Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
https://deadline.com/2018/10/west-si...on-1202474463/
"When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way — and now we know who’ll play Tony in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. Baby Driver star Ansel Elgort has danced into the role originated by Larry Kert on Broadway and played by Richard Beymer in the Oscar-winning 1961 movie. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. Filming is set to begin in summer 2019. Tony Kushner wrote the adaptation of the 1957 musical originally written by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim with music by Leonard Bernstein, and concept, direction, and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Spielberg, Kevin McCollum and Kristie Macosko Krieger will produce the film musical. The casting of Tony is another big move forward for the Spielberg project, coming fast on news that the director has recruited to the team one of Broadway’s hottest choreographers – Justin Peck, whose gorgeous dance work for this year’s Broadway revival of Carousel won a Tony Award." |
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Re: West Side Story
Again is there the history about the love?
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Re: West Side Story
This is going to win the Best Picture Oscar the year it's released. Mark my words.
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Re: West Side Story
east SIGH-EEEED!
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Can Elgort sing?
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Originally Posted by jamieereynoldss (Post 2020256)
Again is there the history about the love?
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Spielbergs West Side Story remake
So, for those who aren’t aware, Spielberg is remaking West Side Story and it has an official release date of 12/18/2020.
I’m a fan of the original, but I’m curious how others feel about this. Can he handle a musical? He hasn’t done one previously, so this intrigues me. How do fans of the original feel about this? |
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059033)
So, for those who aren’t aware, Spielberg is remaking West Side Story and it has an official release date of 12/18/2020.
I’m a fan of the original, but I’m curious how others feel about this. Can he handle a musical? He hasn’t done one previously, so this intrigues me. How do fans of the original feel about this? I'm a big fan of both Spielberg and West Side Story, and I love musicals, but I don't think that this movie should be remade. The original movie is one of the best musicals ever made, and it's going to be hard to avoid comparisons, so unless there's a way to improve on the original or somehow make it different enough to avoid the comparisons, it's usually best to just leave the original alone. Having said that, I have complete confidence in Spielberg, and I'm curious to see his version of West Side Story. . |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059038)
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059033)
So, for those who aren’t aware, Spielberg is remaking West Side Story and it has an official release date of 12/18/2020.
I’m a fan of the original, but I’m curious how others feel about this. Can he handle a musical? He hasn’t done one previously, so this intrigues me. How do fans of the original feel about this? I'm a big fan of both Spielberg and West Side Story, and I love musicals, but I don't think that this movie should be remade. The original movie is one of the best musicals ever made, and it's going to be hard to avoid comparisons, so unless there's a way to improve on the original or somehow make it different enough to avoid the comparisons, it's usually best to just leave the original alone. Having said that, I have complete confidence in Spielberg, and I'm curious to see his version of West Side Story. . I’m a huge Spielberg fan as well, so I’m curious how this will be handled, but I agree overall. This film shouldn’t have been remade. That said, I’ll watch it anyways. I think the original is due for a rewatch sometime soon now. |
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059041)
It’s funny, when I was making this thread, I had you in mind. Knowing you’re a huge musical fan and all.
I’m a huge Spielberg fan as well, so I’m curious how this will be handled, but I agree overall. This film shouldn’t have been remade. That said, I’ll watch it anyways. I think the original is due for a rewatch sometime soon now. I'll definitely watch it, but depending on the reviews, I might wait for the DVD. I rarely go to the movie theater anymore anyway. I haven't read much about it, but I saw the West Side Story Broadway show long before I ever saw the movie, so I'm curious if they're going to write all new songs for the movie, or if any or all of the original songs will be used. (I thought the movie The Greatest Showman was supposed to be a movie version of the Broadway show Barnum, but it turned out to be a story about P.T. Barnum, but with all new songs.) |
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059041)
I think the original is due for a rewatch sometime soon now.
I just rewatched the original about a week ago. It's one of those movies that just gets better every time I watch it. :) |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059044)
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059041)
I think the original is due for a rewatch sometime soon now.
