The wait is finally over. RENT is now available on 2 Disc DVD and for PSP™. The 2 Disc DVD is packed with extras including:

• Audio Commentary by Director Chris Columbus and Selected Cast Members
• Feature-Length Documentary "No Day But Today"
• Deleted Scenes and Musical Performances
• Public Service Announcements for Jonathan Larson's Performing Arts Foundation and the National Marfan Foundation

Be sure to check out the following exclusive clips:

Goodbye Love on VH1
http://www.vh1.com/movies/movie/265875/trailers.jhtml

The Confrontation prior to Goodbye Love
http://movies.msn.com/movies/dvd

No Day But Today!!

We have a promotion where you can get the ULTIMATE RENT EXPERIENCE: See Where It All Began. You could win a trip to New York to see RENT and attend the cast party! To get more information go to www.rent.vh1.com.

Now on VH1 - check out a NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN clip "Goodbye Love". Here's the URL to view: http://www.vh1.com/movies/movie/265875/trailers.jhtml

Enjoy RENT-heads. And don't forget to get Rent on DVD Feb 21!

Hey RENTheads - we know that you are going to love the special features on the DVD. The 2-Disc DVD is filled with over 3 hours of extras which include deleted scenes, musical performances, a feature length documentary, and commentary by director Chris Columbus and selected cast members. Don't forget to pick up your copy on Feb. 21!

It's official!!!! RENT will be available on a 2-Disc DVD and for PSP™ on February 21st. You are now able to preorder the Widescreen version, Full Screen version or order it for your PSP™.
 
Pre-Order Widescreen »
 
Pre-Order Fullscreen »
 
Pre-Order For PSP™ »
 
Be sure to check back for more updates regarding the DVD release.

PSP is the trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

It is now time to post the final entry for the time being. Please check back in with the blog closer to the release of the DVD...who knows, we may have a few more updates at that time. You can register here to be notified when we make any announcements regarding the DVD release or post any additional content on the blog.

In the meantime, don't forget to go see the movie in theaters over and over again...as if we have to remind you faithful fans of that! And thank you to all those who have already watched it over and over. It's been said before, but we'll say it again--thank you for all your support and input. No day but today.

My journey with RENT began the summer going into my Junior year of High School where I was given a burnt CD to listen to. It was Act II of RENT. From the beginning, I found the music absolutely entrancing. Having no idea what the story was, and especially confused because I hadn't heard Act I, I would listen to the music every night and envision what I could of the story. A few weeks later I asked to borrow Act I. From that moment on, there has never been a moment where something RENT-related has not been part of my life. The next day I went out and bought the cast recording myself, and I passed the burnt copies on to my best friend, Corey. Ever since then, it has been my duty to pass RENT on to as many people as possible.

I remember many nights when Corey and I would discuss RENT - sometimes the music, sometimes the characters, sometimes how confused we were since we had yet to actually see the show. That spring the RENT tour came through Cleveland and my parents surprised us with tickets! We sat in the upper balcony, but felt no detachment whatsoever. The natural raw energy of the show held us captive to the performance. I will also admit that when the audience started mooing, it made me jump in my seat! I had been so engrossed and focused on the action onstage below me that I had forgotten that other people were there. I remember walking out of the theatre with Corey, my girlfriend, and my father... all in complete awe at what we had just witnessed.

In the spring of our Senior year, Corey and I performed "What You Own" for the Ohio Thespian Conference Individual Events Competition. From our first round of competition, we immediately became known as the "RENTboys". Everywhere we went people would stop us and talk to us about every aspect of the show. As the week wore on we anticipated the posting of the winners. We won the title of State Champions for Musical Duet! The song became the anthem of our lives and became a big hit throughout our school. We further took our performance to the International Thespian Conference, where we sadly didn't fare as well.

