Alright, I would have posted earlier, but I was in the city for the day. So lots of this has been reiterated, and maybe even put to bed, but I just want to add a couple quickies.
First off me personally...I went down w/ Em and some others to the Rent set one night--Rosario had been there shooting some of "Without You" and sang to the playback. I sadly got there after that, but was able to watch a tape of that when I got down. I also was apprehensive about Rosario, not knowing her singing experience, but I thought she sounded great in the small clip I saw, and the acting enhanced it. She seems to really capture Mimi, esp. in the song, in her innocent state, in both her acting and her voice.
To say Em lowered her standards is ridiculous and just as ignorant as everything else you've said. She, like I'm sure many others, were very apprehensive when they heard Rent was being made into a movie--it means so much to lots of fans and is such a part of its creator that many would be disappointed if the movie were not to be handled correctly. But the more we've seen and heard, the less timid we became. I can speak for Em, because she was much more apprehensive than me, little by little, she began to see that it was being handled correctly, and she has seen and heard prob a lot more than you have to have come to that decision. She also got to see Rosario film "Without Me" live and her and the others we were with all agree it was great, and none of us had any idea how Rosario sang.
Your whole comment about how she could never do the role on Broadway, 8 times a week, lots of movie actors couldn't handle broadway, we lower broadway standards for movies, etc. may be right but is wrong. Movies are not shows. A movie is one shot, the actor is not expected to do 8 shows a week, but they could still be the best choice for the movie. I mean, there's a huge difference between acting in movie musicals and on broadway. In broadway, sure some ppl are sitting close, but it's nothing compared to the intimacy of seeing people on a screen. Every expression, every...thing is seen. You get more intimate with the characters. For this reason, I think acting becomes even more important in movie musicals than they may be in stage musicals. Some amazing broadway singers just don't have the film presence, look, or "movie" skills to pull the role off on screen. Aside from the fact that Catherine was in musical theatre, let's pretend she wasn't, let's pretend there's no way she could do 8 shows a week--what does that have **** to do with how well she did in the movie? I thought she did a great job and deserved her oscar...nobody asked her to do 8 shows a week, it's stupid to criticize a movie performer for that.
And one more thing...you can make the argument that people involved with a movie wouldn't publicly criticize it, but the Rent cast, esp. have been sooo publicly vocal about how pleased they are with the film, the Larson family has, everyone has been crediting other ppl in the film...I think it's rare that so many people seem pleased. I personally give them enough credit to trust that they know what would make a good movie and what would be true to rent and best for it. Even if I was more apprehensive about the project, it's very difficult to not be hopeful after reading all this. I mean, Anthony has done nothing but rave about how great Rosario is--personally, I trust his opinion and expect her to be great in the film, and from everything I've heard and seen, I personally expect the entire film to be great.
"If there was a Mount Rushmore for Broadway scores, "West Side Story" would be front and center. It snaps, it crackles it pops! It surges with a roar, its energy and sheer life undiminished by the years" - NYPost reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli
