Steven Spielberg West Side Story first photo

Why remake one of the best filmed musicals in history? It will be compared with the original and will pace in comparison, even with Spielberg directing.

I knew Barron didn’t have ADHD or anything else!

I'm looking forward to this, actually..

I have no doubt Spielberg has the same talent for movie musicals as Gene Saks, John Huston and Francis Ford Coppola.

It will be the Titanic, Andrea Doria and Edmund Fitzgerald combined.

R1 I agree, why remake an already flawless classic film. I’m surprised Spielberg has got involved with this.

See how he likes it if universal announce they are remaking Jaws with a big CGI shark.

I'm wondering if this will be a SJW wet dream full of diversity, feminist angles and white apology.

I'm waiting for Sondheim to start complaining again that he doesn't get full royalties for the lyrics.

Looks more like West Nsync

At least Clint Eastwood didn't direct it.

Where is Irene Sharaff and Boris Leven when you need them desperately?

It's a musical not The Outsiders.

I love the earth tones. Wish we had a higher quality picture so we could see the hot dancers. Is that Ben Cook to the left with the hat? I heard Mike Faist is in this. I think that's him in the background looking to his left. He's adorable.

Here's a way higher quality shot:

The girl in that pic looks too contemporary. Wrong hair, wrong clothes. Why?

How many Puerto Rican proms do I get invited to?

Irene Sharaff manages to put color and shading into the street scene costumes without you noticing. She was a genius.

The thing that makes me the most interested in this is that Tony Kushner wrote it.

This is interesting. It's about the costumes for the original WSS.

[quote]Why remake one of the best filmed musicals in history?

Look who is in the fucking White House.

I love West Side Story and I wish I could be more optimistic about this. Spielberg's unending penchant for self-important, staid, historical dramas convinces me that this will be more of the same. The best I can do is think "maybe he will surprise me".

Can Ansel even sing the score?

I hope everyone in it is trans.

I can just imagine the choreography, which will emphasize athleticism over artistry.

Wouldn't see that many boys with those kinds of muscles in one gang, back then. Maybe 1, if any.

As far as I'm concerned there's only one WSS. Spielberg or anyone else reviving or remaking this might be their idea of an homage or just for fun, etc. but there is only one and it starred Rita Moreno, Natalie Wood, Russ Tamblyn, and George Chakiris.

This reminds me of summer stock iterations or revivals that are often embarrassingly amateurish and always mediocre. The fact that this is being done by a famous director doesn't elevate it. It was a dumb move. If we ignore it,it will fade away.

Bravo, R24!

R24 Some of us have low expectations for summer stock and find it all charming and appropriate.

[quote]why remake a flawkess classic?

Because Spielberg can, and there are huge audiences for it. Simple economy. I will watch it. Many people will watch it.

I can't stand Ansel. He reminds me of kids in junior high that we used to bully.

At least we knew who Natalie Wood was. Russ Tamblyn. Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno. And Chakiris was gorgeous. But Ansel is the only "name" in this excretion? Please.

R1 and R24 made points R27 is there really

Spielberg always does things in groups. Like, isn't he also doing a bio picture of Leonard Bernstein? It's as if this is a companion piece to that. Like he did Color Purple and Amistad, and Lincoln. Schindler's List & Saving Private Ryan. Bridge of Spies and The Post. His movies fall into categories.

What classics have Meryl Streep been in?

I've never seen the original and don't really have any interest to see this but would love to see a Spielberg film with a budget of 20 million with an original script...i'd watch that, not this.

Are these the same posters who clamor for another Follies, when the original had a dream cast? Or stood in line to see the new Oklahoma? Or are they the ones who post that Richard Beymer was too weak as Tony and that they shouldn't have cast Natalie Wood, because she had to be dubbed?

Maybe this version will tell us what the hell happened to Anita at the end.

The theater queens here sound exactly like the deplorable Christians who condemn a film before they have seen it.

[quote]What classics have Meryl Streep been in?

Deer Hunter.

So it’s a Disney movie? Is it Disney Disney? Will there be animated rats and pigeons singing added to it helping Maria and Tony “Someday?” And didn’t Spielberg and Geffen and Katsenberg start their own studio to get the hell away from Disney? It’s like sleeping with the enemy. I’m hoping for full frontal Ansel added to make it hip, or at the very least a butt shot post trysting as a Romeo ode to Zeffirelli.

Theatre Queens: Richard Beymer was so wooden in WSS that if Natalie Wood had held on to him when she fell off the boat, she would still be alive today

Also Theatre Queens: THEY'RE REMAKING IT? I HATE IT ALREADY

[quote]What classics have Meryl Streep been in?

Oh, Dear Hunter.

I'm just saying that remaking this is...unnecessary. Why fuck with a masterpiece. It WAS a masterpiece. I guess I'll just put it in context and comfort myself by recalling the shiteous Made for TV live version of Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood, the country singer screeching her way through it. No one remembers that. Hey, after he finishes WSS, maybe Steve can re make My Fair Lady. What I can tell at this point, is that it won't be memorable. There will be no Oscar buzz for Ansel. Ansel will not happen.

Jeanine Tesori will be working with the cast on “vocals”? What does this even mean? She’s not a voice teacher or even a vocal coach. I swear, Hollywood just doesn’t have a single clue about singing or musicals. This is going to suck, hard.

I think he should remake it but add a twist, like having it take place inside a Nazi concentration camp, or if you really want to be au courant a Trump concentration camp all played by trans immigrant actors.

I'm interested in the hot, talented supporting cast. Ansel Elgort can suck it.

r43 Or current-day UWS prep schools. Except then it would be so fucking boring I would die. Or not watch it.

[quote]Ansel Elgort can suck it.

I tried to watch The Fault in Our Stars, but could only stand a half hour. So far, Ansel hasn't done it for me.

It would be great if all Spielberg's various characters appeared in cameos in the film. ET, the shark from Jaws, Short Round. Now THAT I would watch!

Maria is annoying. Hope that this version shows her getting her wish and getting gunned down by Chino. Then the entire cast should sing, " There's a place for us" ( Somewhere) as the two caskets are being lowered into the ground. or, to show female empowerment, Maria should stop the feud by herself, become a community organizer, and be elected to Congress as a socialist.

I heard that one of the reasons that Spielberg wanted to remake it is because he never liked the "brown face" used on the actors who played the Sharks in the original. So this one will have bonafide actors with Spanish heritage (although not necessarily Puerto Rican) playing the Sharks.

Anybody's will be a FTM trans.

Anybodys WAS a FTM trans.

But because this is Spielberg, the Blue Fairy will grant his wish at the end of the movie while super-AIs look on.

You may be right, r50:

[quote]Menas will be seen this fall in the new Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill. [bold]They were[/bold] featured in the new musical - Normativity in the NY Musical Festival, the National Tour of A Chorus Line, and in several seasons at Musical Theatre Wichita.

Shouldn't it be "they was"?

Wow. A West Side Story where the cast actually look like teenagers.

The original was flawless except for the leads . Richard Beymer even admitted himself that he stunk and watching Natalie Wood in dark makeup badly miming Marni Nixon was a little painful at times. The rest of it was so perfect that it was kind of easy to excuse all that I suppose. I don't have a lot of hope for this one. I hope I'm wrong. I am also afraid its going to be a PC festival.

r37 Is that it? Supporting in one at the beginning of her career?

R36 is a liberal atheist who loves shitfests like the TV Peter Pan and Sound of Music.

You're just as pathetic as the deplorable Christians you drool over like a rabid dog.

R24... There will always be the original movie of WWS.. but, we can enjoy other versions of it. If disappointed, then you can go back the old standby.

[quote] or, to show female empowerment, Maria should stop the feud by herself, become a community organizer, and be elected to Congress as a socialist.

As fucking if.

I don't think the original film is a flawless classic and I'm not definitely not interested in this version. Looks even more boring than the first.

I'm betting that anyone talking about the flawlessness of the original film has not sat down and watched the whole thing in a long time. There are a few brilliant dance sequences, of course (America, Cool, Mambo) but much of the rest of the film looks and sounds very dreary and the performances come off as stagey and artificial.

I'm very encouraged by the cast photo. I've always loved Irene Sharaff's designs but they look mostly like unreal stage costumes now.

But these costumes look just as unreal and phony not at all matching the stylization of music and choreography. Sondheim has said WSS is not about prejudice it's about theater. I mean the youth at the time of the film were not doing mambos. They were dancing to rock and roll. At least the professional dancers of the period had the mambo in their vocabulary. It will be interesting to see how the new dancers handle it.

The original film was...theatrical! Because it sprang from the loins of Live theatre. Arthur Laurents, Harold Prince, Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim. There will never be an assemblage like them. I loved it for what it was. There is nothing to compare to that opening sequence: the aerial shot of Manhattan, the whistle, the fingers snapping. It was a moment in time. Romeo & Juliet. And the music, OMG the overture was sublime. The choreography transcendent. Nothing will ever surpass it.

[quote]the rest of the film looks and sounds very dreary and the performances come off as stagey and artificial.

Oh, Cunty...I know a boat you can get on.

I would have made a nice TV movie.

Tony Kushner, screenplay...Justin Peck, choreography...Spielberg, directing...Killer Combo!...can anyone tell me more about the other players? Are they suited to their roles?

"...conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who will helm the recording of Bernstein’s iconic score; composer and conductor David Newman (Anastasia) who will be arranging the score for the new adaptation; composer Jeanine Tesori, who will be working with the cast on vocals; and music supervisor Matt Sullivan (Chicago), who will serve as executive music producer for the film."

This whole enterprise seems incredibly unnecessary, whatever faults the original had, this version will not improve them. If Spielberg wanted to do a musical (I don't think he's ever done one) I am not sure why he wouldn't try an original one or adapt one of the numerous Broadway musicals from the past 30 years that have no film.

Quite a festival of mediocrity.

I would be much more interested in a remake of Guys and Dolls. That film was nowhere near as good as it should have been. Though DiCaprio would get Sky and I wouldn't want to see that.

"R36] is a liberal atheist who loves shitfests like the TV Peter Pan and Sound of Music. You're just as pathetic as the deplorable Christians you drool over like a rabid dog."

Such an angry little man. Take your pills, sweetheart.

I'm surprised Spielberg never did a musical either, although Catch Me If You Can often feels like one, just without the songs. The opening sequence from Temple of Doom is glorious.

R67 AGREED

Go away r36.

It's what theater queens where put on earth to do, they are fulfilling their destiny.

Personally I appreciate it, as I am too lazy to get my ass to the theater (even though I love it) I am grateful to those who support it and their critiques on it.

Ok calm and measured in your attitudes R69.

How do you type in your straight jacket?

[quote]As far as I'm concerned there's only one WSS. Spielberg or anyone else reviving or remaking this might be their idea of an homage or just for fun, etc. but there is only one and it starred Rita Moreno, Natalie Wood, Russ Tamblyn, and George Chakiris.

What am I -- chopped liver?

R68: LOVE Guys and Dolls. If they do do a remake of the movie they need to add back "More I Cannot Wish You" which is an amazing and beautiful song that they dropped from the movie for reasons I can't fathom.

(video is from 1992 revival, not the original movie.)

[quote]How do you type in your straight jacket?

Oh, dear.

