Movie Version of RENT (Jonathan Larson)

I heard that Justin Timberlake read for something in the movie...... it scared me.......

At IMDB.com, we've been keeping up a heated argument about the merits of making a movie version. However, it's been a long time since any of us could bring forth new information to support our views. I don't understand why Miramax's budgeting problems would push this, of all musicals, into limbo. Their idea is that Pippin and Sweeney Todd will actually prove more lucrative than Rent? I'm dubious.

If they butcher the RENT movie I think MY aorta will explode. They should film the stage show, air it on PBS, put it on DVD and have all the proceeds go to separate AIDS, and HEART research foundations...

Updated On: 3/6/04 at 08:39 PM

Well, even if it does get too dated they could still do it as a "period piece", but actually due to the fact that the song "What You Own" includes the lyrics "dying in America, at the end of the millennium..." even the stage show takes place either in 1996 or sometime before 2000.

I also remember hearing what brdwaybaby17 said about Justin Timberlake. That scared me as well. I agree with CATSNYrevival. I'd like to see the show filmed and put on PBS. I think if RENT were to be made into a mainstream movie, it would lose a lot of its beautiful message.

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And I think if RENT were filmed for PBS they would be losing a lot of their mainstream subscribers.

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As much as I love RENT, I agree with etoile...it just isn't meant for PBS. Possibly HBO.

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oh god... I'd be pretty worried if MTV did it. They'd botch it for sure.

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That would be a cool beginning. While I do agree that they could do some great things with it in terms of cinematography, I still would hate to see it be changed just to please a mainstream audience. I would much rather see the show filmed and something special done with that.

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i think after spike lee stopped showing interest the idea was killed. i remember reading an article were raul espraza said he did a reading with justin timberlake a few years ago. i think he said that he read for roger and justin for mark.
i don't think they should make a movie, im kinda scared what they would do to such a great musical.

I think enough people are passionate about Rent that it wouldn't get screwed up in the hands of Hollywood. Adapting it into a feature-length narrative film still seems fine to me because I've seen enough roadshow movie musicals to understand them as entities separate from the original stage versions. A movie of Rent could very well increase interest in the stage show, as well as introduce the characters to people who can't access or afford Broadway.

I don't see why people have a problem with stunt casting, if it's effective and well done - why not? Justin Timberlake is the right age for Mark and, in my head, looks like Mark would look. The only problem is that he's not an actor, which means he'd need a lot of directing/acting classes. Other than that, why not put Justin Timberlake in a film of Rent? Not only would it boost the box office no end, it would also mean a thorough publicity campaign that it might not get otherwise.

I think people here don't want Justin because a, he's famous, or b, the film would bring in a leigon of unwanted female fans. People want Broadway shows to themselves, they don't like it when the mainstream market takes over.

Another example of stunt casting where everyone went crazy was Matthew Perry in Sexual Perversity in Chicago. The critics couldn't look beyond the fact that he was a film star and not a stage actor and therefore gave the show awful reviews. I saw it and thought it was inspired casting - SPIC has very film/TV dialogue and film/TV situations, therefore actually Perry was perfectly cast and pulled it off.

Jake.