Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

I'd sincerely watch the hell out of Cronenberg's E.T. Little bastard's already halfway to looking like something out of The Brood.

Good article about this:

Still agnostic on this, but these are all the kinds of things you want to hear, really, about someone remaking a classic.

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

Why doesn't he retire, if he's out of ideas?

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

Imagine Spielberg retiring.

Since this was a stage musical first, might this actually count as a new adaptation instead of remaking the last adaptation?

Yup, it's an adaptation of the musical, not a remake of the film.

I thought The Post was very good.

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

Quite frankly, I've seen a number of the photographs/stills of Steven Spielberg's upcoming reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story, and I do not like what I've seen--at all. The backdrop scenes look far more like the tonier, wealthier parts of the city, rather than the impoverished, rough-and-rundown parts of the city. The Jets, the Sharks and their girls in Spielberg's upcoming West Side Story look far more like a bunch of wealthy suburban prep school kids dressed to the nines for partying all over town than two street gangs at war with each other. The Jets and Sharks look too much like the Newsies, to boot.

I'll also add that the fairly recent allegations against Ansel Elgort, the actor who was chosen to play the part of Tony in Spielberg's upcoming West Side Story (i. e. sexual assault, especially of under-age girls), as well as the posting of a nude picture of himself for some cause that he's been involved in (which escapes me at the moment), and the fact that Ansel Elgort gives off a rather creepy vibe (I've seen pictures of Ansel Elgort, so I can pass some judgement.), have stiffened and re-enforced my decision to vote my pocketbook and boycott Spielberg's West Side Story movie (inotherwords, not go to see it when it hits the movie theatres next year- at around Christmastime (It was delayed a year due to the Covid-19 virus.) of 2021.

I, too, am a huge fan of the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, gbgoodies. It's my all time favorite movie, hands down, and I feel the exact same way that you do about this great golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic movie-musical.

I prefer many of the older classic movies to most of what's been coming out nowadays in the way of film, and the original 1961 film version of West Side Story is the tops for me, in that respect.

You know what Hollywood has been doing nowadays, however? They're playing to people's nostalgia for older films by doing a lot of reboots/remakes of older classic films. It's kind of disgusting. I'll also add that most reboot/remakes of great older classic films come out rather dreadful, and I don't think that Spielberg's West Side Story will be any exception to that. Not all of Steven Spielberg's films have been good, either. His very best films are those that are based on historical events and people.

This sounds upsetting. I'll hold my judgement until I at least see an official trailer, but it sounds like it might not be very good. :(

I usually wait for movies to be released on DVD or on cable before seeing them, so I have no intentions of paying to see this as soon as it gets released anyway.

Fair enough you don't like the idea of this movie, but a smear campaign isn't going to work, especially when it comes to using paedophilia as part of the smear.
The incident in question was his ex-girlfriend was 17 and he was 20.
In New York, the age of consent is 17, and he and the woman were, at the time, in a mature, consenting relationship.
The apparent accusation was also made through a rant on Twitter, rather than through legal channels.

As for the nude pic... it was part of a fundraiser for CoVid victims, to raise money for people who were suffering from job losses.

Hate on the movie by all means, but be very careful about posting incidents that never happened as part of your attempt to influence others.

I think you and I are the only ones who liked The Post, Leostales...I haven't seen another positive word about it on this site.

On one hand, West Side Story is near the top of my list of films that should never be remade. On the other hand, if it's a remake of the stage musical, I'm a little wary of that as well...do you remember what happened when NBC remade the stage version of The Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood? It was a disaster. Spielberg is one of our best cinematic storytellers, but this whole West Side Story thing makes a little nervous, even with the master in the director's chair, primarily because 1955 stage or 1961 movie, we're still talking about a musical here, foreign territory for Spielberg.

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

It's all basically adaptions of Romeo & Juliet anyways :D

What? Since when? (Romeo & Juliet took place like thousands of years ago or something... and WSS takes place in mid-20th-century New York City! And I don't recall Shakespeare mentioning any street gangs singing songs to officer Krupke.)

🙂

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

Don't you remember Romeo singing:
"Maria . . .
The most beautiful sound I ever heard."

And then Juliet turns invincible, and karate kicks her way through countless male enemies?

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

All I think when I hear West Side Story is this scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LZ35Ar3r2k

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

I recently saw the trailer to Steven Spielberg's upcoming film version of West Side Story, and I'm really not at all impressed by it. It just feels totally unnatural, forced, too intense, too bombastic, and too out of control, way too heavy and too foreboding, and it seems to lack lightness, which a musical is also supposed to have. Also, the dancing in the upcoming WSS film version by Spielberg, which is choreographed by Justin Peck, seems way too hyped up. The Jets, the Sharks, and their girls in Spielberg's film version of West Side Story look far more like wealthy suburban prep school kids who are dressed to the nines for partying around town than two street gangs at war with each other. It feels all wrong, and not at all like West Side Story.

Having said all of the above, I'll stick with the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story.

In case you or anybody else on here is interested, there'll be a 60th-Anniversary screening of the original 1961 film version of West Side Story in selected movie theatres here in the United States, nationwide, as a whole, courtesy of fathom events.com and Turner Classic movies. The dates will be Sunday, November 28th, and on Wednesday, December 1st. The screenings of the old original 1961 film version of West Side Story will be at 3:00 p. m., and at 7:00 p. m.

I've already bought tickets for myself and some friends of mine for the evening screenings on both of those dates, and I'm excited!

If you go on the fathom events.com website, follow the instructions on how to purchase tickets in your area, if you're interested. Hope I've been of some help here to people who, like me, prefer the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story.

Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
 

Let's be honest, there's literally nothing that could've gone in that trailer you would have liked.