The RENT Screenplay (which probably won't be filmed)

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 3:41am

********************SPOILERS*******************************

So after a year of hearing complaints that Steven Chobsky was (essentially) maiming Rent by turning "Light My Candle" into dialogue, presenting "Out Tonight" as a strip tease by Angel and Mimi for their respective lovers, and cutting "Over the Moon," I decided to buy a copy of the screenplay from a certain someone.

Short story: You're all wrong. It's not your fault -- you were just confused by the review on TNMC.com. Chobsky's adaptation of Jonathan Larson's Rent (dated April 14, 2000) is possibly the best screenplay I've read in my life. Whereas Rob Marshall's Chicago (one of my favorite movie musicals to date) so emphasizes its musical numbers that fans of the stageshow probably sat through the movie eagerly awaiting "Cell Block Tango," "Both Reached for the Gun," "Mr. Cellophane" and other popular numbers, Chobsky's screenplay manages to combine and juxtapose Larson's songs with dialogue so seamlessly that I wonder if people would even regard it as a traditional musical or feel taken aback by the fact that songs don't come one after another. (There is A LOT of dialogue between every song.) Chobsky's approaches toward making the songs "realistically" fit into the plot are varied and innovative. The numbers are all presented in one of six ways:
1. As performances in clubs or other theatrical venues (Rent, Contact, Take Me or Leave Me, Out Tonight, La Vie Boheme, the reprise of I'll Cover You, Your Eyes, Finale B, Over the Moon).
2. As street music or music performed on makeshift instruments while the friends are enjoying some downtime (Santa Fe, part of Christmas Bells, Will I?)
3. As song accompaniment for montages (reprise of Will I?, Without You, What You Own)
4. The most innovative technique - magic realism (Another Day, Seasons of Love). The approach toward presenting these numbers is especially complicated, so I'll only explain how they're presented only if I'm asked.
5. As instrumental pieces accompanied by dialogue (the first I'll Cover You, You Okay Honey?, Goodbye Love, Halloween, Happy New Year, You'll See Boys, and presumably Light My Candle even though Chobsky doesn't specify that music for it would be played the first time Mimi and Roger meet).
6. As a combination of real-life music and a character's imagination (Life Support, Tango: Maureen, One Song Glory).
7. As dialogue with brief instrumental strains (On the Street, I Should Tell You, the voicemails from Mark's mom)

The only major numbers that are deleted in full are "We're Okay" and "Today 4 U," which might initially upset you but shouldn't since it makes Angel seem a bit more puckish than he should be (animal abuse isn't funny). In favor of presenting Angel as almost startlingly angelic, the screenplay omits the subplot about him hurting Benny's dog. He isn't completely perfect -- there is a mischievous scheme that he concocts to unite Mimi and Roger, and the scheme leads to an especially tense scene in which Roger swears at Angel profusely while he stands there about to cry but still let's Roger express his anger (while Collins tries to get Roger to stop screaming at Angel).

What else can I clarify?

1. Other Larson songs not on the Broadway recording are incorporated into the plot. They include Do Unto Them, Destination Sky and Open Road (all from Half-Empty House).
2. Angel and Mimi do NOT sing Out Tonight together. This is how that number is staged: Angel and Collins trick Roger into going to the Cat Scratch Club with them, and when Roger quips that it isn't an ideal place for gay men to go to at night, they more or less tell him (with mischevious grins) "We know." So just then, Roger looks up to see that a fire escape is on the stage -- which, of course, is surrounded by horny middle-aged men who are putting money into strippers' lingerie. The opening music for "Out Tonight" begins as Mimi appears at the top of the fire escape. She's initially singing the song to the dirty yuppies while stripping very slowly, but then she notices Roger and makes it clear that the song is now directed at him. He looks completely irate the whole time because he can't get over the fact that Angel and Collins tricked him into going to the Cat Scratch Club to see her. She notices that he's irate and has been noticing that since she first met him at the pawn shop, but she still continues to sing the song while also attempting to counter (or feed) Roger's bad mood by inviting Angel on the stage to join the girls in the strip tease. Angel never sings, but he does take pleasure in surprising this homophobe [who has been checking him out] by exposing himself at the very end of the strip tease. It's an incredibly well-written number that combines humor with pathos.
3. Most of "Over the Moon" is not heard, but we hear and see Maureen practicing several lines of it before the riot begins. We also hear her do the "moooo" part at the actual protest.
4. Even though "Rent" is written by Roger... Benny, Mark and Maureen (in a funny twist) all participate in it. There is also an androgynous character named Mike who sings some of the lines originally written for Mark. It foreshadows the financial troubles that are to come in 1992 (the "good year" ends in December of 1991 when Roger discovers April's body).

