Steven Spielberg, keep ben Platt away from the west side story remake- Page 3

[lovebwy]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 10:30am

Really? I'm the ONLY one who thinks Ben's version is amazing? I'm NOT saying he should be cast as Tony, though he would certainly be no worse than Richard Beymer.

This version actually made me cry. I've never cried at Maria before, or even thought it was possible. It's a beautiful, naturalistic performance.

I have to concede; I don't go to nearly as many shows as most of you. I'm LA based, and poor. It's certainly possible that my taste isn't as refined as some of yours. I'm slightly freaked out to be so out of step, here!

 

 

Updated On: 3/16/18 at 10:30 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 10:31am

Well shoot...

Now I like Cory Cott as Tony, too (thanks for the link - here's the video for those who want to stay in the thread). I especially liked that little, astounded laugh he incorporated towards the end. I'm still liking Hedges' contrasting coloring though... Hmmm.

 

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 10:40am

EllieRose2 said: "Lucas isn't fit for Tony, he needs to be conventionally handsome."

Why is that, do 'ya think?

 

[newintown]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 10:43am

What's the probability of this movie actually being made?

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 10:53am

EllieRose2 said: "Yeah, Corey Cott was amazing. During the New Year's Eve concert at Lincoln Center, Aaron Tveit sung the most beautiful "Maria" I have ever heard. It was received the biggest applause of the night. Jeremy, Aaron, or Corey. Lucas isn't fit for Tony, he needs to be conventionally handsome."

I don't know if Tony has to be "conventionally" handsome or that Maria needs to be "conventionally" pretty but both actors need to have a look or something extra that makes the broad audience believe that there is something about them that made the other take instant notice in that crowded gymnasium. The spark, chemistry, and follow-through to declarations of love requires that the actors have the necessary acting skills (I prefer a semi-controlled rawness to make the chemistry palatable) and of course the musical numbers need actual singer-actors who can handle the material. However, if the audience isn't convinced that Tony and Maria are people that the other would instantly be sexually attracted to at the beginning, then the whole thing doesn't work. I think there are different looks and dynamics that can make it work depending on the casting and chemistry between the actors playing Tony and Maria but it still has to be convincing.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 10:56am

Dave28282 said: "VintageSnarker said: "lipsynching. But that doesn't mean making a bunch of new terrible choices."

I actually think lipsynching is essential for a musical movie.

I should clarify that I mean lipsynching to someone else's voice. It takes me out of both West Side Story and My Fair Lady. I find them almost unwatchable. I do think Deborah Kerr pulls it off in The King and I for whatever reason.

[Sertzo19]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 11:04am

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could have sworn I read somewhere that Ansel Elgort was the front runner for this role? The first person that popped into my mind while reading this thread was Casey Cott, so I'm glad to see some of you have already thrown his name out there. I feel like he's recognizable enough where people would go see him in a movie that could then potentially catapult him into a movie star and he looks age appropriate. At least on Riverdale, he still convincingly passes as a high schooler. 

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 11:14am

Sertzo19 said: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could have sworn I read somewhere that Ansel Elgort was the front runner for this role? "

...and he has no issues with nudity.

Wait. ...Why did I say that?

 

[MCfan2]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 11:31am

Thanks for the link to Corey's version! I'd hoped that would turn up online!

lovebwy said: "Really? I'm the ONLY one who thinks Ben's version is amazing? I'm NOT saying he should be cast as Tony, though he would certainly be no worse than Richard Beymer.

This version actually made me cry. I've never cried at Maria before, or even thought it was possible. It's a beautiful, naturalistic performance.

I have to concede; I don't go to nearly as many shows as most of you. I'm LA based, and poor. It's certainly possible that my taste isn't as refined as some of yours. I'm slightly freaked out to be so out of step, here!"

Don't be down on yourself. You're not the only one who liked it, judging by other responses here. And even if you were, that's okay. Maybe you saw or heard something most of us missed in it, and if so, there's nothing wrong with that! We like what we like.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 11:37am

 

Ben hits the high note--can anyone tell if he's singing it in the original key?

 

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 11:39am

What about Taron Egerton? Judging from his performance in Sing!, he could probably do the role justice vocally, he's young, and he's something of a name. Sure, he'd have to fake an American accent, but that seems like a minor thing when you consider movie musical casting.

Also, Platt could probably benefit from working on his vibrato, IMO.

 

 

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 11:47am

Richard Breymer has been brought up a few times. His singing was dubbed and not him, was it not?

[The Other One]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 11:51am

"Richard Breymer has been brought up a few times. His singing was dubbed and not him, was it not?"

Yes, he was dubbed by a singer named Jimmy Bryant, who can also be heard dubbing James Fox in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and the playboy teenager in "The Telephone Hour" in "Bye Bye Birdie."

His singing voice sounds a lot like Beymer's speaking voice, so I never found the dubbing very apparent in the film.  I never found Maria's dubbing apparent, either, except for the brief bit where she reprises "Somewhere" in the schoolyard after Tony has been shot.

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:10pm

Sertzo19 has it. I would honestly be shocked if Spielberg DIDNT cast Angel Elgort as Tony. He's a star on the rise, swoonworthy enough to bring people to the movie, not established enough to demand an outrageous salary, and he can sing. I'd be pretty happy with him in the role. 

[JasonM12480]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:11pm

PalJoey said: "

Benhits the high note--can anyone tell if he's singing it in the original key?

"

Yes, he is singing it in the original key.  