Are they going to be using the new Spanish lyrics from the most recent Broadway revival?

r70 makes a good point. That opening to Temple of Doom wasn't bad. Maybe he won't fuck up the staging and cinematography but SS does have a tendency to get too cutesy and sappy which will suck.

OK strait. You got me.

I love More I Cannot Wish You though it seems to have quite a few detractors. I would also include the wonderful Bushel and a Peck. Have no idea why they would have cut that. Also My Time of Day is another beauty.

The original film was panned by lots of critics when it came out - I enjoy it, but it’s not a flawless film. In this instance distance has definitely added enchantment. That being said, there is absolutely no good reason for this remake.

A reminder.

I REALLY NEED A NEW VERSION OF WEST SIDE STORY

I thought it got mostly great reviews though Paulin Kael's (who else?) review was scathing not only of the film but the show itself. She thought the whole score was a rip-off. It certainly has its influences but it's a glorious score that stands on its own.

Are they replacing that drowned bitch by a PUERTO RICAN YET ??

So is it true Rita is not a nice person. Like the mean Bacall she comes off as so down to earth and charming in interviews.

The photo shows some bland yet accurate costumes, bland faces and a bland setting with beige, brown, etc clothes. Boring, banal, unexceptional actors.

Are any of the 1960 version actors making cameos?

Are all the male dancers gay like in the 1960 version?

WSS and In the Heights are both coming out in 2020. That should be interesting.

Which one do you think will do better?

I love the show and the music, not the movie so much.

Russ Tamblyn is not gay. Though how he managed that I have no idea as he started as a gymnast.

Coupla things about r81 clip.

Ed Sullivan and Richard Nixon fraternal twins separated at birth?

Television was still a new platform at the time that clip was filmed yet the camera placement was far better than in the recent TV musicals we have seen. They covered the action really well and the editing was impressive for that time and gives you a great feel for the dance.

Couldn't help but notice the dancers and how intense they were performing. They weren't perfect, you could see the nerves, but they were present and I think you can feel a rawness and authenticity in their performance.

"The photo shows some bland yet accurate costumes, bland faces and a bland setting with beige, brown, etc clothes. Boring, banal, unexceptional actors."

You were expecting bright pastels or smart prints? Come on. You're stretching to criticize something you haven't seen. But don't let that stop you.

so the Spielberg vision is to cast the most plain/ugly actors he could find? and make the movie look totally beige? one of the pleasures of the original was watching those hot young guys in glorious technicolor.

Will there be a new “ original” song added to make it eligible for an Oscar? Maybe something for Rita?

For me that's what is missing from the recent musicals, technicolor. Watching a musical in reality is not transporting, watching it in technicolor takes you out of your world and puts you into the world of the musical. I know I'll get heat for saying this but the only contemporary musical that really grabbed me and put me into it's world was "Moulin Rouge". Lhurmann's Romeo and Juliet transported me too even though it was not a musical. Lhurmann for all his flaws does know how to pull you into the world he creates and that is essential for a musical IMO.

Gatsby was horrible on many levels but the over use of CGI for just about every fucking set and back drop killed it for me. So sick of fucking CGI, how much money do they actually save? Actually, considering that a couple of computer special effects houses have gone bankrupt, I guess the film industry doesn't pay them much or at all.

Their performing was intense because Jerome fucking Robbins was in the audience and their jobs were probably on the line. Or at the very least they would have been verbally skinned alive. Today if you scared the shit out of performers you would be brought up on harassment charges.

The great choreographers wouldn't last five minutes today.

I am skeptical. The lead is so ugly to me, something Elgort? So unappealing.

I met Rita Moreno when she came to our city for a special screening in 35 mm of West Side Story. This was about 8- 10 years ago. She came on stage and talked abut the movie, then gossiped for a short time and did a Q&A. She was warm, hilarious, authentic, and really fun. Later I had an opportunity to be in a smaller reception room with her....and she was exactly the same. Relaxed, authentic and very warm. Completely without pretensions. I adore Rita. I have never heard a bad word about her.

Friend of mine did costumes on Happily Divorced and had nothing but good things to say about Rita as well.

I'm the one who asked about Rita's personality. Glad to hear it.

[quote]Anybodys WAS a FTM trans.

No, that homophobic political push did not exist then. A tomboy, a toughie, or a baby dyke, but not trans.

R88 NEITHER. Anybodys was a shim. Thats what they called them back then. My grandparents still do! haha..

Anybodys was a tomboy. There was no transie shit back then.

Russ Tamblyn is responsible for Amber Tamblyn, and therefore: The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants.

Russ Tamblyn was my favorite when I watched it as a kid.

[quote]For me that's what is missing from the recent musicals, technicolor.

What's missing from most movies today are lush colors. Digital moviemaking took the warmth out of movies and made everything cold and impersonal.

Isn't Spielberg's specialty twisting the action so that it's full of surprises?

There's very little of that in West Side Story. Is he going to change the plot to make it more Spielbergian?

Is he going to make it dull and preachy?

It's going to be all updated for the age of SJWs!

Anybody's gonna get zir kicks

Tonight!

We'll have our private little mix

Tonight!

Ze'll walk in hot and tired

So what?

Don't matter if ze's tired

As long as ze's hot

Tonight!

R5- flawless? The original has white people playing Puerto Ricans and manages to come off racist while doing it. That’s a flaw right there.

At the end Maria points the gun into the camera and shoots. You see we're all guilty. And Spielberg gets a bit of film history in as well.

^^^LITERAL VIOLENCE!

In this version, Tony will end up dying in The Stonewall Riots, while Anita sings A Boy Like That.

OP, that photo is what I will "excitement"!!!!!!

[quote]The original has white people playing Puerto Ricans and manages to come off racist while doing it. That’s a flaw right there.

You're kidding me right? DL loves that shit. The moment you cast race appropriate actors it's SJW, politically correct meddling.

It should be a live TV event starring Carrie Underwood.

R92: "You were expecting bright pastels or smart prints? Come on. You're stretching to criticize something you haven't seen. But don't let that stop you. "

Yes, bright colors, like the original. It's a fuckin' musical, not a dreary documentary or 'Last Exit to Brooklyn.'

Something we haven't seen? We're looking at a majority of the cast in that photo in thier costumes, and the entire thing is shit brown.

You old queens can drool over the movie Jets and Sharks here.

It's true, the lack of lively color is a bad sign.

Like New York neighborhoods are filled with lively color. BTW, the film isn 't set in Oz.

WTF part of "musical" don't you get, cement-head R121?

Perhaps grey and brown are appropriate color schemes for a Brecht/Weill musical, but fuck no for WSS.

I fear it will suffer from chronic sepia.

R122, and you can tell from one photo that the whole film is done in these muted colors? You must be clairvoyant.

R116 I think they need more ethnic diversity, Alison Williams perhaps?

Why must every thread on Datalounge devolve into a discussion about Patti Lupone.

Will Ansel portray Tony as mildly "touched" like he portrayed Tommy Ross in the Carrie remake?

So for all the sepia, the two leads are still the wrong ethnic background?

West Side Story, the creation of four gay men, should be directed by a gay man. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise captured both the manliness and the sensuality of the dancers. Spielberg's usual take on sex and sensuality can best be described as juvenile.

Very true, R129

The Broadway takeover by the PC SJW crowd has reached the film adaptations. The PCers are condemning a film they haven't even seen with assumptions and generalizations. Stay home and check your social media accounts every ten seconds if you don't want to see it. The adults will evaluate after they have see it.

I hope there is a small part for me.

So Natalie Wood was Maria, ( they were required to get a name actress) and George Chakiris is Greek. Not a golden Greek, but a dark, swarthy, Turkish Greek. Other than that all the Sharks were Puerto Rican or Latino actors, girls and boys.

Yes, the original was quite ethnic. A good movie that should be left alone.

Some of those guys are dead. AIDS. I had such a crush on Tucker Smith. Ice.

The pic at R12 looks like an advertisement for Emporio Armani.

Yes, he was handsome, R135. There were a lot of interesting actors in that film, even in minor roles.

at least he didnt make the characters 12yo boys. you know how much SS likes pre-teens.

George Chakiris was heart stoppingly hot in some of his scenes. He had a swagger and a rhythm when he walked that was simply perfection. I don't know who Spielberg's Bernardo is, but I know he isn't George Chakiris. Damn he was beautiful then.

Steven Spielberg can do any damn he wants. And he wants to do this.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This looks like a beige and brown WSS. And we know the tenement streets of NY are covered in beige and brown.

I wanted to see Bernardo and Anita have sex just to get a glimpse of that pinga! They were both hot.

Spielberg can't touch this.....

Too much color!

"You must be clairvoyant. "

Actually, R124, you're correct. You will also disagree with my replies at R153 and R178!

And the film will flop.

I'm watching it right now. I love it. Does anyone know if Richard Beymer did his own singing? Because he is SO not a singer.

[quote] It should be a live TV event starring Carrie Underwood.

As Anita.

Other than the two numbers Robbins worked on before he was fired, the original WSS is awful.

Richard Beymer did not sing one note in the film "West Side Story."

What are you talking about the two numbers? He worked on most of them except for Dance at the Gym which utilizing his choreography and staged by one of his dancers (Tony Mordente?) is one of the most exciting numbers ever put on film.

As any Broadway historian now knows Robbins' associate Peter Gennaro devised the choreography for America (on Broadway when it was all women) and the Mambo. He was never credited until Robbins died. Chita Rivera, among others, has verified this.

I don't know if Gennaro worked on the film with Robbins but those are still his steps.

[quote]I think they need more ethnic diversity, Alison Williams perhaps?

Why not go all the way and get ANSON Williams?

In terms of color palette you can't compare a photo of the gangs in their everyday street wear in the new version with a photo of the women dancing America in their party dresses in the old film.

R150 Robbins only shot the opening and "Cool." Because of how long it took him to shoot those numbers, he was removed.

That is why the other numbers look so stagey in comparison. Robbins adjusted and used the camera. The other numbers just photographed the stage choreography.

[quote]West Side Story, the creation of four gay men, should be directed by a gay man. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise captured both the manliness and the sensuality of the dancers. Spielberg's usual take on sex and sensuality can best be described as juvenile.

Robert Wise wasn't gay and did a great job, so why do you think the new director needs to be?

So why has Gennaro never done any other work that even comes within hailing distance of those two numbers? Something is very wrong here.

Peter Gennaro's Broadway credits are lengthy and impressive even if no show came up to the glory of his work on WSS.

Among them are the Broadway musicals Fiorello, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Irene and Annie.

For the life of me I can't imagine who this film is for, or why they're bothering! They're seemingly desperate to layer in a bunch of racial and gender-sexual modernism from what I can tell. I'm sure it will be all mucked up, and make people flock to the Natalie Wood/Jerome Robbins classic!

[quote]The thing that makes me the most interested in this is that Tony Kushner wrote it.

Good LORD, no! I guess it will be longer than the uncut Judy Garland "A Star is Born"!

After seeing the recent "Angels in America" revival on Broadway, I was so aware of Kushner's schtick, and how florid and overwritten it was. It's like a card trick after they show you how it's done... your eye is no longer fooled.

So will it actually be called “Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story?”

When I was a kid my ballet teacher took me backstage to meet Tony Mordente. He was polite and cute and I was thrilled to death.

[quote]BTW, the film isn 't set in Oz.

