JONATHAN LARSON AND THE MUSICAL "RENT"
Inspired by Puccini's classic opera "La Boheme," "Rent" won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Obie Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk awards - all following the tragic, untimely death of its creator, Jonathan Larson, who passed away of an aortic aneurysm on the eve of the play's first preview. The play went on to become a phenomenal success - launching the careers of its stars and bringing a sense of excitement back to Broadway by introducing a young and eager audience to a musical theater work that carried with it a message of hope and love.
"Jonathan was not only able to entertain people, he also wrote a show that had meaning to it and was pertinent to people's lives, especially to young people's lives," comments his sister and the film's co-producer Julie Larson. "I think he had a very clear vision and a sense that he could do this, and that the American musical would die if someone didn't come along to bring younger people into the theater."
"I think 'Rent' is a mouthpiece for young people," comments Rosario Dawson, who assumes the role of Mimi in the film version. "I think the reason they are so attached to it is because it encapsulates what they are trying to communicate.  It speaks to their attempt at leaving convention behind and how they're trying to figure out their lives. It allows young people the opportunity to say -- I am who I am.  And when they see the show, which celebrates that, they feel a kinship to it. It gives them a space and a forum to voice these different ideas and maybe even to articulate them a little bit better."
Playwright Larson created genuine characters who were dealing with real concerns and issues. These characters came alive for the audience in an authentic way that earned the affection and captured the imagination of the audience.
"Jonathan put real characters in this musical," comments Wilson Jermaine Heredia who won a Tony Award for the role of Angel. "They are all taken from people he knew, mostly writers and artists and singers. I think that's why people have been impacted so much -- because he used real characters." 
The importance of the message was not lost on any of the cast members during the play's early days. Transforming Larson's vision from its initial workshop project to the demanding and dizzying heights of a major Broadway hit, was an experience unlike any other for this ensemble of actors.
"We went through hell doing the show," recalls Jesse L. Martin, who originated the role of Tom Collins. "I mean, when we started down at the New York Theater workshop, we had Jonathan Larson with us. Then we lost him at the beginning of the performance process. But everybody rallied together and decided that we were going to make sure this story remained vibrant and important and energetic."
Idina Menzel, the stage play's original Maureen, adds: "Jonathan's passing bonded us. We all embarked on this mission to put forth his story and his music. It took us out of being selfish and worrying about things like how our careers were doing and where we were going. It was more about him and how important it was for people to hear what he was trying to say."
Perhaps no moment in the show crystallizes this journey better than Larson's song "No Day But Today," Menzel continues. "To sing those lyrics on stage every night, knowing what we had gone through and knowing that the audience knew what we had gone through, was like a transcendental experience for everyone. The energy that came back at us every night was just incredible."
"Jonathan got to the core of something," adds Anthony Rapp, who played Mark onstage and reprises his role in the movie. "He told the truth about what it was like to live in that day and age in New York. He told the truth about what it was like to struggle and to lose people you love and to be afraid of losing people you love. When you're in the presence of something true, I think it is unusual and powerful. And I don't believe people say things like they've said to us over the years without meaning them -- like 'This show changed my life" and "Thank you for making a difference to me.' People rarely volunteer those kind of statements."
"The material is the star," adds newcomer Tracie Thoms, who steps into the role of Joanne in the film. "There's nothing we can do, there's nothing any of us can be, that would overshadow the story and Jonathan. We're here to serve Jonathan and the play. And we're here to serve all the fans that were touched and moved and saved by the play."
"Rent" is currently the eighth longest-running show in Broadway history with almost 4,000 performances to date. Around the world, productions of "Rent" have been staged in Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden), South Korea and the United Kingdom, with productions scheduled over the coming year in Belgium, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.
Rent won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Obie Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk awards. 
"Jonathan absolutely believed that 'Rent' could have a huge impact," recalls Julie Larson. "But I don't think he could have imagined what has happened over the last nine years -- that it would still be running on Broadway and that it would be presented in so many languages all over the world and that now, we'd be making it into a film. I'm so proud of what my brother did and of what he accomplished. Yet, there are moments of deep sadness that he can't be here to realize how many lives he has touched and changed."
To keep Jonathan Larson's legacy and his love of music alive, his family created the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation. The foundation was created after his death in 1996 and provides funding and encouragement to promising composers, lyricists and book writers.

BRINGING "RENT" TO THE SCREEN
After seeing "Rent" soon after it opened on Broadway, director Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) was so inspired, he immediately corralled his 1492 Pictures partners Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe into seeing the musical as well. They reacted with similar enthusiasm.
It wasn't only Jonathan Larson's wonderful music and lyrics that captured their attention, but the powerful and honest way in which it dealt with crucial contemporary life issues. Says Radcliffe: "The show tackled two significant life questions we all share: First, 'What am I going to do with my life' and secondly, 'Who am I going to spend it with?'" 
In addition, Radcliffe continues, "You add the complication of having a limited time to live. How will you deal with that as well?" 
The moment Columbus, Radcliffe and Barnathan left the theater, all they could talk about was "how great it would be to do a movie with the kind of energy, power and emotional immediacy of the show we had just seen on stage,'" recalls producer Barnathan.