[lovebwy]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:16pm

Richard Beymer hates himself in West Side Story. He never shows to reunions, and refuses to talk about it.

Natalie Wood wanted Warren Beatty to play Tony. They were dating at the time. Natalie didn't get her way, so consequently Wood was mean to Beymer, and after filming started campaigned to have him fired. She would only speak to him when they were filming.

This led to him being very self conscious and nervous on the set. And I don't know what Robert Wise was thinking, he appears to not have been directed at all.

Here's what he had to say:

“I was miserable in West Side Story,” he recalls. “They really miscast me. I came from the mid-West; what they really needed was a guy that was street smart. The first time I saw the movie, I had to walk out. I looked like the biggest fruit that ever walked on to film. My character was so weak.”

And now you know                    the rest of the story.

 

 

 

 

[MCfan2]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:18pm

Aw, poor Beymer! I think he's rather charming in the film. It's not the greatest performance ever, but it's not THAT bad.

[Peter2]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:28pm

Ben Platt is an incredibly talented guy, with a great gift for connecting with audiences. But his habit of turning everything he sings into a kind of speech-song to me seems fundamentally misguided (something to grow out of, maybe) and ultimately a distracting mannerism. It's like he keeps trying to show us what a great regular guy he is. His casual relationship with rhythm in particular drives me crazy. I wish his coach could get him to trust his singing voice more (he's got a good one!) and respect the printed page (does he read music?). Bernstein was a great songwriter for the theater, and he notated his music very precisely. In a song like "Maria," Tony can basically just stand there, throw his full voice into the melody, and let the music do the acting for him. It will just soar thrillingly!

[lovebwy]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:32pm

MCfan2 said: "Aw, poor Beymer! I think he's rather charming in the film. It's not the greatest performance ever, but it's not THAT bad."

Go watch it. He's completely out of his element. He's just not Tony at all. Watch his walk during the Maria scene. Sorry, but I see what he means with the "fruit" comment.

Frankly, I don't think Wood was that great either. It shows you how great the movie is that it overcame two weak leads. What makes it great are Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, and George Chakaris. And the Robbins dancing scenes, and of course, the music.

 

 

 

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:40pm

Just looked up a video of Ansel Elgort singing and, yup, I would be more than fine with that casting. I'll worry more about Maria, given Hollywood's difficult history of casting good classical sopranos.

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:50pm

I'm not concerned about Ben Platt at all. I am much more concerned that Spielberg with probably cast Katherine McPhee as Maria or Anita. That's the casting everyone should crap themselves over.

[The Other One]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:52pm

lovebwy said: "Richard Beymer hates himself in West Side Story. He never shows to reunions, and refuses to talk about it.

Natalie Wood wanted Warren Beatty to play Tony. They were dating at the time. Natalie didn't get her way, so consequently Wood was mean to Beymer, and after filming started campaigned to have him fired. She would only speak to him when they were filming.

This led to him being very self conscious and nervous on the set. And I don't know what Robert Wise was thinking, he appears to not have been directed at all.

Here's what he had to say:

“I was miserable in West Side Story,” he recalls. “They really miscast me. I came from the mid-West; what they really needed was a guy that was street smart. The first time I saw the movie, I had to walk out. I looked like the biggest fruit that ever walked on to film. My character was so weak.”

And now you know the rest of the story."

Not all of this is entirely true.  The producers had been interested in Beatty for Tony, and it was when they watched footage of "Splendor In The Grass" that they decided he was wrong for the role but Natalie would make a good Maria.  She herself was not yet dating Beatty, and hoped for Robert Wagner(!) (no further comment) to play Tony.  Her career was rising and his had hit a plateau, and it was taking a toll on their relationship.  They split not long after filming wrapped.

She was, by all accounts, very cold to Richard Beymer throughout the shoot.  He had been up for Sal Mineo's role in "Rebel Without A Cause" and she had known him back then, so her attitude may have stemmed from that time.  

Beymer is miscast in the film, and truly not up to the rest of it, but some of the problem may lie with the role itself.  Tony has great songs, but he is also saddled with some of the tritest dialogue in the script.  It's a shame.  I'm sure it hurt his career in the long run.  

Ironically, Natalie and her agents had pursued WSS before she went into production for "Splendor In The Grass," and Lynn Stalmaster thought she would be a poor choice because she had been around so long and hadn't had a hit since "Rebel."  By the time they offered her the role, "Splendor" had raised her asking price considerably and they got her for a lot more than they would have spent if they'd hired her initially.

Ansel and Lucas are good considerations for the role if a new film is made.  I'm just not sure a new film is a good idea. The material, great as it is, is very much of its time.  But I love it and wish all involved the best.


 

 

Updated On: 3/16/18 at 12:52 PM

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:53pm

Sure Richard Beymer probably didn't look like the New York-bred former street gang leader that we expect, but he sure was romantic and dreamy in the Maria number. Bryant's voice also matched his voice well, which I didn't feel for Marni Nixon's voice on Natalie Wood's face (she sounded too old to me). Looking it up on YouTube, I think Beymer should forgive himself somewhat because the one video with over 5 million views have comments today that seem overwhelmingly positive as does the other, higher quality video.

[haterobics]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 12:55pm

This thread is becoming quite a lot for Spielberg to parse. Can someone sum it up in a nice bulleted list for him? There is no use having this power in casting if we're not going to take it seriously.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 1:02pm

Beymer became a better actor by the time he was on Twin Peaks in 1990.

And even still better in the recent Twin Peaks revival. It's cool that he continued to hone his craft as the years went on.