Not the yellow brick road Oz, but the prison Oz based on that picture.

[quote]Isn't Spielberg's specialty twisting the action so that it's full of surprises?

[quote]There's very little of that in West Side Story. Is he going to change the plot to make it more Spielbergian?

Insiders say that in this new version Bernardo is obsessed with great white sharks which is why he named his gang the "Sharks." Bernardo and Tony have a showdown at the old Fulton Fish Market and as they duke it out they fall into a huge tank occupied by Bruce, a killer great white, that devours them.

After debating the white male entitlement of "great white" the surviving gang members bond over fish & chips as they sing "There's A Plaice For Us."

HA! Brilliant, R163...

[quote]For the life of me I can't imagine who this film is for, or why they're bothering!

Certainly not for you, but but but there are still 7.7 billion other people on the planet, gramp. You had the movie in your time, now let young people have theirs as I really couldn't care less to watch that old version.

I know that Gennaro has a number of credits but his work has rarely been distinguished and is pretty much journeyman. He is never mentioned among Broadways best Broadway choreographers and he did a lot of filler work for TV variety show programs.

I do though think He's My Friend from Molly Brown is sensational and the most underrated musical number from a movie while being one of the best..

@R155 . I agree that Robert Wise did a good job directing West Side Story. I also think that the creative work of Bernstein, Laurents, Sondheim and Robbins was primarily responsible for the sensibility on display in that film.

I read a biography of Robbins years ago and unless I remember wrong he had a lot of input into how the dance sequences were filmed.

Only Sondheim is still alive and I don't know if he's involved in this at all. If you've ever considered Spielberg's work in terms of how he portrays sensuality and sexuality then you should understand why I have reservations about him directing this film.

What gay director would be better than Spielberg ? I'm not sure but I hope it would be someone like Robbins who has had experience presenting and choreographing dance on stage.

I'm also a big fan of Stan Kenton's pumping jazz version of the West Side Story score with arrangements by Johnny Richards. I would love to see a similar exciting jazz score this time around. Spielberg will probably hire John Williams (snore...).

Peter Gennaro was seriously hot.......

You know the Original movie WSS has some subtleties that most people miss or ignore. There was something very operatic about the libretto and the choreography is an effective fusion of ballet and modern. Look at the opening, when there's an altercation on the playground between Tony Mordente's character, Action, and one of the Sharks. And in the Gym sequence the colors enhance the characters' personalities, and advance the storyline, (not so subtle.) and the political implications of having Pops the obvious homage to the older Jewish Political Lefties.

No Ricky Martin? No Jennifer Lopez? No Bruno Mars?

And so was Grover Dale and that hot Gus Trikonis who danced with Debbie. I love Grover's red socks with the black shoes. They match the set. I think Gus's dickey comes off at some point but they're so hot into the dance and the take is so long he ignores it.

I hope Spielberg pays attention to the fact that Bernardo and Anita were a bit older, wiser, and more familiar with the defeats of life experience, that Bernardo's gang looked up to him and respected him. Spielberg should acknowledge that there was a wide streak of paternalism and authority that extended beyond his care for Maria, to his whole gang. He was in control, not because he was ruthless and inspired fear, but because he made them feel safer. Also pay attention to the chemistry. Bernardo & Anita were well matched. You saw them as a real couple.

R169, you realize that is all from the play. These features are not unique to the film.

R173, of course I realize it's from the play. But the translation from stage to screen worked really well, and in my readings about it, they did modify some of the choreography for the screen, but definitely not in ways to alter it significantly. The point is, they didn't simpy film a production of the play.

Is he going to switch back the order of Krupke and Cool which would be really bad.

Also while Bernardo is not ruthless and does not inspire fear he certainly enjoys playing the paternal figure and the power it gives him as a natural born leader.

The original musical still holds up on the stage. I saw it in Sydney, Australia just over two months ago with some very gifted performers portraying Maria and Tony, and it's still a great show that more than 60 years later still deeply resonates with even modern day audiences.

There will be an audience for this film.

I don’t think that this film is going to be successful.

I'm sure Spielberg will be sending over his dailies requesting notes from DL. Given the sublime artistic output of the fart smellers on here it would only make sense.

Judy and the Peter Gennaro Dancers......

In this adaptation, the Jets will jump the Shark(s).

Wondering if r163 actually knows that the shark in the JAWS "ride" at Universal Studios tour Hollywood is named Bruce.

[quote]The theater queens here sound exactly like the deplorable Christians

A Datalounge Truth r36.

Which makes sense since Spielberg is handling sacred texts inspired by the Divine.

hate to say this but Baz Luhrman (sp?) would be a much better choice than Spielberg

This movie will be a nuclear bomb. Tepid mitting in the cities and a disaster in the nabes and the sticks.

Exactly R175, and the reason I even discussed the characters in my earlier posts was because I'm concerned about Spielberg's casting. I don't really care about Ansel. He's a cipher, but IMO he raised some concerns for me. IMO not nearly pretty enough to notice at a dance at the gym, and not someone you'd want to go against your brother and your parents to get with. He's not a Tony. I get it: Love at first sight, etc. But Ansel? Please. Casting Bernardo and Anita is really important. I don't see this working. Yes the music and the story holds up 60 years later, but I think this version will come and go and will never replace the original.

Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise both directed the film version of Robbins stage play, with Robbins handling the dance sequences. The one thing Spielberg doesn't have is Bernstein, Robbins, and Sondheim involved. Robert Wise had all of them, and Harold Prince too. So this can never replace the original movie. In a way, this is like the remake of Ben Hur that happened a couple of years ago. Remember? LOL! No one does. Ben Hur will always be Charlton Heston's vehicle.

[quote] Justin Peck will choreograph the musical numbers in the film.

New choreography thank GOD.

R186, Robbins did not handle the dance sequences. He went so overschedule filiming the opening and Cool that he was fired. And you can really see the difference in how the other dance scenes were shot.

What Robbins shot was so good that you wish he had gotten to do more.

I don't think Spielberg wants to do a remake to please those of us who have loved this story for a long time. He's making it exclusively for a new generation so he will tailor it to fit that generation. I don't think there will be much about this the elder gays and lovers of the Natalie Wood version will like.

[quote] I mean the youth at the time of the film were not doing mambos. They were dancing to rock and roll. At least the professional dancers of the period had the mambo in their vocabulary. It will be interesting to see how the new dancers handle it.

I'm thinking something like this

Dancing in period movies is always disastrous. Back in the studio days extras knew how to dance in different styles and they found people who could do a great jitterbug as well.

When todays extras get on a dance floor from the 60s back they dance as if they've never heard music before. Where do I put my foot? Do I just sway back and forth? one two three one two three...Like they had taken a dance class for their wedding..

R191 knows nothing about dance or young people in theater and show business or even what goes into a theater Bachelor of Arts.

[quote]Good LORD, no! I guess it will be longer than the uncut Judy Garland "A Star is Born"!

Judy was uncut?

Well whatever goes into it and whatever comes out of it is very bad indeed. I've seen many old movies where people could naturally pick up on styles. In contemporary films it looks like they learned the style the day before.

See Lubitsch's The Merry Widow for the great waltz sequence or the Virginia reel in GWTW or the jitterbug in Buck Privates.

Contemporary university musical theater programs are notorious for putting everything through the deflavorising machine. You might think contemporary dancers are good technically but they don't really dance to the music. There is no nuance or intensity. I'm amazed you don't see it.

From....

To.....

You know we're doing some nice things with colored photography now. You can go back to watching TVland now.

Anyone who expects extras to dance is a fool. Dancing is a skill.

You might as well criticize extras for doing poor stunt work.

But even dancers cannot dance in the styles of previous eras. That is a skill they have trouble mastering.

Who exactly is the audience for this, other than older theater queens?

No young person is going to see this, or buy the soundtrack.

There are dancers out there dancing in many different styles.

They are available if hired.

But if you want to pay them like extras, you will not get them.

It wasn't old theater queens that made Evan Hansen a hit or got Be More Chill to Broadway or Glee nine seasons. You deluded shut-ins really need to stop pretending musical theater is some esoteric passion of NY snobs.

There has been a blockbuster musical animated film almost every year for the past three decades. These generations are completely hard wired for musical theater which is why it is back on TV regularly.

R165, may you never grow a day older.

[quote]It wasn't old theater queens that made Evan Hansen a hit or got Be More Chill to Broadway or Glee nine seasons.

Evan Hansen and Be More Chill aren't movies, Connie!

Like Glee, those shows have contemporary music, unlike WSS. Young people don't listen to old show tunes, Connie.

[quote] You might think contemporary dancers are good technically but they don't really dance to the music. There is no nuance or intensity. I'm amazed you don't see it.

Thanks for saying it r194. Surprising how most people don't know the difference between good technique and a good dancer.

R205 Clearly doesn't know any young people. They don't discriminate old and new. They grew up with technology that let's them consume it all. Old television, new movies. They've seen Patti Lupone sing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" more times than ALW.

R198, I heard from a crew guy there will be 60 principal dancers at the dance at the gym shooting next week and 30 extras serving as “peripheral dancers.”

[quote]Certainly not for you, but but but there are still 7.7 billion other people on the planet, gramp. You had the movie in your time, now let young people have theirs as I really couldn't care less to watch that old version.

Said the ageist little prick.

Count me among those concerned about the lack of (Techni)color in this picture. In the original film, Maria's clothes progress from virginal white at the beginning of the film to muted colors (flaxen yellow, light turquoise) in the middle section toblood red at the climax.

Also, there are those incredible scene transitions in the original film. I've seen WSS three times on the big screen and it's absolutely breathtaking.

Maybe Spielberg can do an animated version for all you fabulous color enthusiasts.

It TWIRLED up, r210!

Animated would also make the brown facing a non-issue.

You can dance in a style and not be any good at it. Like all professional musical theater dancers today unless they are doing contemporary choreography.

R201 I'm not really understanding you.

Next they'll be reviving what we had on last week. Get your clothes back from the cleaners and it's a revival!

"Said the ageist little prick."

Said the ageist ancient prick.

Has there ever been a worthwhile remake of anything?

Shadow of a Doubt

r217, the Charlton Heston Ben-Hur (1959) was a remake of the 1925 silent film with (gay) Ramon Novarro. The Departed (2006) was a remake of a 2002 Hong Kong film called Infernal Affairs. Both won Best Picture at the Oscars.

Isn't Westside Story a remake? Or are we parsing our words and calling it a reimagining.

Thanks r219. Let me refine my question. Has there ever been a worthwhile remake of a film in the same language (I'm counting silent films as a different language)?

People seemed to enjoy the most recent A Star is Born.

The MGM "Showboat" was a decent remake of the Universal "Showboat."

This is going to flop. That Ansel guy cannot act and is not good looking enough to make up for his lack of charisma.

R214, I suspect that the reason you do not understand me is that you do not want to. You first suggested that extras are used for dance scenes. And now you insist that there are no dancers available who can work in the idioms of other periods.

Both assertions defy common sense so you have to "not understand" a number of things to maintain these positions. You also have to avoid attending dance performances so that you can maintain this delusion that there are no dancers who can perform in various styles. And you probably have to avoid learning the specific key elements that define dance styles so you can keep this on the level of some vague "feeling" about dancers.

