The iconic film director Steven Spielberg takes on a great challenge as captain of the ship in the new version of the musical West Side Story, which will hit theaters on December 9.
Starring Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, and David Álvarez, The film features more Spanish-speaking actors than in the original 1961 version directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. and starring Natalie Wood and Richard Bermey.
Most of the cast are of Latino or Puerto Rican descent and play the Hispanic characters, especially the members of the Puerto Rican band ‘Sharks’. Rachel Zegler takes the role of María, Ariana DeBose plays Anita, David Álvarez plays Bernardo and Josh Andrés Rivera plays Chino. The cast is completed by Corey Stoll, Mike Faist, Iris Menas, Bryan dArcy James and Ansel Elgort in the male lead.
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In addition, Spielberg’s film includes dialogue in Spanish without subtitles “out of respect for the Latino community in the United States,” as the director himself explained at a press conference. “I did not subtitle the dialogues in Spanish for a matter of respect and to recognize a context in which both languages are spoken,” explained the filmmaker after the premiere in New York.
“I want English-speaking and Spanish-speaking spectators to congregate in the room and that during the projection the laughter of groups that understand certain things in Spanish can be heard”, Spielberg added.
Screenwriter Tony Kushner added that when he got ready to write the text, he understood that “there were certain themes and feelings that a Spanish-speaker would express in Spanish and not in English,” despite the fact that some part of the audience, those who only speak English, may stay out of that situation.
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In this regard, Rita Moreno, one of the few Latin actresses who was part of the cast of the 1961 film, applauded the decision: “This film is much more political,” she said. The 89-year-old actress won an Oscar for her portrayal of Anita in an original film and is now returning to the remake with a role created specifically for her.
Iconic musical
The 1961 film scored ten Oscar awards, including Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno), just behind the historic 11 statuettes obtained by ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’, ‘Titanic’ and ‘BenHur’.
Hence, the work directed by Steven Spielberg (‘E.T’, ‘Schindler’s list’, among others) has generated great expectations. Its trailer was presented during the broadcast of the last Oscars and, according to its impeccable technical bill, She is already running as one of the candidates to be taken into account for the Academy Awards in 2022.
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The premiere of the film will come days after the death of Stephen Sondheim, author of the West Side Story lyrics. Spielberg recalled that the two coincided in 2015 during the presentation of the Medal of Freedom at the White House. “I could barely get the words out,” Spielberg said of the moment when he told her of his intention to direct the remake.
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