I will answer any other questions about this beautiful 151-page screenplay here or by PM. And in case you can't tell, I hope that Chris Columbus chooses to film it; I sense that whatever he writes would make the music so prominent that hardly anything new is brought to the table. It would still be an enjoyable film, but nowhere near as deep as the one written by Chobsky -- who seems more clear on how to [honestly and respectfully] present the homeless and people with AIDS than Larson was when he wrote Rent. There is A LOT of detail in this screenplay that isn't in the show, and yet almost everything that was in the show is still there without making the screenplay extraordinarily long. I read it in one sitting between 11:30PM and 6:30AM yesterday.

P.S. The character of Steve from The Life Support group figures into the plot more significantly than he does in the stage production. We also briefly get to know Angel's father, April, both of Mimi's parents, Alexi Darling, the Buzzline host Gary Mann, the poser kids of Avenue A, all of the Well Hungarians (Roger's band), the kids who beat the crap out of Collins, the drug dealers, and a number of other people. Additions and minor edits to the plot make Benny a character with whom we can sympathize while still understanding why the friends increasingly despise him. Angel and Collins are MUCH deeper than they are in the show. Two lovers who enjoy life but are still very conscious of how sad and desperate they feel at times. Roger sobs quite a bit. And the ages are clearly delineated for 1992, with Mimi the youngest (19), followed by Angel (21), then Roger and Maureen as the same age (23), then Benny and Mark as a year older than Roger (24), and then Collins (28 ). Joanne is age-ambiguous but it seems to be implied that she's several years older than Maureen... Updated On: 9/18/04 at 03:41 AM

[Musetta1957]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:42am

It'd be nice if you cited a source.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 5:34am

Yeah, that would be nice... which is why the source is cited. Wonka0217. I read the screenplay. I wrote the spoiler. You've got to hit the sack and let those brain cells regenerate, my friend.

[brandonm]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 8:56am

Where did you read the screen play?

[Marquise]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 10:10am

He read the screenplay in the privacy of his own home.

He stated: "I decided to buy a copy of the screenplay from a certain someone.


Updated On: 9/18/04 at 10:10 AM

[timote316]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 11:27am

That sounds really interesting. It Hollywood-izes the story, yet still keeps in the same. I wouldn't mind the movie presenting what EvelynNesbit1906 presents for us. Thanks!

[insomniak]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 11:44am

This isn't being used and has been dissussed, Columbus is writing his own script.

[Princess MimiChica]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 12:02pm

Interesting concepts...just to clarify, is this the script that had Aprils suicide at the begining? or am I confused?

Can I ask where you bought the script, and for how much? I'd LOVE to get my hands on it!!!

[zoran912]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 12:14pm

I really enjoy Stephen Chbosky's work. Have any of you read The Perks of Being a Wallflower? It's an amazing book.

I doubt that this script will ever be used. I almost wish that a movie wouldn't happen. The story is so broken, yet beloved. To fix it would be to ruin it.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 1:46pm

Not to start a new debate on whether or not the movie should be made, but just my 2c - at first I was reluctant but if the movie is made as well as that Rent commercial with Norbert LB is, I'll be a happy camper.

Thanks for the insight. I'm okay with We're Okay and Today 4 U being deleted, but I'd rather Santa Fe than T4U.

What do you mean by there being a LOT of dialogue in between? I don't know if I like that much...even after cutting out two songs, the rest of the music is pretty lengthy and self-explanatory!

[TheGirlinTheFrock]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 1:57pm

Yeah, i was interested about that too. With only a few songs being cut, and SO much dialogue put in, how is that not a 4 hour movie?

[SeeIreallycouldn'tSING!!]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 2:08pm

i enjoyed the play. I would like to see it come to the screen, if just to see what they do to it. I enjoyed Chicago the movie and the play. In some cases the movie was better then the play. but thats just my thought, I would like to see alot of diolouge in between songs. BUt I think that the biggest factor in weither the moive is good or not, is the casting.

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 2:53pm

I wish they could just keep it the same as the stage show. It could translate very well I think.