I keep thinking about all the dance companies who perform the WWS Suite who clearly cannot get the period style right.

My goodness R225 you are so staggeringly dim it defies all comprehension. It makes one believe you have seen maybe 5 films in your entire life. There are quite a number of films where large groups of extras are required to dance and at one time people knew all kinds of dancing because they DANCED. I don't believe I am saying this to a sentient human being. Dancing was a part of how people enjoyed themselves. So extras could waltz, foxtrot and even do the mambo and the conga!. Dancers went out dancing as well and it was even easier for them to pick up different styles as their bodies instinctively could pick up these styles.

Extras in large group scenes which requires a mass of people dancing as couples can't do it today because they've rarely done it in their lives. And dancers can't do it because though they are technically proficient the style has to be pasted on like wallpaper. There is nothing there but steps.

I'm sorry I was insulting. I just meant that period dancing was culturally important to those people in a way it can't be to people today. There was a physical energy that embodied the music. And it was carried through from generation to generation. Obviously changing sometimes drastically but there was a line through it all that we can see in hindsight. That broke down in the late 20th Century when solo dancing became the primary expression of musical impulse.

You do understand that in WWS the dance is choreographed? It is not a bunch of people winging it.

You could put out a call for extras and ask them to do social dances that they knew even when the original was made. Because the choreography needed to be learned by people who had actual dance training.

Do you really imagine that the Sharks, Jets, and kids at the dance were extras? Have you ever seen the original film? Do you think that the new one will require less dance skills

The best thing the film adaptation did was switch the "Officer Krupke" number with "Cool." It's odd to see the gang joking around at Doc's in a comedic way after Riff and Bernardo are dead. In the revised placement, "Cool" is appropriately tense and dramatic after the rumble.

I know it's the original play script, and some regional productions tried to use that change (but were stopped?).

Also, adding all the women and men Sharks to "America" made for one of the best filmed musical dance numbers in 20th-century history (in the stage script, it's a female trio). I wonder if the SS version will do this.

Whoever actually choreographed these numbers, it's an integral part of a classic. Having a bunch of beige-garbed mopey teens not dance will fail, miserably.

I believe Spielberg will be sticking to the original musical's staging of the songs; which means "Cool" before "Krupke" and an all female "America."

Those who want otherwise can still watch the 1961 movie version.

What makes you "believe" that?

Two things:

You can be sure that Robbins was granted months of rehearsals with his dancers before filming began, and Robert Wise, as co-director, came in and watched the finished rehearsals and talked through shots with Robbins, the Production Designer and the Cinematographer. So it was not as hard as it might seem to fire Robbins soon after filming began. Major decisions about the filming were already made. It was Robbins' insistence on doing unlimited takes that got him fired.

You can also be sure that most, if not all of the Sharks, Jets and their girls in this new film version have already danced in some revival/touring company of WSS with the authentic original Robbins choreography. So even though Justin Peck may be doing his own thing, the new choreography will no doubt be in the idiom of the original and these dancers are well-prepared professionals (young as they may be) and can handle the rigor and the period nature of the dancing.

Hopefully, R233. Also, most (if not all?) of the gang member/dancers had been in some casts of the orignal Broadway production, so they already knew at least the original stage choreography.

This is such a dumb fkin stupid argument. Why is said poster entertaining that loon. The dances were choreographed for fuck sake. Extras did not spontaneously know the dances. Its absurd to think otherwise.

Those programs that train people to be extras need a stronger dance curriculum.

Um, ok. I'm sure they appreciate your input given you prolific contribution to the world of dance, Mr. Hough.

A friend of someone on the crew told me “Gee, Officer Krupke” is being staged on the police precinct set.

Which is absurdly literal and redundant. They're singing about him, not to him.

This will be a trainwreck.

Will there be the repeating image of a girl in a red coat showing up throughout the movie?

All of these conclusions from a single publicity photo?

Yes. We're not only bitchy, we're prescient.

Very excited for this. I do not like the film version with Natalie Wood.

The actor playing Bernardo won a Tony Award playing Billy Elliott on Broadway.

This will flop hard.

And deservedly so.

Spielberg has as much business directing a movie musical as James Cameron.

Why does he even bother? They should just re release Finian's Rainbow and say this is how WSS would turn out but we want to save a ton of money and bore you just the same.

Aren't all those would be teenagers a bit too old to interest Spielberg?

Isn't he known for doing sexless, phony films featuring children?

This film is supposed to have energy, sexuality, singing, dancing, and a bit of a fun edge - not stuff he can do.

Dance at the gym is being shot this week in a high school gym in Brooklyn.

So are the Sharks going to get it tonight?

ansel:: horrid casting::::jinxes the how thang.....member I said so.

“how thang”?

Oh dear.

Some of us remember when Steven Spielberg redid "A Guy Name Joe." The result: "Always," the worst movie he has ever made. This does not bode well.

[quote]This will flop hard.

Pics please.

LOL, R254.

I loved EMPIRE OF THE SUN. Christian Bale was excellent.

R256 Empire of The Sun was his most underappreciated great film.

As mentioned before, Ansel Elgort is physically bigger than all the other guys. That actually helps with story. This time when Riff insists that the Jets need Tony at the rumble to win, it will make more sense.

There's no reason you need Richard Beymer at a rumble.

R95 I thought Moulin Rouge was horrible and Gatsby survived it's hideous special effects to have a good rapport with the novel. There was a magic realism that matched The Great Gatsby's poetry

[quote] and Gatsby survived it's hideous special effects to have a good rapport with the novel. There was a magic realism that matched The Great Gatsby's poetry

I've found you, r259! So, I'm not alone in appreciating Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby". I loved it. I got what he was going for. I just didn't know how to put it into words like you did.

I LOVED Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby. I also loved Moulin Rouge.

HE CASTS HIS MOVIES AS IF HE WERE CASTING GRINDER.

NATCH

Stephen Sondheim visits the set of new West Side Story

Stephen Sondheim - Age 89

Steven Spielberg - Age 72

Count me as another one who effortlessly loved both “Moulin Rouge” and “Gatsby” by Luhrmann (and also his “Romeo + Juliet” too while we’re at it..).

I didn’t particularly expect to like any of these as I kind of see Baz as an off wall, unpredictable director but I couldn’t resist loving any of them during and after watching them.

There was a blind item on AGC that hinted that Spielberg held auditions for a role in the film that didn’t exist, just so he could ogle the underage girls.

Really r266? I tend to doubt that in this day of MeTooism and Jeffery Epstein finally getting his due.

This was from earlier this year r267...and Spielberg is way too powerful for anyone to bring him down. Sad but true.

I honestly have never heard anything that sounded substantial about him being any kind of industry perv or predator.

Also: actresses that were close to him while very young kids (like Gwyneth P. and Drew Barrymore) still love him and hang around him as adults, speak highly of him, and bring their kids around him. SO unlikely if he were an abuser/Harvey type....

The original is now "flawless." Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer are rather weak and once Bernardo and Riff have been killed, the film feels out of gas.

^NOT flawless

Natalie Wood was a terrible actress. Never got the allure.

Seriously, R272? You never saw “Splendor in the Grass” or “This Property is Condemned”? (Or “Gypsy” or “Rebel Without a Cause”?)

Natalie Wood was *not* a terrible actress; she could be fantastic in the right role and was wonderful in many films...

She was miscast in West Side Story, but she did deliver at the end of the film, "Te adoro, Anton." She delivered despite the fact that she hated Richard Beymer (Tony) and had campaigned for her then boyfriend, Warren Beatty, to be cast in the role.

Instead of wasting time on campaigning for Beatty, she should have taken swimming lessons. She would have been better off.

I saw those films r273. And IMO, she was patently awful in all of them.

The Jets are dancing on location on 133rd Street today.

All that "when you're a jet, you're a jet" stuff is too camp to work on screen now. Leave it to the stage.

I wonder if the movie will be as bad as Cameron Diaz' ANNIE.

Ariana DeBose’s as “Anita”

She looks like Lea Michele.

R280 She looks like Gina Rodriguez

Ariana DeBose singing....

R282 Is that a jazz version, or just pure indulgence?

It's quite awful, and I'm not precious about cabaret interpretations.

R284 Silly cow should have learnt from the critique Steve gave Betty Lynn when she tried to 'jazz up' his songs

According to Wiki, she competed in "So You Think You Can Dance," and made it into the top 20. And she can sing. I'm assuming with the right vocal coach on set she has what it takes (singing/dancing) to play Anita. Here's hoping.

R286 I have watched SYTYCD all along and have no memory of her at all. Though Season 6 had really good male dancers so she may have been easy to ignore R286 And top ten is what really counts

Not a fan of musicals but this will surely get a GG and probably an Oscar nomination since they nominate all of them now. Especially a Spielberg film.

R288 I never miss a Steven Spielberg musical.....

Ariana DeBose was nominated for a 2018 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical "The Donna Summer Musical."

R290 That isn't selling her honey

Friend of mine watched the Prologue shoot yesterday with the Jets dancing along 133rd St. He said it looked great.

A closer look of Tony & Maria

R292, it couldn't have looked great. It's going to be a flop! A flop! Please, God, make it a flop, so I can be right! Please?

Are they pitching most everything down, like EVITA? Elgort is a baritone, right?

This will be the Lost Horizon of th 21st century.

and here's a sneak peek!

I enjoyed that Sprockets version of WSS.

Thanks, r297

WTF? (I liked it too)

I remember that blog and how he may like young girls...….weird....do people when they git meg rich go pervy??

Well, R300, if you've seen the very demented TV show 'Happy!' starring Chris Meloni, the kiddy show villain chats with a billionaire at a golf course:

Billionaire: "I have everything I could want."

Villain: "But what about what you shouldn't want?"

Great clip of climax of “America” on Instagram by one of the crew. It’s a full-out production number with a lot of dancers and a Puerto Rican flag hanging out a window so I’m guessing it takes place on Puerto Rican Day.

R302 Link?

Sorry, R303, it’s a private instagram account.

You can link to a post on a private account, though, right?

[quote]Sorry, [R303], it’s a private instagram account.

make it a screengrab

Sorry, she’s probably in enough trouble as it is. I’ll be surprised if it’s still up tomorrow. “America” was actually shot yesterday but they cancelled shooting today for something else because it was too hot.

Andrea Burns IS Fausta!

R293 that kid looks like this—

Well, of course they made the WSS crew member take down the video of the end of the “America” number. At least she wasn’t fired. Glad I’d already recorded from her Instagram page onto my phone so I still have it.

Those are some of the whitest looking Puerto Ricans I’ve seen. Just like the original.

R319 Sharesies?

A pic from the filming of the "America" number-

More pics at link.

The pics look odd... like the people aren't all there togther, as if they've been placed in a ready made background.

It's too bright.

So “America” is being shot in the daytime on the streets instead of on top of the roof at night. Will this be after the dance still?

Thank God Liam Payne wasn't cast in this.

Anita looks beautiful. The pictures are not stills from the film camera, so we don't know what kind of filter is being applied to the scene.

OH DEAR

Deja vu...

Someone posted a fuzzy video of the last part of the America number filmed this summer.

I refuse to see this.

Spielberg has money flowing and excreting though every pore of his $3.7 billion body.

This latest exercise is no longer a tale of love gone wrong between NY Catholics and Jews. It isn't an international blast of the Tekiah shofar cal.

