Latebreaking RENT FILM CASTING NEWS- Page 7

[fishergirl819]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 4:52pm

I know the majority of the conversation in this thread as been about Adam, Idina, Daphne's age, Matt Caplan as Mark, etc. I just had to add a little love for Jesse L. Martin - IMO, he and Taye have aged the best out of the OBC. Like others, I always thought of Collins as a few years older than Mark and Roger - casting 35 year old Martin as Collins in the movie would be incredibly believable, in my opinion. Plus, although not a huge name, he is recognizable, having been on Law and Order the past few years (I know that whenever my mother sees him in anything other than L&O, she gets a case of "Hey! It's THAT GUY!", and I have to inform her where she's seen him before). So yeah - I would be happy if Jesse were to be cast in the movie.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 4:56pm

I live Jesse!
Whenever I watch L&O I say, I can't beleive his voice is so good.

::If you are under 16, don't read this::
Well of course Taye has aged well - he's with Idina - we all saw how she kisses - she's keeping him in tip-top shape.

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 4:57pm

Jesse was the best thing about the original cast. Collins has never been portrayed so honestly and passionately

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 4:57pm

It's funny, but when I saw Rent in July, I thought, given Matt's egomaniacal performance, he and the actor playing Roger should have switched roles.

PS - Idina is not underrated. If you had seen her in Rent, you would understand why. She and Wilson delivered two of the most memorable performances I have ever seen.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 5:00pm

PS - I didn't say Dee was underrated, I said the opposite! I don't agree with that though (that she's overrated)

I did see her in Rent (I think I implied that)

Fredi Walker and her are amazing together!

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 5:13pm

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[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 5:14pm

jmaclover - My apoligies! I think I misread your post. Or maybe it was another post on another thread on another day. I just turned 35, so my memory is fading...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think leomaxfrank is a tribute both to Leo and Max from The Producers and Leo Frank from Parade.

Or it could just be a typo.

Or mean something else altogether.


*cough*


uhhhh.....Rent ROCKS, DUDE!!

[insomniak]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 5:24pm

Thank god for the Jesse L. Martin appreciation. Most Rent fans just gloss over his brilliant, soulful performance on the OBCR. I have never heard a better one.

Posted: 10/26/04 at 5:45pm

I love the idea of OBC at least they will get great people who know the characters better than anyone else and have ten times the talent any hollywood celebrity would have.

[BroadwayBaby21]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 5:50pm

my two cents...
As much as I would LOVE to see the OBC be in the movie in the roles they created because I never saw the OBC perform it, i just can't seem them, a good 8 years later, doing the same roles.
I honestly think a bunch of fresh faces would do a better job than they would.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 6:10pm

I agree with them needing new faces.

On the flip side, Rent changed a lot of the actors making them who they are today. I feel like the OBC would never forget how to play the role and would bring such energy to it.

I think the movie in itself is going to lack because so much of the energy of such shows rely on the audience.

[timote316]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 6:18pm

Alright, I'm not reading all 130something posts before me, so please accept my appologies if this has been said.

Ok, you pick:
Anthony Rapp or Clay Aiken
Adam Pascal or Justin Timberlake
Idina Menzel or Britney Murphy

(yes, I know Justin is not interested anymore, and Clay is an extreme longshot, but you get what I'm saying) Makeup can work miracles these days (insert Michael Jackson joke here lol), this is nothing new (ie. Tom Welling plays a 17-18 y/o Superman on Smallville. He is 27.).

Just put it this way: if this is all true, assume the movie is going to be terrible. That way, your outlook for it is low, it can only raise your opinion lol.

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 6:54pm

BroadwayGirl107: Kris2...I'm glad you mentioned Caren, she's a wonderful talent...the only one who really breathed any life into the show last time I saw it...and she was an understudy.

