Chris Columbus the latest director to tackle <i>Rent</i> for the big screen (13904)

Revolution Studios is the newest studio to take on the challenge of adapting the long-running gay-inclusive Broadway musical Rent for the big screen. Joe Roth's Sony-based company is to begin filming the project, with Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) at the helm, during the first quarter of next year. The film is set for a holiday 2005 release. With book, music, and lyrics by the late Jonathan Larson, Rent, loosely inspired by Puccini's opera La Boheme, tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to survive in New York's East Village. The musical, which won four Tonys in 1996, including Best Musical, has been adapted for the screen by Columbus and Stephen Chbosky. The musical was originally optioned for the screen by Miramax Films, which at one point explored the possibility of making the film with Spike Lee in the director's chair. When Columbus became involved in the project this year, film rights were acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures, where Columbus's 1492 production company is headquartered. At the time, Miramax retained rights of first refusal for cofinancing and distribution of the film. Now that the project has moved to Revolution, Miramax no longer retains those rights.