Latebreaking RENT FILM CASTING NEWS- Page 10

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 11:49pm

Angel? Jai.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 11:52pm

Oh man, I want him to get the part so bad.

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 11:58pm

That confused me, Tiff.

I think Jai is a likely candidate- a recognizable name and he's already proven himself with the Rentheads.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 11:58pm

What confused you, Ak?

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:03am

"It doesn't have to be kept, but I think it's really important to Mimi's character that he stays jaded *for her age*, and I think by her mid-twenties, it's too "late", if that makes sense. "

[paulie23]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:06am

why not MYA for MiMi?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:07am

yeah, it wasn't too coherent. what i mean, is the idea is that mimi is this young girl who's seen and been through a lot *for her age*, but her naivity and "NBDT" attitude is what wins Roger over. If mimi's character is changed to be in her mid-20s, her experiences wouldn't seem as shocking (i mean, a 19 year old stripper vs. a 26 year old stripper, for one thing) and it wouldn't be as effective.

[insomniak]

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

Right. There's a protective element in Roger's character- he's afraid of Mimi's drugs and is upset when Benny tries to hurt her. He's the kind of person who needs to protect someone else, even though he's the one who really needs help.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:18am

exactly. i don't think the protective element is really as effective if they're the same age.

[Chloe]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:31am

Casting someone mid-twenties doesn't mean she couldn't play the part younger, just that the kind of disparity between someone like the Olsen twins and Adam that was mentioned earlier isn't going to be a problem. By the way, weren't some of you complaining about Adam perpetually looking 14 a while back?

Anyway, I think he'll be able to come off as mid-twenties or slightly older, and whoever plays Mimi will probably seem about twenty - that should work.

[shesings]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:34am

They could cast someone mid 20's for Mimi. I am 23 and I could EASILY pass for 17! And she's supposed to be 19, but young looking. I know I could pull that off and will be able to for the next few years. (not that I could ever be a Mimi since I am totally white, and I can't dance ..... not to mention I'm not really a big name!)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:38am

"weren't some of you complaining about Adam perpetually looking 14 a while back?"

I think he looks younger than he is, but still not young enough to play Roger. Oh well...

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:46am

you guys are right, they can hire someone in their twenties to *play* 19. my gripe is if they up mimi - the *character's* - age.

i don't know if adam could play low to mid twenties. late-twenties at the youngest.

[Whiteboy Spice]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 4:50am

Hello everybody --

I have debated whether or not I wanted to enter into the possible quagmire that might ensue from posting on this board, but I figured it was better to engage than not...

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I appreciate all of the honesty going back and forth around these parts, but I also wanted to at least try to calm some fears out there...

I've only talked to Jesse and Adam at this point, but I can vouch for all of us that we feel very strongly that the script as it is right now is very very strong, and cinematizes the show very well. Believe me when I say we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't feel that way.

Also, Chris Columbus wanted to meet with us in person to make sure that to his eye we didn't look too old for the roles, so for whatever it's worth, he thinks we look age-appropriate. Of course, that's all in the eye of the beholder, but I thought you should know that it was a matter he was concerned about. And to be clear, there is no specific indication of how old Roger, Mark, Maureen, and Collins are anywhere in the text. We only get the sense that they've been out of school enough years to be doing what they're doing (or not doing, as the case may be).

Having worked with Chris a long time ago, I can vouch for the fact that he is a wonderfully open-minded, collaborative man with a big heart. Adventures in Babysitting was one of the best sets I've ever worked on, and after meeting him a couple of weeks ago about the Rent movie, I feel confident that he hasn't changed for the worse. He seems to really recognize the artistic opportunity that making this movie will be for him, as well. It will, after all, be his first R-rated film. There is no shying away from the drug use or strong language or homosexuality or the ravages of AIDS in the screenplay. This will not be a candy-coated telling of the story of the show.

We will all do our best to honor the work that Jonathan Larson set out to do all of those years ago, and we are deeply privileged to get the opportunity to do so on film.

Oh, and for a historical perspective, it's rare that any original cast members get to reprise their roles on film, so for that reason alone all of the people whom I know in the business are thrilled not only for me personally, but for the fact that in this case people in Hollywood are taking a risk like this, by using us instead of more famous people. You can pretty much count on two hands the number of times it's happened in the history of Hollywood.

I hope we'll make you all proud. And I hope that Jonathan would be proud if he were here.

Thanks for reading...

Take care --

Anthony

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 4:52am

The above poster signs on... *grins*

Theater Preview
A career blossoms from "Rent" success By Misha Berson
Seattle Times theater critic


CRAIG SCHWARTZ
Anthony Rapp as Seymour in the Broadway touring revival of "Little Shop of Horrors."

