Steven Spielberg's WEST SIDE STORY - News & Discussion Thread- Page 86

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 8:24pm

Ariana has been heavily embraced by the industry.  The Oscar is hers on Sunday March 27, 2022.  

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 10:11pm

Finally watched it and enjoyed it. Beautifully remade/re-imagined. In the end I think I still prefer the original but as "re-makes" go, this is probably one of, if not the best I have seen. The use of a lot of Spanish (and with no subtitles) was a brilliant and very authentic choice. Those of us who do not speak Spanish didn't really need translation as we could pretty much guess what was being said. That credit goes to Kushner and Spielberg. This version did not hit me as emotionally as the original did but it was incredibly acted and BEAUTIFULLY directed and shot. How Mike Faist has not been nominated for every award for Supporting Actor is beyond me. He gave a STELLAR performance.

Updated On: 3/13/22 at 10:11 PM

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 3:24am

Here's Ariana DeBose's wonderful acceptance speech at the BAFTAs ...

(And Cindy Tolan won a BAFTA for beautifully casting ''West Side Story'' )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdXIuhLR2tk

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 03:24 AM

[BJR]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 7:32am

It's still wild to me the Oscars and Tonys don't have a casting category.

I get that it might be tricky to figure out how to evaluate, but for the Tonys especially, the nominating committee isn't that large and for both awards, I'm sure they could find a way.

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:50am

BJR said: "It's still wild to me the Oscars and Tonys don't have a casting category."

I think that's because casting isn't a singularly spearheaded process. It's a collaboration. It usually begins with the CA creating a breakdown, but then becomes a more "open" process that includes submissions from agents and actors.

The CA will hold the auditions, but then, based on the audition process, producer(s)/director decide who will get a callback, if necessary. Casting directors don't (singularly) make booking decisions. That mostly falls on producer(s)/directior.

It's possible that an actor's agent, or the actor themself could be the most (or just as) responsible for getting the final booking depending on their talent/agressiveness in regards to getting an audition with the CA.

The way I see it, the CA is an important role, but they act as more of a catalyst in the entire process.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 12:28pm

Precisely.  “Casting by” credit is a formality.  That person wasn’t responsible for casting every single actor on that project.  Many times an actor joins a project directly via the director or producer.  A casting director handles the process of the vast scope of a project but they by no means are responsible for every person cast.  A friend of mine was cast on a current hit TV series and he was cast directly by the producers on a random office meeting while attending the casting on another project.  The casting director on his show never once met him.  

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 12:56am

Here's Cindy Tolan's classy acceptance speech for casting ''WSW'' at the BAFTAs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Tq_qUz0OE

Updated On: 3/16/22 at 12:56 AM

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 3/17/22 at 8:09pm

BAFTA nominee Mike Faist, interviewed on the red carpet, in London

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JzqKCszpV0

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 3/20/22 at 6:03pm

https://ew.com/awards/west-side-story-rachel-zegler-not-invited-oscars-2022/

West Side Story star Rachel Zegler says she wasn't invited to the Oscars

"I will root for West Side Story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did 3 years ago," Zegler says.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 3/20/22 at 7:58pm

Rachel should be there. I suppose this can happen when they have ten movies for Best Picture.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/20/22 at 8:06pm

Jay Lerner-Z said: "Rachel should be there. I suppose this can happen when they have ten movies for Best Picture."

Odd she wasn’t at least asked to present.  I hope Rita and Ariana aren’t the only cast members at the Oscars.  

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 7:04pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Jay Lerner-Z said: "Rachel should be there. I suppose this can happen when they have ten movies for Best Picture."

Odd she wasn’t at least asked to present. I hope Rita and Ariana aren’t the only cast members at the Oscars. "

I’m finding this no invite drama all a bit disingenuous! I’m a little surprised Rachel hasn’t been invited but apparently numbers of guests are down because of covid restrictions so they obviously couldn’t invited the entire main casts of nominated shows like previously. Mike Faist isn’t invited either, and no doubt the same applies for the main cast of other nominated movies. 

I know Rachel was only replying to someone initially but she’s definitely fuelled the drama with tweets thanking her fans for their support and hoping for a miracle etc, lol
 

 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 8:25am

WestEndGal said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Jay Lerner-Z said: "Rachel should be there. I suppose this can happen when they have ten movies for Best Picture."

