After years and years of saying he would, Steven Spielberg is finally directing his adaptation of the Broadway classic West Side Story. This is a big one for Mr. Spielberg, a project he’s wanted to tackle for ages now. While I would personally love to see him take on more original material, something that hasn’t been done before, I have to applaud him for doing what he loves.
Above is another early look at that project he cares for so much. That’s Broadway star Ariana DeBose as Anita, one of the most pivotal parts of the story. Anita is Maria’s close friend and, as we all know, Maria is THE major part in West Side Story. Rita Moreno, who also appears in Spielberg’s remake, played Anita in the original Robert Wise film and won herself a damn Oscar so you can bet DeBose is going to swing for the fences with her performance too. She definitely looks the part in the picture above. My only qualm? Get down from that fire escape, Anita. It’s dangerous up there and you could fall and hurt yourself. West Side Story has enough danger and drama as it is!
As I said, my initial reaction to Spielberg taking on this movie is one of mild enthusiasm. Though his take will be based solely off of the original Broadway play and not Wise’s film, I still would rather he direct something that feels 100% completely his and 100% completely new. At the same time, the idea of Spielberg directing a full-on musical sounds exciting. The man can direct action better than anyone so imagine him filming a massive dance sequence. And this is obviously material that deeply inspires him, he constantly cites it as one of his influences. So let’s let the master do what he wants. I’m going to put my trepidation aside and just allow Spielberg to wow me yet again.