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Seeing him portray the narrating student filmmaker Mark, in the premiere of the seismic mid-1990s hit rock-opera "Rent," it was hard to imagine Anthony Rapp being anyone else. Lean, blond, bespectacled, boyish, Rapp seemed perfectly in tune with Jonathan Larson's hip, Lower Manhattan reworking of "La Boheme." Even today, he admits Mark is more like him than any other role he's played. But chat with Rapp, and you encounter a dedicated, thoughtful actor who's been working at his craft since childhood and is as happy doing Shakespeare as he is belting out show tunes. Expected in Seattle next week, in a Broadway touring revival of the spoofy musical "Little Shop of Horrors," Rapp spoke by phone from Portland about growing up in Joliet, Ill., and getting his first pro acting job in nearby Chicago at age 9. By high school, aided by his supportive mother (a divorced nurse) and encouraging teachers, Rapp was branching out creatively. "In high school I was on a speech team," he recalled. "And I loved Monty Python, so I'd take any opportunity to be in skits, do puppet shows. [Comedian] Andy Dick is also from Joliet, and we'd create these silly audiotapes and videos. It was fun to see what different things you could do." Like Mark in "Rent," Rapp attended film school at New York University — but dropped out to take stage jobs, including a role in John Guare's Broadway hit, "Six Degrees of Separation." He also performed far Off-Broadway, in scripts penned by older brother Adam Rapp, whose dark, sharp-edged plays about society's outcasts and lower depths are gaining notoriety. Theater preview


"Little Shop of Horrors" plays Tuesday-Oct. 7 at the Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle; $23-$62 (www.ticketmaster.com or 206-292-ARTS).


"When we were kids Adam was actually a jock, a great athlete," Rapp reported. "He had no interest in theater and actually resented it. But then he came to see me in 'Six Degrees' in New York, and there was something about it that really awakened him. He still plays basketball, but he's one of the most prolific playwrights I know." It was "Rent," though, that really boosted Rapp and others in the tight-knit ensemble cast: Jesse Martin (who went on to TV's "Law and Order"), Taye Diggs (star of TV's "Kevin Hill"), Idina Menzel (a Tony winner in the musical "Wicked") and Adam Pascal (co-star of Disney's "Aida"). "When 'Rent' hit we were all getting recognized on the street, like we were the Spice Girls," Rapp marveled. "But it wasn't just that there was all this attention. It was that the work itself was worthy of the attention. The people involved in it were having the best creative relationship we could have." After two years in "Rent" in New York, and six months in the London staging, Rapp charmed as the cartoon-character lead in a Broadway musical revival of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." He also was seen in films, including "A Beautiful Mind." Nonsinging stage roles were harder to come by. An exception: an open-air Boston stand of Shakespeare's "Henry V," where "I got to be an adopted Red Sox fan." Said Rapp, "Playing Henry was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had — and one of the most critically divergent. Some critics said I was a disaster. Others said I was perfect for the part." The mixed response didn't throw Rapp. "I always aspire for clarity and truth in storytelling. That's always my goal." And he'd love to take on more Shakespeare parts — say, Edmund in "King Lear," and many a young actor's dream/nightmare, Hamlet. For now, Rapp (who, at 33, looks rather like a younger sib of James Spader) is hoping he'll play Mark in the movie of "Rent," which Chris Columbus ("Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone") will direct. And he's enjoying crossing the country as the hapless plant-store clerk Seymour in "Little Shop of Horrors," Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's zippy musical comedy version of a deadpan 1960 B-movie about a ravenous plant with a yen for human blood. "I first saw the musical when I was 10, and I loved it," Rapp said. "I appreciate the writing — it's really clever, dark, funny, heartfelt. And I like the traveling. It's especially nice to travel when you're working." Misha Berson: [e-mail]

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 4:52am

Thank you Anthony!

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 9:32am

I really haven't been reading most of the threads on the movie casting, just because it's all the same blah blah blah, and nothing we can do anything about. But I just want to say how glad I am that Anthony decided to post (here and on CB, which I frequent). The points he brought up regarding the casting of the original Broadway cast members really made me excited for the film and it's outcome. I think the whole OBC being cast thing is a good idea in the end, and much more so now that Anthony has given his perspective. So thanks!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 9:34am

the whole OBC isn't being cast.. only some. There isn't a chance in hell Rubin-Vega or Heredia will be in it.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 9:36am

Right, I know that. I didn't mean it as the whole OBC being cast, I meant the whole idea of casting original cast members.

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 11:27am

Oh wow.

Thanks very much for posting, Anthony. It's good to know that you think the script stays true to the original in the ways that it should. (And happy belated birthday)

So it looks like the invited five have accepted, if I've read that right. I'm in a bit of a shock, but thank you. Can't wait to see it.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 11:37am

yup, thanks Anthony. I have faith that the movie will be amazing, and I'm so glad some OBC members are reprising their roles.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:34pm

Crap, I was gonna run over here from CB and post Anthony's message, but he beat me to it. hehe

I'm not going to pretend that I'm thrilled with all of the casting that's been announced so far, but thanks, Anthony, for at least allaying some of my fears. I feel better knowing that the script has your, and the others', stamp of approval.

(PS. What are you doing up so late?? Take care of yourself in Utah, will ya! I'm hoping to see you on LSOH in Seattle next week!)

Updated On: 10/29/04 at 12:34 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:39pm

*jaw drops*
First of all, to Anthony - thank you for being honest and sincere, and for putting at least a few of my fears to rest. I know you all will make us very proud, and that Jonathan surely would be, too. Happy belated birthday, by the way.

To the rest of you - you're probably expecting long-winded comments from me. I'm very shocked, and actually kind of sick. I don't think well when I'm sick, and I really have no comments. I don't know what I'm thinking or what I'm feeling about this. Just surprised.

Technical question for y'all, as well - is the film being shot in New York?

Oh, look. Light My Candle just came on iTunes. Ironic.

[Amneris]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:40pm

Amen to you Anthony Rapp! Can not wait to see the film done the right way...and that is with the OBC. That way EVERY "rent" generation can get a chance to see once more what made everyone fall in love.

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 10/29/04 at 12:46pm

Thanks for posting that, Anthony! That definitely makes me feel better about the film. I'm glad that it would make Jon proud, so I hope it's going to be amazing.