We both went through our first year of college - me for musical theatre, and he for music education. I remember so many times that year listening to RENT (driving my roommates and friends crazy) and realizing how relatable it was to the changes my life was going through. I had friends who started doing drugs, friends falling in/out of love, friends dealing with extreme depression, my girlfriend broke up with me - I felt very much like Mark, watching everything happen and seeing how it effected life around me. I grew up so much my Freshmen year of college. Occasionally I would call Corey and just tell him which RENT song related to my life at that point. It was almost like a little game we played.

Fast-forward to August, 2005-
Corey and I had been planning a trip to NYC for a while and we decided on the first week of August. Coincidentally, as time neared, we found out about the Today Show performance and contest. We spent the night on the streets of NYC, in an area we weren't familiar with - and me wearing a scarf my friend had made me... in 90° weather. At about 4am we joined the line of fellow RENTheads outside the Today Show studios. There were only about 20 people there at this point. We decided to stake our claim in line and then fell asleep. When I woke up about two hours later, there was a camera crew and a waiver was being placed in front of me. I signed it and almost immediately there was a camera crew recording me... I was very confused. I think they had to ask me the question four times before I was coherent enough to respond. As you could tell from the video, I wasn't really able to put a proper response together and I thought I didn't stand a chance at ever winning.

THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me and helped me live a dream.

Throughout the contest, I made many new friends through different websites including IMDB, BroadwayWorld, and CompulsiveBowlers. There were so many great people and GIGANTIC RENTheads everywhere. It was such an amazing pleasure being able to talk to so many people about something I love so much. I felt so privileged to be part of the contest. Among my new friends was a veteran of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. He was able to pull a few strings for me and I was able to borrow a sweater from the basement of the Nederlander Theatre to wear to the premiere!

Come premiere time, Corey and I took the Greyhound (13 hours) to NYC. We lived a poor life, being college students, and it was an absolute blast! We checked into the hostel and started preparing for the night ahead. When we arrived at the Ziegfeld there were already hundreds of RENTheads lining the street outside the theatre. We spoke to some of them and I felt so honored to be part of this. It was inspiring speaking to some of these fans. Some were older fans, but there were also a lot of younger fans. It is phenomenal how this show has lasted for ten years and is still building it's fanbase. So many people can relate to each of the characters and their various life-situations.

We were ushered into the theatre after claiming our tickets at will-call and immediately entered into a dream. The theatre was stunning. Everything was so ornate and beautiful, and so were the people! We rode the escalator to the second floor, where we were immediately overwhelmed. We were actually there! We sat in the lobby frozen and unknowing what to do, then we saw Sandy and Ari. We exchanged salutations and decided to find our seats. We went in the theatre and each successive usher told us just to keep walking... and walking... all the way to the front row! We took our seats and sat in the midst of an electric atmosphere. Everyone was buzzing the moment they stepped in the door. It was like we were at a real show. The energy was permeating everything, creating an unparalleled ambiance of exhilaration. We spotted Zuri and her dad nearby and we all had a really cool moment of "Wow... I feel like I know you!" The mood kept building until the music was stopped and the studio execs came out to give their speech. I looked back and saw the cast in the center section of the theatre, surrounded by their friends and family, looking just as excited as all the fans.

The moment the movie began (with no previews!) I became overwhelmed and - I'll admit it - I teared up. Here I was, witnessing the World Premiere of the movie that I had become so invested in over the past year. I felt like I had been part of the production and I felt such pride as I saw their names appear on the ginormous screen. We clapped as each name came up and it hit me how amazing these people were. I had spoken to most of them at the Today Show performance and now I was seeing them immortalized in something beautiful. Corey and I had gotten to see our role-models perform on the Today Show and in Bryant Park, and now we were sharing this experience with them. I could not believe that I was part of this night.

After the movie, which was filled with laughter, joy, nostalgia, and much sobbing, we all sat through the credits until the very end. When the tribute to Jonathan Larson came on the screen, there was an immediate resurgence of applause. It inspired me to see that he is truly appreciated. I thank him and his family for allowing us all to take part in this journey.

