In the never-ending category of Hollywood Has No New Ideas, we have a new entry: Steven Spielberg is remaking “West Side Story.”
That should be against the law.
Tony Kushner, who Spielberg hired to write the new version, told Vanity Fair, “Our version is not meant to wipe out the original film, which is a masterpiece. It’s just meant to be a new interpretation.”
Nope! We don’t need a new interpretation. If you recognize it’s a masterpiece, then leave it alone! The 1961 creative team — Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, and Robert Wise — got “West Side Story” right the first time. Not only does it have a well-deserved place in the pantheon of greatest musicals ever, it also won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, and holds a place on the All-Time Top 100 Box Office list.
I wonder how Spielberg would respond to another filmmaker remaking “Jaws.”
Or “Raiders Of The Lost Ark.”
Or how about a re-interpretation of “Schindler’s List”?
With new choreography and a hit theme song by Pink, of course.