbus and everything that he says in this interview. Everyone should check it out!
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#24re: Interview with Chris Columbus
Posted: 11/30/04 at 2:35pmThey still should have given it to Spike Lee...what a waste.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