It isn't a heartfelt homage to his fellows Bernstein, Stein, Sondheim, Levine, Rabinowitz, Goberman and Wise

It's pure mendacious PARASITE-ism.

word of mouth, bad casting.

But why is he doing West Side Story?

From a Spielberg interview in Total Film magazine in 2004-

[quote]“I’ve always wanted to make a musical. Not like Moulin Rouge though – an old-fashioned, conservative musical where everyone talks to each other, then breaks out into song, then talks some more. Like West Side Story or Singin’ in the Rain. Yeah, I want to make a musical. I’ve been looking for one for 20 years. I just need something that excites me.”

Then in 2014-

[quote] Spielberg homes in on his preferred musical project: a new adaptation of West Side Story....He tells Good Morning America: “Well you know something, West Side Story is one of my favourite Broadway musicals and one of the greatest pieces of musical literature, my goodness, one of the greatest scores and some of the greatest lyrics ever written for a musical. So just let me put it this way: it’s on my mind.”

And then filming of West Side Story began summer 2019.

So to recap: Spielberg said in 2004 that he's been wanting to make a musical film for 20 years, so since it's now 2019 he's been planning to do this for 35 YEARS.

He's age 72. He couldn't wait any longer. It must be a passion, legacy project for him. ET, Schindler's List, Indiana Jones, Lincoln, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, West Side Story.....his portfolio will be nearly complete.

I'll watch it for David Alvarez, who grew up to be the hottest of the Billys, and Mike Faist, who's so adorable with his big ears. Ariana looks lovely in her dress! Is Janusz lensing this pictcha?

steven wanted to do it with 12 yr olds,, but his wife said NO NO

Yes, R328. And he’s still as crazy as ever.

Janusz is crazy?

R324 has stated her boundaries!

I don't know if Janusz is crazy, but he's a bastard to end all bastards.

Does America take place during the Puerto Rican Day Parade? Or are they rehearsing for their appearance on the Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast? Justin Peck is a shit choreographer. Peter Martins chose him because Peck was worse than he was. Did you see his sneaker tap dance in the subway. It's like a bad Robbin's take off.

And I can't believe the people saying today's dancers can do period. No they can't. They can be frantic and sweat a lot but they were trained to do aerobic moves and that's the only thing they're good at. If you can look at Robbins dancers and say todays dancers can dance with such style and intensity you simply have no discernment whatsoever.

Janusz is crazy in that he does impromptu shit like pull up his shirt to expose his belly. He’s a very funny man but sometimes makes inappropriate comments. I think in the post Me Too era he’s curbed it a bit.

Yes, “America” takes place on Puerto Rico Day.

he was castigated for not giving the lead to timothy from call me by ur name.

been so hot, all nekkid male cast.

His audtions with the young cast must be fun.

In this will Maria and Tony be naked in bed with no covers on this hot night like would be accurate? Or is this where Spielberg goes back to old Hollywood?

Can't wait to hate-watch this!

I will outraged if the reviews are anything less than ripping it to filth for its hubris.

Spielberg's Anita and Bernardo

Spielberg (in tan ball cap) instructing dancers on a specific move-

Mike Faist ("Dear Evan Hansen") as the Jets' Riff

Some Jet person

Spielberg in quirky Director's Drag

Spielberg looks like he's having so much fun!

Thanks for posting that pic of Mike Faist! I was gonna ask if any had been taken. He's so adorable... do you think they asked the jets to shave their pits? If so, that's disappointing.

Did Puerto Rico Day exist in the late 50s?

This film's gonna do wonders for Faist.

This is basically going to be like those NBC "live" broadcasts of old musicals; energetic, too bright, and its own take, also like a regional theatre company's production.

Is he going to CGI the fuck out of this shit? I've never seen the original and don't care for musicals but if his take has some sort of authenticity to it and a spark of originality I will consider watching.

I also don't care much for musicals, but like most of America and China, I adore superhero movies. So if they reconceived West Side Story so that Tony is Tony by day but Spiderman at night, then maybe I'd see it. Maybe.

"Is he going to CGI the fuck out of this shit? "

They'll have to for any wide exterior shots. Perhaps the cinematographer is shooting close on the rented streets with vintage cars. No wide cityscape shots like the original film opener, unless it's completely CGI.

R345, is that Kyle Allen from American Horror Story: Apocalypse?

R270 I agree. The original is the definition of a flawed masterpiece. That it survives two pretty bad performances by the leads is a testimony to Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, and Russ Tamblyn (to a lesser extent.) As well as Robbins, Bernstein, Sondheim and Robert Wise.

Such weird choices so far and not in keeping with what WSS was. Just my opinion.

Ansel Elgort has even less charisma than the original Tony.

And why is Elgort playing Tony? I thought this version was supposed to be ‘ethnically more accurate’. Ariana deBose (who is partially Puerto-Rican) plays Anita. But Elgort is Norwegian-Jewish - why is he playing a Polack then, under this new casting system?

All white people look the same.

Someone I know was at the screen tests for Tony, Maria and Anita. She told me none of the girls testing for Anita were cast. She said the other two Tonys had done Broadway shows and were shorter than Elgort. She said the one cast as Maria was by far the best choice.

I have seen WSS a number of times I never think that Wood and Beymer were miscast. I think if they had been it would have hurt the film badly and not moved people as much as it did. That final scene never fails to move me enormously and it is because of them. One would never even imagine that Wood in actuality despised him. I always hope that Chino will miss him. It is fashionable today to say that they were miscast and it's a joke. The film wouldn't have worked. Just the scene where Wood is dancing alone on the rooftop but then gets the terrifying news her brother has been killed is worth her entire performance let alone her hate scene at the end.

The 2010s will forever be remembered as the decade of non-stop conveyor-belt remakes.

I guess Hollywood is really running out of ideas and investors are becoming too risk-averse to try new concepts.

Why is there no Trump on this thread?

There should be Trump on EVERY thread.

[quote] Why remake one of the best filmed musicals in history? It will be compared with the original and will pace in comparison, even with Spielberg directing.

Why remake any successful film? Because you already know the story works, and you might hit paydirt again.

Successful movies that were remade successfully:

"The Thing from Another World"

"Purple Noon"

"Ben-Hur" (1925)

"Pride and Prejudice" (1941)

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1936)

"Frankenstein" (1930--and it was ALREADY a re-make itself!)

"Dracula" (1931)

"Jane Eyre" (1945)

The Merry Widow was made 3 times. So was Showboat. Any others?

Let's not forget "Little Women" r363.

The difference is that there are too many remakes now and not enough new original hit films. The ratio is not good nowadays.

r364, Back Street was filmed 3 times: 1932, 1941, 1961.

Madame X has been filmed multiple times, most famously in 1929, 1937, 1966, and (for TV) 1981.

Beau Geste was filmed so many times (notably: 1926, 1939, 1966) that Marty Feldman made a comedy called The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) -- which, ironically, was not correct, as there was one more remake, for TV, in 1982.

I think there are more than 80 versions of Frankenstein!

They might as well remake "Gone With The Wind", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Casablanca" and "Singing In The Rain" then.

Let's see who's brave / stupid enough to try that.

West Side Story's a bit different in that it was originally a Broadway musical before it became a film, and it's had multiple revivals, including an upcoming one by Ivo van Hove, so a cinematic remake is a bit more palatable. A Streetcar Named Desire has gone through similar reiterations, including a TV film.

I think this has more to do with what's marketable. A well known Broadway musical directed by Spielberg is an easily marketable thing. A Casablanca remake wouldn't be all that marketable. I don't think a Streetcar remake would be either.

Strangely enough, I can see a Singin' in the Rain remake happening, though I doubt it would.

Streetcar has been remade a few times, no? Ann Margaret and Treat Williams, and Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin.

R360 Wood has her moments, but come on. Richard Beymer is a terrible Tony. "Tony's got a rep bigger than the whole West side!" For what? Being fruity?

Hey, I love the movie, but Beymer is bad. I think Wood is wooden too, though I admit she did the final speech justice.

I'll admit I'm biased, as I'm a huge Wood fan, but I think she's fine in WSS; as mentioned above, you wouldn't know she and Beymer detested each other; she basically sails through the film on her beauty, charm and charisma -- she's marvelous during the "Tonight" scene and quite powerful at the climax -- if I had to pick a scene where she's less than impressive it's in the "I Feel Pretty" number, the other gals are terrific, and she's much too mechanical with her dancing.

They HAVE ALREADY remade "Streetcar Named Desire."

In fact they've remade it more than once.

There are two versions of America. I wonder if they'll go with the more PC movie version, or if even Sondheim has written a third set of lyrics.

For R367:

Ansel Elgort was born on 14 March 1994, in New York City, New York, USA. Ansel is an American by nationality and he is of [bold]Polish[/bold], Ashkenazi Jewish, German, English, and Norwegian ethnicity

Beymer was beautiful.

He was classy and didn't want to hang around ugly street-scrappers.

r376 I wish they'd use the new partially-Spanish lyrics that were written for the most recent Broadway revival..

Let’s not forget Scarface, R363.

Lot's of dubbing in the original movie that I didn't know about. Sure, Tony and Maria were, but what about these-

[quote] Russ Tamblyn (Riff) was dubbed for "The Jet Song" by Tucker Smith, who played Ice, his lieutenant in the movie.

[quote] Rita Moreno's singing voice was dubbed by Betty Wand only for "A Boy Like That" since it was below her range. Moreno sang "America" herself.

[quote] Even though dubbing Natalie Wood was Marni Nixon's chief assignment, Nixon also did one number for Rita Moreno, which required a relatively high vocal register. Having dubbed Wood as well as Moreno, Nixon felt she deserved a cut of the movie-album royalties. Neither the movie or the record producers would bow to her demands. Leonard Bernstein broke the stalemate by volunteering a percentage of his income, a gesture of loyalty-royalty since Nixon had been a performer-colleague of his at New York Philharmonic concerts. He ceded one-quarter of one percent of his royalties to her (a generous amount).

From IMDB Trivia, who was up for role compared to who got them

[quote] Robert Wise's original choice to play Tony was Elvis Presley. However, Presley's manager, 'Colonel' Tom Parker refused, since Elvis would only sing in six of the twelve songs, and because he would not have exclusive rights to the soundtrack.

[quote] Audrey Hepburn was offered the role of Maria, but she turned it down, because she was pregnant with Sean Hepburn Ferrer at the time.

[quote] Russ Tamblyn had originally tried out for the role of Tony. It was down to just him and Richard Beymer, and Beymer ended up getting it. But then the casting directors called him back and asked him to read for Riff, and he got the part.

How Tony was played compared with how Beymer wanted to play him

[quote] Richard Beymer later confessed in an interview that he wasn't happy with how his performance came out, saying that he wanted to play Tony as rougher and tougher, more like an actual street kid who used to run around with a gang starting fights for fun, but Robert Wise made him play Tony as the nicest guy around, which Beymer felt didn't mesh with the character's back story. He also said he had trouble saying some of his lines with a straight face, namely the more romantic lines. He even reportedly walked out on the London premiere of the film - even though it ended up being his most famous role.

Yes, she does a beautiful job with the final speech but her accent wasn’t genuine, Nixon’s singing voice didn’t match Wood’s and she was obviously wearing “light Egyptian” make up to appear hispanic.

