West Side Story – Spielberg remake (2 Viewers)

[ptb2017fr]

I've deleted a couple of posts from this thread. Let's keep politics out of this thread. Also, if you're going to report a post then do so without announcing it and let the forum's moderators handle it from there.

Yes we all know politics has nothing to do with every day life. Always best to ignore.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Yes we all know politics has nothing to do with every day life. Always best to ignore.

Since it was one of your posts which was removed, I would advise you to read the HTF's Rules about which topics are not permitted and to also read the forum's mission statement about its goals.

When looking at the Rules, please also read the section on how to properly respond to actions taken by moderators.

 

[Jake Lipson]

To get this thread back to West Side Story...

did anyone else see Jeopardy! last Friday, December 11?

The clue:

Ads for the 2020 revival of this musical said, "Something's Coming, Something Good"; a new movie version is also coming.

Nazar has $1,800. His response:
What is Wicked?
Wager: $1,785

Kendra (the reigning champion) has $9,200. Her response:
What is Sweet Charity?
Wager: $5,500

Kate has $12,000. Her response:
What is Wicked?
Wager: $6,401

Kate wins with $5,599.

I was screaming at the television. I couldn't believe that not even one of them knew it. But I think this actually speaks to the viability of the remake. I don't remember when I didn't know what West Side Story is, and I would have been able to identify it immediately. You've got to be smart in order to get on Jeopardy! in the first place, but none of these folks were aware enough of the work to know the lyric reference. The remake presents an opportunity to get the story in front of a new audience as well as a returning one.

Earlier in the thread, before the film was officially delayed to next year, we were having a debate about how much marketing the new movie will need to have. I think this proves that not everyone knows what it is and Disney will need to do their usual aggressive marketing campaign when the time comes for that. However, there is a tremendous upside here for the remake that not everyone will go in comparing it line for line to the original.

Anything that increases the awareness of this wonderful piece of work is a good thing.

 

[Malcolm R]

To get this thread back to West Side Story...

did anyone else see Jeopardy! last Friday, December 11?

The clue:

Ads for the 2020 revival of this musical said, "Something's Coming, Something Good"; a new movie version is also coming.

Nazar has $1,800. His response:
What is Wicked?
Wager: $1,785

Kendra (the reigning champion) has $9,200. Her response:
What is Sweet Charity?
Wager: $5,500

Kate has $12,000. Her response:
What is Wicked?
Wager: $6,401

Kate wins with $5,599.

I was screaming at the television. I couldn't believe that not even one of them knew it. But I think this actually speaks to the viability of the remake. I don't remember when I didn't know what West Side Story is, and I would have been able to identify it immediately. You've got to be smart in order to get on Jeopardy! in the first place, but none of these folks were aware enough of the work to know the lyric reference. The remake presents an opportunity to get the story in front of a new audience as well as a returning one.

Earlier in the thread, before the film was officially delayed to next year, we were having a debate about how much marketing the new movie will need to have. I think this proves that not everyone knows what it is and Disney will need to do their usual aggressive marketing campaign when the time comes for that. However, there is a tremendous upside here for the remake that not everyone will go in comparing it line for line to the original.

Anything that increases the awareness of this wonderful piece of work is a good thing.

There are a lot of dumb contestants on game shows these days. Seems like they're selecting them on a basis other than intelligence.

I did see the clue you described above. I had no idea about the lyric having never seen any version of the musical, but guessed WSS as it fit the rest of the clue about an upcoming new movie version.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I had no idea about the lyric having never seen any version of the musical

Jeopardy contestants seem to be pretty sharp to me in general, although I was surprised that none of them got this.

"Something's Coming" is the title of a well-known song from the show. "Something's coming, something good" from the clue is a direct quote, so the writers obviously expected the contestants to pick up on that. The rest of it (having had a revival in 2020 and a new movie coming out) is gravy.

 

[trajan007]

Was this made digitally or on film?

 

[TravisR]

Unless something has changed, Spielberg still shoots on film.

 

[trajan007]

That's what I thought. Thanks

 

[SixOfTheRichest]

A lot of posts on here and I can't be bothered going through all the pages so don't know the unfolding of the discussion, but I know I will look forward to seeing this. Spielberg has always wanted to make a musical apparently and this is one he must have a nostalgic passion for. It will be grittier of course, will lose the 70mm stagey spectacle of Wise's version, but the soundtrack is also the main reason for me to see it and the dancing of course.

 

[Jake Lipson]

This article is older (from last fall), but I just ran across it so thought I would post it here anyway. It is an interview with actress Talia Ryder, who plays a member of the Jets in the remake. She also appears in a significant role in the movie Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which played at Sundance last year pre-pandemic and is now on HBO Max. I just watched it last night and I thought it was sensational, and she's great in it. So I highly recommend it. The interview is about her experiences on both films but doesn't have spoilers for either.

Talia Ryder on the Transition from Indies to Spielberg

The "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" star readies herself for "West Side Story."

www.interviewmagazine.com

 

[Bill Fisher]

well, it's already done and sitting in "the can" until Christmas. the press seems to be repeating the odd "conventional wisdom" that the original was flawed because of whites playing latinos. that Natalie Wood had no business in the lead and the remake will be "authentic." even Rita Moreno has given several interviews trashing the original (weird, because it made her career and gave her an Oscar) because they had to wear brown makeup. i'm sure it will be impressive in parts, but it (my guess) won't measure up to the original--whose creators were truly geniuses (Bernstein/Sondheim, Robbins, Wise, Johnny Green, Irwin Kostal, etc. etc.). remakes suck, generally, especially when the first try was brilliant and groundbreaking. now, Spielberg's best bet would be the film version of Broadway's RAGTIME. that show would highlight all his strengths and zero in on his political, racial and social concerns. and that could be his own movie musical masterpiece.
the oddest thing about the remake is that John Williams doesn't get a chance to adapt the fabulous score. he won an Oscar for his adaptation of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. has he retired?

