Most might already know this, but I couldn’t update yesterday when I wanted to, so better late than never — The Rent DVD is scheduled to be released this coming February 21, 2006, according to MoviesOnline.ca. There’s no info yet on the DVD’s special features, but we’ll all cross our fingers that it’s some pretty good crap :)

Also, for anyone who is interested: The fan e-mail INBOX on Idina’s Official site has been emptied, so it can now receive new mail. (For those who are unaware, it’s been full for awhile now, which wouldn’t allow e-mails through.) — Notice: If you write her an e-mail, there is NO GUARANTEE that she will respond! I’ve gotten dozens and dozens of e-mails about a contact address for her, and while there’s no official “snail mail” address as of right now, this e-mail is the best option for fans. But please, don’t abuse it. If too many people do, the e-mail address may not stay active for long. The e-mail is: fanmail@idinamenzel.com.

Happy Holidays, everyone! I might be doin’ something with the site as a holiday treat, so keep an eye out for that ;)

My finals are finally over, and it’s back to some free time for updating! I wanted to thank everyone who wished me luck, I think I did fairly well. :) haha, we’ll see though!

But in celebration of finishing and coming home for the holidays, I added a TON of pictures that I had gathered but neglected to put up. They just piled up on my hard drive, but now almost all of them are loaded to the Gallery. Many of the pictures are from previous events, I’ve just added more. These include Broadway on Broadway 2003, 21st Annual Artios Awards 2005, Virgin Megastore ‘Rent’ CD Signing, ‘Rent’ NYC Premiere, Drama League Awards 2004, and thanks to Sam, 24 beautiful new ‘Rent’ Press Conference photos. I plan to add many more photos, including UNWATERMARKED versions of some of the others I have posted already. New albums include [1] Obie Awards 2004, and [2] ‘Wicked’ Sephora Signing from 2003 (links below):

To view other recently added photos, Click Here. I promise, more photos will be posted once I get them organized.

Rent was recently nominated for 3 Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Acting Ensemble (which o’course, includes Idina!) The other categories in which it was nominated were Best Song – “Seasons of Love” – and Best Soundtrack. Congratulations to Idina and the cast of the film for such great recognition. :)

The awards will be announced on January 9, 2006 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California. It plans to air LIVE on the WB network. For more information, visit the award show’s Official Site.

No word yet on if any members of the film plan to attend the show, but we’ll definitely keep an eye open just in case.

Sorry about the lack of updates guys, there hasn’t been a whole lot of news as of late, since Idina’s currently taking a post-show, holiday hiatus. (Which works out great, since I’m in the middle of finals – eek!) But still, I wanted to update everyone on all the upcoming stuff, just in case this dry spell is making everyone forget.

All of this information is posted on the sidebar under “Current Projects” – But I’m listing it here since I know this might be the only place people check. So here it is: At the start of this new year, Idina will be heading into the recording studio to lay down tracks for her new solo album with Warner Brothers – there is currently no information on when the album will be released, but we can only hope that it is sooner rather than later. The cast recording for Idina’s recent show, See What I Wanna See is also planning to be released this coming January.

In the FILM category, Rent will be released on DVD within the next 5 months, so keep your eyes open for that. Also, Idina’s other (and lesser known) films, are set to be released this coming Spring: The Tollbooth, which has gone through the festival circuit throughout the past year (I saw it in LA, and I adored it! A must see!), will be released on February 3, 2006 in NYC and Long Island ONLY (limited release), though depending on the success of that release, it could very well get distributed in a WIDE release across the country. So if you are in the NYC-area, go support the film! I will put more information up on places where it is showing when the time comes. Secondly, the film Ask the Dust is finally set to be released on March 17, 2006. I’m not sure how wide-spread the distribution will be, but again, I will keep everyone posted.

In the THEATRE category, Idina is NOT currently scheduled to appear in any shows, however, she is planning an appearance at The Public Sings Benefit Concert on January 30, 2006 – Tickets can be purchased by clicking here. There’s a huge range in prices, so it’s a pretty affordable event.

As I continue to say, I will report the news here as it comes to me. :) Thanks everyone for being so patient – I have finals this coming week, so unless there’s a huge Idina-happening, there may not be a lot of updates. Once I am home for the holidays though, many more updates will come!

(I’m also trying out a new NEWS system, which accounts for the different look – We’ll see how this one works out, since it’s easier to manage. But ADDED is the ability for all of you to make comments to the updates here. Hopefully you’ll find that helpful/useful!)

This afternoon was the final performance of Idina’s Off-Broadway show, See What I Wanna See, at the Public Theatre. I just wanted to write a congratulations to Idina and the cast for such a well-received and successful run — All the best, and I can definitely say, we can’t wait for the Cast Recording :)