Ridiculous casting sheet for the RENT film

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:26pm

Would you get a load of this...

http://www.network54.com/Realm/0800504020096/indexRTFM.html

I sense that the person who created this wanted to get a rise out of Rent fans by leading us to believe that they would dare cast the film with five Caucasians and three African-Americans (deliberately excluding people who aren't Caucasian from auditioning for the roles of Collins and Joanne, and excluding Latinos from auditioning for Angel!). It's too bad that that person made a major blunder in credibility by saying that the film is being produced by Dreamworks.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:29pm

WTF!!!!

Joanne cant be caucasion, nor can tom collins.

Angel is hispanic, no?

[NoDayButToday2]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:29pm

Haha wow. Whoever it was either a) knows absolutely nothing about Rent or b) Knows a lot about it, but had WAY too much time on their hands...

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:32pm

Why can't they be caucasian? Why do you guys always expect the movie to be exactly the same?! It's Hollywood. It;'s always different. It has to be different.

[SweetCarolineFan]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:32pm

DAMN that cast needs alot of more casting to do


-CJ

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:37pm

Because,

Thats HOW the characters are described!!!!!

I didnt make it up!

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:42pm

DELIBERATELY casting most of the roles as Caucasian is WRONG, and RACIST. And it's selling out -- plain and simple. "Middle America isn't into the 'multiracial thing' so we can't have 'too many' people of color in this film." I'm one of a few people I know who has faith in Chris Columbus to make a great adaptation of Rent, but if I see the final cast list and find that the casting director *favored* the Caucasian people auditioning as that sheet suggests, then that'll be a huge blow to my faith in this film. Attempting to appease bigoted Middle America would be a sign that other elements such as drug abuse and homosexuality have been glossed over. Updated On: 10/14/04 at 11:42 PM

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:44pm

Gotta love American Film (aka Hollywood)

::rolls eyes::

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:45pm

Oh piss. This is disgusting.

[SweetCarolineFan]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:48pm

yea totally it is disgusting

-cj

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:49pm

That's called being a good producer. They know people aren't into the multicultural thing so they do what they have to do to sell it and give the people what they want. That's the way the world works! INteresting huh?

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:49pm

Go away.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:52pm

I dunno

How many people know Rent??? -- Bway ppl who know its multi-cultural.

What do you call this new (for lack of a better word) blackening of movies

Robinson Family Vacation - National Lampoon's Family Vacation (Chevy Chase)

Soul Plane - Airplane

Thats disgusting!!!

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:52pm

bronxboundexpress, welcome to my idiot list.

To the rest of you: That casting website is probably a joke. Again, it states that the film will be produced by Dreamworks -- and that's not accurate. The film is currently at Revolution Studios.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:53pm

Very true

Its still fun to argue with the retards (not PC but u know what i mean!

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:55pm

Blackening of movies?? Yeah, for lack of a better word is right...

I don't think that Collins and Joanne shouldn't be cast as Caucasian because 'African-Americans deserve more to be in those roles.' I think it would be unethical for a casting director to indicate a *preference* for Caucasians in those roles.

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:56pm

To Evelyn: Is that the best you could think of? Did I say something too reality-based for you? Come on now, tell me what you think? Updated On: 10/14/04 at 11:56 PM

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:57pm

I agree, evelyn

And sorry if i offended anyone by saing "blackening" should i say "making more soul-orriented" ?--- or is that worse?

I am sorry

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 10/14/04 at 11:59pm

See too may people on this board live only in the Broadway World and don't have an understanding for the "real" popular audience and wonder why the movie is never the same as the show. haha

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 10/15/04 at 12:00am

Okay, this is driving me nuts!!!! YUCK!!!

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/15/04 at 12:01am

No,

I understand what you are saying. It's wrong though. Minorities get audiences just the same. It would be more like they make Queen Latifah Joanna for the name.

(May I say - that is a bad idea!)

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 10/15/04 at 12:02am

jmaclover, no worries. I wouldn't say "making more soul-oriented" either. The films you mentioned are only at issue if they traffic in African-American stereotypes. There is nothing wrong with someone writing material directly for the screen that features a predominantly white, black, Asian, Latino or Native American cast. Certainly the casting should be taken very, very serously when you're dealing with a revered piece of work like Rent, which encourages unity amongst people from divergent backgrounds at least as a subtext. But getting back to predominantly African-American films... the only other thing I can say about that is that I would like to see more African-American literature adapted for the screen. Enough with biopics and neo-blaxploitation comedy!

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 10/15/04 at 12:03am

What I said was honest.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/15/04 at 12:06am

Evelyn

I dont know if uve seen either family vacation or robinson vacation but they are very similar - one is geared towards more black audiences (ive been yelled at for saying african american).

The fact is such classic films should not be changed - "take [it] for what [it is]!"

You know that if it was vice versa, the new white "copy" would be critizised

[Plum]

Posted: 10/15/04 at 12:07am

Oy. I didn't bother reading much of this thread, but here's my 2 cents-

1. That casting sheet is BS unless it appears in an industry publication.

2. Rent isn't about the race of any of its characters, and sensitivity can cut both ways. I'd only say Mark is white because he's got an Ashkenazi Jewish name, and Mimi is Hispanic because her mother speaks Spanish on the answering machine.