ADAM PASCAL IN L.A. FOR THE RENT MOVIE- Page 5

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/22/04 at 11:02pm

Wait, they rhyme even though they're spoken? Ick.

That makes me sad... I really want to give this a chance, but I'm nervous.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/22/04 at 11:13pm

Yes, case in point:

"You okay honey?"
"I'm afraid so."
"They get any money?"
"None to get it. But they purloined my coat!"

Some of the lines are changed to eliminate the rhyme, but as I read that particular slide, I found myself wondering why Columbus doesn't present "You Okay Honey?" as a song if he admires the rhymes so much. To his credit, he doesn't have Angel saying "Hell it's Christmas Eve" in response to Collins' "Well you missed a sleeve." But Columbus's contributions are hardly an improvement upon Chbosky's or Larson's. I think that the particular draft of the screenplay I read works best when Chbosky's dialogue is reproduced in full and the characters are just singing (one page contains "I'll Cover You: Reprise," which is staged the same way as it was in the Chbosky screenplay), but there are some weak moments for which Columbus is entirely to blame. Read: Angel's death is symbolized by the image of a T-cell being destroyed by HIV, and after Collins informs Benny that he has "just paid for the funeral of the man who killed his dog," Benny proposes that he, Mark and Collins all go out and get drunk. A bit of ill-timed levity there. Jeez. But I'm still impressed by the staging of some of the songs and Chbosky's dialogue.

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/22/04 at 11:17pm

*breaks down in tears*

I lied. I said I could handle adaptions and changes but I can't. Is this set in stone?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/22/04 at 11:20pm

No, it's not set in stone. It's an audition draft to which revisions are frequently made. (in fact, the dates of revisions are noted on the slides, and I'm guaranteed updates everytime Columbus makes more revisions)

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/22/04 at 11:20pm

*continues to sob*

It's over.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/22/04 at 11:51pm

I'm getting...nauseous.

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:01am

*wails hysterically*

Make it stop... it might still not happen, right?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:12am

With four months till filming, I think some of those major problems will end up fixed -- by the actors, by the editors, and by people at Revolution giving Columbus feedback on the screenplay. It's quite normal for a first draft -- and for all we know, these are only "test pages" for people auditioning -- to be mediocre. "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," for instance, went through at least eleven.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:16am

I just have an issue with changing the singing into dialogue. How much if it remains music??

[PatrickSalonga73]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:23am

Are they not called SIDES? I'm not being difficult just wondering if there's been another term for those god damn things all these years that totally flew by my head. Hmmm...

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:23am

The only part of "Goodbye Love" that remained song with orchestral accompaniment in the 9/24/04 slides was Mimi's "You don't want baggage..." up until Roger's, "I have to find..." This actually plays out well as written by Columbus, IMO. Honestly, I think that Columbus would have needed to do little more than eliminate the spoken rhyme to make those slides solid for public consumption. Apart from the spoken rhyme, it's really quite good, and I say this despite being biased toward the screenplay as originally written by Chbosky.
Updated On: 10/23/04 at 12:23 AM

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:25am

"Sides" is the correct term, Patrick. I was typing without my glasses on...

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:28am

Whoa! You mean from, "...sold your guitar and bought a car..."etcetc up until "you don't want baggage" is spoken?? oy I need a smoke.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:29am

No, Tiff... the "sold your guitar" part is actually not in these slides. But I don't understand your qualm there. That part is spoken dialogue in the stage production, just with pauses and rhymes to make it more lyrical. Updated On: 10/23/04 at 12:29 AM

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:33am

Pass the ciggarettes, Tiff. Or something stronger, if you have it.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 12:44am

Ak - I'm from B.C. Of course I've got something stronger.

Evelyn - I might be misunderstanding you here. What part of Goodbye Love is in the sides and which part are you saying remains dialogue? I know a bit of GL is spoken (more like yelled), I just have this impression of *everything* up until "bagge" being spoken, which makes me cringe.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 1:08am

Well, Tiff, as written by Columbus, I don't think that all of the events in "Goodbye Love" take place one after the other. For example, the tenseness between Joanne and Maureen is communicated through the image of them bitterly sitting apart from one another at Angel's funeral. Thus, it's unlikely that you'll hear line after line of this song adapted into spoken dialogue. The part where Mimi sings the words "you don't want baggage" takes place at the loft.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 1:10am

Got it. That might make more sense.

Any other updates from what you saw of the sides vs. the other script? (I'm just gonna mangle Chmblomgsehksj's name.)

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 1:20am

I'll send updates as I buy more slide copies (and this is totally legal, btw; the agency sells them). My general impression is that Chbosky's screenplay offered much better dialogue but Columbus's work should be respected for its brevity and its apparent loyalty to the Broadway production -- however misguided that may be as far as the spoken rhymes are concerned.

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 1:24am

*still crying in corner*

That's what bugs me... it's Harry Potter all over again. Heart in the right place, but he just can't do it.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 1:43am

thanks EN.

did you find out if there's any truth to that screw up of a casting character breakdown?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 1:52am

I never bought the casting breakdown of four Caucasians, two African-Americans and one African-American or Latino. That breakdown stands contradictory to the fact that at least one Latino has auditioned for Mark while at least one African-American woman has auditioned for Joanne.

But getting back to those sides: I don't think anyone reading my posts should be distraught over them. There is way too much for the people behind this film to accomplish between now and filming to insist that some audition sheets indicate that the project is doomed. Auditions are held for movies all the time with only a skeleton of the plot available. Titanic is the most successful example of this. Updated On: 10/23/04 at 01:52 AM

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 2:04am

I won't be distraught until I see the actual film. Then I'll either cheer or cry. Until then, I'll remain cautiously optimistic.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 2:08am

RENT is my most anticipated film of 2005 but for the latter half of the year, I also have Memoirs of a Geisha, The Producers and the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to look forward to...

So in the face of disappoint, there will be alternatives.

[mikeonbroadway]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 2:11am

"Read: Angel's death is symbolized by the image of a T-cell being destroyed by HIV, and after Collins informs Benny that he has "just paid for the funeral of the man who killed his dog," Benny proposes that he, Mark and Collins all go out and get drunk. A bit of ill-timed levity there. Jeez. But I'm still impressed by the staging of some of the songs and Chbosky's dialogue."

Erm -- that could be an interesting way for Angel's death, don't knock it till you see it. (Reverts to AiA again) look at the film of Angels in America, they did visual symbolism and the critics loved it.

Oh and P.S. -- Have you seen Rent or read the libretto? Because the scene after GL goes:

"Collins:
I think it's only fair to tell you, you just paid for the funeral of the person who killed your dog.

Benny:
I know... I always hated that dog...
Let's pay him off, and then get drunk.

Mark:
I can't... I have a meeting.

Benny & Collins:
Punk! Let's go."

So -- Jonathan wrote it like that, unless you were being sarcastic. Then sorry.