Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story reveals its first look

This story is not only a product of its time, but that time has returned, and it’s returned with a kind of social fury,” Spielberg told Vanity Fair.

For the new script, he turned to Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner, to craft an updated story that retains the familiar songs but embeds them in a more realistic setting.

That realism also applied to casting. Many of the “Puerto Ricans” in the 1961 movie were white actors in brown makeup. Spielberg only wanted performers with Hispanic backgrounds to play Hispanic characters.

Directing the story as a white filmmaker also meant Spielberg was open to listening to suggestions from his Hispanic cast members. Rita Moreno won an Oscar for playing Anita in the original movie and stars in Spielberg’s 2020 adaptation as a newly-created character.

Spielberg made Moreno an executive producer on the film and “urged her to share her perspective” with him and the young cast. Moreno tells Vanity Fair she wanted in on Spielberg’s 'West Side Story' so she could right some of the wrongs of the 1961 film, including the whitewashing. The actress said, “That’s what they were trying to fix and ameliorate, and I think they have done an incredible job.”

Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story is set for release on December 18, 2020. You can find Spielberg’s full first look at the movie on the Vanity Fair’s website.