[quote] A Streetcar Named Desire has gone through similar reiterations, including a TV film.

R370, "including a TV film"? AFAIK, the [italic]only[/italic] "reiteration" of the cinema film was in obscure TV format - but there's never been a [italic]cinematic, Hollywood box office remake[/italic].

[quote] They HAVE ALREADY remade "Streetcar Named Desire."

R371, R374, R375 - made-for-TELEVISION dramas are not exactly a “remake” of a CINEMA box office feature film. It’s not the same FORMAT. It’s like saying a TV film is a “remake” of an onstage play.

The 1984 one (with Ann-Margret ) was a made-for-television drama.

And the 1995 one (with Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange) was also made-for-television drama.

And that’s why few people remember them - because they were just straight-to-TV dramas, not full-blown CINEMATIC remakes.

R377, how is he "Polish"? His paternal family (the ones from Eastern Europe) were Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from St. Petersburg and Lviv, Ukraine.

[quote]And that’s why few people remember them - because they were just straight-to-TV dramas, not full-blown CINEMATIC remakes.

I WON'T STOP MOVING THE GOAL POST UNTIL I'M RIGHT!

R386, if you think television and box office cinema are the same - then why even have different award systems for it (Emmys vs Oscars)?

The truth is there's far less risk making a TV "reiteration" than an actual Hollywood film remake in cinemas. Actual cinema remakes can bomb at the box office - but TV dramas can just act as filler between the weather report and re-runs of the Kardashians.

No one ever said TV and cinema were the same. Our ultimate point was that there are stories that have always transcended mediums. They tend to be plays like A Streetcar Named Desire. Even purely cinematic classics have been remade before as well, so it's not an anomaly. I don't think a cinematic Streetcar remake is likely, but if it did happen at some point it wouldn't surprise me considering the fact that it's been tackled from multiple angles in the past.

R388, it's been almost 70 years now - and no one's dared to remake Streetcar and test it at the box office.

For 2 main reasons. First, because the original and only box office film is STILL so famous and so definitively iconic that re-making it (and trying to match in quality the previous masterpiece that is still in everyone's awareness) would be incredibly hard. It's like remaking the Godfather or Pulp Fiction - it's too iconic.

Secondly, Streetcar's message is too passé for modern Hollywood - there's too much nostalgia for the past and not enough "wokeness" in Streetcar. Modernity & 'progress' is presented as crude, heartless and dangerous in Streetcar, compared to the flawed yet more elegant past, presented as a sympathetic victim - and that's not a message that most of modern Hollywood would want to embrace and present.

"West Side Story", with its multi-culturalism, immigration tensions and gang warfare, is much more fruitful material for modern Hollywood. Whereas in Streetcar, the 2nd-generation immigrant offspring (Brando's character) is presented as street-smart, but criminally dangerous and prone to rape-rape. No way will they adapt that in the current climate.

And now you fully support my initial argument in R370 that Streetcar wouldn't be a marketable remake. We're ultimately on the same page.

But that wasn't the point of contention, R390. Read my post again.

Posters said: "Oh, but Streetcar has been re-made plenty of times!" - essentially equating it with the current remake of West Side Story. But that's not the case at all - no one's been brave / stupid enough to remake Streetcar at the box office like this WSS remake.

West Side Story = more of a love-song for multi-culturalism, with a "love sacrifice" triumphing over, and ending, all initial gang tensions.

Streetcar = more of a cautionary tale against multiculturalism and showing its darker, seedier side: immigrant males raping mentally vulnerable American females.

I will add that even if they excluded the rape scene, that film classic would be difficult to re-make (as successfully): because of the outstanding performances which have become iconically synonymous with the film.

There are 2 types of classic films: ones that have become classics because they are great films as a whole (even despite somewhat weak acting leads) - and ones which became classics in great part [italic]thanks[/italic] to their specific phenomenal leads.

WSS falls into the former category - a great original film with somewhat weak-ish leads. Wood was beautiful and Beymer was ok - but they weren't the reason WSS became iconic. They helped but they weren't the main reason. If Beymer was replaced by another handsome male lead - not much would change (many don't even remember his name today). And that's why this 1st type of classic films is more "re-makeable" - because the cult power of such films was not very dependent on the specific leads in the first place.

Then there's the 2nd category of classic films. Like Streetcar (which drew a lot of its popularity from the ground-breaking acting job of its leads - cult powerhouses Brando and Leigh), Casablanca (which became synonymous with Bogart and Bergman), "Some Like It Hot" (which relied heavily on the iconic presence of Monroe and the great comedic acting duet between Curtis and Lemmon), Breakfast at Tiffany's (iconically synonymous with Audrey Hepburn's charisma & magnetism), etc. These films' incredible popularity and cult status is significantly dependent and tied in with its phenomenal acting leads - so it's extremely risky to remake them, because anyone trying to follow in the overpoweringly talented shoes of Brando or Curtis & Lemmon are bound to disappoint a large number of the cinema audience.

It can work in smaller, more humble formats (stage or TV) - but trying to match this in the exact same silver-screen format (accompanied by pompous international premieres and red carpets) would be almost hubristic. It would mean one would need to find actors who are just as effortlessly charismatic and sensationally iconic as Audrey Hepburn or Monroe - and that would usually instead result in either a poor parody or a more lacklustre alternative.

I personally don't like Elgort - but his predecessor, Beymer, didn't really make the role iconically his own or set the bar very high. Beymer was no Bogart or Brando. That's why WWS is fair-game. But if they had to cast someone to play Hepburn's role in Breakfast at Tiffany's on the silver screen again - that would turn into a casting nightmare. Because in the audience's mind no one from the current crop of actors would be fittingly good enough to match the silver-screen megawatt charisma of Hepburn in that film.

Good points all around.

If I'm not mistaken, Emilia Clarke played Hepburn's role in Breakfast at Tiffany's on Broadway and that didn't go very well at all.

Movie stars are a thing of the past. We don't have the same relationship with celebrity that we did all those decades ago. We're too connected... too aware of each other... also, superheroes have essentially replaced movie stars. Even the actors that play those beloved superheroes can't successfully open films outside of their franchises.

At this point the real star of the West Side Story remake is Spielberg. I mean, it's Mike Faist in my heart, but realistically it's Spielberg.

Mike Faist is so hot.

The reason there is no theatrical remake of Streetcar is that today's audiences consider sitting through a Tennessee Williams play like doing 11th grade English class homework.

Apparently it's a WSS for the early 21st century -- trans women of color vs non-binaries, facing off on a reality show and in Instagram stories.

r392, in which category would you put Rebecca? For me, it's a classic for both the amazing cinematic verve of Hitchcock and the indelible performances of Fontaine, Olivier and Anderson. Yet it's being remade.

I don't know, R395. Tennessee Williams is far more fun, sexy & raunchy than "English class homework" like "Little Women", "Pride and Prejudice" or "Great Expectations" (which all recently got silver screen remakes). But Williams is not very PC.

He also made sure to personally oversee adaptations of his works to the silver screen - which means the films produced during his lifetime will always be definitive versions.

Louisa Alcott, Jane Austen, Tolstoy and Dickens did not have that opportunity, as they died long before the age of cinema - so directors keep producing versions in an endless effort to better reflect the books, because in these cases there's no definitive version sanctioned by the author himself (unlike in Williams' case).

I haven't seen Rebecca (due to lack of personal interest), R397, so can't comment.

But I don't think most modern audiences (especially outside of the US and UK) know or remember much about Joan Fontaine's or Judith Anderson's work in Rebecca - and this might be the reason why a remake is planned: the original is being gradually forgotten internationally. I guess this would be the 3rd type of classic films: classics which are slowly nearing (mainstream) obscurity. I know the book is still very popular with females and the film - with Oscar cinephiles, but I don't think it rings a bell with others. Fontaine / Olivier in Rebecca might be a better masterclass in acting - but it's simply not as pop-culture iconic as, say, Vivian Leigh in "Gone with the Wind" (which rings a bell even in Asia and South America).

In order for a film to be ripe for a successful remake - the associative link with the original actors needs to be quite thin (either because they weren't particularly iconic in the first place, or because they have been forgotten with the passage of time).

For example, "Titanic". The film, as a whole, surpasses the work of the actors. And it's been almost a quarter of a century since the film was released. But, in the wake of the film's success, the lead actors have become such an automatic postcard association with this film and the Titanic story overall (with the "Jack, I'm flying scene" still being used as a DiCaprio / Winslet meme everywhere) that it would probably take another 50-80 years before they're sufficiently forgotten by the mainstream public to ensure a successful remake.

It's easy to test the strength of the acting leads associative link with a film / cinematic story: if one says, as part of a trivia quiz, "Bogart / Bergman" - most people will answer "Casablanca!" (because it's still a part of pop culture and pop art). If one says "DiCaprio / Winslet" - people will immediately answer "Titanic!". If one says "Oliver / Fontaine" - a lot of people will struggle to remember the cultural association. By 2019, the associative link between Oliver and the story of "Rebecca" has slowly eroded in the collective mainstream mind.

*Olivier

R393, not even Hugh Jackman?

Did he know Epstein?

Tony Kushner wrote the adaptation so there will no doubt be a political undertone. I gather it’s set against the backdrop of the West Side neighborhood being demolished to make way for Lincoln Center.

R403 that was the case with the original. After filming was complete, all of the locations were torn down. However, it was never mentioned in the film. Clever and interesting to work it into the screenplay.

R399

*Vivien

No, R403, it’s totally different from the original in that in this version we’ll actually see the demolitions and the rubble.

R406 I reckon we'll see sixty-percent C.G.I. in this version.

It will be done subtly but it will be there; there will be 7 minutes worth of credits at the end of the movie for all the CGI staff.

No, R407, the rubble is actual sets both in uptown Manhattan and out in Patterson New Jersey.

Just to make sure I'm clear- I know that for the original, all of the buildings had been cleared out- they were no longer occupied. West Side Story filmed, and then all the buildings were demolished to make way for Lincoln Center, as planned.

And now, here in 2019, Tony Kushner is using the historical fact of that displacement to make a political statement, is that what's happening?

At the time, were people upset over those buildings being demolished? Were there protests? I know the demolition of the original Penn Station was used in such a way as a plot point in Mad Men.

Yes, R409, that’s what’s happening in Kushner’s adaptation. Yes, there were some protests at the tine but it wasn’t widespread.

Was he ever on Lolita Island?

In the opening shots of WSS of overhead Manhattan the camera pans over the demolition of the Roxy theater. You know where Gloria Swanson took the famous photo and inspired FOLLIES!

More costumes from the film set

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

The Maria is pretty, shame she has to pretend to fall in love with the Polish peasant potato headed freak

R414, at least she doesn’t have to wear her “white is for babies” dress!

R415, the Polish potato headed freak has something that the eligible PR males don’t have, and that something Maria wants is “white privilege.” It can’t be too hard to pretend.

It's a shame Harry Styles didn't get cast in this.

Tony and Riff (photo April 2019) pre WSS haircuts.

With those faces thank god it isn't being filmed in Super Panavision 70. At least Beymer and Tamblyn were good looking. Why are the men such dogs in this version?

R420 Indeed, hope the PR boys are actually fuckable, cause the white bread boys look inbreed

[quote]At the time, were people upset over those buildings being demolished? Were there protests?

