i don't really know if this is totally relevant anymore, cause i originally posted it around last november, but here it is anyway:
LARSON'S SCRIPT = FOR STAGE
COLUMBUS'S SCRIPT = FOR SCREEN
stage and screen are completely different mediums, and a new script had to be written. as total rentheads we want it to be as close to the stage version as possible since that's what we fell in love with and are still in love with, but we must realize that columbus and his team are working on that. however, they are also interested in making money and having the movie be accessible to all audiences. to make money off the movie everyone has to understand it. this means there must be some dialogue to explain what regular non-rentheads wouldn't understand.
larson's script also merely wouldn't work on the screen. there are many, many liberties that are taken on the stage due to poetic license. you can't just have people run off the side of the screen like they're running off stage. and you can't have angel just appear on screen like he appears on stage after he died. there are many things that just can't be done, because people believe a lot less of screen due to the technology that we have.
BASIC POSITIVES TO COLUMBUS'S SCRIPT AND THE RENT MOVIE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD CONSIDER:
1. the OBC (or as much as possible) are reprising their roles. COME ON PEOPLE! THE OBC! no matter how utterly horrendous the script is, the original characters are reading it. and they knew jonathan, so i'm sure they won't allow columbus to stray TOO far from larson's original ideas. (especially anthony, who has worked with columbus before in adventures in babysitting) many of the larsons are also planning on supervising the shooting.
2. none of the major storyline was changed, meaning that everyone that was supposed to die, dies and everyone that was supposed to live, lives. imagine how pissed off we would be if mimi died, simply because this is not what larson wanted.
3. no MAJOR songs were cut. it's true that Christmas Bells, Contact, and Halloween were cut, and i'm pushing for these songs to be put back in as much as the next person, but again, THINK OF THE POSITIVE! La Vie boheme wasn't cut! Out Tonight wasn't cut! Take Me or Leave Me wasn't cut! One Song Glory wasn't cut!
4. just as the stage version of rent reached thousands, maybe millions of people, the screen version will reach even more. now everyone that can afford a movie ticket, not a broadway or tour ticket, can see rent. larson's legacy will be spread even farther, and even more important, AIDS awareness will be spread father.
if you read this far, THANK YOU! the past 15 minutes of my life weren't wasted! i'll give you a biscuit!
~ rebecca
Updated On: 4/29/05 at 03:15 PM