I just rewatched the original about a week ago. It's one of those movies that just gets better every time I watch it. :) “The film's screenplay is expected to hew more closely to the Broadway script than to the 1961 film adaptation directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins.“ I haven’t seen the original Broadway version, so can you enlighten me what differences there were between the play and the film they’re alluding to? |
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059046)
It’s been a few years since I’ve last seen it, and that was only the second time I had. Always enjoyed the music to it. I was reading up about Spielbergs version and came across this:
“The film's screenplay is expected to hew more closely to the Broadway script than to the 1961 film adaptation directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins.“ I haven’t seen the original Broadway version, so can you enlighten me what differences there were between the play and the film they’re alluding to? It's been a LOOOONG time since I saw the Broadway show, so I don't remember the differences. (I think I saw it around 1980ish.) I mostly remember falling in love with the music to the show. @Gideon58 knows more about Broadway musicals than I do, and might know the differences. |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059049)
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059046)
It’s been a few years since I’ve last seen it, and that was only the second time I had. Always enjoyed the music to it. I was reading up about Spielbergs version and came across this:
“The film's screenplay is expected to hew more closely to the Broadway script than to the 1961 film adaptation directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins.“ I haven’t seen the original Broadway version, so can you enlighten me what differences there were between the play and the film they’re alluding to? It's been a LOOOONG time since I saw the Broadway show, so I don't remember the differences. (I think I saw it around 1980ish.) I mostly remember falling in love with the music to the show. @Gideon58 knows more about Broadway musicals than I do, and might know the differences. |
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059050)
Ah yes, that is quite a long time. Maybe he’ll enlighten us some
I hope so. I went to a few Broadway shows when I was younger. I always wished that they would release them on VHS (back then) or DVD (now). A few of them have been shown on PBS over the years, but I don't think West Side Story was one of them. |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
I was watching the original Red Dawn the other day and it was an amazing film. By the end I asked myself: Who in their right mind would try to compete with this? Try to replicate it? I am just really weary of the words "remake" and "reboot." So much so I can't even go, "Oh, it might actually be good," because there's just no point in it. Even if it's fantastic, what exactly has been accomplished? "Congratulations! You've done the exact same thing that someone else did decades ago!" It's not like an old machine that had flaws in its design so it was rebuilt to work better. It's literally re-inventing the wheel. I don't understand why we can't have all this effort and money and coordination put into something to give us new stories and new songs. We used to do that and now it's like one or two original concepts in a cesspool of "re-imaginings." So my thoughts? The original is rent-able on YouTube and that's all I want and/or need.
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If West Side Story must be re-made, then Spielberg is a good choice for producer/director. He'll have all heavyweights working on the project, and he'll keep it from being an R-rated circus.
Bernstein's music and Sondheim's lyrics speak for themselves, and will certainly be protected and performed as in the original B'way production. I expect the new version to be better than the 1961 film, although it would be difficult to outdo its reception at the time. |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
I have limited interest in a remake of West Side Story. There's no need for it as the original is perfect. I kind of think when a director starts doing remakes, his career is on the downside. Unless it's some obscure movie. Not sure why Spielberg would want to do West Side Story anyway, maybe he heard how much money La La Land made.
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Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
WSS is just a flashy version of Romeo & Juliet anyway. I'd watch a Spielberg version of R&J.
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Quite frankly, as a devout fan of the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, I'm of the opinion that a remake of this great, golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic movie-musical never, ever should've been rebooted/remade. It was totally unnecessary, because the original 1961 film version of West Side Story is a great classic film that won 10 well-deserved Academy Awards, including Best Picture back in the fall of 1961 when it came out into the movie theatres. The people who said that there would never, ever be another film like that again were 100% right on their money.
Having said all of the above, I have seen a number of pictures of the cast, and of the background scenery, and I am not the least bit impressed by what I've seen. I've always been dead-set against re-makes/reboots of older classic films, generally, but I'm especially against the reboot/remake of the original 1961 film version of West Side Story. The Jets, the Sharks, their girls, Officer Krupke, Lt. Schrank, Tony, Maria, and even Candy Store owner Doc in the original 1961 film version of West Side Story look way rougher and tougher than the above characters in Steven Spielberg's upcoming reboot/remake of this great classic film. Moreover, the backdrop scenes in the new upcoming film version of West Side Story look far more like much tonier parts of a city, rather than an impoverished, rough-and-rundown part of an urban area. Having said all of the above, I plan to vote my pocketbook and boycott Spielberg's new film of West Side Story, and not go to see it when it hits the movie theatres at around Christmastime of this year. |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
Yeah, you basically said the same thing in your previous post last May. Seems almost copied word-for-word?
Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 2060946)
It was totally unnecessary, because the original 1961 film version of West Side Story is a great classic film that won 10 well-deserved Academy Awards, including Best Picture back in the fall of 1961 when it came out into the movie theatres.
Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 2008770)
but to try to re-make an already beautiful and wonderful movie-musical such as West Side Story, which won ten well-deserved Academy Awards, including Best Picture, when it came out into the movie theaters in October of 1961
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Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (Post 2059116)
I have limited interest in a remake of West Side Story. There's no need for it as the original is perfect. I kind of think when a director starts doing remakes, his career is on the downside. Unless it's some obscure movie. Not sure why Spielberg would want to do West Side Story anyway, maybe he heard how much money La La Land made.
Some people think that I'm quite narrow-minded and biased, but that's their problem. |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059050)
Ah yes, that is quite a long time. Maybe he’ll enlighten us some
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I'm very interested in seeing what they are going to do with Maddie Ziegler, who is in this movie.
https://thenypost.files.wordpress.co...y=80&strip=all |
Re: Spielbergs West Side Story remake
Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059038)
I'm a big fan of both Spielberg and West Side Story, and I love musicals, but I don't think that this movie should be remade. The original movie is one of the best musicals ever made, and it's going to be hard to avoid comparisons, so unless there's a way to improve on the original or somehow make it different enough to avoid the comparisons, it's usually best to just leave the original alone.
Having said that, I have complete confidence in Spielberg, and I'm curious to see his version of West Side Story. . |
Originally Posted by Gideon58 (Post 2020287)
Can Elgort sing?
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Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059044)
I just rewatched the original about a week ago. It's one of those movies that just gets better every time I watch it. :)
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
Something tells me this will end up being the "Joker" of the next Oscar season, as in it will get most of the nominations.
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Originally Posted by mojofilter (Post 2065845)
Something tells me this will end up being the "Joker" of the next Oscar season, as in it will get most of the nominations.
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I have real mixed emotions about this too. I love the original film and really don't understand what Spielberg, a director with NO experience making musicals, thinks he can bring to this classic. On the other hand, Mary Poppins Returns wasn't as terrible as I imagined it was going to be, so I'm going to try and keep an open mind regarding this new West Side Story.
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Originally Posted by Gideon58 (Post 2065868)
I have real mixed emotions about this too. I love the original film and really don't understand what Spielberg, a director with NO experience making musicals, thinks he can bring to this classic.
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Originally Posted by Stirchley (Post 2065904)
I agree though I’m not a fan of musical theater at all. Why do people tinker with classics that don’t need tinkering with?
Having said the above, no matter who's rebooting/remaking the film version of West Side Story, the original 1961 film version of West Side Story is far too iconic and too much in a special class by itself to justify a reboot/remake of it by anybody, including Steven Spielberg. |
Originally Posted by mojofilter (Post 2020280)
This is going to win the Best Picture Oscar the year it's released. Mark my words.
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (Post 2065865)
No it won't. A LOT of the Academy members will feel negatively towards a remake of such a beloved classic. Spielberg sucks for even considering remaking WSS...But it's too bad we can't get Michael Bay to remake some of Spielberg's flops.
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Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059033)
So, for those who aren’t aware, Spielberg is remaking West Side Story and it has an official release date of 12/18/2020.
I’m a fan of the original, but I’m curious how others feel about this. Can he handle a musical? He hasn’t done one previously, so this intrigues me. How do fans of the original feel about this? |
Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
How do we feel about rebooting the same posts over and over, though?
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Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 2068826)
Hollywood, at large, has run out of creative ideas, which is why sequels, reboots and remakes of older classic films are the "in" thing right now. It's sickening.