Odd she wasn’t at least asked to present. I hope Rita and Ariana aren’t the only cast members at the Oscars. "

I’m finding this no invite drama all a bit disingenuous! I’m a little surprised Rachel hasn’t been invited but apparently numbers of guests are down because of covid restrictions so they obviously couldn’t invited the entire main casts of nominated shows like previously. Mike Faist isn’t invited either, and no doubt the same applies for the main cast of other nominated movies.

I know Rachel was only replying to someone initially but she’s definitely fuelled the drama with tweets thanking her fans for their support and hoping for a miracle etc, lol


"

I totally agree. I think there are other people who weren’t invited as well-who are heavily involved in their films-and they’re not invited. But they’re not running to social media to thank everyone for being so upset that they’re not invited. Seems a bit over dramatic now. She’s starting to bug me. I know she was just answering a question, but again, I agree with you. It’s become bigger than it needs to be and I also don’t think we’re being told the whole story because if she wanted to go, I’m pretty sure Speilberg could’ve talked to the Academy or Disney so she could. I really think there’s more to it and we’re not being told everything. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 9:14am

I would imagine Spielberg was part of the decision making team for WSS determining who would get to go.  I don't think it's being played as a big deal at all.   (But I don't follow actors on social media, so maybe it is.)

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 9:25am

hearthemsing22 said: "WestEndGal said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Jay Lerner-Z said: "Rachel should be there. I suppose this can happen when they have ten movies for Best Picture."

Odd she wasn’t at least asked to present. I hope Rita and Ariana aren’t the only cast members at the Oscars. "

I’m finding this no invite drama all a bit disingenuous! I’m a little surprised Rachel hasn’t been invited but apparently numbers of guests are down because of covid restrictions so they obviously couldn’t invited the entire main casts of nominated shows like previously. Mike Faist isn’t invited either, and no doubt the same applies for the main cast of other nominated movies.

I know Rachel was only replying to someone initially but she’s definitely fuelled the drama with tweets thanking her fans for their support and hoping for a miracle etc, lol


"

I totally agree. I think there are other people who weren’t invited as well-who are heavily involved in their films-and they’re not invited. But they’re not running to social media to thank everyone for being so upset that they’re not invited. Seems a bit over dramatic now. She’s starting to bug me. I know she was just answering a question, but again, I agree with you. It’s become bigger than it needs to be and I also don’t think we’re being told the whole story because if she wanted to go, I’m pretty sure Speilberg could’ve talked to the Academy or Disney so she could. I really think there’s more to it and we’re not being told everything."

Huh.

I can completely empathize with her. "Disingenuous"? I don't feel that way. Frustratingly disappointed seems more accurate. I don't feel she's being over dramatic, or fueling any drama. Not at all. 

I see nothing negative about thanking her fans who share in her disappointment. This is/was a HUGE event in her career (attending the Oscars for an acclaimed movie that she starred in), but because of COVID, she and others cannot collectively celebrate the achievement. It never could be, but if it were me, I'd be devastated.

All she did was thank those who shared in her disappointment. What I find "disingenuous" and "over dramatic" are the negative implications you both wrote.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 12:30pm

Turns out Disney didn’t authorize her to leave London where she’s currently filming SNOW WHITE.  The risk of her traveling to Los Angeles and getting sick and shutting down production is too much of a risk.  She attended the BAFTA Awards as it was held in London.

There ya go.  Nothing else to see here, folks.  

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 1:23pm

John Adams said: "hearthemsing22 said: "WestEndGal said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Jay Lerner-Z said: "Rachel should be there. I suppose this can happen when they have ten movies for Best Picture."

Odd she wasn’t at least asked to present. I hope Rita and Ariana aren’t the only cast members at the Oscars. "

I’m finding this no invite drama all a bit disingenuous! I’m a little surprised Rachel hasn’t been invited but apparently numbers of guests are down because of covid restrictions so they obviously couldn’t invited the entire main casts of nominated shows like previously. Mike Faist isn’t invited either, and no doubt the same applies for the main cast of other nominated movies.

