No Deposit, No Return on Rent Movie

August 24, 2001 -- A planned movie version of the Broadway musical Rent, to be directed by Spike Lee, has apparently been spiked by Miramax.

Although Lee had gone to the effort of testing various cast members, such as singer-actor Marc Anthony, Variety reported today that the studio (which, like Mr. Showbiz, is owned by the Walt Disney Co.) has pulled the plug on the project because of a lack of agreement on a budget. A Miramax spokesman would not comment to the trade paper on the project's status.

In any case, the sports-loving Lee is reportedly moving on to a new project: portraying the life of boxer Joe "Brown Bomber" Louis, particularly his famous 1936 bout with Max Schmeling. Lee put his hat in the ring to direct Will Smith as Muhammad Ali in the biopic Ali, but The Insider's Michael Mann won that round.

Lee has yet to realize his dream of bringing the story of baseball great Jackie Robinson to the screen. His last film was the TV satire Bamboozled.