As we exited the theatre, I realized that Jesse and Wilson were right behind me. When we got to the lobby, Rosario was right in front of me. Seeing them standing there waiting with me to exit the building made me appreciate them so much more. Too often movie stars get egos and forget the fans, but these people were right with us, just as pleased as we all were. Their modesty continued all the way through the after-party.

Corey and I rushed back to our hostel to grab my video camera... I'm not entirely sure it was allowed at the party, but nobody stopped me! As soon as we entered the gorgeous Roseland Ballroom, I could not believe we were there. Everything had been decorated to give the impression of the Lower East Side of the late '80s. There was junk hanging everywhere, like the Broadway set, and like Maureen's performance space for "Over the Moon." There were old bikes, broken fans, posters plastered on the walls - downstairs was made to look like a Subway station and included some performers. We met up with a Sony person and were told to enjoy whatever we wanted. First off, the food was absolutely delicious and plentiful. Secondly, we were surrounded by beautiful people. Thirdly, I still can not believe we were there.

As we were introduced to each of the cast members, they were more than gracious enough to talk to us. Of course, everyone wanted to talk to them so our time was limited. There were a few points where Zuri's dad and I got left behind and had to play catch-up and introduce ourselves to them. I really appreciated Zuri's dad for sticking with me to make sure I, too, was able to have a picture with each cast member. Everybody looked phenomenal.

Tracie was absolutely adorable and I felt like I had known her for a long time. When we were introduced she said "It is so nice to meet you"... and I thought to myself "WHAT?! You are the amazing one!" She was so humble and truly beautiful as a person...
Chris was very pleasant and obviously very much in love with his family. He has given us all a great gift with this film...
Wilson was thrilled at everyone's enthusiasm and was quick to respond to our many questions...
Rosario was rushed because she had to leave early, but she was gorgeous. I spoke to her mother for nearly 20 minutes about several different things. I told her that Rosario's performance in "Out Tonight" was, for lack of better word, amazing. Not so much even the strip club portion, but once she left the club, her natural "joie de vivre" poured out. The image of her skipping down the street, dancing and singing was so REAL. It struck me as one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Her mother's response was "Oh, we do that all the time. Whenever we're happy that's what we do, we dance and sing... sometimes down the road"...
Adam looked excellent and was very pleasant to talk to. Corey and I told him of our victory with "What You Own" and he congratulated the two of us...
Jesse was just as charming in person. He is such a genuine guy who really cares...
Taye and Idina were both bombarded at the party and were very hard to reach, but they were both looking great...

That brings me to Anthony...
I have never met anyone so genuinely caring. He stood and talked with us for no less than 15 minutes in the midst of this whirlwind night of his. He took the time to really talk to us and asked what we thought and really listened. He embodies the essence of RENT. Being the only one to take the entire journey from the workshop performance in 1994 to the making of the movie, he has so much of himself in this work. I had the pleasure of speaking to him via BroadwayWorld where he answered some of my questions and we have been in touch with private messages. He is so much about the fans and making sure that we are all involved. I have been reading his posts since last October when he first posted about the RENT movie confirmation and appreciate everything he has done for us.

I am sorry for the lengthy post and thank any of you who bothered to read this far. There is so much more to say and I wish I had enough to tell you all everything that happened. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. It was a dream come true and I wish everyone could have shared the experience with me. RENTheads are such a strong support group that I am honored to be a part of.

I am so proud to have RENT as part of my life.
~Kyle

Check out AOL Sessions featuring an "unplugged" version of Seasons of Love, two more songs, interviews and photos with Tracie Thoms, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Anthony Rapp.

I'm Zuri. I'm 14 from Bronx, New York (though I spend most of my days in Manhattan as a student of the Dalton School) and as a New Yorker, I must say that RENT has opened up so many doors for me. Let me give you guys a bit of a background story. Be prepared; I tend to talk a lot when it comes to RENT.