She was a fantastic Mimi. Sweet and sexy. She had the whole package. She wrote this psychedelic musical called Womyn in 3. I saw it at the Fringe Festival and it became one of my favorite musicals of all time. It’s being staged on November 3rd. ::plug:: SEE THIS SHOW. I encourage everyone to make plans and get tickets. Get your butts down there. It'll blow your mind. Caren is incredibly talented. The show has a great message, the costumes are great, the direction is fabulous, and it's just so creative and original. A very Cabaret-like feel to it. The music, lyrics, choral arrangements, and vocals are top notch. R&B/rock belting. You'll be sorry if you miss it. I hope you love it. I did. And yes, it’s as strange as it sounds.

“The Atomic Bar & Chill is situated in the womb of the universe. The house band is the creatrix, Great Mother of all things, fronted by Infinity Blue, the personification of will. Together with their cracked out chorus of atoms, they create a journey.... a karmic ride dripping with soul and spoken word guaranteed to open your minds and deepen your smile. Get ready for the ride of your life...... because Time is a Mother....and she's coming!”

Henry St. Settlement
466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street)
New York, NY 10002

http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=WOM46
/plug


Broadwayguy2: Kris, a couple of strong performers can not compensate. The creative has let the show become sloppy and worn out and they led that path with their own actions.... look at the cast.. so many of them have been recycled and rehashed it isn't funny.. and they aren't even the standout performers of many of their former companies. It seems like they just don't WANT to go find new people for the cast... and playing onstage 100% out of character is inexcusable... and many of the current cast members are guilty of that... and by the admission of many rentheads, who, I may add, actually think that playing around out of character makes a good show. and energy or not, there has to be talent and spot on performances. Energy can not make up for that.. all they are then is high energy bad performers.

Okay, I didn’t mean for it to come off like I thought all they had going for them was a great energy. My bad. I feel that all the ones I listed before are extremely talented performers and are great at the characters they’ve played. Jeremy Kushnier has certainly proven himself as one of the best Rogers out there imho (though insomniak will probably counter me on that point). The most believable in the part too. Colin Hanlon was amazing as well. Caren Lyn Manuel was with the show for a year maybe and she rocked as Mimi. Dominique may be with the show since forever, but she’s one of the best out there imo.

They’re not looking for new talent? Ryan Link . . . That didn't exactly work out too well. Destan Owens, Frenchie Davis, Kelly Karbacz, and Drew Lachey are still pretty new. Destan's been there 8 months or something. Frenchie may be recycled, but she wasn't there that long to start with. Sometimes new casting works, sometimes it doesn't. Why shouldn't the producers go with actors that have done the role previously? Just because we've seen it before? Would you complain if Shayna Steele came back? It’s hardly like Rent is the only show to recycle cast members - for instance, Chicago does it a hell of a lot. Look at Charlotte D’Amboise. The argument against recycling has been done to death. I mean, since when is it bad to come back to a show you're familiar with?

I would like to defend the Rentheads as well. Many of them hated Matt Caplan’s antics towards the end of his run. They couldn’t stand it. I’ve seen Matt give excellent and crappy performances though. Yes, I have seen a couple of them break character, Matt included. No, I do not approve. However, I’ve also seen a few of them joke around within the parameters of their character, Matt included again. You’re hating on the whole cast because a couple people screwed around? I have never seen Mark Ford, Destan, Todd, Mayumi, D’Monroe, Krystal, Merle, Colin, Justin, etc. break character. Ever.


Mister Matt: "There is a lot of talent in the current cast."

That may be true, but there is very little discipline or direction in what I saw last July. Some cast members were certainly at fault for the delivery of their performances (and deserved to be fined by Equity at the very least), while others I believe just received little to no direction in characterization.

