West Side Story: first full-length trailer

Looks wonderful to me.

I must be missing a sensitivity chip, but I thought the original was a hilarious piece of shit (with good dancing), and this remake looks even worse.

And, ok, casting Natalie Wood as a Puerto Rican was unfortunate, but making her sound like she just swam from San Juan is just ridiculous. I thought the whole point of Maria’s arc is that she’s a first generation American mainlander clashing with her immigrant father. A New Yor-ican isn’t going to sound like she took her first English language course last week.

I was hoping this movie had already come and gone.

I keep forgetting this is even a thing. Is Elgort still persona non grata?

Technically, R4, but they refilled his scenes and Tony rapes Maria.

Has there ever been a more pointless remake?

That was much better than I was expecting.

I just have to assume this is made for today's generation of kids who will go OMG and then dispose of it by the next month.

As another poster said, the most pointless remake since.....Ben Hur of a few years ago.

Who remembers that?

If this flops, will Hollywood finally drop this mediocrity?

[quote] I thought the whole point of Maria’s arc is that she’s a first generation American mainlander clashing with her immigrant father. A New Yor-ican isn’t going to sound like she took her first English language course last week.

I thought it was pretty clear in the original that Maria had just recently arrived from Puerto Rico.

But a lot of people remember the Charlton Heston Ben-Hur r8, which was, itself, a remake.

r10: yes, the first scene with Maria and Anita is all about her having recently arrived and how over-protective Bernardo is to her.

r11: yes, the 1959 Ben-Hur was a remake of the 1925 version, but if you've seen both, it's one of the rare remakes that's actually an improvement over the original (which isn't terrible, just that it drags quite a bit and isn't as gripping as the '59 version).

[QUOTE] If this flops, will Hollywood finally drop this mediocrity?

Hollywood will do everything they can to prevent this from flopping. They’re going to hype the shit out of it for the next three months.

Elgort looks like he just farted and wonders if anyone else smells it. Seriously, he has zero charisma.

It looks beautiful. From the trailer, I would have guessed that the movie was all about Bernardo, Maria, and Anita, with an assist from Riff. Tony is basically furniture here. So that's the big unanswered question for me: Will Ansel Elgort ruin everything? I hope not. I want it be something great, with the new dialogue by Tony Kushner.

This was "Anshel's" first public appearance in over a year so they must be gearing him up for press.

[quote]Hollywood will do everything they can to prevent this from flopping. They’re going to hype the shit out of it for the next three months.

Yes, they'll follow the template that made In the Heights a smash it.

Oh, wait ...

[quote]I just have to assume this is made for today's generation of kids who will go OMG and then dispose of it by the next month.

Today's generation has no idea this is even coming out. They've either not heard of WSS, or they couldn't care less about a 50 year old musical. The only way this can be a success is if Baby Boomers want to see it.

60 year old musical

R16, why does Ansel have his hand on his dad’s knee like that,

Considering how his dad also photographed him in the shower, I wonder if he grew up being molested by his father?

I was actually referring to whether or not they'll finally drop Ansel but yes it is a Spielberg studio film so Hollywood will hype the shit out of it.

Judging from some of the dialogue included in this trailer, I feat that Kushner has decided to triple underline some of the subtext that was always clear in the movie. Also looks like he has gone out of his way to make Maria a "stronger" character -- you know, in a "Bernardo, I have to live my own life, so don't tell me what to do!!!" sort of way.

[quote]The 1959 Ben-Hur was a remake of the 1925 version, but if you've seen both, it's one of the rare remakes that's actually an improvement over the original (which isn't terrible, just that it drags quite a bit and isn't as gripping as the '59 version).

Also, umm, the 1925 movie is silent, and very few people would still sit through even the greatest silent films after sound came in. So OF COURSE they were going to remake the greatest successes of the silent film era -- BEN-HUR, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, etc.

Why was Ansel cancelled? I can't keep up with all the cancellations of celebrities.

He allegedly sexually assaulted a 17 year old girl, R23.

I'm nervous by the fact that they're keeping Ansel's voice underwraps. I feel like he's going to make a fool of himself. The little bit I've heard of him singing didn't sell me.

Ansel ghosted one of his hookups and she accused him of assault.

I sure hope this makes room for the great Carol Lawrence perhaps as Maria's Mum.

I'm going to be bold and predict that this is going to do very well. I love the old film but it looks like a movie from 1961. This is a Steven Spielberg period piece with modern cinematography that looks like a film from today, which I think is a great thing. It will play to a whole new audience. Young people may not specifically know WSS but they know "Romeo and Juliet". And kids today are more into musicals than you'd think - compared to when I was growing up in the '90s it's a totally different thing and way more mainstream. That's why we're getting all these films in the first place.

But more than that, WSS is just very very good especially compared to all the other stuff lately. And it's in that serious/populist sweet spot where it's just complex enough to please the snobs but also accessible to civilians. It's thrilling music - there's this amazing clip of Dudamel conducting the Mambo at a symphony concert and the audience is going absolutely bananas like they're at a rock concert and it's an group of all ages. I think compared to the droning ballads of DEH and the lackluster music of ITH this is going to seem particularly brilliant. There's a reason WSS has held up this long and I predict it still will.

The original West Side Story has been cancelled because Natalie Wood wasn't Latinx.

[quote] The original West Side Story has been cancelled because Natalie Wood wasn't Latinx.

And that seems to be the only reason for this remake.

That's not a good enough reason.

r30 we live in strange times.

[quote]He allegedly sexually assaulted a 17 year old girl, [R23].

[quote]Ansel ghosted one of his hookups and she accused him of assault.

From what I have read, the second description of what happened is far more accurate.

The Sound Of Music remake MUST have at least two black Von Trapp kids and Maria MUST be Latino.

Captain Von Trapp's Asian heritage will also be groundbreaking.

And additional hip hop tracks will make it better than the first!

Nah, r33, it's more like insisting on a remake of The King and I because Yul Brynner wasn't really Siamese.

(Like Natalie, Yul was of Russian extraction.)

Will not see this !!!!! The Puerto Ricans are not black. The Italians are not black. Have we learnt nothing.

What Italians? Aren't the Jets supposed to be Polish-American?

Tony is Polish-American, not all the other Jets.

I believe this remake was done because...Spielberg wanted to do this remake.

I guess this is how you sell one of the greatest collections of music ever assembled for one show today: barely include any music in the trailer.