RENT has been in my life for about 2 years now (seeing as I was 4 going on 5 when the OBC was on Broadway). I loved that show from the moment I first heard it. I remember vividly that I was in my aunt's car with my twin cousins and my aunt was sitting up front. We were waiting for someone so while we were waiting she put some music on. I heard something interesting that sounded like it had to be Broadway and I continued listening to it until "RENT" came on. I myself am an actress and singer so this musical (as I naively called it then) caused me to think: "Wow! This must be Broadway, but it sounds so different from anything I've ever heard." I enjoyed it so much that I imported it to my computer and listened to it non-stop for months until my parents decided to take me to see it for my birthday finally and perhaps stop the madness and obsession that had been quickly growing on me. This futile plan did not stop the madness, only stoked the fire more and let it burn. The themes, messages, and just about everything about RENT entered my heart and soul and caused new doors to be open unto me. I bought a shirt, the Book, and I intend to buy more paraphernalia in the future to get them signed.

Fast forward to mid July when I got home from camp. Beforehand I had heard rumors of the movie and had started right away looking for contests or locations for glimpses of a premiere. One day I checked and there it was... The "Today Show" contest. It was about 3 o'clock in the morning and my mother was asleep but I started literally HYPERVENTALATING. Seriously folks, if I had been a serious asthmatic, I would have had to be hospitalized. So for the next month or so, I prepared for it. I got some of my stuff signed and even got one of the those cool posters that they only had ten of. When I met Amy and the others and was filmed, I couldn't keep my cool and basically just bounced around (as I'm sure you all saw). Afterwards I also went to the Bryant Park concert (FIGHT AIDS!) where I got more stuff signed.

You all know about the voting so...

Fast forward to premiere night. I'm with my father (because alas I am underage so...) and we watch the red carpet stuff for a minute before we get our tickets and head inside. The tickets were beautiful too and I still have them. They weren't normal paper like other tickets and the after party tickets had pictures of characters on them.

Now let me tell you (for those who don't already know, the Ziegfeld is a beautiful theater. Huge screen covered by a beautiful gold curtain. I felt like I was actually at a theater just watching the 6 OBC + 2 put on the rock opera show. I met Kyle and Sandy who were sitting in the front left next to each other with their friends. I was with my father in the middle 2nd row. I didn't think we would get such good seats!!!

Here's my two second thing commemorating Kyle (and his mother) for the "RENThead" LIVESTRONG bracelets they made for us and for documenting everything that happened at the after party on film (which he'll send me later). You were one of my favorite people that night and you helped so much and you are such a wannabe Mark (and I mean that in the kindest way because I am a wannabe Angel/Joanne, seriously... I'm making costumes). Which reminds me, we should make this into a Rocky Horror cult thing. But that, my comrades, is another blog for another time.

So at the beginning of the film, guess what folks?

HYPERVENTILATION!!!!!!!!!!

The movie unfolded so much the same as the stage production yet so different since we could see where things took place. I won't compare them because I can't. When Angel died I was sobbing my heart out and the final segment of the movie I was bawling and started singing with the credits. Collins and Angel forever I also mooed. Come on... You know you did it too. MOO WITH ME!

Tracie and Rosario were amazing. After the movie I actually saw Rosario's mother and thanked her for giving birth to her child. I must have said something that struck her in our conversation (which included my father) because she gave me her email address and I'm now trying to contact her. I also spoke to Rosario briefly then and took pictures she had to leave really early so I didn't get anything signed by her. But I know I will one day. I know I'll meet them/you all again because I have very good luck with RENT related things.

Tracie had said to me that she voted for me a lot, which surprised me. She said that she wanted to meet me and let me get this great chance that I was able to have. I love you Tracie and hope I can find some way to keep in contact with you. I watched "Wonderfalls" and realized it was you by the way. And I thank you Tracie and the others who voted for me for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I didn't even eat that night because I was so excited. I saw Jai Rodriguez and got him to sign my book and Chris Columbus was sweet to me. My dad made friends with everyone like he knew them for years. I met everyone except for Idina.