Hollywood is naturally interested in making big profits rather than making "art". If they can do some art within the framework of a big seller film, then that's fine. I suspect that Spielberg's remake of the stage play story will be extremely well done. With the heavyweight, dream production team he has assembled, it's going to be impressive: https://amblin.com/movie/west-side-story/ |
Originally Posted by GulfportDoc (Post 2068882)
You make a good point. However it's not so much that Hollywood has run out of creative ideas as the reason for remakes of very popular films. They do it because it's a guarantee of ticket sales.
Hollywood is naturally interested in making big profits rather than making "art". If they can do some art within the framework of a big seller film, then that's fine. But to be fair, sequels and remakes have always been part of movie making even as far back as the silent era, so it's nothing new.
I suspect that Spielberg's remake of the stage play story will be extremely well done. With the heavyweight, dream production team he has assembled, it's going to be impressive: https://amblin.com/movie/west-side-story/
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
It’s as Citizen says. Remakes as nothing new, and have been around since films first began.
Even The Maltese Falcon was a remake, after all. |
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.
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Good article about this:
Steven Spielberg has been making West Side Story in his head for a very long time. As a boy in Phoenix in the late 1950s, he had only the soundtrack, and he tried to picture the action and dancing that might accompany it. “My mom was a classical pianist,” says the filmmaker. “Our entire home was festooned with classical musical albums, and I grew up surrounded by classical music. West Side Story was actually the first piece of popular music our family ever allowed into the home. I absconded with it—this was the cast album from the 1957 Broadway musical—and just fell completely in love with it as a kid. West Side Story has been that one haunting temptation that I have finally given in to.”
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
Why doesn't he retire, if he's out of ideas?
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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? |
1 Attachment(s)
Yup, it's an adaptation of the musical, not a remake of the film. |
Originally Posted by neiba (Post 2073499)
Why doesn't he retire, if he's out of ideas?
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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. |
Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059044)
I just rewatched the original about a week ago. It's one of those movies that just gets better every time I watch it. :)
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. |
Originally Posted by GulfportDoc (Post 2068882)
You make a good point. However it's not so much that Hollywood has run out of creative ideas as the reason for remakes of very popular films. They do it because it's a guarantee of ticket sales.
Hollywood is naturally interested in making big profits rather than making "art". If they can do some art within the framework of a big seller film, then that's fine. I suspect that Spielberg's remake of the stage play story will be extremely well done. With the heavyweight, dream production team he has assembled, it's going to be impressive: https://amblin.com/movie/west-side-story/ |
Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 2132663)
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. 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. |
Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 2132663)
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 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. |
Originally Posted by Leostales (Post 2074182)
I thought The Post was very good.
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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.
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
It's all basically adaptions of Romeo & Juliet anyways :D
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Originally Posted by The Rodent (Post 2136229)
It's all basically adaptions of Romeo & Juliet anyways :D
🙂 |
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. |
Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059044)
I just rewatched the original about a week ago. It's one of those movies that just gets better every time I watch it. :)
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.
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Originally Posted by neiba (Post 2073499)
Why doesn't he retire, if he's out of ideas?
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 2207721)
Hollywood, in general, seems to be out of creative ideas. That's why there are so many sequels, reboots, and remakes of older classic films taking place.
Just to be clear, you're not going to use this thread to just spam incessantly about preferring the original. This is about the new film. If you don't like it, you can go into your giant WSS catch-all thread (the one I made from half a dozen roughly identical threads you tried to make about it) and vent in there. :) |
The trailer I watched was only 1:38, but it looked pretty darn interesting to me. Keep in mind that the story was set in the upper West Side during the '50s/'60s, so it's not like it was set in the ghetto.
Spielberg's clout and mastery will have brought the best talent in the U.S. for this, so I'm anticipating an excellent production. And if it isn't, Christmas will follow in a week...:) |
Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 2207719)
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. Thanks for the information, but as much as I would love to see the original West Side Story on the big screen, I'm not ready to go back to the movie theaters yet, and I doubt that I'll be ready in December. :( |
Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2207824)
Thanks for the information, but as much as I would love to see the original West Side Story on the big screen, I'm not ready to go back to the movie theaters yet, and I doubt that I'll be ready in December. :(
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Steven Spielberg reduced to making romance movies. He's slipping.
