But Will it Star a Culkin?

columbus.jpgAnother one to make you scratch your head and make you say “huh?”

Variety is reporting that Warner Brothers has acquired rights to adapt a film version of Jonathan Larson’s award winning musical Rent. No big surprise there. With the success of Chicago studios have been looking to get back into the musical pool and Rent seems like an obvious choice. In fact Miramax had a Rent adaptation in the works with Spike Lee slated to direct before they chose to back out over budgetary issues. But here’s where things get just plain confusing. Slated to write and direct the Warner’s version: Chris Columbus. Huh? Mr. Home Alone? I’ve got nothing against the man but he’s a workmanlike director at best who really hasn’t shown the visual style to make something like this work never mind that he’s shown absolutely nothing in his writing to indicate that he can even begin to handle this kind of complex material. This is a man who’s most complex film is Stepmom. Maybe he’ll surprise me but I think this is one expensive horror show just waiting to happen …

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8 thoughts on “But Will it Star a Culkin?

  1. Chris Columbus is an excellent director. He was recomended by Steven Spielburg to direct the Harry Potter movies. Unfortunately, after the first two successes, he handed in his duty for a new director to completely destroy. They would be much better off with Chris Columbus.

  2. I am a HUGE Rent fan and it disappoints me to see a family film director turning Rent into a “darker” movie with less plot and connection with the viewers. And if he touchs the original score there will be hell to pay with thousands of fans.

  3. Ditto what Mantiss said. Columbus is certainly saying the right things, but everybody knows those are the right things to say and I just don’t know that he’s got it in him to pull it off.

  4. chris has stated the following:

    “i’ve been in love with rent for six years”
    “the original score will stay”
    “i’m looking for people that can really sing”
    “the movie will be darker and seedier than the broadway version”

  5. very true… can imagine Columbus massively over simplifying it and losing any kind of grit that the film would normally have.. reduced to vapid family viewing.. how pointless…

  6. Lee’s not the first guy that would come to mind, but I can totally see him pulling it off. At the very least he’s got a good handle on the urban thing, unlike Columbus who sets all of his films in the wealthy suburbs of Chicago …

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