Moreno - one of only three artists to be honored with Academy, Emmy, GRAMMY, Tony, and Peabody Awards - also serves as one of the film’s executive producers. Spielberg’s reimagining of the beloved musical stars Ansel Elgort (Tony) Rachel Zegler (María) Ariana DeBose (Anita) David Alvarez (Bernardo) Mike Faist (Riff) Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino) Ana Isabelle (Rosalía) Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank) Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke) and Rita Moreno (as Valentina, who owns the corner store in which Tony works). When I see a gang of juvenile delinquents dancing down a real street, Broadway, in color-coordinated sneakers, with color-coordinated wash on the line behind them, I’m not scared.” Three strangers with the same name, Laxminarayan, travel to Pondi with their tasks.
During a National Theatre Q&A in 2016 (via AV Club), Sondheim said, “I don’t think ‘West Side Story’’s a good movie at all because it’s not a movie. With Tusshar Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Esha Deol. The composer wasn’t too keen on that iteration, which won a whopping 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture. That’s definitely telling a different story than the one Sondheim shared about the original “West Side Story” movie directed by Robert Wise. It’s really first-grade, and movie musicals are hard to do and this one, Spielberg and Kushner really, really nailed it.” Sondheim said Kushner “has done some really imaginative and surprising things with the way the songs are used in the story, and the whole thing has real sparkle to it and real energy, and it feels fresh. 'Obi-Wan Kenobi': Everything You Need to Know About the Disney+ Series
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There's Increased Diversity in the Major Oscar Noms, but Best Actress Remains a Problem In the ‘61 film, as with so many versions of West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet before it, the drips at the center of the story barely qualified as characters.