Interview with Chris Columbus- Page 2

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 11/30/04 at 2:44pm

erinrebecca,

While I completely respect the posts and ideas of Rodney and Anthony and Fredi, I think debate about turning popular shows into movies is healthy, and should be expected. No matter how good a show may or may not be, it's the FAN following that keeps it running, and it's the fans that are going to go see the movie.

[Mimi Imfurst]

Posted: 11/30/04 at 3:10pm

Good point.

Here is the thing... This will not be the stage show... nor should it be. We can not continue to expect that of any movie transformation of a stage show. (and vice versa) If we want to see RENT the way it was meant to be on stage, go over to the performing arts library and watch the archive video. That is the movie for people who are expecting a replica of the stage show on film.

Personally, I am really excited to see a new and different look at a wonderful piece. The cast is really committed and is going to bring a lot of heart to RENT in a way that others can't. The new changes are going to be exciting and give us die hard rentheads a chance to see these characters flesh out and do something different. I think the Joanne/Maureen getting married thing is perfectly logistical and within the rhelms of the characters worlds. I think this of many of the changes in the "script" that is floating around.

We can not continue to obsess over what once was on stage- it is something that will never be again. That is what makes the stage so wonderful. Again, I am really excited to see this movie be made.

What humors me is people's obsession with staying true to Jonathan Larson's vision. I think he was an incredible man and did some incredible stuff, but he also borrowed. Rent is original but it relies on the sources of many things... his friends lives, La Boheme, Schulman's People in Trouble... RENT like all other Art evolves and in order to survive in the world it must adapt, change, and become a representation of the world today. A world where recorded art(movie, tv, cd artists) reign over all other forms of entertainment (live) needs RENT too.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 11/30/04 at 3:12pm

Agreed. (I'm actually in the middle of Schulman's "Starstruck" and am pretty astonished) However, putting gay marriage in RENT is just silly.

[Mimi Imfurst]

Posted: 11/30/04 at 3:21pm

I've talked with Schulman personally and she has a pretty damn good case. I agree with her....

Also, after talking with a certain RENT OBC member(who shall remain nameless) has other negative things to say about her. I also agree...

I have to draw myself somewhere in the midddle. I think that larson like many other artists borrow inspirations from different sources. From what I can tell about his character, he doesnt seem to be the type of person that if he were alive today would deny borrowing from said sources (again, this is not the only time someone else has claimed credit for parts of rent). He died too early for us to ever truely know whether he borrowed or its just some really creapy coincidence.

As a RENThead (Found out about Schulmans novel after I found RENT) I had a hard time coming to this. But I find myself on the same path that brought me to understanding and appreciating the changes in RENT for a movie version.

The story evolves and changes. In 1996 RENT was really cutting edge and pushed boundries. RENT still does this, but it should be even more pushy for a 2005 audience. Gay marriage just might help. Also, that part of the script is well into the 2nd half of the movie and not a major focal point of the action. It just gives maureen and joanne a hightened moment for their arguement leading into take me or leave me.

RENT evolves and so does its fan base. Its ready and appropriately timed for a different version. Can anyone think that any of the OBC would have signed onto a project that did not honor Jonathan's intentions? I do not think that any of them would have knowing the experiences that they went through and that they were so close to Jonathan and the heart of the show.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/30/04 at 3:45pm

By the way, Columbus does NOT compare Rent to Gremlins. His mention of Gremlins was a brief digression that has nothing to do with Rent. And he probably doesn't want to film it sung-through because he knows film audiences are not as receptive to sung-through musicals. Phantom of the Opera might be an exception to that rule, but Phantom of the Opera was (and still is) more universally embraced than Rent. When transferring from stage to screen, many adjustments have to be made to account for the difference in medium, style, performance, and audience. That is why a film version of a stage musical is nearly always different than its original stage version.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 11/30/04 at 4:32pm

Mimi,

How could you agree with Schulman and ALSO agree with the OBC member who had negative things to say?

I don't know the whole story, and I don't think anyone ever will. I do think that if I were Schulman, I'd be pretty upset.

[theatreangel]

Posted: 11/30/04 at 4:33pm

Oh, it's going to be R? I'll have to drag my mom to see it now...I hate being underage.

I don't quite see why it's going to have to be rated as such, though, even though I suppose things are a bit more graphic on the screen than in the theatre. But I'm fourteen and I've seen the stage show and I'm still alive.

[Mimi Imfurst]

Posted: 12/1/04 at 2:31am

I agree with Schulman in the sence that Larson borrowed details from her book and shifted the focal point of her novel making the straight characters the heros of a the aids crisis. However, I also understand where my friend is coming from. I have to meet myself in the middle of two very different opinions to form my own conclusions.