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[petzipellepingo]

Why I Still Love ‘West Side Story’

By John McWhorter

I adored Steven Spielberg’s new filmization of “West Side Story.” I thought it undid most of the problematic aspects of the still magnificent 1961 film — including sometimes one-dimensional aspects of its depiction of Latinos — while brilliantly presenting a signature piece of American theatrical art. Though I didn’t really need a refresher, it was still nice to be reminded of why it ranks second on the American Film Institute’s list of “The 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time.”
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[petzipellepingo]

Tony Kushner explains the biggest change he made to ‘West Side Story’ [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]

Christopher Rosen

When Steven Spielberg first pitched the idea of doing a new adaptation of “West Side Story” to Tony Kushner over breakfast eight years ago, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer was slightly apprehensive about the prospect. As Kushner recalled in an interview with the New York Times last year, he left their meeting and told his husband, the writer Mark Harris, “You’re not going to believe this. He’s lost his mind.”
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