Rita Moreno recently spoke about the “West Side Story” reboot by Steven Spielberg. The film is scheduled to hit theaters later on in 2021.
Moreno Knows All About “West Side Story”
In the original rendition of “West Side Story” in 1961, Rita Moreno had been cast as Anita. Her performance had gotten her the Oscar for being the best actress in the supporting role. She recently also made the revelation that her new role is just as important for the new rendition.
She talked about the upcoming rendition of “West Side Story” at the original’s 60th-anniversary celebrations. The occasion was the film festival named after TMC Classic. The star of “One Day at a Time” also chatted about the role her character will play in the latest version.
She said that she played the role of Valentina, the widow of the Doc. As such, the Doc has a heavy influence on the character. In the original version of “West Side Story”, Doc was the owner of the pharmaceutical store.
Moreno, now 89, continued that the audience should expect some surprises. She said that this rendition has done things that the original should have had but did not. She added that some changes were so big, she had to wonder about them in disbelief.
George Chakiris had also joined the interview. In the original “West Side Story”, he played Bernardo, the leader of the Shark Gang. He interestingly added that he was relieved when he came to know that Spielberg was looking to rejuvenate the film and give it new life.
He said that his expectation is absolutely high about what he will bring. However, to him, the most important thing would be the viewers respecting both the renditions for their individual impact on the culture, and that the predecessor deserves respect as well.