The orchestration was never meant to be this enormous.

[quote]The original West Side Story has been cancelled because Natalie Wood wasn't Latinx.

Neither is George Chakiris.

Maria looks like a fetus in red lipstick.

Minority voice here (probably) but I don't like the stunt casting of Moreno as Valentina. That's not a character in the 1961 film or any of the Broadway iterations. No great harm done, but it seems like they'll milk that for all it's worth.

I saw the original and Natalie Wood must be Latina because I clearly heard her say "tell me it isn't Drooo". Sounds right.

R40, the original orchestration was limited by the size of the pit at the Winter Garden theater. Bernstein omitted a harp or any violas because he needed space for the brass, that played such a prominent role in the dance sequences.

When the studio recording was done in 1984, the number of woodwinds alone jumped from 6 to 13, at the composer’s direction.

I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear his music played so lavishly with 21st century technology to really reveal every facet of the score.

Love that r28.

It looks like a scene from the Glee that never was but should have been.

Anybody who thinks that film wasn't due for a remake simply hasn't watched the entire movie in a long time. There are certainly a few brilliant dance sequences (the opening, Dance at the Gym, America and Cool) but the rest of is very sludgy and boring.

Do y'all think this new version will make $548 million? That's how much the original, adjusted for inflation, grossed at the domestic box office.

r48 I think it will probably make around 400 million worldwide box office. Will turn a profit eventually after VOD & cable sales.

R24, it actually isn't clear to me that what his accuser described is legally sexually assault. It isn't clear from her description that she ever withdrew consent as a matter of law.

R22, you know what remake actually WAS superior to the original was the 1983 SCARFACE, such an improvement over the 1932 non-silent film.

Also, how many remakes have there been of A STAR IS BORN? The most recent one being nominated for Best Picture, unlike the other two remakes.

The trailer almost obscures the fact that it’s a musical. Split seconds of dance and just “Tonight” which could be a theme song like “My Heart Will Go On”

It's got "Somewhere", which still makes hearts go pitter-pat and it's got "Maria" which is just absolutely lovely and "I Feel Pretty" which is an Instagram moment waiting to happen, unless Sondheim makes them cut it.

It looks gorgeous, and the music is so great. But the leading man seems like a stick of wood.

What made this "update" of Romeo and Juliet the first time around was primarily the score and the choreography, and that's obviously the case here, which you can see in the first 20 seconds. The first film's other advantage was the really classy gorgeous second lead cast. There isn't a man onscreen in this remake who can fill George Chakiris' sharkskin suit and violet shirt, for example.

Never mind Rita Moreno's violet dress by Irene Sharaff.

The first film's big weakness was its two leads. But in the end, the music and choreography swept everything before it. That film reeked of stature. People stood on line for hours to see it.

That's not what you see here. I'm in agreement that this is a totally unnecessary remake. The updated dialogue won't make a difference or turn this into something like A View From The Bridge set to music.

And for what it's worth, R&J is one of my least favourite of the Bard's works. Give me the ballroom scene and Mercutio's big Queen Mab speech and I'm done.

It's always worked better in other forms, in my view, especially balletically. There are dozens of R&J ballets out there, a couple of exceptional ones, like the Macmillan one for the Royal Ballet, and the rest are forgettable.

That's what you're looking at here, the Wannabe version.

[quote]The trailer almost obscures the fact that it’s a musical.

That's the idea.

[quote]I guess this is how you sell one of the greatest collections of music ever assembled for one show today: barely include any music in the trailer.

I always find it annoying and ultimately foolish when a musical film is marketed with a trailer that has no singing in it -- like SWEENEY TODD, to pick just one example off the top of my head. But when the same procedure is followed for a remake of WEST SIDE STORY, which literally contains one of THE most famous scores of all time, it seem positively perverse.

How many bombs is it gonna take for this talentless, ugly nepotism spawn to be over? Same for Mouseboy too.

Ansel as Tom Collins

Why does everyone want to live in 1963? I'm sorry you missed the protests and firehoses and German Shepherds. I imagine it was an exciting time. But it's over. Now go back to your Cheetos and watch "Dancing With The Stars".

It only took 20 responses til The Rape Trolls arrived. He must have been raped by his father... he raped a girl... he rape rape rape rape rape rape.

There is a deranged, worldwide cult of rape fetishists. Some were molested, most weren't. But it's all they can think about. Everyone wants to rape them.

Elgort is not bad looking at all but he seems like a douche. It's not just that girl it's other things form his past. Arrogant and entitled.

The video of him singing in a high school production of Rent or wherever that's from is BAD. I mean really BAD. Off key and just BAD. Did his daddy provide some "support" for the production.

This is Ansel from 2017, singing live. I assume from this that his voice is good enough to enhance in studio to get some acceptable results. Not Jeremy Jordan results, but at least people going, "Well, okay."

I'm still in. It's a day one for me. Still, this trailer is missing the visceral ooomph of the brief teaser released back in late winter.

And yes, based upon both trailers, Elgort is miscast. Spielberg made a mistake.

In the trailer, Elgort seems so sullen. Isn't Tony usually played as more optimistic and sunny? Elgort's Tony signals the inevitable tragedy.

R15 the dialog in the trailer hardly sounds new. So cliched!

R2 Have you heard of Cardi B?

This looks like Glee!

It’s not my bag.

I can’t see it doing well. I don’t see the appeal. There’s no movie stars in it, there’s no hot guys, and it’s a musical.

It won’t be as bad as “Cats” but I actually saw “Cats” because everyone was saying it’s so bad you have to see it. I definitely won’t be seeing this.

A misfire

I wonder why the description under that clip at r62 says it’s by Chet Baker, when it’s from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser.

They barely show Ansel, almost like they are embarrassed that he is in the film!

What about me?

R43 she's supposed to replace the Doc character, right? But that doesn't make sense. At the beginning of the musical, he's attempting change his bad boy ways and go straight and has taken a job at Doc's store. Tony's first positive interaction with a Puerto Rican is Maria.

R36 the Jets are supposed to be a collection of European descendants (Polish, Italian, German, Irish) who normally would have fought each other at the turn of the 20th century but have banded together to confront a more 'foreign' rival: Puerto Ricans.

Sondheim was on Colbert tonight and said there will a few big changes from the original that will amaze people who know the original.

