Rent
Short description
Rent is set in New York's East Village, where a circle of struggling artists tries to make a life out of their work while poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic press in on them. The story centres on two roommates: Mark, a filmmaker who documents the world around him, and Roger, a songwriter whose grief has left him withdrawn. Over the course of a year, from one Christmas to the next, their friends fall in and out of love, face loss, and contend with a former friend turned landlord who threatens them with eviction. The film adapts Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer-winning musical, itself drawn from Puccini's La Bohème, and follows several intertwined lives rather than a single plotline.
Chris Columbus directed, working from a screenplay by Stephen Chbosky and Larson, with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal among the producers. It was Columbus's eleventh film as director in chronological order, arriving between Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and I Love You, Beth Cooper. Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal lead as Mark and Roger, joined by Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Idina Menzel, in a large production with 88 credited cast members and 93 credited crew.
Made for a budget of 40 million USD, the film took in about 32 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.8/10 from 58,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8/10 from 608 votes. A critics' rating of 6.3/10 from 176 reviews places it below both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- At the very end of the credits, the inscription "Thank you, Jonathan Larson" appears. This could be a reference to a showing of "Rent" after the death of screenwriter Jonathan Larson (1960-1996), held only for Larson’s relatives and friends in memory of him and his work. When the showing ended, the audience sat in silence for a long time until a young male voice from the depths of the auditorium broke the silence by shouting these words.
- According to Rosario Dawson, she perfected all the complex moves for the performance during the audition for the song “Out Tonight,” and during the audition itself, she was so nervous that she could barely move. The actress thought she had failed the audition and left upset. Nevertheless, she impressed director Chris Columbus so much that he caught up with her and immediately offered her the role.
- The filming of the New Year's celebration actually turned into a real party for the film crew and cast.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