Anthony, Jesse, and Wilson are just about the sweetest things EVER! They were very obliging and signed everything I asked them to. Anthony was very cool with everything and congratulated us on winning, Jesse was very kind to me and even signed my poster "I'll ALWAYS cover you," and Wilson... O Wilson... I at first couldn't cope with seeing him because his character just died on screen and it was too much. He said to me: "It's alright, I'm right here." I just hugged him and thanked him (as well as the others) for giving others and myself this movie.

Fredi was there too!

One last two-second shout out and then... the CONCLUSION! (exciting, no?)

To my utmost happiness, I saw Justin Johnston there. I hope your reading this. He is currently playing Angel on Broadway and he was the first Angel I'd seen and I told him so. I had felt a really cool connection with him out of all the rest of the amazing cast. He thought it was really sweet of me to want to always talk to him and that he was my first (Angel that is... don't get any bad ideas). I've seen him after shows, at Bryant Park and I always take pictures with him. One day I'll get a picture with you and Wilson and I'll have my very own Angels with me on my computer desktop. I plan on seeing you mucho más veces en el futuro y entonces yo quiero tu email porque me siento un conneción contigo. I'd like to keep in contact with you even after your eventual (but sad) departure from the show if I may. Sorry if my control of the Spanish language is a little shaky! I tried.

All in all, the night was a blast and my wishes for this movie were fulfilled. This movie strengthened my need and aspiration to participate and be in the stage production. Sadly I had school the next day. I hope to see them all again and boo to all the critics that put it down. They don't know the real effort Jonathan Larson put into this for nearly 15 years. I am currently trying to get my school to do a production of RENT in the near future so wish me luck and as a reminder:

Measure your life in LOVE.

All my love and best wishes to you all,
Zuri

When I received the phone call that I was going to the premiere, I jumped around my house, screaming. It seemed surreal that someone like me, someone who loved this thing, this show, so much was actually going to get to go. I felt overwhelmed and immediately began obsessing over what to wear, who I might see and how I was supposed to act. All my friends and family, even ones who have never seen Rent, but know how much I love it, were excited for me. I counted down the days and minutes until the day and suddenly it was here!

The Ziegfield Theater is a beautiful, old movie theater that felt glamorous inside. After I crossed the velvet ropes and received my tickets, I was ushered inside. I was able to catch a glance of Anthony Rapp's limo arriving and I even waved to the fans across the street. I couldn't believe that I was on the other side of the barrier, it felt strange and unfamiliar. The movie tickets had assigned seats, and mine were in the front row. My date, by the way, was my friend Ari, who I met at Rent five years ago. She and I have become very good friends over the year and it was exciting for me to share this all with her. My husband, who I left behind at home, knew that she and I would have a much better time than if he were to be my date. Our seats were in the front row, the "renthead" seats, if you will. We were seated next to Kyle and his friend and the four us chatted and looked for Zuri and for glances of the stars of the movie.

It seemed like were sitting there for hours, when finally the lights dimmed and the introduction speech began. Chris Columbus, the cast, Al, Nan and Julie Larson all stood up and the audience cheered and cheered for all of them. It was a sold out, excited crowd. The room was definitely buzzing.

When the picture started, the audience once again erupted in applause and continued for every key player as his or her name appeared on the screen. I won't spoil the movie for you guys, but after every great song, we clapped and cheered. It felt strange to applaud a movie screen, but we couldn't help ourselves. For me, it was a combination of my life as a fan of the show and the hard work that the people who made this movie that drove me to continually clap and cry. I felt this movie was made for me, and all of my fellow fans. It is a gift from Chris Columbus and the cast, to us, the fans.