Sondheim is clearly biased. I was young when the Sweeney Todd film was released. I was so excited for it, especially after it came so highly recommended by Sondheim himself. He was everywhere promoting it. I couldn't wait to see it, but then... I was underwhelmed, to say the least. The funny thing is, I felt more let down/betrayed by Sondheim than by Tim Burton.

I love how they held off on this release for over year, as if a year would make Ansel Elgort any less creepy or loathsome. Steven could have picked a hundred more talented singers, but he chose Ansel. It's like putting a poop topping on a perfectly good cheesecake. I'll pass.

Be thankful Spielberg chose Ansel Elgort. Ben Platt was gunning hard to get cast as Tony, and that would have been a shitstorm of awfulness had he been cast.

I'm most excited to see David Alvarez as Bernardo. He was a wonderful Billy Elliott back in the day, then went into the military when he got older, so he's not going to be pretending to be masculine, cause he is, and he can dance.

Starring talented newcomer and rapist, Anshel Elgort !

Ansel Elgort is neither a newcomer nor a rapist. 🙄

Zelger's face annoys me, and I don't know why. I'll stick to the OBC, thanks.

[quote]Isn't Tony usually played as more optimistic and sunny?

Something MEH is coming!

Gotta admit I was impressed. Spielberg knows how to make a movie but I had low expectations.

A true romatic ...

Nowadays, the only people bringing up the whole Ansel 'sexual assault' are SJWs, especially self-loathing white liberals hoping to score woke brownie points. But It is clear that nothing of the sort happened. They just want to tear down another white man. Ansel triggers them because he is not only white but comes from a very privileged background.

[quote]Judging from some of the dialogue included in this trailer, I feat that Kushner has decided to triple underline some of the subtext that was always clear in the movie.

I thought that too; he was clearly framing the Jets as Deplorable 1.0, though I don't think it's necessarily bad to remind people that Americans have always been afraid of the next wave immigrants, whoever they are.

The originally movie - however flawed it may be - was still a masterpiece and rather than try to remake a masterpiece, it would be interesting to see a re-imagining of the story, sort of like Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet which as a *great* Queen Mab speech

100% forgot Ansel Elgort was in this. So much disappointment.

I was going to say we need a gay WWS but that's out of date. I would like a non-binary one but don't know what the two gangs would be.

Have they uncancelled Asshol Englesnort then?

The Broadway revival of West Side Story that closed when Broadway shut down last year for Covid often had pickets outside because the dancer playing Bernardo was fired by New York City Ballet in 2018 for his part in a sexting scandal inside the company.

R89 is correct but that's not why the show closed. It was bad.

No, the show was still running when all of Broadway shut down because of Covid on March 11. The producers have decided not to reopen.

And I agree it wasn't very good but that's not why it shut down.

After all the "In The Heights" drama, I wonder if this movie will have a sufficient number of dark skinned latinos. It would be a shame to have Ansel uncancelled for being a perv, but then be cancelled again for anti-dark skinned latino bias

What r65 said, too.

I get the difficult, fine line Kushner has to walk in creating dialog for a film and social sensibility set in the late 1950s, not to mention the cultural and ethnic aspects of the characters.

But still, Maria's dialog sounds cliche.

I guess you'll be disappointed to hear that "I Feel Pretty" has been replaced with "#GirlBoss."

r94 Brilliant

I’m going to see the original movie on the big screen in the Turner Classics series in November

Does anyone know how the film handles the character of Anybodys, the baby dyke member of the Jets? I wonder if she's been cut.

R84 Ansel triggers people because he is a narcissistic douchebag with very little talent.

[quote]After all the "In The Heights" drama, I wonder if this movie will have a sufficient number of dark skinned latinos.

When that infuriating nonsense came up with ITH, it occurred to me that Spielberg et al. must be VERY happy and relieved that they cast a dark-skinned Afro-Latina as Anita. I assume that her presence in that major role will be enough to stifle any criticism, regardless of the skin color of the other Latin people in the movie.

[quote]The Broadway revival of West Side Story that closed when Broadway shut down last year for Covid often had pickets outside because the dancer playing Bernardo was fired by New York City Ballet in 2018 for his part in a sexting scandal inside the company.

Some details:

[quote]In 2018, Ramasar was fired from NYCB for sharing explicit pictures of female dancers without their knowledge or consent. In 2019, he made his debut at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome. That same year, a union arbitrator ruled that, while suspension from NYCB was fitting, his firing was too severe a punishment. As a result, the arbitrator ordered Ramasa to be reinstated by the NYCB. In July 2021, the NYCB announced that Ramasar was retiring in May of 2022.

As for Elgort's casting as Tony, I'm really not familiar with his talent or lack of same, so I can't comment. But I can't help feeling they would have been better off going with a very talented unknown as Tony. Whatever sort of a name Elgort has, I don't think it would have made that much difference to the box office of WSS even if his alleged scandal hadn't come up.

Are they keeping the Spanish-language lyrics that were added to the penultimate Broadway revival?

R100, I'm sure they're not keeping all or even most of those lyrics in the songs proper, but I do wonder if we might hear a snippet or two of them somewhere in the new movie. Spielberg and Kushner might have wanted to keep a phrase or two sung in Spanish, especially since those lyrics were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

In this Youtube video, Sondheim discussing some of the changes to West Side Story in the Spielberg film.

[quote] "Tony Kushner, who wrote the screenplay, has done some really imaginative and surprising things with the way the songs are used in the story."

WSS discussion starts at 5:30

Stephen Sondheim is in good shape for 91 years old.

[quote]"Tony Kushner, who wrote the screenplay, has done some really imaginative and surprising things with the way the songs are used in the story."

We can see one example of this in the new trailer, where Maria sings a little bit of "Tonight" a cappella by herself on the fire escape. I'm guessing maybe that happens after the "quintet," while she's waiting for Tony to come to her after (she hopes) he has stopped the rumble from happening.

R102, He doesn’t actually discuss any specific changes, just general cheerleading

[quote]Does anyone know how the film handles the character of Anybodys, the baby dyke member of the Jets? I wonder if she's been cut.

I thought that's who Ansel was playing.

Ansel Elgort Dances Through the Decades

The Leonard Bernstein music sounds amazing toward then of the trailer. Gorgeous orchestration. As a kid we went to Lincoln Center on a school trip and watched him rehearsing leading an orchestra.

Did you make the connection between the location and the story?

