FOR SHAME! Spielberg and Kushner (no, not Jared) looking to remake West Side Story

I've created enough misery in Puerto Rico to make the movie audience taste the misery in the lyrics of 'America'.

Let it sink back in the ocean

Always the hurricanes blowing

Always the population growing

And the money owing

You know the Sharks will be Syrian refugees, and Tony will be working for a Korean lesbian spouting bromides from a wheelchair.

Except for Jerome Robbins' dances (and of course, the Bernstein/Sondheim score), the movie is horribly dated. Terrible book and the entire look of it is depressing. Thos teens look older than Stockard Channing in Grease.

Just hire any number of Robbins assistants to recreate his dances. They don't need Stro!

Starring Selena Gomez as a poor DREAMER that falls in love with her "Italian" stallion Shawn Mendes!!!!

I hate musicals. It’s just a street retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Let them do it. The original is so dated and I hate it won BP.

Christopher Lloyd for the role of Doc

Sophia Vergra for the role of Consuelo

Lens Dunham for Anybodys

won't be watching

No, thanks.

I have never seen, on screen or live, a good Tony. The role is always played by a wimp, someone a gang would never follow. Maybe it's the way the role is written, but it's one part that has left me cold.

[quote]It’s just a street retelling of Romeo and Juliet.

Thanks.

I'd rather watch the TV special where Cher played all the parts.

Susan Stroman is the greatest beneficiary of the AIDS crisis. If all the most talented and promising choreographers and directors had not be wiped out for a period of 15 years, that hack Susan Stroman would have never gotten out of dinner theater. A great outpouring of sympathy when her well-loved and more talented husband died of leukemia furthered things along greatly. Her work runs from horrible to competent. Not better. Never better.

The real shame will be the score... instead of overtones of Puccini, the orchestrations will have an urban ghetto vibe and the singing will have the obligatory caterwauling.

The recording sessions with Kiri Te Kanawa (Maria), José Carreras (Tony), Tatiana Troyanos (Anita) and Kurt Ollmann (Riff), conducted by Leonard Bernstein1984 is absolute joy. The score done with pure singers, no dancing, no visuals. Wonderful recording and highly recommended.

Yes, it's dated. So what. It's a classic and the choreography and the music were magic but so were the performers. When I think of that opening sequence and the ballet it was just beautiful. I think remaking it with some ass like Zac Efron as Tony or Riff is stomach churning. And who can outdo Rita Moreno as Anita? No one certainly not all these anemic, bland little nobodies! Yes, they'd use Latinas and they should but if I'm not mistaken, they used latinas in the movie too. Aside from Natalie Wood and George Chakiris, the Sharks were Latino dancers, many from the original Broadway production. And there is no one who can replace Tucker Smith as Ice. Fine if they're going to remake it at least let Russ Tamblyn play Doc. Honestly I really hope this dies. I do not want Spielberg touching it. there are a lot of stories to tell, and he should go look for them.

Spielberg is the wrong director for this. His only talent lately has been for creating self important duds.

No current choreographer can outdo Jerome Robbins' original choreography. Hopefully they will hire someone with a talent for recreating/adapting/amplifying the original choreography with minimal revisions.

The music is important. Bernstein reportedly loved Stan Kenton's take on WSS (w/arrangements by Johnny Richards). It needs to be jazz and brass and it needs to be pumping !

And for God's sake hire talented and young singer/dancers. No one over 24 ! And yes, real Latinos.

I wonder if Damien Chazelle would be right for this. The dance segments in La La Land were modest but not without charm.

Can David Archuleta have a role please? He can sing and he has a pristine hole. Sure, he's a bit fey, but he can butch it up!

He'd make a wonderful Maria.

I think the OP may have hit on a great idea.

Jared Kushner as Tony.

So it's settled then. Jared Kushner as Tony, David Archuleta as Maria.

Who plays Riff?

[/bold]

They are doing an open casting call for Tony, Maria, Anita and Bernardo.

Zac Efron as Riff. Seriously He sings! He dances! And here's a brilliant idea:How about Justin Bieber as Tony and Selena Gomez, his real life girlfriend as Maria. She sings She dances!he sings! he dances!

Jared Kushner as Anybodys, or Joy Boy.

A lesbian with a cane as Anybodys

Terrible idea, and I say that as someone who obsessively loves the score, and who thinks the original film could be improved upon!

Modern audiences aren't in tune with the semi-operatic style of the score, but they can't change or update the score because it's what elevates it from a rip-off of Shakespear to a classic musical. They also can't update the setting, because modern hoods don't sing opera, and they do worse things than carry knives and smoke the odd reefer. So... do modern audiences really want to see the juvenile delinquents of the 1950s singing operatic music?

