The announcement today that Ansel Elgort has been cast to play Tony in Steven Spielberg’s “updated” version of West Side Story, leads to SO MANY questions! In the original West Side Story, the gangs of disaffected youth were cool but not dangerous, except for an occasional rumble. But NOW the gangs like The Latin Kings or Harlem Crips are psychopathic criminals capable of unthinkable violence! Is there any room for a sweet romance? Personally, we fell in love with slick Bernardo in the original film and haven’t lost our taste for Latinos. We never forgot him in that purple shirt and black shiny hair at the big dance. Who could play THIS key role? Any suggestions? Is this remake an awful idea?
Photo: George Chakiris as Bernardo and the Sharks
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Our vote falls in the “awful idea” category. 🙁
But who is surprised? Poor Spielberg hasn’t had an ORIGINAL concept idea in at least decades–perhaps never.
Last we heard, he had announced his intention to remake the classic “Harvey.” (!!!) This, of course, came on the heels of the similary-themed, and WONDERFULLY-wrought (by a first-time director) “Lars And The Real Girl” back in 2007, so one can see where the sudden “inspiration” came from. Thank heavens that idea never went anywhere.
As to this latest, one has to know first how the term “updated” will be defined.
In these tiresome, agenda-ridden times, that term can mean that all the main characters are to be “binary non-conforming, with their pronouns determined only after preview audience polling before insertion in the final edit.” 😀
But even if S-berg sticks to the original concept, remember that WSS is a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set to music; and that’s already been done (and very skillfully so) with “Romeo + Juliet,” starring Leo De Caprio and Claine Danes 25(?) years ago.
So will this new film be a mish-mash retelling of THAT story?
Regarding Elgort, is he the one that Steven “discovered” at age 10 at a pool party or Bar Mitzvah? Or is that Ansel something-or-other?
Either way, we think this will be a leaden effort at best, and to put it bluntly, that’s largely due to Spielberg being something of a shameless hack–who is certainly not above theft of creativity: i.e., his “Poltergeist,” which shamelessly lifted the entire third act of the original “Amityville Horror.”
Add: A quick search indicates that Steven’s young protege (one of them, anyway) is Alden Ehrenreich.
The no talent Shia Lebeef is alleged to be S-bergs illegitimate son.
That would be cool if you would run into him at Century City or somewhere and get a recent pic.
yeah…………..F@GGOTS WERE INTRODUCED!!
Geez, not another reboot!
Whats next “citizen kane – the wonder years”?
Having seen the trailer of Spielberg’s upcoming film version of West Side Story, I was not impressed by what I saw. The Jets, the Sharks and their girls look more like wealthy suburban prep-school kids than two street gangs at war with each other, but, as a whole, the movie trailer for Spielberg looks too forbidding, too dark, the fighting too violent, the dancing too hyped up. and the back-drop scenes look far more like the tonier, wealthier parts of the city than the rough-and-rundown, impoverished parts of the city.
My hunch is that today’s film version of West Side Story will be too heavy, have profanity and more graphic and explicitly sexual scenes, and nothing seems to fit. As it whole, it feels totally wrong to me, and not at all like West Side Story. I can get a good idea of whether or not I’ll like a movie by viewing a trailer of it, and Spielberg’s upcoming film version of West Side Story is no exception.
Having said all of the above, and given what I’ve read/heard about Ansel Elgort, the guy who’s playing Tony in Spielberg’s West Side Story, I will be voting my pocketbook and not going to see it when it hits the movie theatres in mid-December of this year.