Well I love Natalie Wood in the movie. She really comes through as harrowing in the scene where she finds out Bernardo has been killed when Chino throws it in her face in anger which is so wonderfully filmed by Wise and her big speech at the end which could have been silly but she makes it matter and left me in tears when I first saw it..

In this film Maria has to declare that she is going to think for herself. In the '61 version there doesn't need to be any declaration she IS thinking for herself. Lehman did not need to trowel it on. And for those who think the dancing is good in the original is good you must not like dancing very much. It is spectacular.

I hope Peck did some good work for this because his City Ballet stuff is very mediocre especially in his subway tribute to Robbins.

Is Elgort even remotely believable as the former leader of a street gang?

Seriously r111. Everything about him just screams "rich privileged white douchebag."

It would be like Dl's own YourMillennialFriend being the leader of a street gang.

I’m nervous about Kushner’s new dialogue. He’s so bombastic.

My recollection of the 60s in my city--not New York--is that the white gangs fought each other unless they spied some unsuspecting fuck in khakis and madras. Then they'd mug him and pants him. All of these people got sent to Vietnam, sometimes in lieu of going to jail.. The ones who survived went into construction, drove trucks or became cops. They moved to charmless suburbs with strip malls. They're all probably MAGAs and retired..

The Hispanic gangs fought each other, too, and marked off territory with graffiti. The Black gangs were organized crime, which eventually became the fate of Hispanic gangs when demand for cocaine and marijuana surged. They both fought wars over drug territory and distribution. Have no idea what happened to them because there weren't any at my high school.

Anyway, there's no reason in the world why Tony and Maria couldn't have eloped to a state where you could marry at 14. Too much willing suspension of disbelief is required. It was edgy in its time for bringing up racial tensions. The new version has good art direction. Not going near it until I get my booster,

The WSS movie is amusing because almost all of Jets are tres gay. David Winter. Eliot Feld. I'm sure some Sharks were, too.

Maybe I’ll be wrong, but this seems like the right movie for now. With the sunset of the white American majority, there is a great deal of anger. Rage from the whites who feel they are losing power. Rage from everyone else who feels their growing power and their past grievances, but don’t know what to do with it. Maria and Tony are the attractive illusion that there is an easy way out of this conflict, if we only have love.

[quote] Maria and Tony are the attractive illusion that there is an easy way out of this conflict, if we only have love

Do you think the hopeful spirit of Maria and Tony are embodied in Kamala and Joe?

Agree with r110. I guess it's now wrongthink to approve of Natalie in WSS, but despite the dubbing, she's really quite good in the film, Maria has the strongest character arc in the story and Natalie throws herself into it, convincingly portraying a naive innocent at the start who matures into an embittered but still hopeful woman by the end, and that final speech is mesmerizing. It's easy to see why the ones two punch of WSS and Splendor in the Grass catapulted her into superstar status.

The trailer seems to imply that Maria is embittered from the start in the new film, which defeats the purpose and misses the point.

R102 I guarantee that Spielberg paid half a million Sondheim for "goodwill" to present a positive light in these interviews.

Spielberg spent $100 million on his new product and Spielberg has announced previously that he allocates 33% of the budget on publicity and goodwill.

Flop. No one will see this during Delta+

In that trailer, I only had eyes for the Puerto Rican brother. Whoever he is, he's gorgeous!

Say what you will about Woody Allen, he’s smart enough to budget for recasting. Although that would be a challenge in a musical. With a miscast lead. Who even straight guys like myself could see was a disaster. In a pointless remake. Other than that: Perfection!

I can’t count how many times that I have watched the original film over the years, but I have no desire to see this.

The two leads are very attractive though, and appear to have chemistry.

None of the leads are as attractive as Wood, Beymer, Chakiris. Tamblyn or Moreno.

Still I'm keeping an open mind and might see it. The worst thing about it could be Peck from the work of his that I've seen but he might pull it off.

Now this trailer has some zip!

Any fool would have to admit the new trailer doesn't hold a candle to the original film's trailer at r125! And they even featured singing....and dancing!!

POW!

The end of the new trailer has that over-the-top music that Hollywood has put in every movie for the past several decades. I call it "soaring" music.

Can't do worse than the movie musical version of Cats

True R128, although in the new WSS we won’t be subjected to James Corden

The opening and closing credits to the original WSS were masterful.

[quote]Any fool would have to admit the new trailer doesn't hold a candle to the original film's trailer at [R125]!

It's a great trailer, but I hope we all realize that it's for some re-release, not from the time of the film's original release.

Huh! Then I'd be very curious to see the original trailer.

[quote] Anyway, there's no reason in the world why Tony and Maria couldn't have eloped to a state where you could marry at 14. Too much willing suspension of disbelief is required.

R115, that was what they were planning on doing, running away. That's what the song "Somewhere" was about. Maria was planning on meeting Tony at Doc's, but then Anita lied and told Doc and the Jets that Chino had killed Maria. And then Chino killed Tony.

[quote]The WSS movie is amusing because almost all of Jets are tres gay. David Winter. Eliot Feld. I'm sure some Sharks were, too.

Richard Beymer and George Chakiris are both gay and still alive. Chakiris is out, I don't know about Beymer.

R134 That's some old, unsubstantiated licking gossip

Viz., Grease

Sorry, that was meant for the Evan Hansen thread

I’m mostly worried that Ansel Elgort is going to sing with a black accent. Whenever I see him sing on YouTube, he sings with an affected black accent.

R138 Ansel is a Wigga?

Why can't we have a gay West Side Story? That would be so much more interesting and reflective of a couple who had real obstacles to overcome.

[quote]Why can't we have a gay West Side Story? That would be so much more interesting and reflective of a couple who had real obstacles to overcome.

Because a white gay man on the UWS who turns his mouth and ass into a cum dumpster for Puerto Ricans is hardly interesting or unusual.

New tv clip

It looks oddly overlit

I had that same observation, r142, but, at least for me, upon repeat viewings, it becomes incidental because truly, there is a LOT going on that short clip.

I've read contradictory things : 1. that Spielberg and Kushner, as source material, are accessing the book and staging of the Broadway production, not the 1961 film, and 2. Spielberg himself said (paraphrasing) that what motivated him to do WWS is that he saw the film as a kid and he has always loved it and it made a deep impression on him.

Both , of course, can be true. Still, my own frame of reference is the film and defintely the look and feel of the trailers, so far, are vastly different from the film, as they should be.

It's still a bit unsettling, not in a bad way, just something for me to get used to.