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Originally Posted by Mesmerized (Post 2207959)
Steven Spielberg reduced to making romance movies. He's slipping.
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Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (Post 2207982)
More like he's now reduced to remaking other director's past movie hits.
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Originally Posted by Mesmerized (Post 2207985)
I guess you have to get old someday.
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Originally Posted by GulfportDoc (Post 2207751)
Spielberg's clout and mastery will have brought the best talent in the U.S. for this, so I'm anticipating an excellent production. And if it isn't, Christmas will follow in a week...:)
Merry Christmas! |
Originally Posted by Mesmerized (Post 2207959)
Steven Spielberg reduced to making romance movies. He's slipping.
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Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2059033)
So, for those who aren’t aware, Spielberg is remaking West Side Story and it has an official release date of 12/18/2020.
I’m a fan of the original, but I’m curious how others feel about this. Can he handle a musical? He hasn’t done one previously, so this intrigues me. How do fans of the original feel about this? For one thing, both the Jets and the Sharks themselves look too much like the newsy boys. Their girls looked more like wealthy suburban prep school girls that are dressed to the nines for partying around town than a bunch of gangsters' girlfriends. Unlike the seamlessly combined on-location and sound stage scenes that were created by the late Borois Leven in the original 1961 film version of WSS, the backdrop scenes in the newer upcoming film version of WSS look far more like the tonier, wealthier parts of the city, rather than the impoverished, rough-and-rundown parts of the city. The dancing seems way too hyped up for my liking, and the fact that the rumble is with piles and chains and even more violent than the rumble in the original 1961 film version of WSS, plus the Lt. Schrank and Officer Krupke in the original 1961 film version of West Side Story look far rougher and tougher than the Ofer Krupke and Lt. Schrank in the new 2021 film version,. As a whole, the reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story not only looks very overdone, and seems too bombastic, but it feels too heavy, unnatural, forced and wrong--and not at all like West Side Story--to me, anyway. The stuff about Ansel Elgort ( an accused rapist who's groomed and even sexually assaulted underaged girls) has stiffened my resolve to vote my pocketbook and not go to see Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story when it comes out. Being a woman who knows a number of women who've been sexually assaulted, I'm inclined to believe that the girl who accused Ansel Elgort of being a rapist was telling the truth. The fact that there's profanity and much more violence involved in Spielberg's and Tony Kushner's upcoming film version of West Side Story also turns me off to seeing it, and so do a lot of the coloration of this movie. |
Does anyone know when Spielberg's version is coming to the theaters?
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Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (Post 2258838)
Does anyone know when Spielberg's version is coming to the theaters?
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Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2258839)
Next week I believe
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Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (Post 2258840)
I don't go to theaters anymore, but I'll probably check it out on the small screen (my TV);). Are you going to go and see it?
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
I plan on seeing it on my day off after it comes out. It comes out December 10 and I will probably go the Monday the 13th. I expect it to get a lot of Oscar nominations, including best picture.
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Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2258842)
Probably, yeah. Maybe not during the first week. But definitely will. I love going to the movies.
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Originally Posted by Allaby (Post 2258845)
I plan on seeing it on my day off after it comes out. It comes out December 10 and I will probably go the Monday the 13th. I expect it to get a lot of Oscar nominations, including best picture.
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Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (Post 2258838)
Does anyone know when Spielberg's version is coming to the theaters?
https://www.goldderby.com/wp-content...0&h=360&crop=1 |
Originally Posted by Wyldesyde19 (Post 2258842)
Probably, yeah. Maybe not during the first week. But definitely will. I love going to the movies.
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Originally Posted by mark f (Post 2258848)
Next Friday, the day before Rita Moreno's 90th birthday.
https://www.goldderby.com/wp-content...0&h=360&crop=1 |
Originally Posted by Allaby (Post 2258849)
How many movies have you seen at the movies this year? I've seen 16 (so far).
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Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (Post 2258840)
I don't go to theaters anymore, but I'll probably check it out on the small screen (my TV);). Are you going to go and see it?
