Talk:Rent (film)

Bloopers Section?

"In the song "Over the Moon", Maureen sings about being "tied to the hood of a yellow rental truck, packed in with fertilizer and fuel oil". This is most likely a reference to the Oklahoma City bombing, which didn't take place until April 19, 1995." This is speculation and not fact. It could be an unrelated coincidence or irrelevant considering the discussion a few posts down about the time-frame of "Rent."

"The tune that Roger often plays during 'La Vie Boheme' that Mark says sounds like 'Musetta's Waltz' actually IS Musetta's Waltz(No duh! Mark said it sarcasticly!), a piece from the opera called 'La Boheme' which Rent is based on." Does this necessarilly belong in the bloopers section? It is not specific to the film itself. Actually, that whole section reads more like a fansite than a real wiki page, we should clean this up.Shinku Hisaki 08:28, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

I didn't remove that particular section, but I did do a *massive* grammar cleanup on the article. Some phrasing was slightly POV and there were a fair number of run-on sentences, plus one or two that simply didn't read well. 207.216.10.130 10:10, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Is this vandalism or did the directors really do this

In the top of the article it says this:

Many exterior shots were filmed in New York City; the interior and remaining exterior shots were filmed in San Francisco and Oakland. In order to create a set of squatters living in an abandoned building, the producers found a squat in West Oakland, evicted real squatters, and destroyed their home. They then hired a crew to build a fake squat where the real one had once been.

Did they really or is that vandalism? 64.251.182.80 22:26, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

I wondered this as well (notably, my question is below) --JE 15:09, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

I can't find any source confirming this claim, so I have removed the sentences about the squat. --Blenda Lovelace 18:07, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

In order to create a set of squatters living in an abandoned building, the producers found a squat in West Oakland, evicted real squatters, and destroyed their home. They then hired a crew to build a fake squat where the real one had once been. I'm a bit more interested in this event, is there anymore details that explain this? --JE 17:51, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

I don't completely doubt this, however I do think it would be quite odd for the directors to do something like this, considering the plot of the movie and what it's about. Menthol Cigarettes 17:28, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

That's complete dribble. Unless you can provide an actual reference (and even then, I wouldn't believe it, as Chris Columbus does not even worry about that, as you can see from movies such as Harry Potter, which I assure you was not made using 'magic'), why even bring it up? Morte42 (talk) 21:46, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

Dating

I'm pretty sure that the stage version, like the movie, is set in the late 1980's. Can anyone (the add-or of that line, perhaps) explain why they think otherwise? Lekoman 03:34, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I always thought that the stage play was set in the 1990s, partly due to all the "end of the millennium" talk, and partly because of Maureen's line about a "yellow rental truck, being packed in with fertilizer and fuel oil", which I always took as a reference to the first World Trade Center bombing (1993) and the Oklahoma City bombing (1995). —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 03:58, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

A couple of other references that -- to me -- set the stage version in the 1990s:

• "Like Thelma and Louise did when they got the blues...." (song: "Today 4 U"); Thelma and Louise was released in 1991. Curiously, this line went unchanged for the film, and is listed as an anachronism on IMDb.
• "Newt's lesbian sister?" (song: "We're Okay); Candace Gingrich came into recognition in 1994, after her brother Newt became Speaker of the House.

✮ Fredo (talk) 16:56, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

Another reference that sets it in the 1990s. They discuss 3D IMAX screens. Did not exist in the 80s. 2601:248:4400:87E2:BD6D:CF1D:3A7B:BFAD (talk) 17:29, 21 September 2015 (UTC)D. Fowler

I don't thinkg there is an exact time for RENT. Jonathan Larson worked on it starting in 1989 (when he and Billy Anderson first came up with the idea) up until 1996 (it was first released in late Jan of 96--Off-broadway and then on Broadway on April 29th of the same year). Obviously certain happenings in the 90s influenced Larson, but there's no time setting given. -- Meghan

Well, no there's no explicit date given in the stage version (except for the passage of the year from one Christmas to the next), but the references mentioned above (as well as all the talk about "the end of the millenium") put it pretty clearly in the 1990s. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 02:31, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

The stage play makes extensive use of cell phones (especially for Joanne and Benny), which were not in wide use in the late 80s-early 90s. Bigjeremy2k 13:54, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

In the movie, he says Dec. 25, 1989, and then a year later he says, Dec. 25, 1990. So that must be the time.

