The Official Adam Pascal Love thread- Page 950

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 5:35pm

There was a quick snippet (literally like 12 seconds long) on the WB news a few weeks ago. I taped it, officially marking the start of my RENT press tape.

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 5:45pm

Hi jen! Yes, the public appearances aren't that far away, really.

*makes note to repair or replace VCR*

Emcee, you've expressed really well how the film will be able to affect everyone's experience of the show. Theater and film are such different mediums. Just seeing Roger and April together, even if there isn't any dialog, will really affect out experience of Roger grieving for her.

By the way, I read at one of the aforesaid sites that Adam was singing a song called "Cold Hard Bitch" at the Continental Club. Anyone know anything about it?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:05pm

Exactly. I heard they filmed a kissing scene, which I hope is really passionate and such, because I'm a sap like that. I'm not familiar with the song, but I spoke to someone who heard the playback and they said he sounds great on it, and that it's one of her favorite songs. Just the way Adam looks in those pictures... it strikes me that Roger was one of those reckless musician types, not just some guy trying to write a song or two - someone whose LIFE was music. For some reason, what he was like before April died and he went to rehab never fully registered. Now, I'm totally fixated on it.

Updated On: 4/2/05 at 06:05 PM

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:19pm

*hopes kissing scene is hot as hell*

Well, I did my usual and came up with the link below to hear the song. It's a hard guitar rocker that came out last year, but is not inconsistent with an 80's sound. Of course, it may turn out that whoever posted this is totally mistaken and he was really singing some other song.
"Cold Hard Bitch"

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:23pm

hmm. Interesting...

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:27pm

By the way, I totally buy your idea that Roger was a reckless musician type, and that's what his look for the flashback certainly suggests. Did anyone notice the razor blade dangling from his neck?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:29pm

Yes, and I love it... in a scary, sadistic sort of way... the same way in which the eyeliner makes my world a happier place.

Updated On: 4/2/05 at 06:29 PM

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:47pm

That picture of Adam is SCARY. But that's exactly how I picture Roger. "Reckless Musician Type" fits that picture perfectly... but Adam does look really creepy.

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:51pm

Definitely edgy. I'm starting to wonder if the Roger/April relationship will be portrayed as more on the dysfunctional side, and part of his depression and reluctance to get involved again is from his realizing how f*cked up they both were.
Updated On: 4/2/05 at 06:51 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 6:51pm

I'm listening to that song again. That's definitely the song the person I was chatting with told me about. It's not very 80's, but it's certainly something he can scream his heart out in if he wants to. If it's the right one, it could work.

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 7:02pm

Did you see the picture of flashback-Roger that was with the ones I posted a link for earlier, Diva? At least he's smiling there.

The song feels right to me because it doesn't sound particularly post-80's, but I wasn't as into rock in the 80's so what do I know. Here are the song lyrics - reading them is partly what got me thinking about a dysfunctional relationship thing:

Gotta leave town
Got another appointment
Spent all my rent
Girl you know I enjoyed it

Ain't gonna hang around till there's nobody dancing
I don't wanna hold hands and talk about our little plans, alright!

Cold hard bitch
Just a kiss on the lips
And I was on my knees
I'm waiting, give me
Cold hard bitch
She was shakin' her hips
That's all that I need

Gonna check her out
She's my latest attraction
Gonna hang around
Wanna get a reaction

Gonna take her home cause she's over romancing
Don't wanna hold hands and talk about her plans alright!

Cold hard bitch
Just a kiss on the lips
And I was on my knees
I'm waiting give me
Cold hard bitch
She was shakin' her hips
And I that was all that I need
I'm waiting give me
Cold hard bitch
Just a kiss on the lips
And I was on my knees

Yeah I'm waiting
Yeah I'm waiting
Yeah I'm waiting
Yeah I'm waiting

Updated On: 4/2/05 at 07:02 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 7:06pm

That makes me wonder how they're going to portray his relationship with April, and if the song is supposed to be any indication of it. I mean, maybe it's just supposed to be the standard "emo" rock sort of thing, where people write about crappy things that happen, not even necessarily to them, but if it is symbolic, that worries me. They're supposed to be in love without disfunction!

Okay, well... that's naive, I suppose. A lot of it depends on how they decide to play out the drugs as a part of their relationship. If they're both shooting up, that's inherently going to lead to some disfunction in the relationship... moreso than it would if it's just one of them, even though that would screw them up, too. I think it'll also depend a little bit on if they had one using first and getting the other into it, or if they were both using them when they got together, or what.

So many possibilities...

Updated On: 4/2/05 at 07:06 PM

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 7:20pm

The song could have been chosen more for its sound than the lyrics, but it does seem like they should relate in some way.

I know what you mean, Emcee, there is a feeling in the show of an idealized relationship between Roger and April, but that's probably not very realistic. The early draft screenplay seemed to imply that April got Roger into drugs, but the Roger I'm seeing in those pictures could just as easily have already been into them. And if he turned her on, then that would certainly up his guilt. On the other hand, Roger doesn't feel like an inherent druggie to me, and his reaction to Mimi's addiction supports the idea of April being the one who started it.

All this is useless speculation, one of my favorite activities.

[zippyjen]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 7:24pm

i don't know if the song is actually from the 80's but there is a modern version by jet.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 7:26pm

It's totally unrealistic. I'm just a total sap. I want them to be hopelessly in love, and the AIDS to be a sad, unfortunate accident, but in this situation that's just the type of thing that a lot of people condemn RENT for - for taking it all too lightly, and NOT making it real enough.