WSS is my most anticipated movie of the year, hell, of the past five years. I'm truly excited to see this.

[quote]I've read contradictory things : 1. that Spielberg and Kushner, as source material, are accessing the book and staging of the Broadway production, not the 1961 film, and 2. Spielberg himself said (paraphrasing) that what motivated him to do WWS is that he saw the film as a kid and he has always loved it and it made a deep impression on him.

A very large percentage of the dialogue in the stage version and the original movie version of WSS are the same, written by Arthur Laurents. Ernest Lehman did wrote some new lines, but the biggest changes he made were in changing the positioning of several of the songs and scenes. One of the most interesting things about the new WSS will be to see what song order they chose.

Thank You, r144

[quote] One of the most interesting things about the new WSS will be to see what song order they chose.

I hope "One Hand, One Heart" isn't cut.

We didn’t need this.

Well the men are included in America so that's taken from the '61 film and it will be interesting to see about the order of Cool and Krupke. The creators of WSS hated the movie yet it was the movie that made it an international smash hit. I think they wanted a small black and white On the Waterfront type of movie and instead hey got a movie practically on the scale of Around the World in Eighty Days.

Billy Elliott (David Alvarez) has grown up into a hunk.

There'sh a plashce for ush...shomehow...shomeday...shomewhere...

I thought we voted the Liza jokes off the island

Wesht Shide Shtory

Don't forget bitches, I'm a consulting producer! Oh, and yeah, I'm an EGOT winner. I don't think anyone's heard that before. I'm the only latina to win a.......zzzzzz.

So will Rita be nominated for an Oscar for her turn as Ned Glass?

This is probably the last chance to see a musical that doesn't feature Beanie Feldstein, so we should enjoy it while we can.

It's going to be HUGE hit.

Young girls are going to go crazy over it.

The doomed lovers thing is eternally appealing to that audience. This film will be as big as Titanic was, with girls going back to see it over again.

That's my prediction.

R156...It may be a hit, but no one is going to go back and see it over and over. They will stream it over and over.

[quote]It's going to be HUGE hit.

Yeah, all those teen boys can't wait to go see Rita Moreno in this.

I can't wait to stream it!

[quote]Yeah, all those teen boys can't wait to go see Rita Moreno in this.

Do you think they were waiting to see Gloria Stuart in Titanic?

[quote] Do you think they were waiting to see Gloria Stuart in Titanic?

No, they were going to see Kate Winslet’s boobs and a ship sink.

Does the leading lady of the new WSS show her tits?

The Whale of August I've been told was a great jack off movie.

R9 There will be no Hollywood left if they do.

Having watched the two trailers side by side, my biggest fear is the dancing. More Mandy Moore/La La Land pastiche than Jerome Robbins brilliance.

I've noticed in the clips that Anita is wearing a very dark (maybe black?) dress for the Dance at the Gym Mambo but is wearing a bright yellow dress for America and, at ;last some of America, seems to be danced out on the streets in day light.

So, I'm wondering what all that is about.

Justin Peck is a hack. And to put him in direct comparison with Robbins is insane. But young people the target audience wouldn't even know the difference. They'll think it's just as good if they saw both.

[quote]Does the leading lady of the new WSS show her tits?

No, but Rita Moreno does.

Wardrobe is having trouble finding her a bra, she used to be a 35 B but now she’s a 42 Long

[quote]I've noticed in the clips that Anita is wearing a very dark (maybe black?) dress for the Dance at the Gym Mambo but is wearing a bright yellow dress for America and, at ;last some of America, seems to be danced out on the streets in day light.

Yeah, I really wonder how all of that is going to fit with the timeline of the story. Maybe Kushner has rewritten it so it takes place over several days or longer, rather than just 48 hours?

Did Romeo and Juliet happen over 48 hours?

I think it looks great..i love the music too

i love the music too but Speilberg gives me the creeps.

The mambo is thrilling— especially in this live orchestral version which brings tears to my eyes.

Romeo and Juliet takes place over five days, but that is because Juliet’s faked death and the aftermath adds on another 3 days. They meet on a Sunday night, Romeo kills Tybalt Monday afternoon, Juliet takes her fake poison on Tuesday.

OMG R172...that has to be the HOTTEST looking orchestra on earth.

[quote] the HOTTEST looking orchestra on earth

I usually object to noisy audience members at orchestral concerts but these Venezuelans are so joyously enthusiastic.

It's like Bernstein wrote their national anthem.

I love that clip so much. And Dudamel is conducting the movie!

I really think that the music to WSS is going to make the difference between it and all the other disappointing movie musicals, especially internationally. It's not that people don't like musicals, they just don't like crappy ones with music you'd never want to listen to on its own.

I hope this movie version restores the entire song "A Boy Like That/I Have A Love." One thing (among a number) that annoyed me about the 1961 version is how they much they cut that song. It's much longer and Maria and Anita are singing a fight in the play. The movie basically has Anita shrugging her shoulders after a few bars.

I’m wondering if they’re going to change the TRANSPHOBIC lyrics in “Gee, Officer Krupke?”

“My sister wears a mustache, my brother wears a dress, goodness gracious, that’s why I’m a mess!”

My brother wears a mustache, my sister wears a dress, goodness gracious, that's why I'm a mess.

We haven't heard from Sondheim lately. I hope he hasn't gone into that period of of seclusion well known people often go into when they're extremely elderly and we hear nothing until their death.

R180, I believe it was only a couple of months ago when Sondheim said he's working on a new musical with David Ives, although he didn't make it clear what the specific project is.

Do you expect daily or weekly updates from Sondheim?

Well he was regularly interviewed and has opinions about many things in the theater that you would hear about. Also in that last TV interview with I believe it was Colbert he couldn't be shown entering and sitting down.

Sondheim is VERY old and not in great health, R182, but I don't think there are any signs that he has gone into a "period of seclusion," which is what you asked about.

He fell down go boom.

I can't explain it. There's not a fucking thing about that dick bag that doesn't disgust me but i wanna put my face all over him.

Well he's certainly not what one would call soigne'.

[quote]The first scene with Maria and Anita is all about her having recently arrived and how over-protective Bernardo is to her.

Right. In fact, Maria says to Anita, "One month have I been in this country." Very specific.

Count R2 as another "know-it-all" who actually knows nothing.

That photo of SS kind of looks like the monster in Lady Frankenstein.

Ansel Elgort is yet another case of nepotism and connections. He's quite uninteresting as an actor and singer.