I know Rachel was only replying to someone initially but she’s definitely fuelled the drama with tweets thanking her fans for their support and hoping for a miracle etc, lol


"

I totally agree. I think there are other people who weren’t invited as well-who are heavily involved in their films-and they’re not invited. But they’re not running to social media to thank everyone for being so upset that they’re not invited. Seems a bit over dramatic now. She’s starting to bug me. I know she was just answering a question, but again, I agree with you. It’s become bigger than it needs to be and I also don’t think we’re being told the whole story because if she wanted to go, I’m pretty sure Speilberg could’ve talked to the Academy or Disney so she could. I really think there’s more to it and we’re not being told everything."

Huh.

I can completely empathize with her. "Disingenuous"? I don't feel that way. Frustratingly disappointed seems more accurate. I don't feel she's being over dramatic, or fueling any drama. Not at all.

I see nothing negative about thanking her fans who share in her disappointment. This is/was a HUGE event in her career (attending the Oscars for an acclaimed movie that she starred in), but because of COVID, she and others cannot collectively celebrate the achievement. It never could be, but if it were me, I'd be devastated.

All she did was thank those who shared in her disappointment. What I find "disingenuous" and "over dramatic" are the negative implications you both wrote."

Disingenuous?

Sounds like people projecting their own cr@p on someone else's intentions is more like it. 

 

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 2:15pm

AND… things turned around.  See ya Saturday, Zegler.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/rachel-zegler-oscars-presenter-ticket-exclusive-1235116461/

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 4:10pm

This whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Now they have to rearrange the whole shoot so she can go? She either should have been invited in the first place, or…I don’t know. But it seems a little selfish? Not projecting my stuff onto anyone. It just…I don’t know. Not a fan of how this played out. 

[bear88]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 6:12pm

Rachel Zegler is 20. Who wouldn’t want to go, at any age, because her first film was nominated for an Academy Award? She answered a question on social media. It turned into a minor thing. Considering some of other presenters (Tony Hawk? Shaun White?), she certainly seems like an obvious choice to hand out an award.

Weren’t the Oscars supposed to be showcasing its new, diverse stars? 

This doesn’t seem worth getting annoyed about.

[Globefan]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 6:17pm

They probably realized it was a bad look, and scrambled to fix it 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 6:55pm

bear88 said: "Rachel Zegler is 20. Who wouldn’t want to go, at any age, because her first film was nominated for an Academy Award? She answered a question on social media. It turned into a minor thing. Considering some of other presenters (Tony Hawk? Shaun White?), she certainly seems like an obvious choice to hand out an award.

Weren’t the Oscars supposed to be showcasing its new, diverse stars?

This doesn’t seem worth getting annoyed about."

Exactly! And those getting annoyed about it on social media are telling on themselves. Like, how is this outcome even affecting  them?

And at the end of the day this was the right thing to do. There are people invited that weren’t in any recent films or are not even nominees.

Also this: she’s the star of a film thats received 7 nominations and if it’s all about inclusivity and diversity then she as a Latinx actress should have been invited to begin with PERIODT.

 

Updated On: 3/22/22 at 06:55 PM

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 7:13pm

I agree with Bear88 and CarlosAlberto 1000%. The Oscars were inviting a skateboarder and a snowboarder to present, but not the Latina star of Spielberg's 7-time Oscar-nominated ''West Side Story''? (I also believe Zegler, a Golden Globe winner, should've been up for Best Actress. And in my ideal universe, ''West Side Story'' would've been a giant hit and gotten twice as many Oscar nominations ...)

Updated On: 3/22/22 at 07:13 PM

[Lilly7]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 8:00pm

It’s worth pointing out that Rachel’s lack of invite came from Disney, not the Oscars directly. The Oscars allocate a certain number of tickets to each studio and that’s how folks that aren’t nominees or presenters are invited. Even now she’s attending as a presenter, not an invitee, so it’s not a one-to-one situation where non-film folks like Shaun White stole her seat, but more so because Disney prioritized someone else over her. It’s silly since they could capitalize on her attendance for press for Snow White. Even if they didn't want to shut down filming just for her to attend, they should have at least given her the courtesy to decline the invite. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 8:36am

The thing is, they *always* invite random people to the Oscars. So those talking about Shaun White and The Rock…that’s kind of not the point here. I don’t understand why she had to make this public. I KNOW she was answering a fans question, but taking it to the “praying for a miracle” part…I appreciated her as an actor before, but this was a bit much.