Sony and Columbus appear to have put RENT through the anti-gay shredder- Page 2

[art2]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:32pm

All I want is for the gay male relationship to be treated comparably. It is an important part of RENT, simple as that. It is a clear-cut issue and has nothing to do with a gay rights parade or agenda.

I think what you'll find is that the straight characters will get the lingering close-ups and affection opportunities moreso than the gay characters. It will be heavily weighted and framed in terms of a heterosexual love-fest.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:38pm

Back to the threadjack,

I just hope Raúl doesn't on another long hiatus like he did in between Normal Heart and Chitty.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:38pm

I hope so, kor. He deserves it.

I think you, art, will be surprised when you see this movie. There are apparently quite a few close-ups of Collins and Angel, and they are NOT shy. But I think we all know you'll continue typing away, just to rile up the masses.

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:40pm

I wish people just wouldn't judge till AFTER they saw the movie... then judge away, haha.
just kidding.

Which show do you think showcased Raul the best?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:42pm

They're all so different; I think it's impossible to say. I think everything he's done has showcased a different part of his talent.

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:45pm

I wish I had had the opportunity to see him in Chitty... stupid relatives who said we were "too tired and exhausted" so we shouldn't see a Broadway show each night.

haha, just kidding.

but does he have plans to go to another musical? Or just wait it out for another opportunity to come along?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:46pm

No plans that I've heard of. We'll see!

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:48pm

Hey, do you have pictures from the 24 Hour Plays?

Or did I miss them in another thread? ... of you and Adam, that is

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:49pm

Nope, I don't usually post photos of myself. PM or IM me.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:54pm

According to the folks on OscarWatch.com who have seen the movie, the Colin/Angel scenes play quite well and is one of the strengths of the movie.

I'm a bit worried to read that the second half of "Goodbye Love" is cut, though (from "I can't believe this is goodbye," onward). Isn't that a pivotal moment in the story? A reliable reviewer on that board said he liked the movie, but felt Columbus shied away from the darker drama of the musical.

[mygfdontliveincanada]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:59pm

Guys, as long as "I'll Cover You," "I'll Cover You (Reprise)," and "Take Me or Leave Me," stay in, the gay content remains. I really think there is nothing to worry about here.

[art2]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:04pm

I personally don't think the Collins/Angel scenes will be comparable in intimacy to the heterosexual scenes. I also wouldn't be surprised if any intimacy between Collins and Angel has its maleness disguised by Angel being in drag the whole time. You need to remember that homophobic directors and studios will use the drag concept to dilute the maleness of male-male love. Of course, Angel DOES dress in women's clothing for much of the time anyway, but this still doesn't negate what I've just said.

There is just this pattern of evasion of the male homosexual aspect that started with the trailer, continued to the poster, and now is apparently the case for the movie. On this point, I stress that I have relied on people who claim to have seen the movie.

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:04pm

i'm sorry, I had to steal this response from another board thsat Arthurs posted this same topic on:

where do you get this title? Can you imagine the rejected ones floating through his head?

"Sony has left the No. 2 pencil of male homosexuality unsharpened"

"Sony has three-hole-punched the gay male relationships in Rent"

"Sony has stuffed their portrayal of male homosexuals in a cheap manilla folder that came free with their Sharpies"

"Sony has taken a compass of lies and obfuscation and drawn a convenient, and rather perfect, 6cm diameter circle around the real issues in Rent"

"Sony has purchased the two-pack of 100-sheet marble composition notebooks and negligently left one on the floor in Aisle 3--yes, the notebook that is the honest portrayal of homosexuality in the mainstream media"

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:10pm

art, you once said that you thought maybe the fact that Angel dresses up as a woman may be a way of trying to take the homosexuality out of Rent. For that reason and many others, I cannot take you very seriously.

[Millie42]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:14pm

EverythingisRent.... I think the Sharpie one is my fav

And to jump on the threadjack bandwagon: I am sorry it's closing Em, but at least they gave quite a while's notice...So you can enjoy your last few experiences. I am NOT a fan of the whole 5 days notice idea!

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:15pm

Art, members (YAY! Rent Trailer just came on!) of this board have seen the movie. They have said that it stays very true to Jonathan's vision. Now it's up to the interpretation of the viewer. I have a feeling that you would think it downplayed if there was a hardcore/X scene between Angel and Collins. This is a dead issue.

[mygfdontliveincanada]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:16pm

Ok...the point of the original show was not to make an issue of homosexuality. In fact, I'd argue that the show tries to make homosexuality a non-issue. These characters are all equal and all have problems, regardless of if they are gay, straight, or bi. And if sexual preference isn't really that important to the story, it seems that certain scenes that are all about homosexuality would be cut because they are ultimately not that important to the story.

Also, calling Sony and Chris Colombus homophobic is stupid and missinformed. You're talking about the entertainment industry. Homophobic people don't survive in Hollywood.

And finally, the movie hasn't come out yet, and so far we're going by the thoughts of a very few people who have seen it. And moreover, to say that lack of homosexual content in the ads = lack of homosexual content in the film is probably flat out wrong. The studio needs to get middle america in the theater. Then they can bombard them with homosexual content. This is the same thing they did with "The Birdcage." On the poster there was nothing to indicate a homosexual relationship or even that Nathan Lane would be in drag. Still, that was the backbone of the film, and middle America suprisingly loved it. I assume they're using a similar marketing strategy. If they did things another way there'd be a backlash from conservative organizations.

[BroadwayRandy0711]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:16pm

Why don't we all just wait another 2 weeks and see for ourselves when the movie opens. What it seems art2 is doing is bashing Sony. Maybe he is a disgruntled employee.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:24pm

mygfdontliveincanada, don't bother trying to reason with art2. He's just a broken record of complaints and will never admit that he's wrong, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary.

[art2]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:29pm

The Angel/Collins relationship is clearly a homosexual one, whether Angel is in drag or not - I'm not arguing this. But what I find interesting is this notion that Angel must be in drag the whole time during their interactions, whatever they may be.

I can just imagine Sony and Chris Columbus getting together and devising a strategy to "heterosexualize" the appearance of the Angel/Collins relationship to ensure that it doesn't conjure up notions of one obvious man interacting with another obvious man.

[AlixEG1]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:33pm

Oh man....please can we at least wait until we Actually see the movie???? Then you can be mad and have actual proof.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:39pm

He isn't in drag when they meet. There is a scene at Life Support when Angel pulls off the wig that seems to be very emotional with Collins right by his side. There are more instances where Angel is not in drag. That argument doesn't hold water. And the last time I checked, neither Joanne or Maureen dresses in drag at any point in the film. And I believe we have all seen them kissing in the commercials.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:45pm

Don't waste the bandwithdt.

Art will believe what he wants. No message to the contrary will be absorbed by him.

[LeaGirl]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:45pm

Yes, but what is fun about Art is he doesn't count the lesbians.

Just watch.

*sits back and wait for the 'homophobes heart lesbians' speech to start*

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:45pm

Oh god, don't get him started on the lesbians. He starts claiming that the world is run by horny straight men that want to see girls kiss each other, but vomit at two men holding hands, so Maureen and Joanne don't count. Only man-dressed-as-man-on-man-dressed-as-man action actually counts as homosexual content.

Did I get it all art2?