After the screening, Ari and I made our way to the after party. I still couldn't believe that I was going to a Hollywood type party. Who hasn't dreamed of such a thing? And for it to be for RENT, it was just too perfect. When we entered the Roseland Ballroom, I was immediately taken in by the decor. They had turned it into a replica of Alphabet City, including fake burning garbage cans and flyers plastered all over the walls. Even the downstairs coat check was designed to feel like you were in a subway station (complete with a saxophone player, with a guitar case lined in Mimi-like animal print fur).

Amy, who recognized me as a winner, greeted us and she offered to take us around to meet the cast. All of them were so warm and excited and very patient with their time. It was very neat when they recognized me from the blog, since I had been a fan of theirs for so long. The party was crazy, there were so many people and people were just buzzing about the movie and who was there and what was going on. There were moments that I had to step back and take it all in.

It was incredible evening and I have to thank each and every one of you that voted. You made a dream I didn't even know I had come true for me. For one night, I was able to enter this world that I have loved for so long. I'll honestly never forget it. Thank you all again!

It's opening day! To celebrate, go see the movie (if you haven't already gone to a midnight screening) then come back and answer these movie trivia questions:

1. What's the name of the building where the Life Support meetings take place?
2. On what subway train does "Santa Fe" take place?
3. What's on the bartender of the Life Cafe's shirt?
4. What decorates the walls of the Life Cafe?
5. How do the friends get back into their padlocked building?
6. How much money does Mark get as an advance from Buzzline?
7. What does Maureen's mother say to Mark after "Take Me or Leave Me"?
8. What is Collins holding at the gravesite?
9. What is the name of Mark's film?

The first person to get all the answers right will receive a fabulous grand prize. We also have some additional prizes for a few more people who get the answers right. So, go see the movie, and we'll see you here back on the blog with your answers.

Enjoy!

The following theaters will be showing midnight screenings of Rent on Tuesday, November 22. Be one of the first to see RENT!

Watch as the cast and other celebrities walk the red carpet at the world premiere of the RENT movie at the Zeigfeld theater tomorrow, 11/17. The cast will arrive at the theater at 6pm, so be sure to get there early to save your place behind the ropes to see the cast as they arrive for the big day.

Be one of the first to see the movie RENT! Come to the midnight screening on Tuesday, November 22 at the Ziegfeld Theater on 54th Street in New York City - songsheets in hand (unless you already know all the words). And there are rumors afloat that some of the movie's cast members will be at this showing. Tickets are on sale at Moviefone. See you there!

Meet the cast members of the movie RENT at the new restyled revamped Virgin Megastore Times Square

November 14th at 4pm

Be one of the first 200 lucky folks to pre-order the RENT: Highlights from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD on sale for $14.99 beginning Mon, 11/14 - 9am, only at the Times Square location and receive your limited edition Movie Poster and get a guaranteed pass to meet the cast.

Space is limited. 500 passes available.

Also available: The RENT Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Dbl Disc Recording on sale for $21.99.

Attend the event and enter to win a pair of tickets to see the premier of the movie RENT, or a special autographed canvas picture of one of the cast members. Must be present to win. No purchase necessary.

Film In Theaters 11/23

Do you have a question you have been wanting to ask the cast of Rent? If so, respond in the comment field below. We will take the best questions and ask the cast members and the director. Ask away!

What's your favorite RENT song? Seasons of Love? What You Own? Light My Candle? Now you can download the music from RENT onto your mobile phone! Click here to visit the RENT mobile site.

Cast from the film RENT joins in celeb benefit October 24th - be there!

Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Heredia & Tracie Thoms join an all-star cast of Broadway and Hollywood stars in a benefit for Working Playground. Dozens of celebrities risk their sanity and their reputations in 6 short plays, written and rehearsed in a single day!

