Steven Spielberg and West Side Story | An adventure in sacred land

Sixty years after the triumph of a film adaptation that has gone down in history, the legendary musical West Side Story sets out to conquer a new audience, this time under the aegis of Steven Spielberg. Respect and authenticity are the watchwords that have guided the craftsmen of this new version which, already, arouses praise.

Marc-André Lussier
Press

When the musical West Side Story premiered on stage on Broadway in 1957, the reception was very favorable, but not overwhelming. It was only when, four years later, it was adapted for cinema that it became legendary. Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins – the latter also signed the staging and choreography of the show on stage – this free transposition of Romeo and Juliet in the streets of New York also showcased unforgettable songs by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein. Winner of 10 Oscars, this film has long been ranked among the great masterpieces of cinema.

“Steven [Spielberg] asked me something completely crazy! Said screenwriter Tony Kushner (Angels in America) at a virtual press conference on Tuesday, which was also attended by filmmaker Steven Spielberg and actress Rita Moreno. ” West Side Story is such a masterpiece that I had a hard time at the beginning to imagine how one could go about it. ”

All the artisans involved in the project were well aware of venturing into sacred land, including Steven Spielberg. The latter, who entertained the idea of ​​wearing West Side Story on the screen for a long time, however, believed that such an important work should be presented to a new audience, in the manner of the great classical plays in the theater, especially since the themes addressed in this modern tragedy – racism, street gangs , urban violence – are still relevant today. So artisans quickly made the decision to keep history in the 1950s rather than transpose it to our time.

“There is nothing dated in the music of Leonard Bernstein or in the words of Stephen Sondheim,” remarks Tony Kushner, who has also already written the scripts for Munich and of Lincoln, two of the filmmaker’s previous films.

Concern for authenticity

Even if the neighborhoods in which the Anglo-Saxon Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks fought over territory have been completely transformed, Steven Spielberg says there are nevertheless enough places in New York, the Bronx, Queens and in Brooklyn in particular, where the buildings retain their period allure.

“It was important to me to seek authenticity,” he assures us. As much in terms of distribution – I didn’t want 30-year-old actors who play young people – as the setting in which they operate. There are hardly any digital effects in this film. We actually had to wipe out air conditioners, satellite dishes, and window bars on the computer, but that’s about it. We also had to remove the sweat from the dancers’ clothes because the painting America was filmed in a heatwave. The heat was unbearable! ”

This concern for authenticity is also reflected in the choice of actors, whose ethnicity, unlike the version from 60 years ago, matches that of the characters. Rachel Zegler (Maria), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Ariana DeBose (Anita) and David Alvarez (Bernardo) reprise the roles created on the big screen by Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris. The language of Cervantes is also much more present. These passages are also not subtitled.

“When they find themselves in the private sphere, the characters switch from English to Spanish,” explains the filmmaker. When she is in public, Anita however asks everyone to speak English to please New Yorkers and better assimilate. It would have been disrespectful in my opinion to translate a language that exists on its own. I also like the idea that English-speaking and Spanish-speaking spectators can come together in the same room, who may not react in the same way in the same places. ”

Rita Moreno passes the torch

Two of the architects of the first film version are from the new adventure. Stephen Sondheim, sadly disappeared on November 26 at the age of 91, was also the first to whom Steven Spielberg shared his project. The legendary artist, who wrote the lyrics for the songs of West Side Story at the age of 24, got involved a lot.

“I already knew Stephen because I produced Sweeney todd, Tim Burton’s film inspired by his musical, recalls the director ofAND As soon as I was able to get the rights to West Side Story, I contacted him. When we recorded the songs in the studio for the shoot, he was by my side for three weeks, five days a week. What an honor to have been able to work with him! ”

Rita Moreno, who will celebrate her 90th birthday on December 11, has also been called upon for a role specially created for the one who, in 1961, played the fiery Anita on the screen. Of Puerto Rican origin, she was also the only Latin American actress in a cast where white actors were made up to make people believe in the Puerto Rican origins of their characters.

When screenwriter Tony Kushner told his partner about the project, the latter immediately gave him the idea to delete the character of Doc, owner of the restaurant where the Jets gang meet, and to replace him with a new character. feminine that Rita Moreno would embody. Valentina thus finds herself intervening in one of the harshest scenes of the story, the one where Anita is assaulted and comes close to being raped.

“I wish I was still young so I could play Anita again, but I really like the idea of ​​passing the torch,” said the actress. They wrote me a beautiful scene, but I admit having had a strange feeling while playing it. It was funny to me to give the answer to Ariana in a scene that I had already performed myself. I also knew how difficult this scene was for her. ”

Make history at the Oscars?

If ever the rumors are confirmed, it could be that Rita Moreno, winner of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1962 thanks to her performance as Anita, will be in the running for the next Academy Awards again. In which case the actress would break some records. In addition to being the oldest to be cited in 94 years of history, Rita Moreno would be the first Latin American actress to be cited twice. She would also smash the record set by Katharine Hepburn, while 60 years would separate her first nomination from her last (48 years for Miss Hepburn). Steven Spielberg could get a 12^e combination of “best film and best achievement” in career and thus approach William Wyler, still at the top with his 13 combinations for the same film in these two categories.

West Side Story will start on December 10