Jake Gyllenhaal and Steven Spielberg playing with the legacy of Leonard Bernstein
Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 10:09PM by Nathaniel R
Have you heard the news that there's a Leonard Bernstein biopic coming? There's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that there's a Leonard Bernstein biopic coming at all! I mean... he's only a bonafide genius of the 20th century. Even better Jake Gyllenhaal is attached to star. Even better Cary Joji Fukunaga (Jane Eyre, Beasts of No Nation, True Detective) will be directing! Gyllenhaal gives quote:
Like many people, Leonard Bernstein found his way into my life and heart through West Side Story when I was a kid. But as I got older and started to learn about the scope of his work, I began to understand the extent of his unparalleled contribution and the debt of gratitude modern American culture owes him. As a man, Bernstein was a fascinating figure—full of genius and contradiction—and it will be an incredible honor to tell his story with a talent and friend like Cary.”
More after the jump...
The bad news is the movie is currently planning to call itself "The American" which has to be the most dreadfully basic, most boring, and most unsearchable google search movie title of all time. Bernstein, Gyllenhaal, and Fukunaga all deserve better. Times three!
In unrelated but related news, Bernstein fever could be all the rage soon. As you've undoubtedly heard by now though we haven't discussed (I've been trying to work through my... uh... feelings about it since West Side Story is the single most formative movie of my childhood) Steven Spielberg will be remaking the Oscar winning 1961 classic.
West Side Story is Bernstein's most enduring achievement (though hardly his only major work) and the greatest musical ever written, if you ask me. You didn't ask me but I sing West Side Story's praises when I can. Recent casting call notices in New York and Miami suggest that they're going ultra authentic this time (well, apart from teenage gang members bursting into song and dance) and will be hiring actors that are both close to the actual age of the characters (teenagers) and the right ethnicity, too. That could be exciting. The Broadway revival in 2009 also tried to get more authentic using a lot of Spanish when the Sharks were alone which was a welcome shift. The emotions are so clear in great musicals and the story so famous that you didn't even need to understand all the words to get it.
All the news coverage about the casting call auditions for Spielberg's film have specified that they're looking for Latinx actors who speak Spanish, sing, act and have "a strong dance background". We're not sure if they're holding separate auditions for the Jets (the white gang in this Romeo & Juliet influenced romantic drama that replaces feuding Houses with racially segregated teen gangs ) of if the news outlets that have covered the auditions have only mentioned the search for Latinx actors because racially appropriate casting unfortunately hasn't been the norm in Hollywood before.
At any rate we wish Spielberg and crew luck but West Side Story is SO colossal, culturally and musically, that it's a tall order to remake even if the original film has its flaws. Plus the musical might not need an auteurial voice quite as loud and centered as Spielberg's tends to be when Bernstein with a side of Shakespeare is so clearly this masterwork's author. But we hope for the best! Maybe the youth and the racially appropriate casting of the actors will create an electric freshness akin to the lightning that Franco Zeffirelli caught in a bottle when his version of Romeo & Juliet (with actually dewy actors, breaking the long tradition of casting the pair much older) hit the zeitgeist in 1968 and was instantly beloved by youth culture and adult moviegoers alike. It's hard to picture a Shakespearean drama with unknown stars OR a dramatic musical riffing on the same text about racial strife and young love being gigantic box office hits and cultural behemoths in our current age of 'only visual effects spectacles and animated franchises allowed at the top of the box office charts!', but it happened back in the 1960s.
Reader Comments (18)
I HATE. HATE. HATE the idea of remaking an already remarkable film. I too loved the 1961 Oscar winner. In fact, we just rewatched a couple of months ago.. Ordinarily I like Spielberg, but I hope this flops big time.
I tend to love Spielberg's work. Lincoln still stands as one of the decade's best for me, but this remake feels like a colossal mistake. Not quite everything works in West Side Story (namely Beymer and Woods lacking chemistry), but what does work is knocked so far out of the park that it feels like an untouchable picture. NO ONE in my mind is going to come close to what Rita Moreno achieves with her performance. The choreography done by real dancers. The direction of that choreography. The use of color mixed with the realism of shooting on the streets. I don't doubt that this remake will be a major technical achievement, but I have no idea how Spielberg and Kushner can improve upon or even create their own artistry without it feeling like a copy/paste job.