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
Read some very positive early reviews, for whatever that's worth.
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Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2207824)
Thanks for the information, but as much as I would love to see the original West Side Story on the big screen, I'm not ready to go back to the movie theaters yet, and I doubt that I'll be ready in December. :(
The screenings of the 60th Anniversary screening of the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story were absolutely and totally pristine, both in the film itself, and the sound track/musical score. It was so wonderful to see such a great golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic movie-musical on such a huge, wide screen, with the lights down low, and to share the whole experience with other people, both with friends and with other people. I had decided that when the tickets went on sale courtesy of fathom events.come, back in early May of 2021, that I was going to attend those 60th Anniversary screenings of the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, come hell or high-water, and I'm ore than glad that I did! It was so worth it, and so refreshing1 |
Originally Posted by Yoda (Post 2261284)
Read some very positive early reviews, for whatever that's worth.
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
That was directed at people who didn't make up their mind about this years in advance.
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
"WSS2021lover" could've been a moderately amusing Sexy Celebrity alt.
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Originally Posted by Iroquois (Post 2261294)
"WSS2021lover" could've been a moderately amusing Sexy Celebrity alt.
Ha ha ha!! |
I wish Spielberg would just make another WWII movie.
Bloody west side story in this miserable ass time, I don’t like musicals, yawn. |
Originally Posted by Yoda (Post 2261284)
Read some very positive early reviews, for whatever that's worth.
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR “Coda” “Don’t Look Up” “Dune” “King Richard” “Licorice Pizza” “Nightmare Alley” “The Power of the Dog” “Tick Tick Boom” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” “West Side Story” |
Originally Posted by Yoda (Post 2261284)
Read some very positive early reviews, for whatever that's worth.
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
has anyone seen it? to let me know if it good and good movie to watch? i seen the original long time ago =/
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I want to see Spielberg's version, and I've heard some great reviews of it, but I'm not going back to the movie theater anytime soon, so I'll have to wait for it to come to streaming or DVDs. :(
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Re: Steven Spielberg remaking West Side Story
I went to see this yesterday. I was pretty sceptical about the whole idea of this being made - why remake a five star, best picture winning film? But seeing it as a new screen adaptation of the original musical rather than a remake of the previous film makes it more sensible - although I still think it would have been better to make something new. It is in many ways of its time and the original film was made at that time - where are the new musicals about now?
Still, these concerns aside it was actually really quite good. It's clearly been done as a labour of love and respect for the musical, not a cash in. I have loved the musical West Side Story since I was about nine, so there was no question over whether I would enjoy the songs or the story, just about the new presentation of them. The songs are great, really well done. I had some concerns over Spielberg directing this because although he's obviously a good director, that doesn't necessarily match up with being a good director of a musical, but he nailed it. I liked that he kept some of the ideas of colour theming but in a slightly different way - the Sharks wear yellows and reds while the Jets are mostly in blues and greys, for example. And there are some nice shots with water, shadows and reflections. This isn't a shot for shot remake of the 1961 film. Some choices are successful, others less so. It feels like this film expands the world so we get a little bit more information about some of the characters (Bernardo is a boxer, for example), see them in new locations; there are more Jets and more Sharks and more cops. It feels bigger. Which is nice, but it also loses a little of the enclosed feeling of the 1961 version. The characters say they are stuck on this little patch of land but when Tony and Maria can just meet up during the day and ride the subway somewhere else, it doesn't feel like it. The feeling of time ticking down is lost a little too. The whole subway date sapped a bit of energy from the story. Some of the changes of locations, order and characters singing the songs work well, others less so - Gee, Officer Krupke in the police station is ideal, Anita singing her bit of Tonight in church, really not so much. I'm on the fence about Valentina singing Somewhere. I get it, but then you lose it from the ending between Maria and Tony which is a shame. And the tacit approval Anita gives to Maria and Tony when Tony arrives in the shop in the original is lost too. Rachel Zegler as Maria is perfect casting. A lot of the supporting cast is good, some of them clearly straight from musical theatre like Mike Faist who plays Riff. Could Rita Moreno get an Oscar for best supporting actress for the same film twice? She's probably in it more than Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love. However, I'm not sure what they were thinking casting Ansel Elgort as Tony. Of all the attributes they could have gone for when casting - a good musical theatre actor, someone good looking enough that you believe Maria could fall in love with him at first sight, a big name or a popular heartthrob - they decided to go for someone with precisely none of these. His singing is fine, but he just doesn't have the presence, and his chemistry with Maria and with Riff is minimal. The songs are doing a lot of work to make you believe he and Maria are star-crossed lovers and he and Riff are best friends. Overall though it's a good film, and a big screen spectacle. I enjoyed it, I felt teary at the end, I recommend it. |
I couldn't believe it when I first heard that Spielberg was doing this, but here's a link to my review:
https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/...ide-story.html |
Originally Posted by Gideon58 (Post 2271145)
I couldn't believe it when I first heard that Spielberg was doing this, but here's a link to my review:
https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/...ide-story.html |
Originally Posted by Gideon58 (Post 2020287)
Can Elgort sing?