 

[Jake Lipson]

has he retired?

More or less. The last time Williams scored a non-Spielberg, non-Star Wars film was Memoirs of a Geisha for director Rob Marshall in 2005. (Edit: The correction below by @Lord Dalek is gratefully acknowledged; Williams' last non-Spielberg,, non-Star Wars score was actually The Book Thief for director Brian Percival in 2013.). Even though this is Spielberg, it is also an existing score, so my guess is that they didn't have enough for him to do on this to make it worth his time.

the press seems to be repeating the odd "conventional wisdom" that the original was flawed because of whites playing latinos. that Natalie Wood had no business in the lead and the remake will be "authentic." even Rita Moreno has given several interviews trashing the original (weird, because it made her career and gave her an Oscar) because they had to wear brown makeup.

I've never seen anything in which Rita Moreno "trashed" the original. She can give voice to concerns that have developed about it over the years without "trashing" it. If she wanted to trash it, she wouldn't have been a producer on this one or agreed to appear in it.

I'm also not sure why you put "conventional wisdom" in quotes. The original West Side Story is widely acknowledged as one of the great films of all time. It can be that and also not be as culturally representative as would be appropriate today. The remake provides an opportunity to tell the story in a new way that provides the non-white culture which has always been part of the story a chance to own their own part in it. I don't see why that is a bad thing. I also don't think it takes away from the achievement of the previous film.

Both of them can and will coexist.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

i'm sure it will be impressive in parts, but it (my guess) won't measure up to the original--whose creators were truly geniuses (Bernstein/Sondheim, Robbins, Wise, Johnny Green, Irwin Kostal, etc. etc.).

It will be different. The original is a classic, and its place in cinematic history is assured.

True Grit was one of John Wayne's most beloved films, and the one that got him an Oscar. That doesn't mean that the Coen Brothers' 2010 remake didn't have a lot to offer, didn't bring things to the table that the original didn't.

If this movie can carve out its own identity, do something different and worthwhile with the source material, it doesn't have to best the original film adaptation to be successful.

the oddest thing about the remake is that John Williams doesn't get a chance to adapt the fabulous score. he won an Oscar for his adaptation of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. has he retired?

David Newman, aside from being the son of the legendary Alfred Newman, played violin in the orchestra for most of John Williams's scores through the eighties. More importantly for this job, he's in his fifth decade as an orchestrator. Adapting Leonard Bernstein's music for this movie requires an orchestrator more than a composer, anyway.

 

[Tino]

That doesn't mean that the Coen Brothers' 2010 remake

Not really a remake of Wayne’s film but more of a faithful adaptation of Charles Portis’ novel.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Last non-Spielberg/Star Wars score was The Book Thief.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Last non-Spielberg/Star Wars score was The Book Thief.

You are absolutely right. Thanks for the correction. I literally forgot that movie existed and might not have known he did that score as I've never seen it.

That being said, this still demonstrates how infrequently Williams is working now because Book Thief was released in 2013 and before that Memoirs of a Geisha was in 2005. He did the Star Wars sequel trilogy to finish that series, and he'll still work with Spielberg because of their longstanding collaboration. But Williams has obviously taken a step back in terms of new work aside from that, which is totally fair. He is 89 years old now. I doubt working with another composer's iconic music on West Side Story was really of much interest to him at this time in his life.

That being said, I wonder if Williams will still score Indiana Jones 5 for James Mangold rather than Spielberg or if he would pass the baton to someone else.

 

[TravisR]

You are absolutely right. Thanks for the correction. I literally forgot that movie existed and might not have known he did that score as I've never seen it.

That being said, this still demonstrates how infrequently Williams is working now because Book Thief was released in 2013 and before that Memoirs of a Geisha was in 2005. He did the Star Wars sequel trilogy to finish that series, and he'll still work with Spielberg because of their longstanding collaboration. But Williams has obviously taken a step back in terms of new work aside from that, which is totally fair. He is 89 years old now. I doubt working with another composer's iconic music on West Side Story was really of much interest to him at this time in his life.

That being said, I wonder if Williams will still score Indiana Jones 5 for James Mangold rather than Spielberg or if he would pass the baton to someone else.

I sure hope he'll come back but I think it'll be like Rogue One (and 98% of Solo) where someone else does the score. If Spielberg were directing, I think he'd do it but since he's not and Indy isn't really like Star Wars in terms of music (with continuing themes over generations of characters which must have been a big reason Williams came back to do the sequel trilogy), I think he'll let someone else do it.

 

[ptb2017fr]

I don’t get the criticism of the original West Side Story as apart from Natalie Wood all the Sharks were of Hispanic origin or rather the actors had some ethnic ancestry. And it’s not IMO a masterpiece as it disappoints when I Robert Wise took over and pulled it off the streets and into the studio. The Jerome Robbins directed sequences on the streets were so fresh and authentic.

 

[Matt Hough]

Except that Jerome Robbins also directed "America" and "Cool," both of which are danced on soundstage sets.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Yes, the division of labor wasn't on location vs. sound stages. If it involved dancing, then it was probably directed by Robbins. If it didn't involve dancing, it was probably directed by Wise.