Also, never forget that Spielberg wanted to get rid of Megan Hilty on SMASH</I>, thereby making any involvement of his in future musical projects questionable.
This is a remake I don't actually mind. I mean, if we can get a dozen Broadway revivals, why not a new cinematic version? If Spielberg wants to do something with it, of course, rather than mere rehash. The original is one of my all time favourites, but I don't think it's a story that ought to be so simply difined by one experience. Like I said, with multiple theatre versions, I can deal with the idea at least of a new film version (if it's shite, then it's shite, however).
If we have to have a remake of this classic, can we get Ryan Guzman as Bernardo? The guy can dance and...um...well, you know...
Leonard Bernstein's music for WSS is still so fresh and heart-rending and sublimely perfect. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics are some of the best he's ever done. Of course the new film will still have the music.
I hope they don't skimp on the choreography though, and think some generic trash is good enough. Jerome Robbins' choreography is one of the delights of the original.
The story is what's dated. A past era's "edgy", omg. I used to think the story was so sad, now I hate it. I hate all the male gang members, and I want them all dead by the end of the movie. I only want the women to survive.
Richard Beymer as Tony took a lot of flack over the decades, but for me, his acting stands the test of time. He chose the courageous acting choice of focusing on the humanity and emotional core of his character, rather than being "cool" and of the fashionable moment.
So yeah, the story and the cast needs a lot of re-tooling. Having Tony Kushner involved in that fills me with hope, while Stephen Spielberg's involvement makes me a little more ambivalent, thinking we'll get this era's "edgy".
Really hope Spielberg abandons his plans to remake WSS. Turn your attention to Sunset Boulevard, Wicked, Miss Saigon, Beautiful or Cats if you want an original movie musical. Set the bar with those, Steven!
I go back and forth on remakes, but the ideal situation for a remake is if filmmakers can offer a fresh take on the material much like the best Broadway revivals. A bad remake won't tar the memory of a great film like West Side Story, and an imaginative remake would just add to the musical's legacy. The pressure really is on Spielberg to deliver the goods and prove that he has something new to offer.
Here in Puerto Rico they are also holding auditions. I think they really want authenticity. As to the remake, I don’t think it is necessary. But who knows, maybe it will turn out all right.
TOM-I still don't know why there's not a definitive version of Pippin. I mean, it's partially about a father-and-son, that's Spielberg's area-of-expertise. Stay away from a film that's already perfect.
Raul-I think it speaks more to the idea that there is a severe lack of originality in mainstream Hollywood in recent years (just look at the Tony nominations for Exhibit A). Spielberg is one of the very, very few directors who could literally get any film greenlit, and he's still capable of making classics (Lincoln, for example). Why does he waste 18 months of his talents and time on a film that he can't possible top or even duplicate, rather than telling a story that hasn't been exalted in the annals of Film History? If he wants to take his hand at a musical, there are dozens of classic Broadway shows that he could bring to the big-screen and be a hero.
Spielberg should instead remake A Chorus Line. He could only improve on that POS.
MAKE SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE AS A MOVIE SO THAT JAKE CAN WIN HIS OSCAR!!!
If Spielberg wants to do a big musical why not remake another classic- "Carousel" for example would be given a grittier take on the 1950's version and the fantasy elements are perfect for Spielberg
What STFU said.
Jaragon, that's a fabulous idea. Maybe starring Emily Blunt and Patrick Wilson?
STFU -- yes, that!
Spielberg is the wrong choice for ANY musical, remake or original. Just say no.
Well, now with Bradley Cooper winning the musical rights of Leonard Bernstein ouvre and having Josh Singer, Scorsese and Spielberg behind, Jake Gyllenhaal has been beaten for a third time. The guy must had pissed off people in Hollywood or he has the worst luck as leading star.