Latebreaking RENT FILM CASTING NEWS- Page 3

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:55am

Actually Evelyn, I know quite a bit about this film AND about the filmmaking process, probably a lot more than you would know.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:56am

Mister matt,
young perfrmers could do it damn good if they soent time findinga good cast. Rent's producers/creative team have been VERY sloppy in casting and look for cheap labor over good talent over the past years.....

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:57am

"age can be a BIG issue. 1 60 year old should not play a 20 year old...."

Who's 60??? It's not like anyone is trying to cast Mary Tyler Moore as Maureen. Sorry, but making the OBC convincing as 20-somethings is not too difficult a feat in motion pictures. Nor is it a major concern.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:58am

LOL Matt_G, I will not entertain any additional posts by you. You have my permission to "get the last word." Updated On: 10/26/04 at 10:58 AM

[Jon]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:58am

I always got the impression that Collins was supposed to be a few years older than Roger and Mark - after all, he's a professor. Am I wrong?

At least they are not planning on using Daphne. Back in 1996, I laughed when Roger said she looked 17!

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:59am

Evelyn, you can entertain my foot up your ass for all I care. You have no clue what you're talking about here.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:59am

actually, they say she looks 16... LOL.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:00am

But she looks older for her age.

And the only reason I want her in there (age aside) is because she's the only one I can stomach listening to singing those songs.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:02am

Rubin-Vega?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:06am

The ONLY Mimi I have seen that looked remotely close to the age described in the show was the first replacement after Daphne (whose name escapes me). She was excellent.

PS - Mimi is the only character whose age is given in the show, so the whole age thing is more speculation than anything else. If you think the actors cannot be in their 30s, then you must not know theatre people. Many of them keep up the Bohemian lifestyle well into their 30s. If I want to see 30-something Bohemian alternative punks or artists, all I have to do is take the Red Line to the Belmont stop in Chicago and stand in front of the entrance for about 5 seconds.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:07am

No, Mister Matt it wouldn't work. Evelyn said so.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:09am

Matt,
the first replacement was marcy hariell

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:10am

Matt_G - Did you ever see Mimi's first replacement? She also understudied Daphne. You probably would have liked her.

Unless C.C. is hiding behind Evelyn's screen name, I'm not going to worry about it. Though I thought C.C.'s touch was too light on the first two Harry Potter films, I give him props for casting. Same can be said of Home Alone.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:13am

Ooo Mister_Matt, a fellow Chicagoan!

Btw, in the screenplay, Angel says that he's 22.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:13am

No, I actually didn't see her in it. I've heard about her though and did hear she was great.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:25am

Notice how they didn't say anything about Angel. I wonder if that means Jai has the part...

[Marquise]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:32am

i just hope this movie comes out good and does well at the box-office. i want the studios to start producing more musicals, and not just animated ones. the success of Phantom and Rent will definitely be two deciding factors whether they will pursue other musical projects. Moulin Rouge and Chicago's success made it possible for Phantom and Rent to be green lighted.

As for the OBC in the film, well it's not really that big of a deal. It would be nice to see Columbus cast some remarkable unknowns that would not only bring a fresh interpretation of these characters but also blow us away "talent-wise". But in the end even if some or all of the OBC is finally cast it couldn't be any worse than seeing a 32 year old Olivia Newton-John and a 35 year old Stockard Channing playing 18 year olds in "Grease".

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:39am

I think it was aldente who explained why it would be worse than a 32-year-old Olivia Newton John playing a high school student: "Grease" is meant to be funny and over-the-top. Characters aren't dying of incurable diseases, coping with homeless, or struggling against gentrification. There's no harm in a woman well into her thirties putting on a blonde wig to mock her best friend at a slumber party, but there is something pretty off about people who are well into their thirties and look it singing "La Vie Boheme" in a restaurant. The reality is that by the time the film's been released, it will have been nine to eleven years since these people started performing the roles... and oh what fun it'll be to compare the photographs of them performing it on stage when it was a "contemporary piece" to them performing it on stage as a "period piece!" Updated On: 10/26/04 at 11:39 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:40am

"But in the end even if some or all of the OBC is finally cast it couldn't be any worse than seeing a 32 year old Olivia Newton-John and a 35 year old Stockard Channing playing 18 year olds in "Grease"."

Or practically every Broadway cast in Grease, for that matter.

[robbiej]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:40am

Do people really care this much?

Really??? HONESTLY??? For the love of St. Bridgit, people, put this energy into something creative!!!

That said...no. No other cast can replicate what the original Broadway cast had. That's usually true about every show. Once replacements come in, the very delicate balance achieved through weeks of rehearsals, previews and then months of performances after opening is shifted when new people come in. And to think of what the original RENT cast went through together...I mean...you cannot in any way, shape or form achieve that articifically. There may be better singers or actors out there, but the experience of putting that show together was what made that cast what it was. Special. The most special cast I've ever seen in anything.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:43am

"The most special cast I've ever seen in anything."

I totally agree with you, robbiej. Seeing the original cast, you could see it was a phenomenal journey they took together and it really came through in their performance as an ensemble. I can't even imagine what is was like seeing the original cast of Hair.

Updated On: 10/26/04 at 11:43 AM

[LoringsGuy]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:56am

Princess MimiChica, I have to agree with you on this one. Whatever Columbus decides to do, someone's going to complain. It happened with Harry Potter---he listened to what fans of the books had to say while preparing the film for production, and yet when it was released, he was criticized for being "too faithful" to the book. You know that if he deviated in any way from the plot or charactization, he would've been nailed to the wall by those same people. The poor dude can't win. The same thing is going to happen with the Rent film. I, for one, appreciate the fact that he cares enough about fans of the stage production that he's looking to cast original cast members instead of "Hollywoodizing" it by casting only name actors in roles they aren't suited for. Whether or not the original cast members are age appropriate any longer is another issue---but I have to give props to Columbus for trying to go more "Broadway" than "Hollywood."

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 12:02pm

Mister Matt: Matt_G - Did you ever see Mimi's first replacement? She also understudied Daphne. You probably would have liked her.

She didn't really understudy Daphne. Marcy went on for the matinee on Daphne's last day, but she was really just a replacement. Simone, Yassmin Alers, and Shayna Steele were the understudies. Maybe one other too, but I don't think so. I must say that I never saw Marcy perform, but she is gorgeous. Her voice puts me off a little bit, but damn she is beautiful. Heard her acting was solid too. Though people really hated her when she was with the show just because she wasn't Daphne.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 12:07pm

yes, Rentheads wanted to beat her because she replaced an OBC member.


Shayna Steele is God.
Thank you.

[shesings]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 12:15pm

I actually thought people would have been happier with these casting decisions. I mean first we're all up in arms about people like Justin Timberlake being cast, now we go for broadway people, and thats wrong too. Tell me then who is he supposed to cast? Have you guys seen the OC? Those kids are all mid 20's playing high schoolers. I agree that maybe they are too old, and its not ideal, but its a hell of a lot better that throwing in a bunch of teeny bopper pop stars or other celebrities who don't really sing (ala Renee Zellweger). What would it take to please you guys?