Only if they can update the dated fucking choreography.

Are they going to use the Lin-Manuel Spanish lyrics from the most recent revival?

[quote]And who can outdo Rita Moreno as Anita?

Fuck you, you fat stupid PUTA!

The pairing of Spielberg and Kushner reeks of 'prestige piece' and promises only dullness. They need to find a collaborator/director who understands melodrama and has a gift for bringing out the erotic, both homo and hetero. Spielberg's take on sex has always been adolescent at best.

Sadly the only role David is right for is the Adam Archuleta Story.

Ansel isn’t a bad idea. I don’t know it means he can sing or not but he does have a recording contract (they sampled some of his music on Vice News) and he moved like Gene Kelly in Baby Driver.

Of course they must cast Rita Monera as Great Granny. Surely there is a role called Great Granny.

So this is supposed to take place in the 1950's?

Well this is all wrong in about 100 different ways.

Spielberg and Tony Kushner (especially him - dear God) and with absolutely no connection to youth or poor living have no reason to go anywhere near this property. At least Sondheim and Bernstein were in their twenties and thirties and had a connection to then-everyday New York life. But these rich old Jewish senior citizens? Please.

Remaking WSS is about the worst idea I've seen lately. But as for melodrama, Spielberg's movies are drenched in it.

They don't need to do this.

Please don't

Am I the only one who thinks this is a good idea? At least the cast will be naturally diverse not forced like most movies nowadays.

I wish they would leave this alone, too, but just fyi [R34], Sondheim has often said that he knew nothing about everyday New York life, and even less about Puerto Ricans (I'm sure Lenny claimed intimate knowledge of both, but really.). They relied on Laurents to bring a "street" sensibility to the book; surely Kushner can't be any worse.

I just think there is no need to film this again. Why is Hollywood bringing back classics and trying to make better versions? Today’s film makers simply cannot do it better.

Amen, R39.

(Can a Quentino Tarantino remake of Sound of Music be far behind?)

These filmmakers ought to try coming up with some original material.

Well, but sometimes a classic does get very dated. I was watching the original version of The Producers a few months ago. I remember thinking it was hilarious the first time I saw it...about 20 yrs ago.Now it's simply embarrassing. But I don't think WSS falls in that category.IMO they need to let be.

Up next: Paul Thomas Anderson's "Song of Norway."

R38, Sondheim SAYS he may not have had that intimate sensibility but he had youth, which is why I emphasized that as a key ingredient lacking from the men working on it now.

Oh and in regard to Sondheim's professed lack of familiarity with "everyday New York life" - well that cute and oh so convenient. He sure knew how to listen well though, didn't he? But if Chita Rivera is not complaining, then so be it.

Quentin’s version the nuns get raped shot 100times with machine guns.

@ [R35]. For my money, his take on it feels more like mellowdrama.

Have all the writers died? no one can come up with anything for the screen or tv?

So, will Tony still be Italian? Or will political correctness insist on a change?

As for the urban feel? Spielberg grew up in suburban Arizona - think the setting of Poltergeist.

[quote]mellowdrama

I bet those are great in s'mores!

[quote]So, will Tony still be Italian?

Tony is POLISH, dummy.

Even less politically correct.

The SJWs are going to have a fit.

I'd like more of the "Classics" to be remade. Many of the original musicals done in the 1940's thru the early 1960's are really outdated and the sets all look pretty drab. Some beg to be remade because the originals were just awful. I'd love to see a remake of "A Chorus Line" for example...this time with bigger stars in most of the roles, but we might have to wait for Michael Douglas to die.

[quote]The casting call says in capital letters: MUST BE ABLE TO SPEAK SPANISH.

It should also say WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR A BERNARDO.

And don't forget Lost Horizon r53!

Points taken about Sondheim's youth and his ability to listen.

I'm not sure a remake is needed at all, but the original is far from flawless. Richard Beymer (who is just fine on Twin Peaks) was a terrible Tony. And he knows it. To the point where he refuses to discuss it, or show up to reunions. Natalie Wood is pretty and just ok as Maria.

That the film is still a classic despite having this handicap is a tribute to Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Jerry Robbins, and the dancers in the cast. They, and the songs, elevate it to classic status.

Tony is Polish-American.

Movie Casting news-

[quote] Liam Payne (of One Direction) in advanced talks to star in Steven Spielberg remake of musical West Side Story

[quote] Casting agents have been ordered to find singers between the ages of 15 and 25 who can also dance, while also being able to deliver lines. Liam sees the opportunity to work with Spielberg as an exciting prospect and one too good to turn down.