[notsovirginmary]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 2:58pm

"Rent commercial with Norbert LB is"

I heart that commercial. Watching everyone walking down the street singing just makes me.. happy. Who ever directed it did a damn good job.

Updated On: 9/18/04 at 02:58 PM

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 2:59pm

Hi all. Responses follow:

1. Yes, I bought the screenplay and have it as a downloadable file on my computer. I wondered about the legality of someone selling it to me, but I guess that since it's not being used, it's kind of like a fan fiction now. PM me if you're interested in reading it?

2. Numbers like "Tango: Maureen" and "Take Me or Leave Me" are given VERY Hollywood presentations. Otherwise, the music often emerges 'naturally' from the story world, so it seems rather... grassroots. Definitely not a traditional musical. I would say it's more like Cabaret than anything else in that the songs often exist within the story world (instead of being performances that consistently break the fantasy-reality divide).

3. Columbus has been writing his own screenplay. Nevertheless, Chobsky's screenplay still stands as the first major adaptation of Rent available for public consumption. I consider it literature.

4. Yes, this is the screenplay in which April commits suicide at the beginning (though, in fact, her suicide isn't revealed into page 14.

5. Today 4 U is deleted because it's not essential to the plot. Santa Fe -- though not as exhuberant as Today 4 U -- is much more important in the context of Chobsky's work.

6. The screenplay is a rough draft (looks pretty finished to me), so I imagine that some things *might* have been deleted to make it shorter. However, at 151 pages, it is much shorter than the screenplay for Gangs of New York and not that much longer than the shooting script for Chicago. Chobsky abridged quite a few of the songs by turning them into dialogue and instrumental pieces, so that's [mainly] how he was able to incorporate so much into the screenplay. Seasons of Love, One Song Glory, Out Tonight, Another Day, Will I?, Without You, Take Me or Leave Me, I'll Cover You: Reprise, Finale B and What You Own are the only ones that make it to the screenplay completely unedited. It works... it really does.

7. The dialogue is by no means extraneous. It's used to add A LOT of depth to the relationships between Collins and Angel, Mark and Joanne (which irritates Maureen), Angel and Roger, Benny and his investors, Mimi and Benny, etc. I suspect that you would really enjoy if you'd read it... this is a screenplay that could have easily won an Oscar because the writer did so much more than take the songs and add screen directions for them.

8. I agree that casting is very important.

[SeeIreallycouldn'tSING!!]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 3:00pm

But who would be cast!? I'd like to see unknowns playing the parts.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 3:29pm

Please don't open up that casting can on worms again. Please. :)

I'm glad that my favorite songs aren't going to be abridged (virtually every one that you listed). Thank god. I'm not totally against dialogue if it doesn't slow down the pace. I'd like to see Benny fleshed out more (esp. his relationship to Mimi and his eventual return to the good side), and more to emphasize Collins and Angel's relationship. Without You is one of my favorite songs because of their unspoken interaction together, and it could be so much more in the context of a movie.

[insomniak]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 3:41pm

Agreed entirely, Zoran. Broken works for Rent, the unfinished feeling adds to it.

[lostwallflower]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:29pm

Wow. I find that all very interesting. It would still break my heart to see Rent become a movie, but it sounds like its on a good track.

[karlean7]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:42pm

Well, actually, we have NO idea whether it's on the right track, because that's not the screenplay that's gonna be used. Chris Columbus may pull a fantastic adaptation out of his rear, or not, we just don't know right now.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:44pm

Columbus pulling off a good adaptation of Rent would be a miracle akin to...oh, I don't know. President Bush officiating a gay marriage? The man makes nice, professional, deadly dull movies. He managed to take the magic out of Harry Potter. 'Nuff said.

[NoDayButToday2]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:45pm

Chobsky's screenplay is very well written and I am terribly dissapointed that it wont be the one used... I'm a little nervous about Columbus's adaptation now that I have the actual musical AND a wonderful screenplay to compare it to!

[lostwallflower]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:46pm

Oh man I totally misunderstood that. Shucks...

[shesings]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:52pm

grrr.... I just want to know when this is going to happen. I mean is this something Colubus is diligently working on, or just a project off to the side? In any case its driving me crazy!

[Plum]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:54pm

Shesings, Rent is currently residing in Development Hell. No one knows when (or if) it will ever film. So worry not. I stopped worrying about the film version of Sweeney Todd a long time ago. *sob*