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Originally Posted by gbgoodies (Post 2059044)
I just rewatched the original about a week ago. It's one of those movies that just gets better every time I watch it. :)
The new West Side Story seems way overdone, the dancing too hyped up, the colors too jarring in some places, and way too dark in others, and the backdrop scenes in the new West Side Story, imho, look far more like the tonier, wealthier parts of the city, rather than the impoverished, rough-and-rundown parts of the city. The soundtrack of the new West Side Story is very metallic-sounding, and flat in a lot of places, and the singing in both the leads are overrated, imho; Ansel Elgort doesn't have such a great singing voice, nor does he have the looks, charm or the personality of an ex-gangmember. Rachel Zegler's voice is also quite nasal in a lot of places, as well. The Jets and Sharks in the new West Side Story, themselves, look too much like the newsie boys, and their girls look far more like wealthy suburban prep-school girls who are dressed to the nines for partying all over town than a bunch of gangsters' girlfriends. The part of Rita Moreno as Doc's widow seems kind of out of her league, given Rita Moreno's overall looks and personality, plus I really don't think that she looks very attractive in this film. Her singing of "Somewhere" seems rather off, too, as it was meant to be sung by Tony and Maria. I really do think that changing the story of Tony--i. e. making him into a thug who was on parole from prison for assault and attempted murder, and for making the Sharks more upstanding and better behaved than the white European-American Jets was kind of far-fetched as well, because imho, in reality, since the violence between two gangs claimed lives on both sides, both the Jets and the Sharks do bear responsibility. I have admittedly always had a gut reaction against remakes of good older classic films, generally, especially something such as West Side Story, by anybody, including Steven Spielberg. Given the stuff that's come out about Ansel Elgort (i. e. the grooming and sexual assault of underaged girls), and being a woman, I'm inclined to believe the women who came forward after being sexually assaulted and groomed by Ansel Elgort. One more thing I've also got to say is that the new West Side Story feels forced, totally unnatural and wrong to me, and not at all like West Side Story. I like the fact that in the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story, the "America" scene was done on a tenement rooftop, and that the "Cool" scene was done in a garage, after the rumble and the killings. The fact that Anybodys was made into a transgender person in the new West Side Story feels all wrong to me, too. I prefer the Anybodys, who was a girl, but just a tomboy who proved that she was a girl who could take care of herself to the Jets, hereby ultimately winning acceptance among the Jets. After all, in real life, there are plenty of straight tough girls who are able to take care of themselves, and have proved it. I've known a few girls/women like that. I loved it, when in the original West Side Story film version, Anybodys got all dreamy-eyed when Ice, who'd taken over the Jet gang leadership after Riff's death during the Rumble, said to her, "Hey--ya done good, buddy-boy!, and that Anybody's, who got all dreamy-eyed said in response to Ice "Thanks, Daddy-o!" I can get a good idea of whether or not I'll want to see a movie by seeing trailers and previews of a given move and/or listening to the soundtrack, as well. The stuff that came out about Ansel Elgort also stiffened my resolve to vote my pocketbook snd take a hard pass on Spielberg's West Side Story, and not go to see it, under any circumstances. . |
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