Fined by Equity? Whoa. Please elaborate because I really want to know what you feel they should be fined for. Also, are we talking this past July or July 2003? If it were 2003, I’d understand better. Kindly detail which performances you felt received little or no direction in characterization too. I would like the chance to agree or rebutt.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 7:03pm

Goofing off out of character to the pint that it hinders the show is cause for an equity fine.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 7:18pm

Phoning in an entire performance from start to finish, completely abandoning the character, tossing off every line without meaning as if you have something better to do is most definitely worth a fine if not justifiable means for being fired. I'm not naming names, but it wasn't Matt and it was a vital character in the show. For me, it practically ruined the entire show. When I think of all the talented actors out there busting their butts to get work, I think of this single performance and it makes me sick.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 7:33pm

It isNT Matt - who was it?
Name them, Name them!

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 9:13pm

broadwayguy2: Goofing off out of character to the pint that it hinders the show is cause for an equity fine.

You didn't even try to respond to my post towards you. Come on. Give me something to work with here. I'm trying. I don't feel we've reached the point where we agree to disagree already.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 9:25pm

I'll just be happy if Jai Rodriguez is cast as Angel. I would love to see him perform it, and as I couldn't get out to NY to see him this summer, this is the next best thing.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/26/04 at 9:35pm

Rose, many people here can make it possible for you to see Jai Rodriguez perform the role on the stage without flying to NYC if he isn't cast in the film...

But I'm not as concerned about the age thing now as I was this morning. My dismay is attributed to the fact that an opportunity to hear at least 7/8 new voices on the film's soundtrack may be thrown out of the window once casting is confirmed! Am I alone in this disappoint over not getting a fresh soundtrack?

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 10/27/04 at 12:14am

Leo Max Frank is Leo Frank's full name from Parade

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 10/27/04 at 12:50am

How did a thread about OBC members being cast in the movie turn out to be a bashing of the Rent Cast? It upsets me when a thread takes a different road and it turns into a bash fest.

Matt Caplan was definately one of the better Mark's I have seen. The boy was with the show for nearly 5 years, that is a HELL of a long time to be with a show. Give him a bit of a break. The character is very multi dimentional, and I always saw Mark as a goofball in the begining, and cold and pissed off for much of the time after La Vie Boheme. Why? Because everyone around him will be dead in a few years. That would give me a bit of an attitude complex. Matt really grabbed that the 3 times I saw him, and in a few bootlegs I've heard.

As for the current cast being High Energy Bad performers, can you explain how that works? Ive seen so many different shows, but its the performance of the current actors of Rent (Jeremy, Mayumi, Colin, Destin, Mark Richard Ford, Krystal ect..) that brings me back, because I enjoy watching them, and I enjoy their stage presence.

*end of soapbox*

As for some of the OBC coming back for the movie? Great for them. If they dont, I look forward to seeing fresh faces.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/27/04 at 9:29am

This thread is not about bashing cast members. There are raves and there are non-raves about various cast members. If Matt Caplan is one of the best Mark's you've seen, that's great for you. Maybe I saw him on an off-night, but the general audience pays to see Mark, not Matt.

High energy bad performers simply means they perform with a lot of energy, but not necessarily well or in character. I saw a lot of that in the show as well. Personally, I'd rather not see the show again unless they get a major overhaul a la Les Mis. This last viewing really tarnished my fond memories of what the show used to be. It's no longer Rent, but more like Rent in Concert. A version where characterization is dismissed and acting is secondary. I feel sorry for all those who never got to see how wonderful the show really was.

[TGIF]

Posted: 10/27/04 at 10:09am

For those of you who think the show has lost its spark (ill include myself in that group). Do you think that the movie, if dont well, will help in giving it back? Enjoy producers to search for new fresh talent with acting and singing experience? Bring back old RENTheads and also new fans?

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/27/04 at 10:14am

No, I don't think the film will help the stage show. It really is time for it to close but unfortunately this film will only cement it's presence at the Nederlander for a few more years at least.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/27/04 at 10:17am

a movie version won't improve the stage show. It will just bring in more audiences to see the current disgrace.