Ignorance towards the Rent movie

I am not sure if it is because I come from a fairly conservative area, but from what I have heard people are deciding NOT to see the movie once they hear that there is homosexuality in it. I had one friend who, after seeing a preview, commented on how good the movie looked and how the music sounded fun and she wanted to come see it with me, but then a few weeks later upon seeing a poster told me that she didn't think she could handle it if it had lesbians in it. She isn't the only person I've heard sharing these opinions, and it's infuriating me!!! It's like the world is too judgemental to even attempt to understand the overall theme of RENT. Has anyone else experienced any of these ignorant attitudes, and do you think this kind of attitude is prevalent enough to really affect how well the movie does?

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I recently read an article (maybe in Entertainment Weekly?) that brought to light the "deception" of the Rent marketing campaign, and how if one only watches the TV promos and trailers, you might not know it's a musical. They said that by advertising something as a musical, you turn off a certain segment of the audience, where as, if people just think they're going to see a movie about 8 friends, they're more willing to go. They claimed that it worked so well for "Chicago" that both "Rent" and "The Producers" are doing a similar promotion campaign.

I dont think the homosexuality is going to matter that much to most people. I mean its there, but i dont think its necessarily in your face.

I think that is the issue here. It is a very religious area where people post anti-gay marriage signs in their yards. A large number people are racist too. So I'm not sure they would be lining up to see a movie with two interracial homosexual couples.

That being said, I would be lining up, but now I'll have to travel to see it.

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In the TV spots they are!

Incidentally, I'm straight, but I don't believe that there is anything wrong with homosexuality. As long as they don't harm society, it's all right with me.

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I saw a trailer yesterday that gave NO indication at all that it was a musical. There was music playing the background (Will I?, I believe) but everything coming out of the actor's mouths was dialogue. There was ONE shot of Angel during Today 4 U where he's jumping, and a so-quick-you'd miss-it shot of Maureen's back during Over the Moon, but other than that, there was nothing to indicate any musical numbers at all. If that was somehow the only trailer you saw, you would not know it was a musical if you didn't already know it.

What really boggles my mind is that the ads are using a quote from Maxim magazine saying "a major motion picture event." Well, the latest issue of Maxim (yes, I'm straight and I read Maxim) put Rent under it's column of movies that are definite "not"s - not because of the homosexuality, but because it's more of a "chick" movie. I already know that Maxim won't advocate a movie like this (though it does advocate The Producers - mildly), but I like the...ahem....articles in the magazine, so.....

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I think the audience lost because of the homosexuality will be made up by the fact that nearly every college student in America is planning on seeing this movie. I rarely hear any "buzz" around campus about ANYTHING, but everywhere I go these days, people are talking about this movie.

Actually this is a very good point which I didn't see until now. I just assumed that it was obvious that it's a musical because we know it is. But I can definitely see how someone who knows nothing about it might not realize that it is.

I know a lot of people who (unfortunately) will not be seeing this movie because of the gay characters. I just hope that enough decent, open-minded people see it that it does well.

Anyway, this brings up a rather interesting point that I thought about making on the review thread but avoided for fear of beating a dead horse: I think that art2 has an extremely valid point regarding the marketing of this movie not focusing on the Angel/Collins relationship, and instead putting a lot more focus on Roger/Mimi and Joanne/Maureen. And I think that it's smart, if somewhat decieving. A lot of people ARE selective homophobes (I've talked to some) and absolutely will not go see this movie if they have indication of a focus on a gay male realtionship. It's sad that this has to be the case, but I would rather those people actually get to the movie and see the positve way that the relationship is portrayed rather than avoid seeing the movie altogether because of their prejudice, and if that requires deceptive marketing then I'm okay with that. The same way with ads that don't indicate that it's a musical--it's deception, but at least the people who "just don't like musicals" might give it a chance, and maybe even end up liking it.

I think if people go to see the RENT movie because of the advertising campaign, and change their views than that will be great. If they go in, decide they don't like it, or are prejudiced enough to object to the relationships portrayed within it, then they can go out, still small minded, but at least the movie will have the gross from their tickets.

Being in the UK, I can't really comment on the advertising campaign used, but from what I've seen on the internet, they've gone for the most inclusive campaign that they could do - trying to appeal to the widest possible demographic, not just musical theatre fans, which is the best idea as many people would be put off by the fact that it is a musical. In order to get the box office they want, this is probably the only practical approach.

The Producers trailer that I've seen does have some singing in it but I think that that will be carried through to a different by the "star power" of Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell - they both have fans out there who would go and see anything that they're in I'm sure, and they're both proven box office draws. From the point of view of the Bible belt, I guess the material contained in The Producers would also be less of a problem.

Updated On: 11/22/05 at 12:25 PM

Yeah, I've been really surprised by the many different tv ads that they've done, as well. I definitely never expected that, and I don't think I've ever seen a movie have as many different tv spots as this movie does. It's really smart--once again, appealing to the widest possible audience. RENT is a pretty diverse musical, and between songs like "Sesons of Love' and "Finale B" and more rock-influenced ones like "Out Tonight," there's bound to be something that appeals to almost everyone.

screw the conservatives and homophobes. i think there are enough people out there that are willing to give the movie a chance, more than the ones who aren't going to see that because of their closed-mindedness.

there are hundreds (if not thousands) of rentheads, and besides them, there are masses of people wanting to see the movie because of all the hype, etc.

Here's the one thing I worry about. I hope this movie is well-recieved. But with all of the *huge* things also released right around this time, is the "hype" really as big as we think it is? I feel like we have tunnel vision, because we pay attention to every ad, article, trailer and tv appearance. They're marketing the hell out of this thing, which is wonderful, but is there really *that much* "hype" and buzzy already? I think there will be once word-of-mouth starts to travel after tomorrow, but I certainly don't hear a lot of people walking down the street talking about it.

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Updated On: 11/22/05 at 12:57 PM