Sharks and Jets return in Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ remake

For filmmaker Steven Spielberg, 1950s New York still lives in certain areas of that city that served as the location for the filming of his reinterpretation of the iconic musical tape West Side Story (originally released in 1961 under the direction of Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, winner of ten Oscars) and that will hit all theaters on Friday, December 10.

In his movie, New York is treated by Spielberg as one more character and just like he did with the rest of his cast he tried to naturally get the best of her. “We only record in the places where the buildings haven’t changed and the only thing we did digitally was remove the air conditioners, satellite antennas and the security bars on windows from the second floor (a rule that now governs New York buildings) ”. So he explained during a virtual press conference prior to the premiere of the film to which La Revista was invited, among other international media. “Everything else is authentic to the original time period of the film because New York retains the character of those years”.

The new version of Spielberg is thus located during the summer of 1957 and sticks to the lyrics of the original songs written by the composer Stephen Sondheim, who died last Friday, November 26 at 91, and who performed with Leonard Bernstein this story that was born on Broadway in that year, with an original libretto by Arthur Laurents, after the choreographer Jerome Robbins suggested a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

In fact, Spielberg revealed at the conference, Sondheim was the first person he sat with when he wanted to seek the rights to make a new version of West Side Story, although In their first encounters it was very difficult to express his wish.

“I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth, we talked about everything but this”, He admitted. But once the project got under way, Sondheim got fully involved. “Occurred When we did the first recordings with all the vocal artists, he was for three weeks, five days a week, sitting next to me, there in the recording studio. It was a tremendous honor”.

Tony Kushner, with whom Spielberg already worked on Lincoln (2012) and Munich (2005), he was invited to the project as a scriptwriter for the new production.

“After Steven asked me to do this, I went home and told my husband that Spielberg had asked me to do something crazy and that he didn’t know how to get rid of it,” she laughed. “I thought it was an impossible thing to do because I love the 1961 film, everyone loves it, it is a masterpiece and it felt difficult to reinterpret”.

Nevertheless, together they conceived a new character that would bring actress Rita Moreno back to the big screen (who played Anita in the 1961 tape).

This time, Moreno’s life to Valentina, the Puerto Rican widow of the remembered pharmacist Doc and who, like her ex-husband, maintains a great friendship with Tony (Ansel Elgort). “Of course I would like to be young again and repeat my role “, said Moreno, who was also present at the press conference. “To deny that would be a lie, but now I have a wonderful role and I loved every scene, because I love what I do,” confessed the 89-year-old actress who is also a producer on the new film.

Young and authentic cast

Although in essence, Spielberg’s tape remains within the margins of its predecessor, producers did consider necessary some readjustments, starting with the process of casting: they wanted actors at the age of their characters and that if they were going to play a Latino character they would have that royal ancestry in their families.

“We have done something that none of the other productions have achieved. We have a 100% Latino cast in the Sharks, between men and women. There is no one who is not Latino. That was non-negotiable for us, and is one of the reasons it took us a year to finish the casting”, the director specified. “It was unthinkable for us to make this movie without doing our best to put together a truly diverse cast.Well, it was that diversity that filled this production with authenticity ”.

The new cast resumes the roles of the conflicting members of the Jets (New Yorkers) and Sharks (Puerto Ricans) gangs, who fight for control of the streetsalthough, according to Spielberg, “they are actually fighting over race.” The tension between these sides increases when Tony (Ansel Elgort), founder of the Jets and María (Rachel Zegler), sister of Bernardo (David Álvarez), leader of the Sharks, fall deeply in love.

“This production achieves what old generations failed to do and I think it is changing everything”Álvarez commented when it was the cast’s turn to share with the press. “Doors are opening for future Latin American actors and it is an honor to be at the forefront and it is all thanks to Steven’s vision.”.

Sailor, who will also be the next Snow White in Disney’s live action film, stressed that has made an effort not to compare herself to the original actress. “We just want do a good job, not overshadow the legacy of a fantastic actress, That has never been our intention, but to personally reflect on what I can contribute from my own life experience that was not in the film before, ”he said. “AND Being the first Latina to play María is something incredible and I want to think that Natalie Wood will be happy with my work and the way we’ve tried to reinterpret what she originally did very well ”.

Ariana DeBose, on whom falls the role of Anita in the 2021 version, he experienced a similar sensation: “The first time they asked me to audition, they had to push me into the room”, He confessed. “I thought it would be a job that I could never schedule (…) But I try not to think that Rita won an Oscar for this role, because if you let that panic enter the process, failure will be imminent because you will be trying to achieve someone else’s success. and I just want to be the best and most appropriate for this version of Anita, ”said the actress, whose father is a Puerto Rican Afro-descendant.

American actor Ansel Elgort, well remembered for his role in The Fault in our stars (2014), he also didn’t have an easy start playing Tony, especially in the dance segments. “Something I appreciate is having the opportunity to work with incredible people, because When I joined that cast, I was not the best dancer, I was definitely the weakest, but I had all those professionals around me supporting me to help me improve.”, He admitted.

But perhaps the most controversial dialogues are in the hands of the character of Riff (Mike Faist), who openly shows his rejection of Puerto Ricans due to their origin. Yes, an attitude that could be considered racist, although according to the first critics of the film, its interpretation makes it ‘understandable’.

“You have to understand where that attitude comes from and it is from fear, but where does that fear come from? Let’s see the background that these guys have: they only have that toxicity of the company that they have created between them, it is a negative codependency, but it is all they have. Also, the city is changing in front of everyone and that inability to let go of what was, that inability to accept the change is summed up in fear”.

Intentionally Spielberg and Kushner also left certain portions of Spanish dialogue without English translation with subtitles. “That language must coexist on equal terms with EnglishSpielberg emphasized.

The Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Paris Opera, was chosen to conducting the orchestra on music recordings. As a preview of the premiere, the soundtrack digital tape is now available from this Friday, December 3, with 21 songs.