Exclusive: Steven Spielberg on directing West Side Story, Stephen Sondheim and Rita Moreno
Finally hitting theaters on U.S. theaters on December 10, 2021 from The Walt Disney Company is Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the musical “West Side Story.”
Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Tony Kushner, “West Side Story” tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. This reimagining of the beloved musical stars Ansel Elgort (Tony); Rachel Zegler (María); Ariana DeBose (Anita); David Alvarez (Bernardo); Mike Faist (Riff); Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino); Ana Isabelle (Rosalía); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); and Rita Moreno (as Valentina, who owns the corner store in which Tony works). Moreno – one of only three artists to be honored with Academy Award, Emmy, GRAMMY, Tony and Peabody Awards – also serves as one of the film’s executive producers.
For Spielberg, having tackled plenty of films from different genres for over 50 years with films such as
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Color Purple, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, and Lincoln to name a few, this is probably one of the biggest challenges of his career. Spielberg is re-imagining a film that not only won 10 Academy Awards and is regarded as one of the greatest musical films of all time. With the recent death of famed composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who had given his blessing when Spielberg first obtained the rights, and having Rita Morena, who originated the film role of Anita and won an Oscar for her performance, in the film (but in a different role), Spielberg started off with roses when putting together a cast of newcomers. In speaking with BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales, Spielberg goes over his direction, doing his first musical and working with Morena.