No. Lincoln Center’s creation was welcomed, not only for what it would bring to the city culturally, but for the upgrade it would give to the neighborhood due to the demolition of the slums.

how in fuck did egboort get the role???? maybe he suks asshole the best huh....SS's big ole sexy ass hole mmmm.

In an October 2018 interview in W Magazine, Ansel Elgort explained what winning the role of Tony in West Side Story meant to him.

[quote] Elgort is finally getting the chance to act in a lead role he has been dreaming of playing for years: He will star as Tony in the upcoming adaptation of West Side Story, and was hand-selected by the film’s director, who happens to be none other than Steven Spielberg. “He called me,” the actor sheepishly admitted when asked how he landed the role. The opportunity to play Tony in the revival of the 1961 romantic-tragedy film is bringing out a lifelong passion for performing in musicals, and though another dream role of Elgort’s is to play Javert in Les Misérables, starring in West Side Story is “nuts” for the actor-DJ. Elgort’s family is, of course, also supportive of his musical-theater milestones.

[quote] “This is the first time I got a role in my life where I was in tears. I called my parents. They were in tears,” he said....

[quote] “West Side Story is what I’ve been working toward,” he said, and the highly anticipated movie musical is a far cry from his other recent roles, which include the lead character of Jonathan, a film about a psychologically tormented young man with a split personality, and the upcoming adaptation of Donna Tartt’s novel The Goldfinch. “Everything else I did was awesome, and I took it as I got it, and I was so happy, but it wasn’t my dream when I was a kid,” Elgort admitted. “My dream when I was, like, 4 or 5 years old was that I wanted to be in musicals, so it’s bringing such an original passion out of me.”

[quote] “The first musical I saw on Broadway was Oklahoma! when I was, like, 4, and it made me fall in love with musical theater. Ever since, it’s been my first love. Musical theater, theatricality, I love the theater!” he continued. “My birthday parties used to be going to Joe Allen on 46th Street and then going to the theater after with my parents.”

What does Edsel bring to musicals? ...the price of admission

Elgort wasn’t just “called” by Spielberg-he had to do a screen test along with two other prospective Tonys first.

Elgort = ugly name and giraffe body.

I assume he wasn't be dancing.

If that is Spielberg's idea of a handsome lead in a movie musical that certainly puts to rest all those gay rumors about him.

Say what you will about Beymer and Wood in the original, there’s no denying they made a beautiful couple.

Beautiful but BORING.

Yeah that's why everyone cries when they first see it.

Except for Pauline Kael who laughed at the 'ballerinos.'

OMG, R419, the guy to play "Riff" looks like some horrid leprechaun troll hybrid.

Well if Spielberg decides to remake Finian's Rainbow he's got his Og.

Egbort got it by shaken his booty at the right folks...….what else?

The actor playing Riff will actually look like this in the movie. (posted earlier in this thread.)

Is that supposed to be an improvement? It looks like Og has been working on his car.

Eglbert would have to have a killer ass and cock to make up for that face....

A musical about dancing gang members. Yup, that's what kids are clamoring for...

The guy playing Riff is a cutie but I wish Tom Holland did it. I heard he was offered it but his agents convinced him he had to be Tony or nothing.

Well I assume all millennials have grown up with the obc and can't wait for this.

Faist looks hot as fuck in R435.

Groundbreaking Ceremony....

Faist is a talented guy, but he looks like a pubescent rodent on meth.

He looks okay. They're mean to be street kids, not Burberry models.

meant

And 55 years later LC is mired not only in an artistic disaster of crushing proportions, no more City Opera, Martins destruction of Balanchine's company, the Met rarely selling out and not even playing every weekday night during its season and rarely hosting foreign companies during the off season but the shame of being publicly outed for condoning for decades the sexual abuse behavior of its most important figureheads. How long before they will have to take Geffen's name off of Philharmonic Hall? Oh yeah and I'm sure the founders would have been so proud of the State theater being now called the David H Koch theater for all the things this man represented and represents.

R446, did you fail English? Punctuation and paragraphs, please, hoe.

Peter how did you find datalounge?

The wrap party is tonight even though it doesn’t actually wrap in a few weeks.

That just means the guests are required to wear wraps.

Edwardian or chicken?

It wasn't specified on my invite.

R452 You are so cool

No, not really. I have my wrap.

Egglbort is gross. omg what did the audition involve that such a zzzzzzz got da role????

I want West Side Story to be a great movie, but I couldn't figure out why they cast Elgort as Tony. No clips of his dramatic performances on Youtube helped me understand this casting at all.

Also not helping: some bad reviews for his latest performance in "The Goldfinch."

This from RottenTomatoes-

[quote] The film opens with his suicide attempt and the accordant ruminations over his failures and regrets (conveyed in letters to those he loves). “It was my fault. Just like everything that’s happened to me,” he writes. These are powerful words, though Elgort recites them like he’s reading a grocery list.

[quote] I know, I know, the worst actors over-emote and gnash their teeth⁠—and don’t worry, he does plenty of that too⁠—but for this noble, enigmatic underplaying to work, there has to be some indication of an inner life. None of that is happening in this performance. It’s a flat, dull nothing.

Come on, R456, he’s gotten some nice reviews for The Goldfinch, too. He’ll be fine as Tony. Tony shouldn’t be a dynamo, just a love struck kid.

[quote] Come on, [R456], he’s gotten some nice reviews for The Goldfinch,

I didn't know there was a separate Goldfinch thread when I posted that review, but the dedicated Goldfinch thread has more pans of Elgort's performance.

I will give you this, though: I've watched a few of Spielberg's recent movies, and they are always cast well. They should be. He can pretty much get anyone he wants to be in his movies. So he MUST have seen something in the Elgort's screen test for Tony to convince him to cast him. Too much is at stake for Spielberg's reputation for him to make a fatal casting flaw for the lead in this movie. That's one line of thinking, anyway.

Elgort got a nice review from The Guardian in the UK:

Edsel is a dull actor with no spark

Another good review for Ansel Elgort, this one in Vanity Fair. Sorry, haters, this won’t be a disaster for him.

^ Those two unattractive people are spoiling the view of that lovely wallpaper.

R462 He is just funny looking, with his giant peasant head

[quote] Sorry, haters, this won’t be a disaster for him.

It won't be a disaster for him if the box office is good or great, despite a 28% rating on Rottentomatoes (as of 9/10/19).

At least he can act, which is more than can be said about original movie Tony.

He can sing too.

on another thread here is said mr S likes muscle men, many of whom are in his security force....

Google mr speilberg and the girl from Poltergeiisst, and u find icky pervy stuff. WHO KNOWS

More Mike Faist's arms please and thanks.

He's a movie director. You were expecting Mr. Rogers? Icky pervy stuff comes with the territory. Just because audiences have some bizarre need to turn these people into heroes is not going to make them virtuous.

“I Feel Pretty” was shot the week before last. All my friend on the crew would tell me is that the setting for it is different from the original film and the lyrics haven’t been altered by Sondheim, who visited the set when it was being shot. He’s on record for saying he’s embarrassed by the lyric he wrote for that song.

They don't look quite as queer as the 1961 lot.

This was butch for 1961.

Whilst Ansel Elgort and a gaggle of ex-Newsies are, what, the height of masculinity?

Edsel has a head as big as a New York city block

They all look too gay. Gay gangsters try not to look gay.

Ansel is half-Jewish, which PTB think will sell tickets (see Jake G., Shila LeBueax or whatever the fuck his name is) but always have flop box office returns.

r470 Why didn't they use the new Spanish lyrics?

When you're a Jet, you're a jet and you're gay ...

R477 Cause they stunk?

One thing he did confirm is she sings “bright” rather than “gay” in the first verse. Because, like in the original film, it takes place at night.

Elsel has big dick energy.

Elsel Angort.

Got tickets for December 18, looking forward to the show.

[quote]Ansel is half-Jewish, which PTB think will sell tickets (see Jake G., Shila LeBueax or whatever the fuck his name is)

You must be posting from the mid-1950s, r476, because that was the end of the period that "TPB" were heavily Jewish. But even in the heyday of Jewish Hollywood, "TPB" rarely tried to give a break to Jewish actors. And if you think Jake Gyllenhaal is a star because he's Jewish, you're a lunatic as well as an anti-Semite.

What is PTB or TPB?

I assume Elgort is in this film because of type-casting. He successfully played a doomed teenager in love in "The Fault in our Stars" and will play a doomed teenager in love in "West Side Story."

The Fault in Our Stars made $307 million worldwide, so I guess production thought casting him would be less risky than casting some Tony Nobody. Plus He Can Sing! He Can Dance! And then {{puff}} he's cast.

The "Puerto Ricans", are hawt as fuck.

Charlie Nobody!

Dancing should be great. I follow Ricky Ubeda (broadway dancer) on Instagram, who is in it as well as the upcoming B'way play, and the cast looks amazing.

r487, The Powers that Be.

It wraps a week from Wednesday.

Don't you mean poof, r488?

Maria (Rachel Zegler) celebrates the last day on the set-

[quote] "To Ansel Elgort, my literal rock, I adore you and I always will. You’re the only thing I’ll see forever. To all of you — sitting at home, wondering if we really need another version of West Side Story… wonder no longer. This movie is incredible. It’s important, and wonderful, and depicts what the world needs right now: LOVE."

The article indicates that Zegler played Maria in a 2017 stage production at BergenPAC Performing Arts School.

Here's a clip from that production.

I hope her voice isn’t that shrill in the movie.

It looks like an Old Navy commercial. The original film wasn’t very good musical but was an outstanding film, it was stylized and beautifully shot and employed some filming tricks and practical effects that changed cinema as we know it. The original was gorgeous and interestingly shot. This one just looks bland and ugly and uninteresting, like a TV movie or a commercial.

She's her literal rock? What like one of those pet rocks?

More Mike Faist arms and pits please!

[quote]This movie is incredible.

How could she possibly know? I presume it won't be edited and completed for some time. She's only seen bits and pieces and has no idea which takes the editor and director will use, and how they'll be put together.

I wonder whether we'll get the slightest teaser in front of Cats. WSS's coming out next Christmas, right? It's possible they could start the promotion a year early.

WSS is released on December 20 2020.

R498 You say the original was 'stylized and beautifully shot and employed some filming tricks and practical effects'. And I agree with you completely.

But I guarantee that Fussbudget Speelburg will tamper with absolutely every pixel of this currently 'bland, ugly and uninteresting' footrage.

The pants in the original were MUCH tighter. These guys are all wearing loose pants. The late 50s and early 60s were a time of tight jeans, damn it.

Dec 20, 2020?

This disaster will need more than a year of post production? I guess after seeing the footage Spielberg realizes he needs to cgi the entire thing like Disney's 'live' Lion King.

What is T P B ?

The Powers that Be.

It was always planned for Dec 2020 release, even before it started shooting. These days, big films are scheduled for release even before they start filming. WSS is regarded as a "prestige" film, so it gets a prestige December slot. It will be interesting to see when it starts screening for critics and awards - it needs to start screening by mid-November to make absolutely every award/critics deadline. Presumably it won't be screened at the fall festivals at all, although it would be a natural to close the New York Film Festival, but that would be too far ahead of its official release.

It’s also very smart for it not to come out the same time as In the Heights. That one comes out next summer.