Yes in the *movie* but in the play Mark doesn't say that. To quote he says "December 24th 9 PM eastern standered time". In my opinion I would think the play to took place in the early 90's, judging by some of the dialouge. But...also in my opinion I thought the movie was a disgrace to RENT and it made me wanna gouge my eyes out but I digress. Point is you can't just take a line from one version as an example.- Laura

I have not personally seen the play version of Rent, but I cannot see anything wrong with the movie. I love it and it's one of my favourites, and I find it rude to say anything was bad enough to: "made me wanna gouge my eyes out." In the movie it says it starts December 24, 1989. It then continues until December 24, 1990, hence the line in Seasons of Love: "a year in the life of friends." So it is clearly set near to the end of the millenium and the dating that the movie/ play is set in is quite clear. - Alisha —Preceding unsigned comment added by Iamahippie101 (talk • contribs) 21:48, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

The play/Broadway version of Rent is most definitely set in the early 1990s based on all the evidence listed above. Additional evidence for the 1990s setting includes: costumes - Roger wears flannel which was an early 90s staple; looking at photos of the cast all outfits are clearly 90s/grunge style, not 80s clothing. In "Happy New Year" Maureen says "let me kiss your Doc Martens" - Doc Martens were very popular in early 90s grunge fashion. In her phone message, Alexi Darling references her email address, "or you can email me at darlingalexi newscom dot net" as well as giving her cell phone number - cell phones and email addresses were not in widespread use until the 1990s. The term "cyberarts" wasn't commonly used before the 1990s, and in fact, was tradmarked at that time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberarts#cite_note-1 Jonathan Larson described his show as "Rent is about a community celebrating life, in the face of death and AIDS, at the turn of the century." No one would describe the 1980s as the "turn of the century". Rent started workshopping in 1994 - it wasn't a period piece - it was supposed to be contemporary i.e. the show takes place in the early 90s. No one thought the show took place in the 80s until the movie came out. When I watched "La Vie Boheme" on TV at the 1996 Tony Awards, there was no doubt in my mind or anyone else's that this was taking place now, not in the past. It was revolutionary to watch those words being sung on national TV btw. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Renthead55 (talk • contribs) 12:57, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Source for Mark?

There is a guy in real life whom the character in RENT named "Mark" is based on --his name is Paul Garrin, who among other things is known for breaking the story with his video of the infamous Tompkins Square Park Police Riot that took place in 1988 in the East Village, one of the events that inspired Jonathan Larson, who lived nearby on Avenue A, to author his play "RENT".

Paul Garrin became known as the "Man with a Video Camera", and could be seen carrying his video camera with him everywhere, often finding himself videotaping the police and the many riots that went down in the East Village during the 80's and early 90's. more about Paul Garrin: http://pg.mediafilter.org

see his famous clip "Man with a Video Camera": rtsp://stream.freethe.net/manwcam.mov or support him by buying his videotape "By Any Means Necessary" which chronicles the housing struggles in the East Village between 1988-1991 that inspired the story behind RENT. http://shadowshop.com go there and click on "video" (or "tapes). You can view a sample clip there, and order the video online.

Very intersting. Thank you for posting it! ▫ UrbaneLegend ^talk 23:19, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

principal characters section

Idina Menzel's winning a Tony for her role in Wicked is completely irrelevant. Skiasaurus 02:41, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Anything that doesn't deal with the actors' relations to the show should be removed. Locano 05:28, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Moved here from casting rumors section

Based on the success of the transfer of Broadway musicals to television and the difficulties getting the RENT film off the ground, an NBC television mini-series was planned with Neil Patrick Harris as Mark Cohen, Rikki Lee Travolta as Roger Davis, and Wilson Cruz as Angel. However, the rights were pulled so Chris Columbus could adapt the musical to film featuring much of the original Broadway cast.[1]

Moviesonline seems to post anything, and the author 'David Easton' seems to be involved in astroturfing for one of the named actors, Rikki Lee Travolta (just google for their names) - also check Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Rikki_Lee_Travolta

Ehheh 19:14, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Tarp trivia

In the song "Rent", Mark and Roger tear down the tarp on the ceiling. In the next shot immediately after they tear it down, Roger is seen dragging it off camera, not adding it to the trashcan (hence its presence through the rest of the film).

This isn't a blooper. They're tearing the tarp down because there are holes in the glass ceiling above, and they're trying to let the smoke from their fire vent. --Wolf530 (talk) 18:30, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Cruft

This article includes a lot of information which, I think, qualifies as fancruft, or material that is too detailed and that generally does not appeal to readers outside of the circle of fans. I think that before anything else is done, this article should be trimmed to include only essential information and details. As is, the article is long and, to be brutally honest, a little over-involved. It has a lot of information to make a great article, and then some, and it's the "then-some" that detracts from the good stuff.

