Spielberg's WEST SIDE STORY is NOT a remake- Page 4

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/23/19 at 12:00am

bk said: "You're being a little obtuse here, but then again you're ryhog. So, let me try to understand: Nothing I say is a guess. I don't know what "it is not unheard of for a director to have an idea" is about? Can you tell me what that is in response to? I said it was Mr. Lehman's idea (the SCREEN writer/adapter), to reposition those two songs. That's not a guess, he told me. Is he making it up? I don't think so. So, what does a "director" have to do with my comment/statement? And who is the rest of your screed addressed to? Certainly not me, since I have made the point you responded to and not much else. And if the latter part of your screed was about this thread in general, don't make it part of a response to me."

Obtuse? Not something I am used to hearing about myself but if it works for you, run with it. 

I'll try to break my "obtusity" down for you. 

You said: "No, it was Lehman's idea. He was the writer, not the director." 

I took that to mean that you surmised that, because he was the writer and not the director, there was an inference you were prepared to draw. (Note that, in the original quote, there was no suggestion that "he told me." Had you been more precise originally, I would not have surmised you were intuiting your statement. (I don't have an opinion on whether he made it up, although as I said it's not unheard of.)

What "director" has to do with your statement is that you used the word. (See the quote in paragraph 3 of this response.)

The remainder of what I wrote was not directed to you. (The opening phrase," On another front," kinda alerted everyone of that.) Maybe people who live in glass houses should not throw "obtuse" around.  {And regarding your little territorial hissy fit about what I can and cannot "make a part of a response to" you, perhaps I am being obtuse but I missed when you were appointed the arbiter of the "rules" here.}

Finally, although you conveniently did not return to the point (for perhaps too obvious reasons) let me remind you that your Sondheim comment (pretty well blown out of the water by others) leaves you in the position of asking someone to take your anonymous word for something over his public words on the subject. Everyone can make up their own mind about that one. 

Updated On: 7/23/19 at 12:00 AM

[bear88]

Posted: 7/23/19 at 12:48am

Now that they're remaking (or rebooting, or whatever one wants to call it) Broadway musicals I've actually seen on stage and on film, I have actual opinions on this stuff too. Where should "Cool" go? (Later.) Should the guys be involved in "America"? (Yes, it makes more sense that way.)

But no one cares about my opinion. Spielberg is going to make his movie, and we'll have fun tearing it apart. I hope it's good, and there are certainly areas where he can improve on the original film. (And then there are the parts that will be touch to match, including "America."

But there's no such thing as purity in film adaptations of musicals. Seeing a local production of the 1998 revival of Cabaret on Sunday was a good reminder of that, as it's a sort of mashup of the original stage production along with material from the 1972 Bob Fosse film - which basically eliminates two major characters from the stage version.

Stage revivals almost always change things, sometimes dramatically (see Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady) with the "stage directions" rationale and sometimes by rewriting the book so it doesn't rankle modern sensibilities (Kiss Me Kate). Purists always hate such changes, and I understand that. (I basically dreaded the Mary Poppins sequel since it was announced because I loved the first one as a child. And that was only a sequel.)

I have no idea if I will like the new West Side Story film. I'm skeptical, because I liked the original (warts and all). But if I don't like it, no one will require me to see it. I still have a DVD of the old film that I can watch whenever I want. But even if it's awful, I am less concerned about it because it will feel less like a cash grab. Steven Spielberg doesn't need the money. I'm sure he wants the challenge.

Just don't get me started about the possible loss of Camila from the In the Heights film.

[Peter2]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 12:53am

joevitus said: "Also, for me,Sondheim's revised lyrics are simply superior to those originally used on Broadway."

Tiny clarification that actually supports your point (which I agree with): The lyrics in the movie are the ones Sondheim wrote originally, before Robbins decided it had to be a number for the women only. Sondheim himself says the new lyrics weren’t as good, partly because he resented Robbins’s asking him to redo them. 

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 12:46pm

Peter2 said: "joevitus said: "Also, for me,Sondheim's revised lyrics are simply superior to those originally used on Broadway."

Tinyclarificationthat actually supports your point (which I agree with): The lyrics in the movie are the ones Sondheim wrote originally, before Robbins decided it had to be a number for the women only. Sondheim himself says the new lyrics weren’t as good, partly because he resented Robbins’s asking him to redo them.

"

Oh, wow, thank you for sharing that! I never knew. Feeling proudly intuitive at the moment. :)

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 2:44pm

Lots of wonderful shots here. Apparently Ansel Elgort filmed part of "Maria" last night at the set in Harlem and nearby the "Jet's" filmed what appears to be part of the "Tonight Quintet".

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-7280727/Ansel-Elgort-seen-time-Tony-set-Steven-Spielbergs-West-Story.html

[Peter2]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 3:11pm

According to the West Side Rag, they weren't filming in Harlem last night but on West 107th between Broadway and Amsterdam. At least one of the photos in the Daily Mail article is clearly in front of 210 West 107th. (For non-New Yorker's, that the Upper West Side, bordering on Morningside Heights, but it's definitely not Harlem.)

https://www.westsiderag.com/2019/07/24/spielberg-filming-west-side-story-remake-on-the-uws