I love the snotty spoiled cocky attitude even if it disgusts me. It gives off BDE.

Spielberg had an extra year to get the perfect edit.

Now with movies opening on 5000 screens, The original opened in New York on one screen as a 70MM Roadshow Engagement which is a Broadway schedule, one show a night at 8:30 and a matinee on Wed, Sat & Sun. Before the box office even opened they had sold over 100,000 tickets by mail order. Tickets were $3.00/$3.50 which is about $28.00 in today's money.

[quote] The Sound Of Music remake MUST have at least two black Von Trapp kids

I'm up for it! The baroness needs a blackamoor hallstand.

I seriously doubt the film of WSS sold 100k tickets at the Rivoli even before the film opened. Though successful the musical itself wasn't even a Broadway smash hit. The film was a smash hit.

And it had two afternoon performances on Sunday. The first at 1:30 and the second at 5.

R193, LOVE the Darfur Orphan troll!!!

A new teaser trailer just released shows Tony (Ansel Elgort) interactions with Maria and others. Previous trailers treated him as if he were an extra in the movie.

[Quote] Has there ever been a more pointless remake?

Anne Haish in Shycho!

I'm SO looking forward to this. I'll see this in a theater. I haven't been in a theater in a few years...lol. Need to see this on the big screen.

Ansel doesn't have much presence so he blends into the background. His eyes are not expressive either. Besides Tony is a wet blanket. Anita and Bernardo steal the show in the 1961 version.

At 2hrs &36mins it seems punishing esp since most people are overly familiar with the story and songs.

200 replies and nobody yet mentioned about Elgort allegedly YUGE schlong?

What r198 said.

But still, if that trailer is truly indicating the level of charisma of Elgort as Tony, well, not me, but most people complain about Richard Beymer lacking appeal.

Beymer seems downright exciting compared to Elgort.

I'll wait and see.

I'm the only person I know who likes Beymer in the original. He and Wood make a great couple despite her antipathy towards him while making the film. It sure doesn't seem like it on screen. The idea of Beatty or Perkins in the role seems like a bad joke. Elgort is a frog in comparison to Beymer. Love at first sight? Ha!

I am curious about the film. I'll wait for the opinions of those who like the original. Maybe I'll go to jeer and stay to cheer.

I'll probably like this film...like the original (love it). My only disappointment of WSS was the recent run on Broadway...with the big background screens, the avant garde version.

I wish I was old enough (just a baby) at the time of the original Broadway play..to see it. It was on Broadway a few times, and would have liked to have seen it in the original version.

[quote]I seriously doubt the film of WSS sold 100k tickets at the Rivoli even before the film opened. Though successful the musical itself wasn't even a Broadway smash hit. The film was a smash hit.

Why would you doubt it? The Rivoli was the only place to see the movie in the tri-state area. Long Islander's, people from New Jersey and Connecticut would have to go there to see it for at least a year. For "Funny Girl" mail orders began a year before the premiere and Columbia placed an ad in the NY Times and proclaiming 78 performances were already sold out while they were still filming. These movies were events and didn't get to the suburbs sometimes two years after opening in Times Square.

[quote]At 2hrs &36mins it seems punishing esp since most people are overly familiar with the story and songs.

This is an incredibly stupid comment, almost as stupid as "I seriously doubt the film of WSS sold 100k tickets at the Rivoli even before the film opened."

Some people don't seem to realize that WSS is a familiar story known to most and the trailer displays a dull, charisma-free lead who is not remotely believable as the former leader of a NY street and the entire trailer seems like everyone is just going through the familiar motions. We all know the plot and how it will end. It's even been parodied on SNL.

West Side Story, 1961, was 2 hrs. and 33 minutes per IMDB. So the 2021 movie is 3 minutes longer.

Because before the movie opened the show while successful was not a smash hit. I can't imagine it engendered the excitement the films of TSOM or South Pacific or My Fair Lady did. Even Rita Moreno said when she heard it was opening at the Rivoli as a roadshow she thought it was crazy. She said who would pay that kind of money to see this movie? Of course after it opened it was an immediate sell-out. In fact I'm surprised it got the 70mm 6 track treatment. Fortunately it did. The Music Man which really was a smash hit everywhere and won the Tony over WSS didn't get that deluxe treatment opening as a regular continuous run movie in 35MM and 4 track soundtrack..

Funny Girl was a smash Broadway musical and people who had watched Streisand on TV and collected her records were excited to see her in the movie of her great Broadway success.

And anyway I think a lot of that boasting before a movie even opened was just PR Ballyhoo.

I am really looking forward to this. I have always loved the music, but did not like the movie. It had some wonderful moments, but overall it was blah. I could never put my finger on what it was that I didn't like....I think there were several things.

I wasn't interested in seeing the Broadway revival about 10 years ago, but right at the end of its run, I went with a very cheap ticket in a great orchestra seat. I was stunned at how much better that production was than the movie. The movie seemed sanitized and clunky compared to the stage production and its better everything. I hope this new movie will capture some of that from the stage version. I'm most worried about Ansel, who has never impressed me.

R210 The Rivoli Theater had 2,092 seats and if WSS was shown twice daily that would be over 4,000 tickets daily and in a month that would be over 125,000 tickets. Not hard to believe that it had sold 100K tickets before it opened.

Well maybe you're right. At this point who knows? I think if you read it somewhere somebody was inflating the numbers. And I think Ray Stark was inflating the numbers for Funny Girl as well. This was not unheard of. Film producers and theater owners of the period were hucksters known to lie in their ads and to Variety which pissed them off to no end. I do know the Rivoli did not have 2,000 seats. I was in it. It had about 1,600(the original seating was reduced when it converted to Todd AO.) And a road show film had a performance schedule like a Broadway show so most days it had one performance. WSS had 11 performances a week. I just don't see that people were clamoring for tickets before the reviews came out. By the way when 80 Days which was a huge success played the Rivoli Mike Todd would have them put up the Sold Out sign even if it wasn't to create more demand.

Presented here to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the premiere of WEST SIDE STORY is a list of (most of) the classic, award-winning film’s North American reserved-seat “roadshow” engagements. These were the cities and theaters that exclusively played the film before it was given a general release. The majority of these roadshow engagements were presented in 70-millimeter and six-track stereophonic sound.