[quote] Liam’s role is believed to be in the Jets gang who have an ongoing ­tension with the Sharks, made up of Puerto Rican immigrants.

[quote] Steven Spielberg is reportedly hoping to start filming his West Side Story remake in July 2019.

Why Spielberg is doing it-

[quote] "Well, you know something, West Side Story is one of my favorite Broadway musicals and one of the greatest pieces of musical literature, my goodness, one of the greatest scores and (it has) some of the greatest lyrics ever written for a musical...."

They'll send out a big casting call, but I bet most of the leading roles will go to established names or people with at least some following. It always seems to work out that way.

Is this Jared Kushner's brother? Well, he is also involved with forcing out rent controlled residents illegally. FUCK THEM CUNTS!!!

I'm intrigued. West Side Story is my favorite, love the 1961 movie, and have seen it on stage... most recently, a local theater. I'll definitely go see the new movie version.

[quote]Of course, our lead, Tony, is a nice Caucasian boy who falls in love with Maria. He’ll be tougher to find because he’s got to be able to sing like crazy, be physically fit, etc.

Shawn Mendes

I wonder if people realize that a lot of times the emotions people feel for a movie are because of the times they are living in. WWS can never be the same because it was a different time. There were gangs but not near as violent as today. No one today glorifies gangs which they kind of did in WWS.

If they're looking for a young man with a doofy face and lack of muscle tone but without proven singing or dancing skills, then Ansel Elgort would be perfect! He grew up in NYC, too!

It would have to be hip hoppy right?

Does anyone else think that this remake in 2018 - 2019 will be seen as making lite of gang warfare?

Good for high school productions, maybe, where there are real Hispanics in the musical theater program.

[quote]Good for high school productions, maybe, where there are real Hispanics in the musical theater program.

Is he making a play or a movie?

[quote]How can you improve upon perfection?

Full frontal nudity.

This sounds like a disaster. A politically correct, dulled to death, EARNEST West Side Story! How can it fail!???

Hilarious.

A contemporary remake would be:

The gangs fight, They shoot each other. Everybody dies.

THE END.

[quote]"Well, you know something, West Side Story is one of my favorite Broadway musicals and one of the greatest pieces of musical literature, my goodness, one of the greatest scores and (it has) some of the greatest lyrics ever written for a musical…."

My first thought on this was, 'Well, why don't you just leave well alone then? We have the original cast album, the film, and Bernstein's 80s recording. How can you possibly improve on all that by the originators, even though you're Spielberg?'

Then I thought that the work is such a masterpiece that it can of course stand re-interpreting by lesser geniuses. If Spielberg wants to pay his homage then so be it. He knows what he's taking on, and the comprehensive analysis and comparison he will provoke. Let's see what such vaulting ambition might achieve.

For me, it's not so much about the plot (a little outdated and corny for today), but the music and the dancing.

I love the original film but would really be interested in seeing it remade. Actually any classic musical remade on the big screen. The live tv events are sort of blah and half assed for me so I'd like something going full tilt. Better than yet another Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, King Kong, Amityville, Halloween.

Oh brother.

Can you even imagine how inclusive it will be? The gay couple, the biracial couple, the gay biracial couple....an orgy of careful political correctness.

Spielberg has not made a decent movie in years. His remake, if it ever happens, will be scrupulously politically correct but boring and bland. He's lost the touch of fire and creativity he once had.

[quote]Of course, our lead, Tony, is a nice Caucasian boy who falls in love with Maria. He’ll be tougher to find because he’s got to be able to sing like crazy, be physically fit, etc.

Since when is Maria NOT Caucasian?

This whole situation reminds me of Bette Midler's great wisecrack about "Lost Horizon": "I never miss a Liv Ullmann musical."

I'd never dream of missing a Steven Spielberg musical.....

I wan't a part of this project. The set will be a buffet of hotties.

Let me guess. They're going to make it "gritty" and "dark" because that is the standard now in Hollywood. I'm not a fan of the original, but at least it had some charm.

Olivia Cooke as Natalie Wood as Maria

Lana Del Rey as Maria's singing voice

There going to cast an afro latino as Maria and some guido looking twunk as Tony.

[quote]I'd never dream of missing a Steven Spielberg musical.....

How about a Francis Ford Coppola musical?

Why can't they remake a movie musical that actually needs a remake like Gypsy or Mame? This seems like it'd be better served as one of those NBC live musicals.