Spielberg’s West Side Story — Page 10

I am so thrilled with this cast! Rachel is an absolutely amazing choice for the role, and I've been rooting for her since she announced she was in the running! Ariana and Josh are also perfectly cast. So excited!

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "HOLY MOTHER ****

https://deadline.com/2019/01/steven-spielberg-west-side-story-cast-ariana-debose-david-alvarez-josh-andres-rivera-rachel-zegler-1202535002/"



YES ARIANA!!!

I am thrilled with this casting. Not only because these actors are naturals in singing and the perfect types for the roles which will probably result in scenes where they sing and it actually works.

There is something very special going on on top of that. For the first time in over 25 years, they actually have "cast" characters in a musical movie. I believe that these people are truly the best people for these role and character and talent demands. The last time this was done was in 1995's the Lion king, and these were only voices. Really looking for the best person for the role. This is the opposite of the process that has been done for the last decades in musical movies, which was: collecting a handful of names, straight actors who have no real skills in this artform and have no idea how to combine acting with singing (thinking that separating it is the same thing), and then decide which one of them is the most acceptable/least bad. Producers and directors seemed blinded.

I have always felt that this was a huge insult to thousands of actors, for example from the Broadway community, who spend all of their time dedicating to this artform and craft, making it as natural as possible. I have seen moments in Broadway shows that were extremely subtle and filmic, much more filmic than any of these films from the last 2 decades are. This language is very specific and most actors are unable to make it work. All these people had to see the essence and subtlety of the artform being butchered constantly. There have been people wo separated acting from song, instead of combining it and over-emoted to an absurd level (Hugh Jackman) which made the performance too Broadway parody, there have been people who looked and sounded like actors struggling with the material (Amanda Seyfried, Russel Crowe) and basically had been better off speaking instead of singing, but the real natural talents never got a chance.

Now, the people in West Side Story are all natural talents like this, with 3 unknowns from Broadway and 1 completely unknown newcomer in the lead.

These people will be stars. This is what musical moviemaking is about.

Edit: Aside from making the actual film feel much more truthful, it also makes the soundtrack more interesting if there is actual quality involved. I think this keeps the film alive, in 10, 20, 100 and 500 years. Compared, to let's say a Hugh Jackman or Russel Crowe, or Amanda Seyfried in Les Mis, or an Emma Watson in BATB or Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins. There is a reason why the soundtrack of Grease and the Sound of Music did and still do so well.

Updated On: 1/15/19 at 12:36 PM

Clearly there is a reason why he became an A-list director. His views.

But indeed, he doesn't seem as scared as the other musical movie directors (who get away with things that are actually bad). Probably because of his own name, the brand of WSS and his nose for quality. I like to think that last one was his main motivation.

Edit: This makes me wonder if Spielberg had to threaten the producers (who I believe clearly wanted Cabello), name, $$$ signs in eyes, not care for quality or suitability, or that the producers actually begin to understand what works and what does not and that that will translate to bigger success in the end, by creating a hype, new stars people are interested in, and durability.

Updated On: 1/15/19 at 12:58 PM

To me, the difference between him and let's say, Tom Hooper is the difference between a creator and a puppet.

Updated On: 1/16/19 at 06:49 PM

natashalost said: "CedricOates said: "Is Ariana Hispanic at all?"

Yes, she is Puerto Rican."

1. Didn’t know that 2. I love it 3. More representation. This is awesome.

Spielberg can consistently surprise. He also has the power to do whatever the f%&k he wants, and Kevin McCollum or anyone else isn't going to tell him otherwise.

Remember when he read a spec script called THE POST in February, decided to halt production on another film to make it, hired Meryl Streep & Tom Hanks, began shooting in May, and screened the final cut in November?

I'm so excited for this! The cast honestly looks great.

TonyTilli said: "Are there really so few actors in the world that the same person has to playboth Anita ANDDonna Summer, two women of completely different ethnic backgrounds?For me, that does not speak to the ability and range of the actress, but the inability of the creatives to free themselves from casting what they consider to be universally palatable, "ethnically ambiguous" talent. It is also a horrible example of Hollywood seeing race as only two options: White and Not White, instead of the varied, complex, and specific cultures and races that exist on this planet, like the onebeing presented explicitly in West Side Story."

Um.... DeBose is both Puerto Rican and African American. So, I'm not exactly sure what your problem is with her playing characters that share those ethnic backgrounds with her. She has said herself that she knows that she presents as black, but her father is Puerto Rican, and her mother is white. She has said that she does have "African-American lineage," as well as Italian. So, what is your problem exactly? That she doesn't look Puerto Rican enough? Or that she doesn't look African-American enough?

But DeBose is Puerto Rican. That's.. as plain and clear as it can get.

Janaenae said: "I don't see why she can't play both. She's a black-presenting woman living in America- she can quite easily relate to that experience in her portrayal of Donna Summer. She's actually Puerto-Rican and from a Spanish-speaking background- therefore she can relate her experiences in that manner. Ariana is not 'ethnically ambiguous'. There's no effort to hide or disguise who she is- it would only take a Google search. She is both Latina and black,Afro-Latina if you will. More than one-quarter of Latinos living in the USA identify as Afro-Latino andabout one-sixteenth in Puerto Rico do the same . It's not some rare minority that no one could ever recognize- it's a common identity among Latinos both living in the USA and in their home countries. And I fail to see how it would draw on the story. Tracey from Hairspray's character arc relies partially on her white privilege and being of any other race would have prevented her from getting ahead. But Debose is in fact Latina (her appearance does not contradict that). She'll have her Puerto-Rican surroundings, her Puerto Rican accent, the Spanish. I'm pretty sure people will pick up on the cues and be able surmise where she comes from. If anything- it can perhaps raise more awareness of the identity of kids from mixed backgrounds."

When used in terms of casting people for roles, “ethnically ambiguous” is a synonym for mixed-race, because their race is not clearly defined when you look at them, so therefore, she is ethnically ambiguous.



Afro-Latinas absolutely do exist, but Anita is not an Afro-Latina. She is a woman from Puerto Rico. While both Hispanic people and black people dealt with disparity and injustice in 1950s America, West Side Story is not telling the story of African Americans. Let the people dealing with the injustice tell their story, and let those who identify with that specific injustice see themselves on screen.



Viewers are not looking up the heritage of actor’s during movies. Film is a visual medium, and Ariana is visually closer to an African American than a Latina.

Y’all would scratch your head if Barack Obama, a half-white, African American presenting male played George Bush in a biopic (I’m speaking purely about race and not talking about their politics in this moment) so dont attack me for scratching my head at the fact that a studio decided that an African American presenting woman was more palatable for a movie than a Hispanic presenting woman.