Personally, and I know many people won't feel this way, but I don't understand why anything needs to be changed or cut. I mean, I read the script that's been floating around and I LOVE the fact that we get to see Roger discover April in the tub, and we get to see Mark and Maureen meet, and the scene between Angel and Collins at the hospital is incredible and I hope these kinds of things get incorporated, but I don't understand why anything needs to be cut.
The show has been running on Broadway for almost 10 years now, obviously it works fine just the way it is, WHY MESS WITH THAT??? Why risk damaging the piece and possibly the reputation of the show all over the world? It won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, how many times in Broadway history has that happened??? You can count on two hands probably. I don't see the need to change anything. Audiences are fine with movie musicals. They don't need gimmicks. Songs don't NEED to be fantasy sequences.
The movie script said right at the beginning New York sings, and then goes right on and cuts out a large amount of songs from the show. Including "Light My Candle", "What You Own", "Over the Moon", "I Should Tell You" and "Today 4 U". That's not doing the show justice nor do I think it improves upon anything. But, it's been said that there's no such thing as good and there's no such thing as better. There is only what is and people will always have different opinions on what is. So, I guess that has to be taken into account. I'd just like, for once, to see a movie musical that can actually pass as a proper representation of it's stage counterpart. With the exception, of course of the Bette Midler GYPSY, cuz' that was right on the money, but that's beside the point, at the moment, I don't see the RENT film coming together quite like that.
The show has been running on Broadway for almost 10 years now, obviously it works fine just the way it is, WHY MESS WITH THAT???
Well, that's easy. Film does not equal stage. They're simply not the same- jokes that are hysterically funny live, for instance, sometimes make no sense when recorded, even if the delivery is exactly the same. You have to change things when you're switching mediums; it's the nature of the beast.
Well, I understand that. The movie can't open with Mark's little "We begin..." speech, but that doesn't mean that the answer to that is to jump and make it a movie within and movie and have the opening number be sung by Roger and this f*ck a$s "Mike" character as a concert being filmed or what not. That, to me, is just trying too hard to force something to work when it works already. They don't seem to be taking into account what's right on the paper in front of them...
Maybe I just didn't read it correctly and please tell me if I'm missing something, but why then would Roger have written a song called "Rent" with his band, complaining about not being able to pay the rent when Benny has yet to ask for the rent? Are we to assume that when Benny asks for the rent way later in the restaurant with Mark and then Mark doesn't want to upset Roger with the news that this has happened already before???
Updated On: 11/5/04 at 11:28 PM
i love the entire soundtrack and want NO songs to be cut... but a 2.5 hour show must be downsized for film.
here's the list anthony posted earlier:
Songs in Movie:
1. Rent 2. You Okay Honey? (in dialogue) 3. One Song Glory 4. Light My Candle 5. Today 4 U 6. Life Support (in part) 7. Out Tonight 8. Another Day 9. Will I...? 10. Seasons of Love 11. Santa Fe 12. Tango: Maureen 13. Over the Moon 14. La Vie Boheme 15. I Should Tell You 16. Goodbye Love 17. Without You 18. Take Me or Leave Me 19. I'll Cover You and the Reprise 20. What You Own 21. Your Eyes
i just can't believe happy new year isn't there! its one of my favorites!
Updated On: 11/6/04 at 02:11 PM
Nothing. I just can't help but feel that it's gonna fall flat on its face. I'd rather stay home. I don't wanna see one of my favorite musicals ripped to shreads...
Updated On: 11/6/04 at 03:33 PM
Keep in mind also that they'll likely write a new song just for the movie. Like they did for Chicago and Phantom of the Opera. Who do you think will be singing it?
I'd like Adam to get another song in the film. Of course, I think it'd be much better if they threw in some NYTW stuff as well.
"During this performance, please feel free to let your cell phones and pagers ring willy-nilly. However, do remember that there are heavily-armed knights on stage and you might well be dragged up and impaled."
(Pre-curtain announcement at the new Broadway musical Monty Python's Spamalot)
Well, it was in an interview. He just expressed animosity toward the whole situation, obviously he too has updated La Boheme with the show he did in Australia, on Broadway and LA (right?), but RENT is completely different than just an updated version of the opera, I think he was just being silly... if he really was angry about it, that's just stupid.
Just for argument sake, if he is really mad at someone he's mad at Billy Aronson for giving Jonathan the idea, and for giving his blessings to continue the project without him. Baz shouldn't be mad AT Jonathan...
I don't know if he was mad at Jonathan, per se, just mad at the situation. Plus the fact that Rent turned out to have substantially more longevity than his La Boheme revival! (Oops, did I imply sour grapes?
"It's not always about you!!!" (But if you think I'm referring to you anyway, then I probably am.)
"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
Baz needs to grow up! X.x That said, I do love me some of his re-make of 'La Boheme.'
I really wish that some of this movie musical business could be done like "CATS," JCS, or the PPV release of "Jekyll and Hyde" -- just filming the stage performance. I guess that eliminates the actual process of making a movie of it in some...well, in a lot of respects, but that would keep the mad purists, such as myself, somewhat happy (not totally, of course -- WHERE is 'Growltiger's Last Stand,' I ask you???). I find that too many recent movie musicals have gone for too many hollywood names and always manage to cut some of the best songs (ie, Chicago's 'Class').
But if you kiss me,
If we touch,
Warning's fair:
I don't care
Very much
Don't worry most of the songs are in the draft they are using and Anthony told me the songs are in context with the exception of Out Tonight, he said it's very true to the J. Larson libretto which it should be, the additions to transfer this play to film are to fill in plot points and to add to the depth of the characters. I have full confidence this movie will make all Rent fans very happy, cos i personally hated the first script with a few exceptions, it was written in 2000, and it's basically been trashed. The first draft cuts Anthony out of Rent and Maureen sings La Vie Boheme; like thats going to happen? I think not.