R497 Everything in this movie will be auto-tuned, photoshopped and digitally re-pixellated.

Auto-tune can take care of pitch but it can't do much for a shrill tone.

I wonder if there will many changes.

IMDB says that the original screenwriter Ernest Lehman juggled and combined many of the songs from the stage play to improve the flow of the film's story-line.

Zegler is kind of ugly, eyes too far apart..

R513 And, of course, the playwright, Arthur Laurents murdered Ernest Lehman, for 'daring to fuck with my text'.

[quote]IMDB says that the original screenwriter Ernest Lehman juggled and combined many of the songs from the stage play to improve the flow

I'm not sure about "combining." The most famous move was switching "Cool" and "Gee Officer Krupke" - Krupke (in the '61 film) occurs before the rumble, and "Cool" is sung after. The move was brilliant - both songs are better in those positions than they are in the play. "Somewhere" is not sung by a "mystery voice" during the "Somewhere Ballet" (which is pretty short) - its just played by the orchestra. The only time the lyric is sung is at the end by Maria and Tony (well, croaked by Tony). A whole section is gone from "A Boy Like That" (when Maria and Anita sing in counterpoint - in the film it just cuts to "Oh no, Anita, no, you should know better). There's a lyric adjustment in "I Feel Pretty" to accommodate the number occurring during the day rather than early evening. I think there are also some adjustments to lyrics in "Officer Krupke." But it's a fairly faithful rendering of the WSS score.

Personally, I've always thought that Lehman's re-structuring of the songs improved on Laurents' book.

r517 I agree. It makes no sense for the Jets to be singing an upbeat, fun song like "Krupke" right after Riff is killed.

You think if you change Laurents book he was going to like it? That wretched man didn't do a decent piece of work since Gypsy and it makes me wonder who really did write that one it's so good. He did write popular screenplays like Turning Point and Way We Were but I find the dialogue pure suds.

I'll admit his staging of the original Cage was sensational and his auto bio is a lot of fun.

I can never tell the difference between Arthur Laurents and Ernest Lehman (real names Arthur Levine and Ernest Lehman).

One is genuinely gay and the other is not-so-gay?????

And yet, I read a mystery book that Ernest Lehman wrote. It was about identical twins. It was called "Final Performance," and I can't remember all the details, but one twin gets murdered, but it's the wrong twin than was intended. So his brother pretends to be the murdered one to figure out who wants to kill him. It has a scene where he's fucking his brother's girlfriend (to maintain the impersonation, of course), and while he's fucking her, his butler, an older hunky guy, comes in and fucks him in the ass while he's fucking her. Apparently his brother was bisexual and that was his regular arrangement with his butler. So the other twin maintains the sexual relationship with the butler. To maintain the impersonation, of course.

Um, R516, “Somewhere” IS TOO sung by a “mystery voice” in the play. It was sung by Reri Grist, who played Consuelo, in the original play.

Although, I’ve seen four live productions with variations. When it was on tour at the Paramount in Seattle back in 2012, Anybodys sung “Somewhere” during the ballet. At the 5th Avenue productions I’ve seen, Tony and Maria sung during the ballet.

Um, r522, what r516 said is that "Somewhere" is not sung by a mystery voice in the MOVIE.

[quote]Anybodys sung “Somewhere” during the ballet. At the 5th Avenue productions I’ve seen, Tony and Maria sung during the ballet.

Double "Oh, dear!"

Were you out sick the day they explained verb tenses?

WRAPPED!

^ Was it a competition to cast the ugliest cunt they could find as bernado? He is hideous

David Alvarez in West Side Story

Tony is far far uglier.

Billy Elliott to Bernardo. I think he has a cute Teddy Bear face.

I think Elgort is hot as fuck. I honestly don't get people who come here and say he's ugly over and over as if they're obsessed with the notion. If I find an actor ugly, I may comment on it once, but frankly I never think about it again. Why do people feel the need?- like that insane troll who hates Remi Malik.

I think Elgort is hot as fuck. I honestly don't get people who come here and say he's ugly over and over as if they're obsessed with the notion. If I find an actor ugly, I may comment on it once, but frankly I never think about it again. Why do people feel the need?- like that insane troll who hates Remi Malik.

I just said it this one time so I assume there are quite a few others who have said it. When that many say it there is something to it. And your photo sure isn't helping your case.

There isn't a singular "insane troll who hates Remi Malik".

There are hundred of people who are still scratching their heads wondering why this impersonator was given an Oscar.

R533 I did not care about him until last summer when every second thread was about Rami and how talented and hot he was, he is neither.

And now we have an Edsel troll going on about how hot and talented he is....Yeah, I'll just check the box office from Goldfinch.....

Ansel Elgort says he has male friends he’s in love with that he doesn’t want to have sex with.

Give me a break, we know how Egglebort got the part, word is its a smelly flop....

Go watch Eggbort on a chat show, vapid/boring/ridiculous.....unreal this twit is a starlet...

Hopefully this will be the nail in the coffin of this talentless twink’s career. I still can’t believe Spielberg of all people remade this. Somebody should remake Jaws, do it right.

Why did Speil give Eggie the role? the kid is hung.....k?

Is there requisite evidence the kid can sing/dance with precision?? if yes, then give the kid a break....

They just can't get Tony's casting right. They always pick the most milquetoast, boring actor available.

R535, if you read between the lines, he's actually using his platonic male camaraderie as an excuse (in front of his girlfriend) to hang out with more females other than his girlfriend. He wants to keep his "options open". Lol.

[quote] Elgort: "It doesn’t need to be sexual," he continued. "I COULD be done sexually with my girlfriend. I think we’ve been pretty clear that I want to feel free to fall in love with people and that [OPTION] should be OPEN, but sexually it can be closed off.” When asked to elaborate, Elgort, who is currently dating his high school sweetheart, Violetta Komyshan, explained: “I’m in love with a bunch of my male friends who I’m not interested in having sex with, so WHY can’t I put the desire to have sex with women aside and let myself have love with [OTHER] WOMEN?"

[quote] He continued: "I love Shailene Woodley and we never had anything sexual and that was great," he added of his "Divergent" franchise co-star. "[But] There will probably be some sort of chemical thing at some point that you CAN'T HELP, but you just have to be disciplined and not be a f------…". He concluded: "We’re PRIMITIVE beings.”

Lol, so basically he's low-key telling his girlfriend he wants more space and wants to hang out more with "other women", like Shailene Woodley, and that she basically agreed as long as he doesn't fuck & knock them up. And they say "romance" is dead :)

I also love how he brutally honestly says that his girlfriend "could" (i.e. maaaaybe) be enough for him sexually - not that she "is" (currently) enough. Lol. And his robotic phrase "I could be done sexually with [my partner]" - i.e. he means his sexual needs "could", possibly, be satisfied by one partner, his current one, and his search for better sex might be "done" and finished - again, must be real 'romantic' for his partner to read such musings. Lol.

I also notice that he says his dalliances "can" be closed off (in terms of fucking) - not that they "will" or "have to" be.

It seems, reading between the lines, he REALLY wants an open relationship and the "can / could" "option" of sleeping around, whenever he's not sexually satisfied by one or his current partner.

R522 needs reading comprehension, as well as a grammar refresher.

Any update on Mike Faist's arms?

Mike Faist is straight. He was apparently banging one of the Shark girls during the shoot.

[quote]Mike Faist is straight.

Thank god.

**BREAKING** Spielberg to replace Ansel and re-shoot all his scenes for not 'putting out'.

For those of you wondering if “I Feel Pretty” could be cut out of the remake like it apparently has been for the upcoming revival the answer is no way. My crew friend said that the setting for it is very specific visually and the final shot of it will cut directly to a drastically different setting.

Why the fuck did the revival director think it was a good idea to cut “I Feel Pretty?”

^ Wait for the blood rain after Tony dies

Sondheim is embarrassed by the lyrics so he probably said take it out being that everyone else is dead and has no say.

This will flop.

Ansel proved at the Golden Globe Awards that he can SANG!

Wow. 554 posts -most pure bitchery. Gotta love DL...

Way up the thread someone posted: "Has there ever been a worthwhile remake of anything?" The answer is yes. For example, the Humphrey Bogart Maltese Falcon was Hollywood's third filming of the book. And that classic is way better than either of the first two! Alfred Hitchcock remade one of his own films -The Man Who Knew Too Much, and it was much better the second time around. And there are others...

I'm a raging Theatre Queen and fan of the original show, but I've never been overly fond of the film version of West Side Story. Why? Bad acting from the two leads, and I hate those godawful colored light effects in the scene transitions. The only thing worse was filming South Pathetic with all those color filters. What the film got right was the brilliant orchestration and photography. But when I want to listen to West Side Story I go to the original Broadway cast recording, not the film soundtrack. The original performances were just more powerful than the studio-dubbed and sweetened film tracks.

I'm really looking forward to the new version. I hope they don't tamper with the score and its sound -That truly is classic. It will be nice to have the performers singing along to their own voices, and matching the ethnicity of their characters. Will it be a hit? Why not? The score is classic and the story still resonates. And I'll bet 95% of the audience will have never seen the show or the original film -And having nothing to compare it to will like it for what it is.

If In the Heights is a big hit this summer, it will build up an audience for West Side Story. And judging by the trailer, In the Heights is going to be a runaway hit.

Why couldn't he make a happy musical? Kinda like the opening he made for this?

R555 The trailer for In The Heights seems they have taken a small, sweet story and turned it into a SWEEPING POLITICAL POLEMIC ABOUT IMMIGRATION RIGHTS AND STOP ICE ETC..which is not in any way what that show is about.

R557, if that’s what LMM now thinks that’s what the story is about then you have no right to say it isn’t.

Wow, those actors are mostly bowsers.

A year from now everybody will be, like, “ANSEL ELGORT HAS AN OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST ACTOR?”

It ain’t happening.

I see a Bloomberg/Buttiegeg ticket. Pete would get under Pence’s skin in a debate that nobody else could.

Also not happening: Pete as Tony. But possibly Chasten as Anybodys.

Bernie as Officer Krupke! Joe Biden as Doc! Kamala as Anita!

Well, the film remake’s got to be better than what was shown just now on 60 Minutes of the new Broadway revival.

First look at WSS including pics of the cast on set including Rita Moreno.

Sister Pete looks great.

The mutant Polish peasant looks grotesque.

Here's 3 newer pics from the film. They are of Maria and Tony meeting at the gym dance.

Here's Maria

Tony....

And together.

I couldn't find this thread when I searched for it, I thought it'd been scrubbed!

Here's another recent thread discussing the new photos, the whole dull look, and Ansel's (mis)casting:

I recently read an interview with hasbeen Stefanie Powers and she blabbered about the WSS remake being too PC because they were adding darker Latinx people to the cast. She sounded drunk and ignorant. I never liked her anyway.

Stefanie can go fuck herself. Her usage of John Barrowman as her beard during her short-lived run in the musical Matador was laughable.

She was always a mediocre actress, a bottom feeder, maker of lousy television movies and z-level theatrical films.

If you RTFA you see that most of the people in it are Latina or Latino. Yeah I know.

Release postponed to December 2021. Bummer.

Shteven Shpielberg Wesh Shy Shtory

The trailer finally airs during the Oscars tomorrow night.

Good trailer.