I also halfway agree about the way Roger looks in coherence with who got who into drugs. They're certainly not putting him out there as the picture of innocence. For some reason, I always had it in my head that Roger got it from drugs and gave it to April when they had sex. Before I saw the way April's going to look in the movie, for some reason, I sort of pictured her kind of spunky and innocent... just a girl who was in love with a guy. Even though Roger reacts negatively to Mimi being on drugs, I still feel like he could've gotten himself into it, and that he reacts that way to Mimi because of the way it ended up hurting him so badly.

I'm usually not a speculator, but RENT has always been one of those things about which I love to do it. Larson wrote such rich characters, and they're some of the only characters in anything that I've ever truly been able to view as pictures and representations of real people. Even if you don't know exactly what their roots are, you can feel a history that feels real, and even though you don't know everything about their stories, you wish you did. They're characters whose stories don't feel like they start and end when they play does; you just care too much for them.

Updated On: 4/2/05 at 07:26 PM

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 7:59pm

That's a great non-icon, jen! The jet version is the one I linked to a few posts down, and I just assumed it was something they wrote - didn't really check that out though.

What you say about the RENT characters is very true, Emcee, just look at all those fanfics out there. Jonathan Larson was also wise to leave a few undotted i's and uncrossed t's, so that there is room for interpretation.

Hmm, the total guilt route for Roger (as in, he gets AIDS from drug use and gives it to April) works pretty well, and it's more likely for a man to give AIDS to a woman than vice versa. And though the movie April looks like she's not particularly innocent, she is younger and possibly more vulnerable.

Also, people involved in addictions aren't necessarily "evil," they're more likely to be walking open wounds, people who are somehow missing one layer of whatever it takes to keep life from seeming overwhelmingly painful. Roger certainly fits with that idea.

My last thought is that having a somewhat dysfunctional relationship doesn't have to mean that they aren't really in love with each other.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 8:03pm

*shrug* I really wish I knew where I got the perception that Roger gave her AIDS that way. I know I had a better reason than "well, it seems to work," but I can't think of where I came up with it, other than anatomically, it being easier. I also percieve it as Roger feeling really guilty for it, and seeing it all as his fault. That may be something I picked up based on how the actors I've seen portray Roger, but there's just so much repressed in him, and some of it very often feels like guilt.

My last thought is that having a somewhat dysfunctional relationship doesn't have to mean that they aren't really in love with each other.

Right. I don't think I articulated what I meant very well. I guess I just meant that I kind of wanted a relationship that was happy, which given the situation they're in, isn't totally possible.

Updated On: 4/2/05 at 08:03 PM

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 8:19pm

"I just meant that I kind of wanted a relationship that was happy"

That's exactly how I thought of them, until I started delving into it more. I guess we get that from things like Roger being reminded of April by Mimi's smile. However, that leads to another point, which is that people tend to be attracted to the same type, so if April is somewhat like Mimi, she could be a more risk-taking, hard-living girl, who lures Roger into her lifestyle, though without too much resistance on his part.

Is it November yet?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 8:41pm

I'm staring to see that, too. April probably does have quiet a wild side to her. When I first saw the pictures of Mackenzie, I was like "jeez, she looks like a whore." I mean, Mimi is much more of a whore than April is, probably, but there might be more similarities than I originally thought.

*whine*
No, it's not November, and I, of all people, want it to be!

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 8:52pm

*whine*
"No, it's not November, and I, of all people, want it to be!"

Yes, there's been quite a change in your feelings since you visited the set! It reminds me of how invested I was in the first few films I worked on. A bad review was like a knife in the heart. Since then I've gotten quite a bit more detached, or jaded, I'm not sure which. But I'm looking forward to this film more than I've looked forward to anything in a long time.

I didn't think April looked like a whore so much, just a pretty wild, club-going, groupie kind of girl who's around 18 or 20. Come to think of it, that's probably what you meant.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 9:05pm

I used to be like "Shut up, I hate this movie!" every time someone said something about it. I probably have some pretty verbally violent posts on this board regarding the movie, and anything to do with it. It's been a weird turnaround in the past few months, but it's unbelievable what drastic measures it took to get me to be ready. I obviously still have reservations about things that may happen as a result of the movie, but as for the film itself, I think I'm finally in a pretty peaceful place with it.

And probably... my subconscious sort of used "whore" as an umbrella statement. One of those sleep-with-the-band kind of girls, which like I said, just wasn't what I pictured for her.

[zippyjen]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 9:21pm

thanks chloe! it is really interesting to read your guys thoughts on rent and the film.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 9:21pm

haha, thanks. I think about it a lot.

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 9:27pm

"I looked up groupies on the internet and THEY'RE SLUTS, THEY SLEEP WITH THE BAND!"

Now that you've got a little distance, what sticks in your mind the most about your experience on the set? Or alternatively, what little details can you add about it that you didn't remember to include before?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/2/05 at 9:36pm

I was trying to think of that line. Contrary to what may be popular belief, I haven't see SoR in a while.

I haven't really thought of any details other than what I posted. I really posted everything that I could remember, and my memory for details was probably not as good as it usually is, because everything was such a whirlwind by the time it ended. I think the thing that still sticks with me most was... well, two things. The image that's best stuck in my mind is that image of Adam watching the monitor. I think in my post, I put that seeing how happy he was made all of my doubts just melt away, mostly because he was consistently so vocal about not wanting to go back to Rent, and I didn't think he'd be so enthused about this movie, but also because he really was the only thing about that night that made sense to me. Everything else was totally unfamiliar. In conceptual terms, that warm fuzzy feeling still hasn't gone away. I still remember everything I saw, thought and felt like it could've been last night. It's hard to believe that almost three weeks have gone by. That feeling of community that is RENT was right there that night. That's probably the biggest thing I've taken from it - it made it finally feel like more than a musical.

Updated On: 4/2/05 at 09:36 PM