Hailed as the first big modern
spin on the story of “Romeo and Juliet,” the Broadway musical “West Side Story”
has thrilled audiences with its original 1957 theatrical form by Stephen
Sondheim and the 1961 musical film by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for United
Artists. Last year, filmmaking legend Steven Spielberg began casting for a
remake in a 20th Century Fox and Amblin Entertainment co-production
for distribution by Disney. Our previous and only update on the movie thus far,
from last year, saw Spielberg cast Ansel Elgort (“Baby Driver”), with principal
photography happening in summer of this year. Said filming period is now
complete.
CNN reports that Steven Spielberg did finish the filming of “West
Side Story” late last month, September 28, or close to 80 days since work began
in June 17. With the central component of the production work done, Spielberg
made to celebrate this completion by sharing some on-set photos on social
media. These pictures were posted on the official 20th Century Fox
Twitter page, along with a signed notice from the director announcing the end
of filming, and his thanks to everyone involved in the production, which covered
locations in New York and New Jersey.
It’s a wrap on West Side Story. To mark the end of production, Steven wanted to share a few thoughts and images with you.— 20th Century Fox (@20thcenturyfox) October 2, 2019
📸: @nikotavernise (Photos 1, 2) / #StevenSpielberg (Photo 3)#WestSideStory #StevenSpielberg pic.twitter.com/4PdhHxueKz
One of the photos shared was of
Steven Spielberg flanked by the lead stars of his “West Side Story” remake. Aside
from Ansel “Tony” Elgort, there are also his Maria (Rachel Zegler), friend
Bernardo (David Alvarez) and Maria’s friend Anita (Ariana DeBose). Photo number
two then shows the combined casts of the Jets and Sharks street gangs of Upper
West Side Manhattan, in their full 1950s fashion while the film crew stand at
the back. Finally, the director does a selfie alongside Rita Moreno, who plays
Valentina in the film. She herself is a proud “West Side” veteran, having played
Anita in the 1961 film.
In Steven Spielberg’s
accompanying note, he called the making of the new “West Side Story” musical
film an unprecedented journey and a surprise encounter with one of the “greatest
musicals” in the world. "My brilliantly talented, fiercely committed,
generous and apparently inexhaustible cast and crew of hundreds have given our
film everything they've got,” writes the filmmaker, “and already I can say that
the film we'll be releasing on December 18, 2020 owes everything to them, as
does its immensely grateful director." Spielberg also expressed gratitude
for New York City and its “grand, multicultural, multifaceted” spirit, the very
background that made “West Side Story” real.
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