It’s difficult to think about what’s going to happen 9 months from now, but in December, the world is going to see Steven Spielberg’s upcoming remake of “West Side Story.” And even though studios are scrambling to figure out what to do over the next few months due to a global pandemic, the filmmaker is ready to give film fans a bunch of new pictures (via Vanity Fair) of his highly-anticipated film adaptation of the Broadway classic.
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And despite the fact that “West Side Story” has been told in various ways over the course of decades, Spielberg believes that the story is just as relevant today as it was before, and that’s the exact reason that he was drawn to the film.
“This story is not only a product of its time, but that time has returned, and it’s returned with a kind of social fury,” the filmmaker said. “I really wanted to tell that Puerto Rican, Nuyorican experience of basically the migration to this country and the struggle to make a living, and to have children, and to battle against the obstacles of xenophobia and racial prejudice.”
The new pictures that are released show a very polished, beautiful production for the film. But honestly, did anyone doubt that Spielberg wouldn’t make a visually entertaining and well-made film? He’s been doing that since the ‘70s. And even though the film is clearly embracing the period setting of the story, the images show that there’s something very modern about this version of “West Side Story.”
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Spielberg’s “West Side Story” stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler as the star-crossed lovers of the story. They’re surrounded by a large ensemble cast, which features (according to Spielberg) 20 of the 33 Puerto Rican characters played by Puerto Rican folks or those of Puerto Rican descent.
As mentioned, we’re still months away from seeing the film for ourselves, but you wouldn’t be wrong to get a little excited by seeing the pictures below:
