RENT movie garners exactly zero Golden Globe nods! — Page 5

Of course, you have the right to enjoy it, but the "Rent sucks" threads and opinions are starting to be as redundant as the "I love Rent" threads and opinions.

And don't call me sweetheart unless you mean it. :)

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Ok, you get one day, but I want to hear some original thoughts or some new complaints. No more talk about Santa Fe or 1989 or blah, blah, blah.

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It wouldn't be so thrilling if the majority of Rentheads weren't so INCREDIBLY EASY TO ENRAGE.

Seriously. I'm a huge Rent fan but I have spent many amused hours watching the RAGE of certain people on this board who are sure that anyone who didn't like Rent just "didn't get it" or "hates it already".

I love it. I enjoyed the movie. But you'll have to admit... they're fun to poke at.

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MB wrote --

"But the lack of GG love for the film is admittedly slightly refreshing to those of us who feel the entire project has been surrounded in slightly delusional posturing by its fans and even some of its cast members on this board."

I must say if you have something to say about my "delusional posturing" I would respectfully request that you say it to my face and not couch it in false language such as "some of its cast members." I'm the only cast member who has posted on this board. Have some courage and take the argument to me, please.

As to your charge, I consider it offensive to characterize my standing up for something I believe in as "posturing." I was -- and am now -- writing from my experience and perspective, which has always been an honest one.

I admit all of us involved in the making of this film have been more than a little blindsided by the intensity of the backlash and the gloating that has occurred in the wake of the struggles it has faced critically and in the marketplace. We experienced such good will from all corners in the making of it, and then at the various industry screenings we held before its release, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. I can favorably compare it to the reception A Beautiful Mind received at its premiere, and frankly, it seemed like people were more passionate about Rent and its chances than they were about A Beautiful Mind's a few years ago. The things people said to me and all of us at screenings -- and from all walks of life, and from people who both knew the show and didn't know the show, and who had no reason to walk up to us and speak so passionately -- reminded me so strongly of the reception the 1994 workshop had received, and the 1996 Off-Broadway version got during previews -- that it seemed like the film was destined for a similar response upon its release.

Having said all of that, I totally accept that there are people who dislike this film. I'm just saying that the intensity of their dislike no one involved with the film saw coming. Let alone the glee and joy some folks here and elsewhere are deriving from its mixed reception.

I was hopeful for a Globe nomination because it would have at least encouraged perhaps a few more folks to see the film. Awards have a tendency to increase a film's audience, which is a nice fallout result. It seemed like the HFPA's reception to the film was positive, based on our press conferences we held with them. So I was surprised that we didn't get recognized. It's not, however, the end of the world or anything.

Some of you were disappointed in the film: I understand that. I'm disappointed in some of your lack of respect for those who loved the film. Characterizing them as deluded or worse. That's just rude.

Well said.

Part of me feels like a few critics disliked it and the rest followed suit, trying to be the coolest kid on the playground. No one wants to be the only fan.

I'm sorry this stings so badly for you guys.

Well, there's a prime example of why I think it's unnecessary to bash a Broadway performer, show or film on a message board.

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Thank you Anthony.

A few people here need to get over themselves. No one deserves "one day" to make fun of people that liked the movie. If you didn't like it, fine, you can post about that, but saying anyone else is delusional for liking "this garbage" is admitting that you have no respect for anyone's opinion but your own. If that's true, get a blog and post to your heart's content, but don't expect respect from the rest of the board if you're not willing to give it yourself.

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""they have to go about saying that people "pretend" to like it, or "deluded themselves" into liking it""

A-freaking-men.

I loved it. And I certainly wouldn't have "deluded" myself into loving it - I'm a grownup, I'm not 11 years old, I know what I like and what I don't like in movies.

HUGE Phantom fan. Hated the Phantom movie. Did I want to like it? Sure. But I didn't.

I'm not lying to myself about loving Rent, and I bet most of the people on this board who did (and there were many) aren't either. I respect that people don't like it, but I get sick of being told that somehow, I'm not classy enough because I do.

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Part of me feels like a few critics disliked it and the rest followed suit, trying to be the coolest kid on the playground. No one wants to be the only fan.

I know the feeling. (I don't know if that is true, but I know what that feels like.)

What ever happened to everyone's own opinions? I'm thinking not as many people read "Self-Reliance" anymore.

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I can imagine how dissapointing it is to work so hard about something you believe in so passionately, and then it not be recognized. I can't, however, imagine how some people would be so hateful in finding pleasure in other's dissapointments. Message boards are for sharing opinions and honest debates can, in fact, be fun. But to negatively characterize someone for liking (or disliking) a film simply because you do not agree is immature- to put it mildly.

I personally adored this movie. I am a 21 year old straight, Christian woman living in Kentucky. I am not a struggling artist and I am blessed to be living a healthy life. At face value I probably don't relate to the film. But I HAVE found lots to relate to and to take from this movie. I would gladly die for the chance to have a love like Angel and Collins. I am jealous of the friendship between these characters. Though Roger's personal baggage is different than mine, I relate to being scared of future relationships because of my past. Many times I feel like Mark, kind of looking from the outside as everyone else finds love and lives their lives.

My point is, you don't have to fit some type of mold to love this movie. It has found a broad audience of all races, sexualities, and people from urban, suburban, country areas, and people with varying levels of education. How can anyone put down someone else's opinions?

How can any human being rejoice in someone else's dissapointment?

To Anthony, I applaud you for coming here and not sitting on the sidelines when someone challenges you. You have always been very honest in your posts, and at the same time very respectful of others' opinions. I think we all should follow his example and do the same.

Anthony,

Isn't being blind sided the same as being delusional? I have no issue with you or with any fans of the film. I don't need to contact you privately to share my opinion that the people closest to the production of this film - from the cast to the die hard fans have had a difficult time separating the forest from the proverbial tree.

Perhaps if you had been less dismissive of the naysayers on this board and others who - starting over a year ago - expressed major reservations about the script, the casting, and the production, the overall critical and box office reaction to the finished project would have come as less of a surprise to you.

I'm sorry that RENT hasn't been more successful, but I'm more sorry that it was not a better made movie. It's huge financial loss jeopardizes the entire movie musical franchise.

I respect the work and effort, and in particular your invested interest in preserving Jonathan Larson's legacy. But I can't help but imagine a scenario ten years from now, when you are really able to look at the film objectively to take it's faults at face value and not personally.

MB;
Again i wish I had the ability to express myself like you do. Well said.

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