10.18.1961 … New York, NY — Rivoli (77 weeks)

11.01.1961 … Boston, MA — Gary (48 weeks)

11.07.1961 … Philadelphia, PA — Midtown (52 weeks)

11.14.1961 … Washington, DC — Uptown (42 weeks)

12.13.1961 … Los Angeles, CA — Chinese (58 weeks)

12.14.1961 … Miami Beach, FL — Sheridan (52 weeks)

12.14.1961 … San Francisco, CA — United Artists (46 weeks)

02.08.1962 … Pittsburgh, PA — Nixon (32 weeks)

02.13.1962 … Cleveland, OH — Ohio (19 weeks)

02.14.1962 … Baltimore, MD — Mayfair (17 weeks)

02.14.1962 … Detroit, MI — Madison (36 weeks)

02.14.1962 … San Diego, CA — Capri (36 weeks)

02.15.1962 … Dallas, TX — Esquire (20 weeks)

02.16.1962 … Minneapolis, MN — Mann (28 weeks)

02.19.1962 … Seattle, WA — Music Box (40 weeks)

02.20.1962 … Chicago, IL — Michael Todd (38 weeks)

02.22.1962 … Montreal, QC — Alouette (31 weeks)

03.01.1962 … St. Louis, MO — Mid-City (17 weeks)

03.14.1962 … Milwaukee, WI — Strand (31 weeks)

03.14.1962 … Portland, OR — Music Box (36 weeks)

03.15.1962 … Buffalo, NY — Teck (15 weeks)

03.21.1962 … Kansas City, MO — Plaza (13 weeks)

03.21.1962 … Salt Lake City, UT — South East (39 weeks)

03.21.1962 … Vancouver, BC — Stanley (29 weeks)

03.22.1962 … Cincinnati, OH — Valley (25 weeks)

03.28.1962 … Scottsdale, AZ — Kachina (15 weeks)

03.29.1962 … Atlanta, GA — Rhodes (23 weeks)

04.04.1962 … Albany, NY — Hellman (10 weeks)

04.04.1962 … New Orleans, LA — Civic (10 weeks)

04.04.1962 … Tampa, FL — Florida (11 weeks)

04.05.1962 … DeWitt, NY — Shoppingtown (16 weeks)

04.05.1962 … Rochester, NY — Riviera (26 weeks)

04.11.1962 … Des Moines, IA — Capri (? weeks)

04.11.1962 … Hartford, CT — Strand (21 weeks)

04.11.1962 … New Haven, CT — Whalley (26 weeks)

04.11.1962 … Omaha, NE — Admiral (15 weeks)

04.11.1962 … Providence, RI — Elmwood (15 weeks)

04.11.1962 … Toledo, OH — Esquire (10 weeks)

04.13.1962 … Asbury Park, NJ — St. James (? weeks)

04.13.1962 … Syosset, NY — Syosset (? weeks)

04.13.1962 … Upper Montclair, NJ — Bellevue (? weeks)

04.13.1962 … Youngstown, OH — State (10 weeks)

04.19.1962 … Oklahoma City, OK — State (13 weeks)

05.02.1962 … Denver, CO — Denham (28 weeks)

05.02.1962 … Tucson, AZ — Catalina (10 weeks)

05.17.1962 … Toronto, ON — Tivoli (31 weeks)

06.21.1962 … Columbus, OH — Cinestage (25 weeks)

06.27.1962 … Indianapolis, IN — Lyric (? weeks)

06.28.1962 … Dayton, OH — McCook (? weeks)

06.28.1962 … Nanuet, NY — Route 59 (? weeks)

[quote]Some people don't seem to realize that WSS is a familiar story known to most.

I don't think anyone fails to realize this. What the hell are you talking about?

[quote]Before the movie opened the show while successful was not a smash hit.

This is true, but between the time when WSS opened on Broadway and the film was released, several of the songs had become hits through cover recordings, and also, the original cast recording sold very, very well. Apparently, all of that plus the presence in the female lead of rising star Natalie Wood was enough to engender great interest in the movie even before the reviews appeared.

[quote]I wasn't interested in seeing the Broadway revival about 10 years ago, but right at the end of its run, I went with a very cheap ticket in a great orchestra seat. I was stunned at how much better that production was than the movie. The movie seemed sanitized and clunky compared to the stage production

What are you, some sort of paid Arthur Laurents apologist? That production, though not as insane as the most recent Broadway revisal (whose closing was one of few silver linings of the pandemic), was hideously misdirected by Laurents, who had lost whatever minimal directorial talent he ever had years before.

[quote]I just don't see that people were clamoring for tickets before the reviews came out.

As someone else here has pointed out, 100K worth of ticket sales is not a very high number for a reserved-seat road show engagement of a film with a popular title that was being screened at only one large theater in the entire NYC metropolitan area. But if you want to keep repeating your doubts, go right ahead.

It's not $100,000 worth of tickets we're discussing, it's 100,000 actual tickets

R215 I was writing about the book, not the direction.

[quote]It's not $100,000 worth of tickets we're discussing, it's 100,000 actual tickets

And again, I repeat, 100,000 tickets sold before the premier is not a huge amount for a movie with a very well known title, a rising movie star in the female lead, and a score that had already become well known through cover recordings playing a reserved seat engagement in ONLY ONE THEATER in the entire NYC metropolitan area.

[quote]I was writing about the book, not the direction.

Then you're very confused, as there were NO changes in the text of WEST SIDE STORY for that 2009 Broadway revival directed by Arthur Laurents -- unless you count the new Spanish lyrics that were written for some of the songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and even most of those were apparently thrown out as the run progressed. The only major changes for that show were in Laurents' idiotic redirection, like that moment when Maria practically pistol-whipped one of the boys in the final scene after Tony is shot. I guess you love that sort of thing.

There is a question about the Rivoli's seat count in 1962. It opened in 1917 with 2000+ seats and when it closed as a twin in 1987 there were about 1600+ seats, but i don't know the exact number it had when Oklahoma! opened in 1955. But even at 1600 seats it wouldn't take long to sell 100,000 tickets...

Evenings 8:30 PM, Matinees Wed & Sun 2:30, Sat 2:00 & 5:15

Mon-Thur Eve…Orch & Loge $3.00 Balc $2.50 & $2.00

Fri,Sat,Sun & Hols… Orch & Loge $3.50 Balc $3.00 & $2.50

Sat,Sun & Hols Matinees…Orch & Loge $2.75 Balc $2.00 & $1.50

Wednesday Matinee…Orch & Loge $2.50 Balc $2.00 & $1.50

New Year’s Eve…$6.00, $5.00 & $4.00

WSS screened at the Rivoli Theater in NYC for 77 weeks beginning October 18, 1961.