"To me 'Rent' was about dealing with emotion, about confronting the feeling of falling in love for the first time," says Columbus, "and regardless of some of its darker aspects, it was ultimately about hope, about understanding that each day is important and you need to live each day to its fullest."
Bringing "Rent" to the screen became the filmmakers' passion and, for several years, they tried to obtain the rights to the project, which had been optioned by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro, who run Tribeca Productions. Finally, in 2004, they were able to partner with Tribeca and secure financing for the project. "I was on the phone with Chris giving him the news that our funding had fallen through," says Barnathan. "(Revolution Studios' founder) Joe Roth overheard my conversation, turned around and said, 'If you're talking about 'Rent,' I'll finance the movie. We had a deal within a week."
When Rosenthal learned that Revolution Studios had agreed to provide the funding for Rent, she was overjoyed. "Bob (De Niro) and I had spent almost a decade trying to bring this project to the screen," says Rosenthal. "We were thrilled to hear that Chris and 1492 were able to secure the financing and finally make this labor of love a reality." 
Though, according to Columbus, it may not be apparent from his previous films, he has a close affinity to the story of Rent. "I lived in New York for 17 years in the 1980s when Rent takes place. I lived in a loft and had a lot of those experiences. We were dirt poor and we lived in a loft on 26^th Street in Manhattan for three years," he says. "I could relate to exactly what the characters of Mark (Anthony Rapp) and Roger (Adam Pascal) were going through. I knew those people. So for me, it was an opportunity to go back to a very important time in my life and to bring my own experiences to that part of it. I was concerned about someone else doing it who didn't have that experience and hadn't lived in that world. For me it was extremely important not to homogenize any of the elements of the play. I wanted the film to be, in a sense, even grittier because film enables you to be a lot more realistic."
Having secured Revolution Studios and Tribeca as partners, Columbus next met with members of Jonathan Larson's family, his sister Julie and father Al Larson. There was an immediate connection, and after several years of false starts and stops, the Larson's felt comfortable and excited to entrust "Rent" to Columbus.
"For seven or eight years, we felt a huge burden of having (a) decided to allow a movie to be made and (b) what was that going to be?" recalls co-producer Larson. "We really didn't know. We just knew it was taking a chance on something that was going to be different.  We were terrified that we would let the fans down or let my brother down, so there was a huge burden."
"I think it sort of took the time that it needed -- all these false starts -- so that it could get to Chris," continues Larson.  "I was still very nervous about the idea of making a movie.  But once we met Chris, we felt so comfortable - he got it."
The bond continued throughout the film's production with Larson's father, Al, a constant and comforting presence. "Having Al on the set every day was a remarkable thing. He was like my own personal connection to Jonathan Larson," says Columbus. "I never knew Jonathan. I'd read about him, seen documentary footage and talked to some of his friends, but having Al there was an emotional connection for me, another level of inspiration. He was the unofficial set papa. He was always there for any of us." 

THE CASTING
One of the strengths of "Rent" onstage was the talent and emotional immediacy of the show's ensemble of performers. In trying to assemble a similarly talented cast for the screen, Radcliffe attests, "We looked at everyone. We looked at new actors, we looked at known celebrities and at many of the people who had performed the show on stage. In the end, Chris felt that the passion and talent of the original cast would be hard to duplicate."
Of his decision, Columbus says, "These actors embody something that is both rare and tragic. They experienced Jonathan Larson's death just hours before the show's first preview. The complex emotions and intense feelings that resulted from this sad event helped fuel their performances for almost two years. So, besides being amazingly talented, these actors bring something rare to Rent, a richness and depth and understanding for the material that can only come through a shared life experience."   
"The fact that Chris put us in the movie," comments Adam Pascal who brought the character of Roger to life on stage and now recreates him on film, "makes him a genius in my mind. To have the foresight to use the original cast and not a bunch of Hollywood 'It' kids, is amazing in and of itself."
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," adds Anthony Rapp.  "And now to have it twice in a lifetime by getting to do the film, well, I don't know what to say except, thank you Chris Columbus, and thank you Joe Roth for giving Chris the wherewithal and freedom to make the movie."
The filmmakers agreed unequivocally, that the original cast members -- Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs -- were as youthful and in as good shape as they had been when they first stepped on stage in the roles. Joining them were two new cast members, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms.
"Here were these amazing singers, all these professionals who created these roles and there I was coming into this tight knit group," recalls Dawson. "It was a very scary situation. I was so happy to have Tracie there. Ultimately, everyone was amazing to work with and extremely welcoming."
Thoms, a graduate of Julliard, has been a self-professed "Renthead" from the moment she first saw the play. Fascinated by "Rent" but never cast in the production, she finally got her wish to play Joanne in the film version.
"Rent was a little bit of an obsession for me for a while," admits Thoms. "So to actually be a part of it now, for someone to say to me...'Okay, you, the big fan of these actors… come be in the movie with them' -- it was great and really scary at the same time. But the whole cast completely embraced me and Rosario from the moment we arrived."
