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OT: Spielberg seeks to remake "West Side Story"

posted 7 years ago by ecarle (14979)
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Spielberg has announced that "West Side Story" "is on my mind." The trade press says that means he wants to remake it. He's actually hired one of his favorite screenwriters, Tony Kushner(Lincoln, Munich) to work on the adapation.

So this is a "sorta real" story , and of some interest -- even in an on-topic way.

For West Side Story came out in 1961, just a year after Psycho and thus in its "age range" and even shares a key player: Simon Oakland, shrink in Psycho, cop in WSS.

The 1961 WSS was adapted from the Broadway book by Ernest "North by Northwest" Lehman, too.

Could Spielberg's West Side Story be Van Sant's Psycho all over again?

I doubt it. Unlike landmark shock material like Psycho, which wasn't so shocking in 1998, West Side Story is a musical, and those get "revived" on Broadway all the time. Its like time travel.

I suppose a key question is whether Spielberg would update the material to today's gangs and change the ethnicities, or go nostalgic with white versus Puerto Rican gangs?

It all remains to be seen. Spielberg says he loves the score, the songs, the music, so I doubt those would change.

One more thing: the original WSS won 10 Oscars, and is used as a key example of how Once Upon a Time, the Oscar went to big box office hits known by all. Does Spielberg want to take on such Oscar power?

We shall see.

[–] liscarkat (18404) 6 years ago

Political correctness and the lack of interest today in that type of music will prevent this from ever happening, unless drastic changes were made to the story and the score. In that case, it would no longer be "West Side Story".

[–] mplo (2356) 6 years ago

Therein lies the problem. Drastic changes would be made to the very story of West Side Story itself, thus rendering totally unbelievable. Grittier and harsher doesn't mean better, either.

[–] swanstep (2715) 6 years ago

Baby Driver, Ansel Elgort is Spielberg's Tony (the Richard Beymer role).

[–] ecarle (14979) 6 years ago

Baby Driver, Ansel Elgort is Spielberg's Tony (the Richard Beymer role).

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And so...it becomes reality.

Its funny about Richard Beymer. I've always used him as an example of whom Anthony Perkins would have become if he had NOT played Norman Bates...a young ingénue of limited appeal who would fade out as he aged. Norman made Perkins "scary and special" -- and moved him into a lifelong TYPE of fame apart from his personality as Anthony Perkins. It was as if "Norman Bates has been cast in Catch 22," not Perkins. David Thomson wrote that Anthony Perkins "was never a star," but he really kinda WAS: a special actor famous for a special role that informed the entire rest of his career(even when he WASN'T playing Norman in those three sequels.) A star of a special sort (and one equated with Karloff, Lugosi, and Price...though he only really did one horror role.)

But back to Richard Beymer. WSS is his famous work, his one for the ages...and now it will be a role played by another. Ansel Elgort is pretty famous from Baby Driver(a movie that went from very hot to very cold as quickly as Kevin Spacey became untouchable); its a good start.

From what I've read so far, it SOUNDS like WSS will go "period" -- the 50's -- when a "white gang versus a Puerto Rican gang" is more believable, as it was. And weirdly enough, more INNOCENT, even though young people die of violence here.

As I've noted before...Simon Oakland went from one famous movie(Psycho) in 1960 to another famous movie(West Side Story) in 1961. Robert Forster played the psychiatrist in the remake of Psycho. Shall Forster play the cop in the remake of West Side Story? (Might be a problem given that Van Sant's Psycho was out 20 years ago!)

[–] mplo (2356) 6 years ago

Ansel Elgort doesn't have that good or strong a voice, nor does he exude any charm, personality, or believability. Neither do Camila Cabello or the other woman that Spielberg has already chosen for the cast for his re-make of West Side Story.

Just because Steven Spielberg busted his hump for 15 years in order to get the rights to the film West Side Story doesn't make this a good thing, imho.

[–] mplo (2356) 6 years ago

Frankly, I think that the 1961 film version of West Side Story is in much too special a class by itself to justify a re-make by anybody, including Steven Spielberg.

Nobody and/or nothing can take the place of the cast, the musical score, the photography and costumes, and the beautifully-choreographed dancing by Jerome Robbins.

Very few re-makes of older films, if any, come out good. They're generally terrible. It would be one thing if Steve Spielberg and Tony Kushner were to create an original movie of their own, that was based on a similar theme to "West Side Story", but the fact that he's chosen to re-make it to ostensibly make it more accessible to younger viewers is pure malarkey. The best way to introduce West Side Story to younger generations is for a real genuine restoration of the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, along with more frequent national re-releases into movie theatres, both independent and mainstream, throughout the United States.

I also think that a re-make of the film West Side Story would destroy what's really great about it, and take away much of its idealism by making it a grittier film, with more intense hatred. I already don't like the way in which the cast to Steve Spielberg's re-make of the film West Side Story is shaping up, either. None of the cast that Spielberg has chosen so far have any charm, personality, or believability, or very good voices. They're not that attractive-looking, and the two women he's chosen are totally doggy-looking, to boot.

[–] swanstep (2715) 6 years ago

and the two women he's chosen are totally doggy-looking, to boot.

No female casting news yet AFAIK. Are you referring to actresses, e.g., Glee's Naya Rivera, who've publicly expressed interest in being cast?

[–] mplo (2356) 6 years ago

I'm referring to both Naya Rivera and Camila Cabello. Neither of them have good voices, either. Moreover, they both look like ex-hippie/flower-children, to boot.

[–] mplo (2356) 6 years ago

Reviving "West Side Story" on stage is one thing. It's way easier to do that. Re-making a movie, without decimating what's good about the original, is a whole lot more difficult, if not impossible/

What concerns me is if and when Spielberg's re-make of West Side Story does come out, the younger generations who've never seen the original 1961 film version of WSS, but end up seeing the new "West Side Story" (i.e. Spielberg's re-make of it) will think that the new West Side Story is the cat's meow, and therefore result in either the old, original film West Side Story being relegated to the dustbin of history, being available only on DVD, on television, home video, or on Blu-Ray DVD, and/or being totally suppressed by the studios, so that the original film version of West Side Story will never, ever be shown in any movie theatres again, even on occasion in revival or repertory movie theatres.

As a devout fan of this great golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic movie-musical, I do not wish to see any of those things happen. I'm totally against a re-make of the film West Side Story by anybody, including Steve Spielberg and Tony Kushner, who are clearly out to subvert the original film. I resent that.

[–] mplo (2356) 6 years ago

Frankly, I think that a re-make of the 1961 film "West Side Story" by ANYBODY, including Steve Spielberg and Tony Kushner, would totally subvert the original.