Ansel needs to have his pants ripped off and made to show everything on screen to make up for his lack of talent

The Rivoli was a great movie theater. Like many of the Times Square movie houses far superior to the Ziegfeld. It showed some of Hollywood's biggest films. It's pretty depressing to see there's nothing but a black skyscraper there now like it never existed when seeing a movie in the theater was a NY event.

Subject at hand.

As you can see the Broadway production opened one block north at the Winter Garden where Molly Brown is playing.

They've just released another teaser trailer with a little bit more of the dance at the gym. Is the Tony vib good?

I don't like the new accents in the beat behind "America." Makes the song sound too modern.

In that realistic high school hallway they all look they are the teachers. The original sets by the brilliant Boris Leven and the costumes by the great Irene Sharaff in the dance at the gym were stylized to distract from everyone being too old.

Not really, R227. Some of the sets in the original movie of WSS are stylized to one degree or another, but some of them are hyper-realistic -- including, of course, most of the location filming at the beginning. By your argument, having all those guys in their mid to late 20s in an actual NYC playground would have made them look too old as well.

Well I agree but it works better in the stylized sets so you're really not thinking what are these adults doing at a high school dance.

R229, I don't understand your point, because again, some of the sets in the original movie are stylized, but others -- including the set for the dance at the gym -- are not. At least, not until Tony and Maria first lock eyes and then dance together, talk, and kiss.

[quote]I don't like the new accents in the beat behind "America." Makes the song sound too modern.

I agree. It sounds off.

r230, I've always thought of the sets in the 1961 WSS as "hyper-realistic" -- that they resemble realistic settings, but that there's something just slightly off about them to enhance the romanticism of the piece.

That dance at the gym set is very stylized R230 as are the costumes as evidenced in that photo of R232 so I'm afraid I don't understand you.

I really love the "America" number in the 1961 version.....on top of the roof - at night......everyone still in their clothes from the dance....

I don't know how I feel about seeing it danced out in the street in the daytime - like a number from FAME.

Not only that but late at night after spending the evening dancing full out at the gym they can do it all over again after they've returned home. Ah the energy youth.

[quote]The Rivoli Theater had 2,092 seats and if WSS was shown twice daily that would be over 4,000 tickets daily and in a month that would be over 125,000 tickets. Not hard to believe that it had sold 100K tickets before it opened.

Yeah but this new one probably had eight minutes of credits.

[quote]That dance at the gym set is very stylized [R230] as are the costumes as evidenced in that photo of [R232] so I'm afraid I don't understand you.

I would describe neither that set nor those costumes as "very stylized," so I guess you and I have very different ideas of what that phrase means. And even if that set and those costumes could be described as "stylized," my point was that at least some of the sets of the '61 movie are very realistic, obviously including the playground and most of the other location sites in the prologue.

1961 WSS prices....Sat Night Orchestra & Loge $3.50, Lower Balcony $3.00 Upper Balcony $2.50

In today's dollars... 3.50 = $32.38, $3.00 = $27.75 & $2.50 = 23.13

Yes we have very different ideas on what is stylized. I conceded to you already that there are scenes that take place on actual streets but the fact that you don't see the heightened set and costume stylization in the dance at the gym is a testament to their genius. The imagination and creativity that goes into such a scene while being able to blend it with the rest of the film without it sticking out like a sore thumb is astonishing. It is a visually a very theatrical sequence even outside of the dancing and before the meeting of Maria and Tony.

[quote]Yes we have very different ideas on what is stylized. I conceded to you already that there are scenes that take place on actual streets but the fact that you don't see the heightened set and costume stylization in the dance at the gym is a testament to their genius. The imagination and creativity that goes into such a scene while being able to blend it with the rest of the film without it sticking out like a sore thumb is astonishing. It is a visually a very theatrical sequence even outside of the dancing and before the meeting of Maria and Tony.

I basically agree with all of that but I still wouldn't describe the sets and costumes in that scene as highly stylized. At most, maybe slightly stylized. The set looks a lot like those actual multi-purpose rooms in parish schools that are used both as gyms and auditoriums, kind of like the Gym at Judson in NYC and also a couple of places I've been in on the Lower East Side. And yes, there are actual basketball hoops visible in the scene. As for the costumes, I don't think what the cast is wearing looks markedly different from what young people would have actually worn to a dance in the late 1950s or early '60s. So we basically disagree on the degree of stylization, and it's fine to leave it at that.

My nephew filmed a part in this movie. It’s been two and a half years. I can’t even remember if he’s a shark or a jet.

It's cheered me up a lot to find I can see WSS from December 10, I assumed I'd have to wait till new year. Should be a great way to break my Covid cinema curfew.

I think it looks pretty good. I'm seeing it.

Everything has that blue CGI glow.

I guess this movie will only work if there's a current to turn on.

[quote]Everything has that blue CGI glow.

I'm not sure you know what you're talking about.

New clip

In the new clip at r247 , you can hear Ansel sing with Rachel at timemark 1:30. (You have to listen while Spielberg speaks over it.)

Didn't i already see this movie?

The singing sounds great and nicely recorded (unlike Les mis and some other newer musicals). Can’t wait!

The 1961 West Side Story is one of my all time favorite films, I've seen it probably more than 20 times, will see it again on Sunday thanks to Fathom Events (my 4th time seeing it on the big screen), and I unapologetically love Natalie Wood in the film. It is, to me, one of the few damn near perfect films ever made.

I worry that we'll see a lot of dumping on Natalie for not being a Latina in the reviews and commentary on the new film, and that's frustrating. Despite Rita Moreno's grandstanding, there really wasn't an American female Hispanic movie star in 1961; the producers needed a name to sell the film -- unlike today, movie stars absolutely sold a movie to audiences back then -- so they did what they could; I hope people commenting on that recognize that it wasn't Natalie's fault, and assign any blame to the culture of the era rather that to Natalie.

Rita has done nothing but blame Natalie. Marlon must have stood her up one night to be with Natalie.

R251 you are right. Without Natalie Wood's star name, they probably would have had to fill the other roles with Hollywood types instead bringing out dancers from the OBC......

Elvis as Tony and Nick Adams as Bernardo.

Why?