Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
San Francisco Examiner - March 8, 2005
J.K. Dineen, jdineen@examiner.com
Alongside actors Rosario Dawson and Taye Diggs, the downtrodden skid row will star in the big-screen version of the Broadway musical "Rent."
In the movie, the stretch of Sixth between Market and Mission streets will portray Manhattan's Lower East Side, circa 1985. The row of brick residential hotels, pawnshop windows, transients and drug pushers was the perfect place to evoke "Rent's" gritty world of AIDS, poverty, and homelessness, location manager Jonathan Shedd said.
"It's honestly the only part of San Francisco that still looks it could pass [as the Lower East Side]," Shedd said. "The gentrification of this town has changed the face so much it's hard to find down-and-dirty locations."
Monday, location scouts combed the neighborhood, talking to business owners. Shedd and assistant Saisie Jang went into Sonoma Liquors to discuss using the store's exterior. Sonoma Liquor clerk Mazen Halin said maybe Hollywood would discover him.
"I'd just like to be out there on the set to get some experience," he said.
The "Rent" crew will take over the block for two days and two nights of filming between March 21 and April 1.
While the details are still being worked out, "Rent" will feature Tony's Barbershop, Club 6, Pacific Loan pawnshop, Sonoma Liquors and the Seneca Hotel. Club 6 will become the Cat Scratch Club, the S&M-themed club where the beautiful, HIV-positive Mimi Marquez (played by Dawson) works as a dancer.
Tony's Barbershop will be reinvented as Crazy Eddie's, an electronics store. The cast will be filmed standing in front of the store on New Year's Eve, watching the Times Square ball drop on the multiple televisions that fill the store's window.
While "Rent" will be an inconvenience for some, it presents opportunities for other residents, according to Urban Solutions Executive Director Roger Gordon, who has been working with the location scouts and business owners to iron out the filming logistics. A total of six production assistants and one intern will be hired from the neighborhood for the Sixth Street work, Gordon said.
"We're looking for Sixth Street residents with an acting or film background," Gordon said. "It's tough business to break into, this is a great opportunity for folks."
Tony Huynh, owner of Tony's Barbershop, said he welcomed the "Rent" crew.
"Why not?" he said. "The more normal people down here, the better."
050308
SE050302
Copyright © 2005 - San Francisco Examiner. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Examiner, Permissions Desk, 110 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 7260, San Franciso, CA 94120.
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2005. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2005. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .