West Side Story (Steven Spielberg, 2021)

[domino harvey]

Now here is a stupid fucking idea

[movielocke]

Now here is a stupid fucking idea

Spielberg always has six projects that never happen for one that does. The odds are against it coming to fruition.

[Numero Trois]

Now here is a stupid fucking idea

I would agree if I thought the original version was definitive. At best its an ok film, not on the level of say the 1954 A Star is Born, the 1936 Showboat or Cukor's My Fair Lady. If it was as indelible as those particular films then a remake would be foolish indeed. There are at least a few angles a remake could go with to perhaps avoiding pointlessness. For one, maybe a more authentic "ethnic" cast in a modern urban milieu? Besides that, in theory at least it wouldn't be too hard to find a better actress than the rather, uh, limited Natalie Wood.

[Cold Bishop]

I'll just zero-in on this remark, and slowly back away…

At best its an ok film, not on the level of… Cukor's My Fair Lady…

[domino harvey]

Thank you. I am trying very hard to be a more positive person, but lord I am tested

[matrixschmatrix]

I think the joke is that those are all movies that were successfully remade? I dunno, West Side Story strikes me as being an artifact rather than an evergreen story (since, obviously, the part that does translate is the part of it that's Romeo and Juliet) and that any modern version of it would either be winkingly making fun of the original or trying desperately to pretend that it's not obviously material from another time, both of which sound exasperating to me.

[Numero Trois]

I'll just zero-in on this remark, and slowly back away…

At best its an ok film, not on the level of… Cukor's My Fair Lady…

The main thing I remember it for is Marni Nixon's voice which is needless to say, unimpeachable. Been years since I've seen the film, so I'll stand by that at least.

and that any modern version of it would either be winkingly making fun of the original or trying desperately to pretend that it's not obviously material from another time, both of which sound exasperating to me

The reviews for the 2009 Broadway revival describe it as using extensive Spanish singing and text for the Latino gang. Again, with a more "authentic" cast. Didn't see it, but that may indicate that there is a way to remake it successfully without completely running away from the source text.

EDIT: I said Julie Andrews but I meant Nixon

[Feego]

The main thing I remember it for is Marni Nixon's voice which is needless to say, unimpeachable.

And of course, it was Nixon who dubbed Natalie Wood in West Side Story.

[Michael Kerpan]

West Side Story still works pretty good -- performed live, on stage...

[hearthesilence]

Stephen Sondheim has never liked the film, and he says he'll go the grave believing that. Just a few years ago, speaking to a college crowd with Frank Rich, he argues that with cinema, there's always an element of reportage. Doesn't matter if you're Jean Cocteau or whoever, it's there, and he doesn't think the musical worked as a film because the straight translation never addresses this problem. As a result, what works on stage can look ridiculous on screen.

[Michael Kerpan]

I see no reason why WSS couldn't be filmed again -- given the right cast and the right approach. But I see nothing in Spielberg's resume that would suggest he might be a suitable candidate for undertaking such a task (and having it succeed).

[FrauBlucher]

I wonder which Spielberg film will be the first to be re-made?

[zedz]

West Side Story still works pretty good -- performed live, on stage...

Yeah, it's one of the all-time great musicals, and I find the movie a chore to watch, so I don't see any reason why a better movie can't be made of it.

[Cremildo]

I wonder which Spielberg film will be the first to be re-made?

Hook, probably, because it is the only film of his that could be improved by someone else.

[zedz]

I wonder which Spielberg film will be the first to be re-made?

Hook, probably, because it is the only film of his that could be improved by someone else.

You honestly think this is the rationale for remaking anything?

[flyonthewall2983]

Catch Me If You Can has already been made into a musical if that counts.

[Roger Ryan]

I'm pretty sure JAWS has been remade many times over.

[flyonthewall2983]

E.T. too.

[Cremildo]

A casting call for Spielberg's West Side Story redo is out.

[Lost Highway]

A casting call for Spielberg's West Side Story redo is out.

The only thing I don’t like about the Robert Wise film are its two romantic leads, so that’s one thing the remake can improve on. Spielberg has directed two musical sequences which were fun, so I’ll be intrigued what he‘ll do with this. It’s just that I haven’t really liked a film of his since Catch Me if You Can.

[domino harvey]

Rita Moreno will star in the remake, playing a gender-swapped Doc, the general store owner

Last I heard, Eiza González from Baby Driver (and that stunning Oscars appearance) was in talks for Moreno's original role

[domino harvey]

Spielberg casts 17-year-old unknown Rachel Zegler as Maria, with Ansel Elgort playing Tony

[Dylan]

Composer David Newman will arrange, conduct, and provide underscore for West Side Story.

[HitchcockLang]

Ugh. I still can't believe this is happening. La La Land kicked the big-budget musical door open for what? A Star is Born and West Side Story?

[knives]

I'm pretty sure only World's Greatest Showman was a direct result of that. These two have been in the pipeline for about a decade.