Rosario Dawson is Mimi — Page 4

Didn't see Anthony's post at first. Thanks.

Kate, I was at that show, too, and I agree - those two are still on fire. But, I guess the fact that Daphne is just about to (or did she already?) have a baby has something to do with it... it probably will be weird to have most of them and not her, but it sounds like Rosario will be good, so we'll see....

---

I leave the boards for a day and look what I miss!! Wow, I don't know how to feel about this information...I LOVE Josie and the Pussycats, and Rosario *looks* the part, but, I really havcen't seen enough of her to judge if I think she's "right" for it or not. But, if Bernie Telsey said she was amazing on her screen test, that's good enough for me =)

With that said, I'm a HUGE Daphne fan and would have loved to see her play the role, since I've never seen her live...the chemistry between her and Adam can't be beat! I wonder if she would do the movie if she wasn't going to give birth soon?

---

My only hope for Dawson is that she captures that hidden vulnerability that is so trademark to Mimi (which, in essence, made Daphne's protrayal of Mimi my favorite). It takes the edge off a bit, makes her a bit more realistic and relatable...and such a defining characteristic for the character, yet is often lost in more recent Mimis.

CaliNYer, ""to begin shooting in San Francsico..." Are they really using San Francisco??"

Yes they are in fact going to be shooting in San Francisco, atleast all the interior shots will be done there. The outside shots will be done in New York..

---

Who's Rosario Dawson?!?!?!?!

I believe they will be shooting across the Bay in Oakland. From what I understand, the Lower East Side has changed (been gentrified) so much in the last 10 years, they'd be hard pressed to find exteriors there to use.

The decision to shoot in San Francisco is mostly about keeping Columbus close to his family and taking advantage of the SF government's new economic deals for filmmakers. Or so, this was what Columbus said this past May. I don't have a problem with it. The actors have all lived in New York for years, so it's not as if they'll seem generic in the least. I'm from Chicago but I never quite sympathized with Mayor Daley's complaints that the film Chicago was shot in Canada. Like it was that necessary to shoot a film that primarily takes place inside a prison and on a stage in a particular city, Daley! LOL.

Anyway, I'm sure most of you have come across this Broadway.com article confirming Tracie Thoms casting as Joanne:

Tracie Thoms Completes Principal Cast of Rent Film as Joanne


Tracie Thoms will play lesbian lawyer Joanne Jefferson in the upcoming film version of Rent. She and Rosario Dawson are the only principals to be cast from outside the original stage company of the musical.
"I am very excited," Thoms told Broadway.com. "I saw it on Broadway my senior year at Howard. I saw the whole original cast other than Jesse [L. Martin] and I was just smitten. I was into it. I was in it. I thought: 'I am going to do this play.'"

Thoms went to an open call for the show in 1997 and has since gone in for the role of Joanne numerous times, never before landing the gig. "I was so into Rent when I was auditioning before Julliard, I think I would have done Rent instead of going to Julliard, which would have been dumb," Thoms laughed. "But I was so into it. [The casting office] kept saying I'd get to do it someday and now I will. I'll definitely take doing the movie."

Thoms appeared on Broadway in Drowning Crow. Her off-Broadway credits include The Exonerated, Up Against the Wind and The Antigone Project, which just ended its run at Women's Project on November 7. Thoms was a series regular on As If and last season's acclaimed Wonderfalls, which had only a short run on Fox-TV but will be released on DVD this winter.

Rent, directed by Chris Columbus, is scheduled to begin shooting in San Francisco in early spring 2005. In addition to Dawson and Thoms, original stage company members Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp are expected to star.

^^^ ^^^

Rosario must be good if she beat out Marcy Harriell and Jaime Lee Kirchner.

Yeah, well... I don't remember the last time I expected mainstream media to have its musical theatre knowledge straight. *shrug*

---

Here's a little interview with Rosario Dawson about getting the part. (I'll be happy when the headline writers run out of Rent puns!)

‘Rent's’ Due For Rosario Dawson

"I’m like so excited!” gushes Rosario Dawson with unadulterated joy during interviews Sunday for her forthcoming film, 'Alexander.' The actress is the first to be cast in Revolution’s adaptation of Jonathan Larson's Tony-winning musical, 'Rent.'

“I play Mimi Marquez,” enthuses the beauty. In the production, Marquez is a Latina stripper suffering from AIDS and a drug problem. “I auditioned with [the songs] "Out Tonight" and "Without You." I had to sing my a** off!”

Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter films, is directing 'Rent,' while original cast-members of the Broadway production - Taye Diggs, his wife Idina Menzel, Jesse L. Martin, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp - are in talks to reprise their roles in the film. Production begins in the spring.

Copyright 2004 EUR Web

"but she better be an good singer. I mean, she is up against Adam and Idina. "

hey!
...and Anthony, Jesse, and Taye! (and possibly Wilson according to several sources...)

(!)
:)