"The equivalent of a high-wire act without a net"
- The New York Post

"The theatrical party/performance of the season"
- NY Press

Monday, October 24th
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street, NYC

Special discount tickets for Rent fans - just $75 (regularly $125)

Click the link below for more info - use the code "RENT"
https://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=24H1

If you haven't gotten your soundtrack yet or left the cd at home, you can still listen to RENT on your computer. The audio player now has 10 full tracks and snippets of the rest of the official soundtrack. Click here to launch the RENT audio player.

A few new things to call to your attention:

MySpace RENT Community: Join the RENT community on the MySpace site and bask in the goodwill toward RENT. Click here to join.

Experience RENT in full screen: Download the RENT desktop experience and watch DVD-quality trailers and video blogs in full screen! Click here to check it out.

The voting is over, but the excitement is just beginning. You voted, you decided, and Kyle is the RENThead who received the most votes. Congratulations Kyle, you get to attend the world premiere of RENT! But wait, there's MORE! Our other two finalists Sandy and Zuri get to attend the premiere, too. Congratulations to all our winners!

The soundtrack for the RENT motion picture is available at your local retail outlet or online at iTunes. Get your copy now, so you can listen to it in anticipation of the November 23rd release!

This is it! We're down to the wire, and your lucky finalists are Kyle, Zuri, and Sandy. Who do you think is most worthy of a trip to the red carpet premiere of RENT? Click here to cast your vote.

RENT fan voting: Round 3!

It's the last week of voting before we go to the finals. A new batch of videos has been posted, so click here to start watching and voting. Then come back next week to learn who your three finalists are and help your favorite get to the premiere of RENT!

RENT fan voting: Round 2!

It's a new week, and a new batch of videos has been posted for your viewing and voting pleasure. Click here to vote on who you think deserves to go to the premiere of the movie RENT!

We caught up with some RENTheads who braved the early morning hours of the Today Show and the heat of Bryant Park, and they explained why they should get to go to the world premiere of the movie RENT. Click here to watch their videos and vote for who you think is the most deserving of the honor.

We're putting up a new batch of videos for the next two weeks, so after you vote (you can vote every day if you want), come back next Wednesday to see a whole new slew of RENTheads vying to attend the premiere.

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD will feature the broadcast launch of the RENT trailer tonight at 7:30PM on NBC. AOL MOVIEFONE will feature the online launch of the RENT trailer this afternoon. Click here to watch.

Two bits of news for you today:

The film will be released everywhere on November 23, 2005. AND... you can listen to excerpts of the songs on the official site! Click here to listen.

Problem solved! Download your RENT screensaver and enjoy all the cast members as they grace your computer in full screen glory.

And last, but certainly not least, here are the Joanne and Maureen downloads. *sigh* If only you could buy more computers to show off all eight character wallpapers... Or just switch them every few minutes or so. Enjoy!

Live Journal Blog icons: LiveJournal bloggers can use these animated icons in your profile or as your user icon. Right click to save one to your desktop.
Wallpapers Select a size:
800x600 1024x768 1280x1024	800x600 1024x768 1280x1024

So you've got Mark on your work or school computer, Roger on your laptop, and you're switching Benny and Collins on your home desktop? Well, it's time to add Angel and Mimi to the mix. And, to round out your collection, come back Wednesday when Joanne and Maureen downloads will be available!

Live Journal Blog icons: LiveJournal bloggers can use these animated icons in your profile or as your user icon. Right click to save one to your desktop.
Wallpapers Select a size:
800x600 1024x768 1280x1024	800x600 1024x768 1280x1024

Ask and you shall receive. More RENT downloads for you right here. And don't worry, there are still more downloads on the way. Come back Monday for Angel & Mimi blog icons and wallpapers.

Live Journal Blog icons: LiveJournal bloggers can use these animated icons in your profile or as your user icon. Right click to save one to your desktop.
Wallpapers Select a size:
800x600 1024x768 1280x1024	800x600 1024x768 1280x1024

Here's another way to show your love for RENT. Download these blog icons and wallpapers.

