Sunday, November 6, 2005

TELL THE FOLKS AT HOME WHAT THEY'RE VIEWING, ROGER: For East Coast natives of a certain age -- i.e., most of the people who read this site -- anticipation for the film release of Rent is a given.

But for the rest of America, and especially the 12-25 year olds who drive the box office these days, I wonder what it's going to take to see a movie with no bankable stars and no songs they know. The marketing seems to be They're Young! They're In Love! They're In New York! And They're Singing!

Which is true, I guess, but only to a point. Because there's also the fact that they're all (romanticized) poor and some are living with HIV and AIDS. Or the compelling personal story of Rent creator Jonathan Larson, and how huge of a Broadway phenomenon it has been. Or the La Boheme angle.

I just wonder if they might have been better off going with a star-driven cast, with Justin Timberlake as Roger, magical elf Clay Aiken as Mark Cohen, and then you can sneak in Idina Menzel and Wilson Heredia from the original cast (and of course, keep Taye Diggs -- because he's Taye Diggs).

So, how do you get America to see a movie where they don't know any of the stars and don't already know the story? Am curious about your thoughts -- or am I sensing a problem you don't think exists?

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