On the March 3, 2022 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor Ben Pearson is joined by no one to talk about the latest film and TV news, including the Netflix Marvel shows coming to Disney+, variable movie pricing, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki comments, Ariana DeBose in Kraven the Hunter, and more.
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Opening Banter:
In The News:
West Side Story email
Dear fellow listeners,
I hope everyone gets the chance to watch Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, streaming today on Disney and HBO Max.
I grew up in Stephen Sondheim’s town, revering his lyrics and scores from a young age. I sat a row behind Steven Spielberg at Hamilton on Broadway as he was scouting future talent. I’ll never forget Leonard Bernstein’s score for On The Town booming through the Lyric Theatre.
Watching this adaptation be filmed in the summer of 2019 over social media made me so proud of all of the hard-working Broadway dancers like Jess LeProtto, Yurel Echezaretta, Kyle Coffman, Ricky Ubeda, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Eloise Kropp and more. They’ve known this Jerome Robbins choreography for years, and I was so overjoyed to see them re-interpret it on celluloid under the new choreography by Justin Peck.
This movie is made with reverence for musical theatre and movie musicals before it. Tony Winner David Alvarez and Tony Nominee/Oscar Nominee Ariana DeBose bring so much star power to the screen that make me so proud of all these Broadway professionals who made this gorgeous tapestry.
Paul Tazewell’s technicolor costume designs, with petticoats of spandex and LaDuca dance shoes, stretch and flow with every swish of these dancers’ character choices. Even the diegetic “Somewhere” musical notes in the subway scene and the Gwen Verdon-looking character in the jail are carefully-placed.
I wish everyone the joy and explosion of color and emotions of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
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Best,
Andrew
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