Live Journal Blog icons: LiveJournal bloggers can use these animated icons in your profile or as your user icon. Right click to save one to your desktop.
Wallpapers Select a size:
800x600 1024x768 1280x1024	800x600 1024x768 1280x1024

It's been a busy week here on the RENT blog... If your alarm clock didn't go off, your VCR freaked out, or your TIVO forgot all about the Today Show, we've got something for you. Here's a photo of the cast, and you can watch video of the cast performing Seasons of Love and What You Own. And, here's some extra coverage of the cast on both the Today Show and in Bryant Park.

So did you catch the cast's performance on the Today Show? What did you think? If you missed it, the cast performed "Seasons of Love" and "What You Own" on the Today Show this morning.

It was a big day for the RENT cast because they also performed at the Broadway for Life concert in Bryant Park to help raise funds for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the nation's leading industry based HIV/AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. As fans of the Broadway production, you know how important charity is to the spirit of RENT, and it's just as important to the movie as well. We've made mobile phone wallpapers of each of the characters from RENT, and when you buy any of these wallpapers, a portion of the proceeds will be shared with three charities close to the heart of RENT fans and Jonathan Larson: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation, and the National Marfan Foundation. So, how can you help? Text "RENT" to 4SONY (47669) on your mobile phone and download all the wallpapers. Then tell everyone you know to the do the same, because your voice can make a difference.

If you're planning to go to Rockefeller Center to see the RENT cast on the Today Show, you know you have to get there plenty early to get in line. Our RENT team (Brad, Amy, Jen & Zack) will be there, too, ready to capture you on film starting at 6:00 a.m. Here are pictures of their pretty/handsome mugs so you know who you're looking out for. Good luck!

And for all you RENTheads that are planning to catch the cast on TV, the performance is scheduled between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. So set your VCRs, TIVOs, DVRs, etc., so you can watch it over and over again!

If you haven't been to iTunes yet, get going because "Seasons of Love," the first single from the RENT movie soundtrack, is available for download exclusively from iTunes. And, you can also check out the Seasons of Love music video that's on the Apple site, too. Click here to read the press release about it.

Just in case you were wondering why we chose to ask you to come to Rockefeller Center in New York to show us that you're the ultimate RENThead... It's official, and we can tell you that the cast of RENT is going to be there performing on the Today show!

And that's not all, we're pleased to announce that the fans' favorite RENThead will be rewarded with a pair of tickets to the world premiere of the movie RENT!

Remember, even after you show our RENT team that you are the ultimate RENThead, it's up to you to get all your friends, family, coworkers, classmates - everybody you can - to vote for your video because the fan with the most votes wins. In order to make sure that we track the votes fairly, we're having everyone who votes register on the site. So start talking it up to your people, and you and a friend could find yourselves on the red carpet of the premiere!

Since there are still a few breaking details we have to share, be sure to check back each day this week for more news like where to meet, what time to meet and who you're looking for.

Here's your chance to prove that you are a true RENT buff. Come to New York City and tell us in person, why you think you're all about RENT and you could see it BEFORE it hits the theaters!

Here's how it works - Come to Rockefeller Center in New York City on August 4th. We'll be taping RENT fans as they tell us why they think they are amongst the most loyal of RENT fans.

We'll post the fan interviews on the official RENT site. You will then have three weeks to vote for who you think is the ultimate fan. The top three vote getters will be posted on the site after which users will vote for the person they think is the most deserving to receive two (2) tickets to an advance screening of RENT.

Download the RENT Screensaver!

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Now you can become a part of the RENT web ring community by adding a RENT graphic to your web site that plays the trailer and all the cool behind the scenes clips you see here on the blog. Show your support for the movie RENT and add your site to the official web ring. Click here to get started.

Check out the RENT cast featured in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (issue date: June 24/July 1, 2005)!

Click to view larger image:

The official RENT trailer will be on Access Hollywood tomorrow, June 7. See your local listings for times. Or watch the trailer online tomorrow at AOL.



Also, here are some production photos for you check out: