I have a very strong feeling the choreography will not have any Hip Hop flare.........
http://www.playbill.com/article/west-side-story-remake-taps-tony-winning-choreographer-justin-peck
Frankly, I don't trust Justin Peck's choreography in the remake/reboot of the 1961 film version of West Side Story. It seems way too hyper to me.
shareWhether there is a hip hop flare or not, it won't come close to the original movie. The dancing in West Side Story is the best I have ever seen. Any time they bring a Broadway show back or remake a musical, it is generally watered down and pales in comparison.
shareYou're absolutely correct, modica. Frankly, I don't think that Spielberg's reboot/remake of the 1961 film version of West Side Story will even come close to topping the original, no matter what others may say or think. The same can be said of original Broadway productions of musicals, as well: they never, ever even come close to topping the old, original production(s).
shareI don't know if they water these reboots and remakes down intentionally or it just turns out that way. The only productions that came close to the original Broadway productions was the Company revival from 2006 with Raul Esparza. And the Sweeney Todd revival from 2005 with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris. I liked how the cast played the instruments themselves. I was really impressed with these two shows, but that was over 10 years ago and there haven't been many revivals that were very good. But, I was glad to see the revivals of Sweeney Todd and Company. I love the theater, but Broadway is a joke now. They should call it Boredway now, because there isn't much worth seeing. What are these shows? Just a bunch of crap.
shareAgain, you've made some great, good points that are well taken, modica. I never did see "Sweeney Todd" or "Company", but I have seen some other Broadway shows that were re-made, that weren't nearly as good as the original Broadway productions. I also saw the stage productions of "Showboat" and "Godspell" in London, back in the early 1970's, both of which were excellent!
I saw the original Broadway production of Oklahoma here in Boston, back in the early 1960's, when i was just a young kid, and it was excellent. The same thing with "My Fair Lady", "Wizard of Oz", and some others. "Roar of the Greasepaint, Smell of the Crowd" was excellent on stage, as well.
The more recent Broadway production of "West Side Story", which first played in 2009, and I ended up seeing in 2011, had a number of things, such as the Jet Gang whistles, the finger-snapping and the message of reconciliation after the Rumble and the deaths of Riff, Chino and Tony during the Rumble, taken out of it, which sort of compromised the story somewhat, because these were vital and integral parts of the very story behind "West Side Story.".
The more recent version of "Oklahoma", however, that I saw here in Boston was in the spring of 2004. It was not nearly as great as the Broadway stage production of "Oklahoma" that I'd seen back in the early 1960's. The crew, the cast, and the props had all been pared down. So had the scenery, which was not nearly as spectacular as the original early-1960's Broadway production of "Oklahoma" had been, either.
Many of today's younger actors and actresses are not unionized, are not well paid, are not very experienced, and have not the chance to really hone their craft. That, imho, has a great deal to do with why live theatre today has taken such a huge nosedive, if one gets the drift.
These young actors just don't have what it takes these days and Broadway shows are more interested in profit than providing theater goers with an awesome experience. I recently saw the revival of Promises Promises and I wasn't very impressed. The actors cast on Broadway now are just adequate now, so they don't have to pay them much. Everything is about profit now and the art and splendor of musicals is no longer important.
This is why I am so against the remake of West Side Story. Spielberg is not interested in making art, it is simply a money grab. He made Jaws, Close Encounters, ET and Schindler's List. Most directors haven't had the notoriety he has had. His glory days are over. He doesn't need to make this great; it only needs to be adequate enough to make a profit.
You're absolutely right, modica! What passes for talent these days is very corporate-oriented, as well as prophet-oriented, to boot. Spielberg's films such as Jaws, Schindler's List, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and ET, as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, were his very best films. The fact that he decided to reboot/remake the 1961 film version of West Side Story is rather bothersome to me, too. When I told the manager of my complex that I was planning to vote my pocketbook and not go to see Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film West Side Story, she immediately told me that I didn't have the best attitude, and that I should go and see it to open my mind a little, even if I don't go see it a second time. I told her that I don't care for re-makes of older films, generally, and she left me alone after that.
shareI really don't care for the attitude of that manager either. It is a strange thing these days that when someone has an opinion about corporate films where the motivation is purely for profit, people will call you negative. I have never cared for someone who claims that they are making something with artistic intent, when it is clearly to make a buck. To me, that so called artist is doing something negative. They are trying to dupe the public into thinking that they have created something of artistic merit, when they have actually cut corners, used cheap materials and convinced a good amount of people that what they have done is for the love of film.