If you'd like any help, feel free to ask me. DroEsperanto 05:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Angle-today 4 u.jpg

Image:Angle-today 4 u.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 02:10, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Redirect Problem

Does anyone here know how to fix up the "Rent (musical)#Synopsis" in the "Plot" section? I tried to go: Rent (musical)#Synopsis|Rent (musical) but that didnt work. Does anyone else have any other suggestions?--Coin945 (talk) 15:44, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:RentMovie2005.jpg

Image:RentMovie2005.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:22, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Some small edits and an undo

I removed some adjectives from the article that are completely irrelevant, such as Mark's religion, as it has no effect on the story from the movie's perspective. The only relevance it had was a humorous voice mail from his mother that was cut from the movie. Also, I removed the tribute to Angel on the talk page - there was no reason for it to be there. Anonymous~Source (talk) 13:56, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Gross revenue

The gross revenue says $350,250,452 when IMDb and Yahoo! Movies say that it is $29,077,547. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.66.146.118 (talk) 22:03, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Unsourced Material

Article has been tagged for needing references since 2011. Please feel free to reincorporate the below material with appropriate citations. Doniago (talk) 15:59, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

Production

Until 2001, Spike Lee was to direct the film for Miramax. However, budgetary constraints and Lee's insistence on engaging celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Brittany Murphy stalled the project for a time. In October 2004, Revolution Studios recovered the project, with Chris Columbus as the director and Columbia Pictures as the distributor. Columbus, himself an NYU student and graduate at the turn of the 1980s, and in the location where the musical and film are set, felt a connection with the characters and their experiences. He can actually be seen in the beginning as an irritated driver who finds his car windshield being washed by a homeless man. The first trailer for the film featuring the song "Seasons of Love" surfaced on various Rent fan sites in early June 2005. The trailer was said to be shown before the films Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Crash in select cities beginning June 3, 2005. MovieMusicals.net reported that the trailer would officially be released June 7, 2005, exclusively on America Online; the movie's official blog announced it would also air during the June 7 episode of Access Hollywood. A second trailer was released on August 25, 2005, which featured some dialog from the film as well as music from the second part of the finale ("Finale B"). A third trailer aired during the September 2005 season premiere of Nip/Tuck, which contained new footage set again to "Seasons of Love." The film's limited release date in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto on November 11, 2005 was canceled, and the official premiere was at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre. Rating In the US, the film has officially been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "mature thematic material involving drugs and sexuality, and for some strong language". The rating was actually taken into consideration with creative decisions during script writing and filming. Even with changes (such as removing pervasive profanity), director Chris Columbus still expresses amazement that the film received a "PG-13" due to risqué scenes and content. In Canada, it is rated PG. In the UK, the film was rated 12A by the BBFC.

Production

==Production== Rent was filmed in Super 35 mm film format. Some exterior scenes were actually filmed in New York. The Life Cafe scene was shot in a warehouse in Alameda, CA. The New York East Village was a backlot set at Warner Bros; the interior and remaining exterior shots were filmed in San Francisco. Some additional exterior scenes were filmed in San Diego, "Take Me or Leave Me" is filmed inside the famed Filoli House in Woodside, California (San Mateo County, California), Oakland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Although this did not come to fruition, one of the original plans was to use the entire original Broadway company. As a result of Fredi Walker, who originally played Joanne withdrawing due to concerns about her age, thus causing Tracie Thoms to be cast in her place. Daphne Rubin-Vega, who originally played Mimi on Broadway, withdrew because she was pregnant at the time of filming. After auditions were held, Rosario Dawson was chosen. Justin Timberlake was considered to replace Adam Pascal as Roger, but director Chris Columbus decided that only the original cast could encapsulate the true meaning of Rent.

Single track listing

When did Glee's version get put on to the CD? They did their version way before the original was released. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.9.43.75 (talk) 14:18, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

I'll take this a step further and ask whether this section is really appropriate for an encyclopedic article, especially as the entries do not have sourcing indicating how they are considered significant. DonIago (talk) 14:19, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

"Possibly" transgender?

Sounds unnecessarily wishy-washy to me, and we shouldn't include speculation in Wikipedia articles in any case. If we're sure Angel is transgender, remove the possibly; otherwise I suggest removing the clause altogether. I have concerns about how relevant it is to the overall plot of the film in any case. Cheers. DonIago (talk) 17:48, 19 November 2014 (UTC)

I believe that Angel identifies as a gay drag queen. Angels first appearance in both the show and the film are out of drag, and the rest of the cast use male pronouns at times in the film and show and this doesn't ever seem to bother Angel. I don't think that Larson ever categorically stated it either way, but Wilson Heredia did I recall state that he considered Angel as a drag queen not transgender. Also the films casting notes states "Angel, Latino, or Asian or mixed ethnicity, Male, Early teens to late 20's, High tenor or falsetto, Actor must be willing to play drag. A fun guy with lots of style". Also MTI (the current Rights holders) state Angel is "The eccentric HIV-positive street drummer. A drag queen with an incredible gift of dance and a magnetic personality. He becomes Tom's lover. Male, 20-30 yrs old - (http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000281) Jobscomforter (talk) 13:01, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

Thanks! DonIago (talk) 19:44, 16 March 2015 (UTC)