The energy is bright in ‘West Side Story’
Whenever Steven Spielberg steps behind the camera it’s a reason to celebrate and now the acclaimed director is putting the finishing touches on his fabulous new adaptation of West Side Story.
Based on the acclaimed musical and classic 1961 film starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, Spielberg is ready to bring a new light and energy to West Side Story and in an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair he opened up about the film, which is incredibly dare to his heart and how he is hoping to re-shape it for a brand new generation.
Spielberg has teamed with an impressive collection of collaborators including Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner (Munich, Lincoln) and Justin Peck, resident choreographer for the New York City Ballet, to help bring this new story to life. In discussing the film, Speilberg said, “this story is not only a product of its time, but that time has returned, and it’s returned with a kind of social fury,” Spielberg says. “I really wanted to tell that Puerto Rican, Nuyorican experience of basically the migration to this country and the struggle to make a living, and to have children, and to battle against the obstacles of xenophobia and racial prejudice.”
A cast of both established talent and newcomers has arrived for West Side Story that includes Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler who are portraying star crossed lovers Tony and Maria, and the two appear to truly blossom together here in these new look images. Alongside Elgort and Zegler, Spielberg has also secured the services of Rita Moreno, whom won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1961 for her role in West Side Story as Anita and who returns as the tough-minded, yet fair Valentina, a role specifically created for her by Spielberg.
West Side Story is sure to be one of this year’s most decadent and exciting blockbusters and even though times are a bit uncertain at the moment, with any luck from the movie gods we’ll see this extravaganza of romance, song and dance arrive in cinemas on December 17, 2020.
Source: Vanity Fair
Images: 20th Century Studios