shareHi, modica. Thank you very much for your support. Hollywood, at large, today, is either too cheap or too lazy to go out and create more original movies. It's quite sad, imo. Hollywood, nowadays, is not interested in making movies for artistic intent, which is often an important part of what a good movie is about. Today's talent, as I pointed out, is quite corporate-oriented, and rather tinny, imo. Like all these big movie moguls, Spielberg will do what he wants. Making money hand over fist is what it's about with these big movie moguls, and it always has been, but not to the extent that it is today.
The idea that the reboot/remake of the film West Side Story is for the purpose of making it more accessible to today's younger viewers by telling it in a different way is a ton of malarkey, and I don't buy it. That's one of the reasons that I plan on boycotting Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film West Side Story when it comes to the movie theaters at around Christmastime of 2020. The fact that people call others negative and/or narrow-minded who have different opinions is rather indicative of a not very tolerant society that has developed these days. It's really too bad, because people should be able to openly differ with each other. That's what a democratic society is about, really.
By doing lots of remakes and sequels, Hollywood is playing to people's nostalgia. Why can't they just do more frequent re-releases of the older, original movies that they re-make, and at least give fans of such great, golden oldie-but-keepers of classic films more of a choice as to what they can see, instead of going all "new and presumably exciting? Beats me.
The movie business always has been for profit, to some degree or other, but it's moreso today. What passes for entertainment is often rather brash, and overly bombastic, which is why I'm more picky than I used to be about the kind of films that I go to.
It seems like intelligence and artistic merit are frowned upon not only in Hollywood, but it is pervasive in every nook and cranny of our society. I get the worst comments from people when I discuss why or why I don't like something. Instead of having a reasonable conversation about a film or just any topic, the other person will start to pick me apart as if there is something severely wrong with me for having an opinion. People will tell me, "oh you hate everything". That isn't the case and I try to give them examples of all the things I actually love and why I love them. The list, btw, is long and probably much longer than most. Still, even after all that, people still take shots at me. I am always up for discussion, but making it personal seems very unfair and somewhat ignorant.
shareHi, modica. Sorry to hear that people pick you apart for having different opinions than they do on various topics, make it a personal thing, and constantly accuse you of being negative, or whatever. You seem like a very smart person who expresses herself very well, and very articulately, and more than reasonably, no matter whether it's film, or any other topic, and why you like/love them. Keep on talking to people, and stating why you like or don't like something. It's clear that being insulting and nasty has been the "in" thing for many people in our society for the past 40 or 50 years, and it's quite heartbreaking, to boot. Unfortunately, it's become much worse in more recent years. I feel you, modica, because I've been in that position, as well, and not just about the upcoming reboot/remake of the film West Side Story, either. What passes for discourse these days is all too often rather shrill, and totally lacking in civility and acceptance, which is rather sickening.
Don't change your opinions just to appease intolerant people. Stick to your guns!
mplo is right, modica. Definitely don't change your opinions, and don't apologize for them either. Don't be sorry if you think you might offend someone - you didn't do anything wrong by thinking different thoughts about something than they did. I also wouldn't say "in my opinion" or IMO unless you are referring to something you may not be completely educated on or have no way of knowing. Otherwise, that's just a given that it's your opinion. People can take it however they want. You're not wrong for liking or disliking something, so don't apologize.
People who get nasty or insulting at others with different viewpoints are not looking for debate or interested in having a rational, adult conversation. What they want is conformation - anything less is detestable to them. It doesn't matter if you try to appease them, as you've experienced based on what you've said here. Those people want to be right and to be told they are right.
It took me a long time to learn this fact in regards to debating with someone - it doesn't matter how brilliantly you present your point of view or how well thought out your arguments and points are, or how much research you've done. If people are being unreasonable, immature, if they insult you, mock you, try to shout you down, nothing you say will register with them. They will not acknowledge anything. They do not want to be educated. Those people are not worth talking to and they are not worth debating with. I don't even try to explain anything or debate with people anymore if they conduct themselves like that. I simply walk away. That behavior is never acceptable under any circumstance, and you should never ever put up with it.
mplo and StrongRex, thanks for your kind words. I appreciate that there are still people out there who can disagree with others and still be respectful.
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