By “the original” I meant the original musical West Side Story, not the original pre-Shakespeare story. Finding opposing groups is the least of their problems with this, if they are trying to update the musical into the present day.
It’s gonna be weird watching MS-13 and the Aryan Brotherhood square off at the school dance.
There’s already been a remake of Oklahoma!, with Hugh Jackman, although it was pretty much just a recording of a West End stage version. It got moved to Broadway, but Jackman wasn’t allowed to be in it (this was pretty much his first major role, before he was ever Wolverine); the cast thought it would get to do the first month on Broadway, but the excuse they were given was, the producers didn’t want to deny the “intended” American cast a chance at Tonys because the rules say that you have to be scheduled to be in the opening night cast to be eligible for an acting Tony.
Doesn’t Doc replace the priest in R&J? He tells Tony that Maria is dead, like the priest tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. Only it turns out to be wrong.
Will it be a period piece or updated? Gangs today trade in drugs and weapons, and I can’t see a modern gang wringing their hands over whether or not to bring a gun to a rumble. There’d just be a drive by and we’d be done by the end of Act One.
Still, it’s Spielberg, so I think we can trust him.
With walkie-talkies.
Not iPhones?
I’m leaning towards the former. The issue with modern film musicals is they usually just cast big names rather than people that actually sing and dance professionally. La La Land was painful, and I’ve got nothing against Gosling or Stone.
Yeah, the original movie cast Natalie Wood, but she held her own on the singing and pretty much avoided dancing.
Actually Natalie did little of her own singing, I believe it was Marni Nixon. Not a big fan of Marni, but that is who you heard. Same one who ruinously did My Fair Lady dubbing for Audrey.
Oh, I also thought La La Land was a grossly over-rated movie. And I like Stone, though not Gosling so much.
Yes, the degree of gang violence that people found extremely troubling then would be regarded as a minor scuffle in later decades. Bringing a gun to a rumble was the equivalent of going nuclear when everyone else was using switchblades, pipes, and chains.
I just saw a road show of West Side Story that was pretty true to the film and play. One of the best live plays I’ve ever seen.
I hope this new version works. They need to keep the score as much as possible; otherwise it’s not West Side Story.
Even Alice Cooper paid big credit to the score on Schools Out.
I’m curious about your comments on Nixon’s dubbing. Why was it “ruinous”? Neither Wood nor Hepburn could carry a tune in a bucket, and Nixon was an accomplished singer with tons of accolades.
I thought she was good enough in West Side Story, but Audrey had a much sweeter voice than Nixon. Listen to Moon River or Audrey’s Wouldn’t it be Luvly if you don’t believe me. I found Nixon’s style and voice to be without sweetness or emotion and a pale attempt at the great Julie Andrews. Technically Nixon was fine, but something major was missing.
Terrible audio/video quality here, but anybody remember In Living Color’s “remake”, “Crown Heights Story”?
MS-13 member falls in love with a leftist millennial attending NYU.
The dancing & singing scenes will be to die for.
It’s hard for me to imagine the remake working if it’s set in the present day. Maybe it’ll be a period piece, set in the 1950s like the other versions. Or even earlier, in the Civil War era, like Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. I wonder if Daniel Day-Lewis would be available for the role of Officer Krupke?
But then again, I’m no Spielberg. Or so my friends tell me.
From what I’ve read, the new movie is going to be set in the late 1950s, as was the original Broadway production.
Even set in the 1950’s.
I can’t see romanticizing gang members working. The public is too aware of gang violence, drug use, and crime. The 1950’s gangs were just as violent as today. They just used improvised weapons instead of todays high tech guns.
I like the original movie but it requires a big suspension of disbelief.
[quote=“Mister_Rik, post:33, topic:825205”]
Terrible audio/video quality here, but anybody remember In Living Color’s “remake”, “Crown Heights Story”?
[/QUOTE]The best parody was done by Mad magazine in 1963: East Side Story where they rethemed the movie as communists (led by Khrushchev) vs westerners (led by Kennedy)
I thought I read years ago that Officer Krupke had been removed, but I saw a production a couple of months ago and the song was in. Am I misremembering? Something about it being politically incorrect.
The song was left in, but some of the lyrics were changed to pass muster with the censors. IIRC, it went fromDear kindly social worker
They say, “Go earn some dough,”
Like be a soda jerker
Which means I’d be a schmoe.toDear kindly social worker
They say, “Go get a job,”
Like be a soda jerker
Which means I’d be a slob.
Similarly, in the ensemble reprise of Tonight, Anita’s part went fromHe’ll walk in hot and tired, so what?
No matter if he’s tired, as long as he’s hot.toHe’ll walk in hot and tired, poor dear.
No matter if he’s tired, as long as he’s here.