This bit of information ran in Parade magazine (you know, that flimsy thing that comes in many Sunday papers) on August 23, 1998.  Who knows if it's true, but it probably is:  
 

Q: I hear the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent is being made into a film by Miramax.  When will it come out?  --M.A., Vernon Hills, Ill.

A: "Because the show is still sold out and there are plans to open companies in Japan and Australia, the producers are not ready to finalize and sales of rights," says a publicist for Rent.  But he acknowledges that Miramax and its partner, Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions, "have the intention of buying the rights."  Miramax says, "We're at least a year or two away from production.  Until then, no decision will be made on who stars."  The studio also needs a script that works as well onscreen as it does onstage.  But it does have a director:  Martin Scorsese says he wants to do Rent.

  So there you have it. Maybe.
I for one am hoping that we don't see a RENT movie for a long, long, long time, if ever.

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