Welcome, Anthony Rapp! — Page 32

Whatever. There's no point in being blind to it. The CBers are making some solid arguments for why they hate Columbus's screenplay (and your comment that they hated the Chbosky screenplay just isn't true; not once did I get feedback on that which didn't at least lean toward the positive). If you want to dismiss accusations that the screenplay contains some of the same homophobic undercurrents that informed Mrs. Doubtfire, fine. I guarantee you that if it remains in the screenplay, it'll be an issue you hear about regularly once the film is released. It really is just that bad.

"thinking about the state of [i]that[/i] screenplay"

*That* is a very important word-- there is a high chance that the exact screenplay you read does not end up being made as described in it--virtually no movies follow scripts exactly and changes could occur anytime--

This said, and I have not read the screenplay you speak of, the actors or others involved on the project (though when I do say actors I say such because of the many that have much Rent experience--and the original production at that) may be able to sway the director to aid in refullfilling a more true-to-the-original screenplay...though this too has the opposite side where everone must obey the all-mighty producers and anyone else that could say "no, you can't do that (*tauntingly* or we won't fund your film)"

I'm still optimistic...have been since first hearing about the movie being made (and even moreso when it surfaced that OBC members were even being considered for the parts--especially when it was rumored/subsequently confirmed that OBC members were interested--no influence of celebrityintervention or anything)... and I believe I will continue to be as I see no reason why not at this pre-production stage... I'm still totally psyched...

We stopped the posts before, too. I just don't want this to turn into a flame war.

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All right, in that case forgive me for being paranoid. It seems we have the same interests, so let's try to avoid being in violent agreement.

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Also, you shouldn't take how the CBers feel directly to heart. While I love visiting that board, they can be REALLY harsh.

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Agreed.

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yaay when it comes out Ill spend all my allowance and job money on it muahaha I will see like 10 shows!!! muahaha

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Am I the only one on either of these boards who liked the Columbus screenplay?

There are elements of the Chbosky screenplay that I liked better, but this draft is certainly truer to the show and still really very meaningful in my opinion. I think my biggest complaint is that the timeline is different, but it is more realistic. From what I could see, it's basically the Chbosky script put back in order and toned down a little. And if toning down the level of raunchiness widens the audience, well, so much the better. It's still not less than there is in the show.

I think the only way I can compare the two is to say that the Chbosky screenplay reads like and incredibly good piece of fanfiction which is highly stylized, whereas the current Columbus script stays much closer to the actual show. I would be happy seeing either version produced.

And can I just say how happy I am that the pizza and the watch got to stay? I don't know why, but that was my favorite scene from the Chbosky draft.

Edit: And no, I didn't just post that because Anthony agreed with me. This just happened to be when I woke up after staying up half the night reading it

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Updated On: 11/18/04 at 05:50 AM

Ok, have to jump in here and say that the generalizations being made about CB should really stop. There are hundreds of members at CB, and some of them are the most knowledgeable people I've met when it comes to Rent. Sure there are some idiots but there are also some idiots (some of the same ones probably!) who post here. The main core of members at CB are those who were in previous incarnations of Rent forums for the past eight years. So let's not generalize that they're all newbies who enjoy fighting and flaming. End of rant.

I was really surprised at the amount of people who were displeased at the original cast being featured as well. That blurb in Entertainment Weekly particularly surprised me. But people would still complain if they cast Justin Timberlake or Britney Spears in the film. Stupid public.

Updated On: 11/18/04 at 10:13 AM

THANK YOU Anthony! I have no idea what Evelyn is talking about either. The Columbus SECOND draft and i emphasize SECOND draft is not homophobic at ALL. This is coming from a gay man who is very aware of homophobia, if Evelyn found homophobia in the second draft than she must have found it in the original play. This version is a million times better than Chobsky's First Draft. As you said it stays very true to Larsons vision and the songs are sung in context with the exception of Out Tonight. And as Anthony said in his post he is still getting revisions, trust me, no one shoots a Second Draft.

I have to get dressed and go to class but I will say this quickly:

1) Spice, I will PM you with the specifics of what I found homophobic about the 9/04 draft of the screenplay -- and previous works by Columbus that feature similarly homophobic moments. Of course, I'm a little taken aback that you respond to my assessment by saying, "What on earth..." etc. as if there's no chance in hell that I could be making a valid statement. It sort of reminds me of Quentin Tarantino saying, "Whatever" to Spike Lee and Denzel Washington's accusations of racism in Pulp Fiction. The only difference is that in this case, we're both queer so we should be able to discuss this issue with less dismissiveness from either side. While I respect your talents as a performer IMMENSELY, I don't think you have any sort of an upper hand on gay issues to write me off once and for all when it comes to interpreting homophobia (or, to make myself more clear, works that poke fun *at* GLBT people but not their heterosexual counterparts). In that sense, I'm also a little amused that ajay thanks you for what he perceives to be shutting me up. The homophobic overtones and undertones that I found in Columbus's screenplay are inventions of his own that don't appear in the book of the stage musical. Honestly, after his portrait of the gay couple in Mrs. Doubtfire as these marginalized figures who help Robin Williams' character with his makeup and rock their heads to showtunes, I don't know why people find it so unbelievable that he could lack a queer sensibility. He's not a gay man. And ajay, weren't you the one complaining about rhyming dialogue in Chbosky's screenplay.... hmmmmmmmmmmmm........

The reality is that some of the most popular films of all time are encoded with racist, sexist, and homophobic subtexts. In this case, I consider some of it to verge on overtone. And I don't care if revised drafts are being produced... if there's any chance that the two incidents I have at the forefront of my mind are going to end up making it to the screen, it's worth discussing.

Bonfire of the Vanities and Ragtime are two of my favorite literary works that were adapted into critically-loathed films. Now that the studios greedily protect the rights to making future film versions, there's a good chance that it'll be a long time before anyone can approach Bonfire or Ragtime again. Regardless of how much heart is in the RENT film or how desperately Rapp wants me to have faith in it, there are some things that I just will not overlook regardless of whether people involved in it take personal offense (after all, these criticisms are not of Rapp or Columbus, but rather of the work itself; I have no doubt that they're both good guys). I guarantee you that people in the film industry lurk around their IMDB pages reading posts that discuss their relationships, mediocre acting, role choices, etc. .... but if they were to join into the discussion, I wonder if there would be as much timidity there about discussing those issues as there is here. It's a real police phenomenon that I don't like; fortunately, I'm not giving into it either.

Updated On: 11/18/04 at 11:35 AM