"What was most interesting to me," recalls Rapp, "was how excited Rosario and Tracie were and how enthused they were to be working on this. I don't think you can do this show or this film, or tell this story, or sing these songs without putting your whole heart and soul into it. From the first moment, Rosario and Tracie were completely there."
"Rosario and Tracie found a way to become part of our family almost instantaneously," concurs Martin. "They fit like a glove. It has been an incredible experience. I'm so glad they were there because I got to make two new friends as well."
Barnathan says there were distinct differences in the casting of the two women. In the case of Dawson, the filmmakers had not auditioned many actresses for Mimi and the connection between Columbus and Dawson was immediate. With Thoms, the filmmakers had met with many talented singers and actresses for the role of Joanne, but ultimately agreed she stood head and shoulders above the rest. 
"Rosario had lived the experience of being a squatter as a young girl," observes Barnathan. "She felt comfortable in that world, comfortable in that part of New York City and with these people. It really felt very natural to her -- and it showed.  As soon as Chris and I met her, it was very magical. She sang "Without You" and two of us had tears in our eyes."
"Chris got kind of jittery and said, 'I've got to go out and talk to her,'" Barnathan continues. "'I've got to go tell her she has the part.' And he literally bolted out the door. That never happens -- people just don't do that."
Casting the role of Joanne was a lengthier and much more involved process.  The filmmakers auditioned many, potential Joannes and ended up with almost two dozen talented possibilities.
"We had maybe 20 brilliant singers, who were all fantastic," recalls Barnathan.  "Chris asked us to put them all on tape so he could watch them. We sat down and when we got to Tracie, Chris just said, 'She's Joanne.' I said what about the rest of them?  'No, she's it,' he said."

THE MUSIC, THE MOVEMENT, THE MESSAGE
Although many members of the cast were intimately familiar with the material, Columbus led them through an intensive pre-production rehearsal period in order to help them learn the new arrangements and the demands of adapting their performances to the screen. He was aided by music producer Rob Cavallo and with vocal conductor Tim Weil (who had worked closely with Jonathan Larson on the play as music supervisor).
Columbus knew from the start that he wanted the soundtrack to have a harder edge than the play's arrangements -- a genuine rock and roll core. Music producer Rob Cavallo began working in this direction with five skilled rock musicians on drums, bass, two guitars and a keyboard, and recorded the new arrangements at El Dorado Studios in Los Angeles. 
"They tracked the music like a rock band, not like one would do a traditional score," comments Barnathan. "Cavallo got this band in a room and they just dug these songs out until they really rocked, which was very exciting for Chris since he wanted the music to have an authentic sound."
"Creative people bring creativity to a process no matter where it is in the development process," says Weil, who began working with Jonathan Larson as the audition pianist, but was asked to stay on as music director of the play.
"Rob's work has always been very inspiring," he continues. "These guys who played the music are fantastic L.A. studio musicians, real veterans who also brought their own creativity to it -- filtered through Rob's sensibility as a producer.  It was like a breath of fresh air, a whole different take on the material that's unbelievably great." 
While the music was being recorded in Los Angeles, Tim Weil was working with the cast members in San Francisco, preparing them to record the vocals.
"There were things Tim had always wanted to alter in the music, and others he was sure he wanted to remain exactly the same -- things that Jonathan had been very adamant about," comments Thoms.  "Tim was instrumental in keeping the magic of all the music but expanding it a little bit and doing some experimentation."
The recorded music was brought to northern California where the cast added the vocal tracks at Skywalker Sound.  This process took 28 days, during which time, each actor worked diligently with Weil. 
"At Skywalker, where we recorded the voices," says Barnathan, "everyone was excited and nervous -- especially the six cast members who had done the show 10 years earlier. For them it was like they were coming back to a place they never expected to return to."
The soundtrack, which was finished prior to the commencement of principal photography (with the exception of strings and horns, which were added later), became a vital part of each scene.  The actors sang and/or lip-synced to the pre-recorded music as they added dance elements to their performances, which were created and designed by veteran choreographer, Keith Young. 
"I began the process by going to New York and seeing the show," says Young. "In fact, I went back several times so I could get all I could from the play and could correctly interpret what Larson had created and attempt to capture the show's essence. Working with a skeleton crew of eight dancers, I worked out each dance and showed it to Chris to use as a point of departure in our conversations. That allowed us to explore and grow from there." 
In approaching the design of each dance, Young would ask himself certain essential questions: "Is this movement telling the story? Can someone watch this with no music, no lyrics, no principals and still get the story? Until the answer was yes, I kept striving to make that happen." 
To accentuate the emotional force of the "Tango Maureen" number, for instance, Young had to design a dance that would not only be appropriate for the characters of Mark, Joanne and Maureen but also maintain the fire and emotion of the song. Continued…. Read more

FROM STAGE TO FILM -- PUTTING IT TOGETHER
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
CHRIS COLUMBUS (Director, Producer)
STEPHEN CHBOSKY (Screenplay)
JONATHAN LARSON (Based on the Musical by/Book, Music and Lyrics)