I think the article refers to Columbus wearing a tee-shirt with "1983" on it, not the extras in the Times Square scene.
Most of the stuff I've read has said the film takes place in the late 1980s, which is when Jonathan Larson began writing RENT.
Truly, as great as RENT is, it was pretty dated even when it first opened in 1995 -- the world of the East Village that Larson describes -- tent cities, etc. was all pretty much cleaned up by 1990.
That and Larson's score sounds very 80s to me. I think it was a very wise choice to make the film a period piece.
Updated On: 4/4/05 at 01:37 PM