1 00:00:00,043 --> 00:00:05,348 ♪♪ 2 00:00:05,348 --> 00:00:09,051 >>> AFTER 60‐SOMETHING YEARS, THE TIME HAS COME AGAIN. 3 00:00:09,051 --> 00:00:12,155 >> NOW, A "WEST SIDE STORY" FOR A NEW GENERATION. 4 00:00:12,155 --> 00:00:15,892 ♪♪ 5 00:00:15,892 --> 00:00:18,528 >> OH, MY GOSH, WE ARE MAKING "WEST SIDE STORY." 6 00:00:18,528 --> 00:00:20,663 >> STEVEN SPIELBERG'S "WEST SIDE STORY." 7 00:00:20,663 --> 00:00:25,435 I DON'T THINK OF IT AS A REMAKE. IT'S A RE‐IMAGINING. 8 00:00:25,435 --> 00:00:27,537 >> THE STORY IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE. 9 00:00:27,537 --> 00:00:31,774 >> WHAT IS AMAZING IS TO BE ABLE 10 00:00:31,774 --> 00:00:37,046 TO REVIVE THE PRODUCTION WITH A LATINX COMMUNITY. 11 00:00:37,046 --> 00:00:37,580 >> BEHIND THE SCENES. 12 00:00:37,580 --> 00:00:44,887 >> THE CHOREOGRAPHY, THE DANCE REHEARSALS, THE MUSIC. 13 00:00:44,887 --> 00:00:47,523 >> AND IT'S LIKE, ONLY SPIELBERG COULD SHUT DOWN NEW YORK. 14 00:00:47,523 --> 00:00:48,591 >> THE NEW STARS, FROM "SHREK" TO STARRING FOR SPIELBERG. 15 00:00:48,591 --> 00:00:51,227 >> FINDING OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME, I DIDN'T CRY. I CURSED. 16 00:00:51,227 --> 00:00:55,465 YIKES. SORRY, MOM. 17 00:00:55,465 --> 00:00:56,532 >> THIS IS A CHILDHOOD DREAM ROLE. 18 00:00:56,532 --> 00:01:03,406 >> THIS IS WHY I LIKE TO TELL ACTORS WHO GET THE PARTS 19 00:01:03,406 --> 00:01:04,474 PERSONALLY, I WANNA HEAR THEM CRY. 20 00:01:04,474 --> 00:01:06,576 >> THE ORIGINAL STARS. 21 00:01:06,576 --> 00:01:09,979 >> THERE IS A PART IN HERE THAT TONY KUSHNER WROTE FOR YOU. AH! 22 00:01:09,979 --> 00:01:10,513 >> RACE AND REPRESENTATION. 23 00:01:10,513 --> 00:01:13,149 >> IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE LIKE US TO SEE PEOPLE LIKE US 24 00:01:13,149 --> 00:01:16,285 ONSCREEN. I MEAN, IT MAKES ME SUPER 25 00:01:16,285 --> 00:01:18,421 EMOTIONAL SO I APOLOGIZE. 26 00:01:18,421 --> 00:01:21,591 >> AND STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S FINAL INTERVIEW FOR AMERICAN TV. 27 00:01:21,591 --> 00:01:24,794 >> JUST THE IDEA OF SPIELBERG EXCITED ME. 28 00:01:24,794 --> 00:01:28,464 >> I'M JUST SO PROUD AND HONORED THAT I GOT THIS SHOT LATE IN MY 29 00:01:28,464 --> 00:01:34,804 CAREER. AMAZING! 30 00:01:34,804 --> 00:01:39,041 ♪♪ 31 00:01:39,041 --> 00:01:46,983 >> THERE'S SO MUCH OF "WEST SIDE STORY" WHICH IS A CELEBRATION OF 32 00:01:46,983 --> 00:01:48,017 JUST, HOW DO YOU SING THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE, HOW DO YOU 33 00:01:48,017 --> 00:01:49,519 COMMUNICATE YOUR DEEPEST FEELINGS TO ANOTHER PERSON? 34 00:01:49,519 --> 00:01:53,256 ♪♪ 35 00:01:53,256 --> 00:01:56,459 >> "WEST SIDE STORY," IT'S EVERYTHING. 36 00:01:56,459 --> 00:02:02,265 DRAMA, IT'S ROMANCE, IT'S PASSION, IT'S HUMOR. 37 00:02:02,265 --> 00:02:04,934 >> I THINK IT WAS A VERY BOLD ATTEMPT AT SOMETHING THAT HAD 38 00:02:04,934 --> 00:02:09,672 NEVER BEEN DONE. WE'LL START WITH BROADWAY. 39 00:02:09,672 --> 00:02:13,342 IT WAS SHAKESPEARE'S CAPULETS AND MONTAGUES TURNED INTO THE 40 00:02:13,342 --> 00:02:14,944 GHETTO. 41 00:02:14,944 --> 00:02:19,181 >> THE MUSICAL "WEST SIDE STORY" IS SET ON THE WEST SIDE 42 00:02:19,181 --> 00:02:23,419 OF MANHATTAN DURING THE 1950S. IT'S ABOUT TWO WARRING TEENAGE 43 00:02:23,419 --> 00:02:27,657 GANGS, THE SHARKS, WHO ARE PUERTO RICAN, AND THE JETS, WHO 44 00:02:27,657 --> 00:02:40,770 ARE ETHNIC WHITES. 45 00:02:40,770 --> 00:02:45,541 >> IT'S SORT OF ROMEO AND JULIET, A PUERTO RICAN GIRL AND 46 00:02:45,541 --> 00:02:48,711 A POLISH GUY, AND YOU HAVE THESE SORT OF STAR‐CROSSED LOVERS. 47 00:02:48,711 --> 00:02:50,313 THEY PROBABLY SHOULDN'T FALL IN LOVE BUT THEY DO. 48 00:02:50,313 --> 00:02:51,347 >> AND WHILE THEY DON'T HAVE SHAKESPEARE'S BALCONY TO DECLARE 49 00:02:51,347 --> 00:02:52,448 THEIR LOVE TO EACH OTHER ON, THEY DO HAVE A NEW YORK CITY 50 00:02:52,448 --> 00:02:55,985 FIRE ESCAPE. 51 00:02:55,985 --> 00:02:58,921 ♪ EVERY SIGHT THAT I SEE IS 52 00:02:58,921 --> 00:03:00,323 MARIA ♪ 53 00:03:00,323 --> 00:03:02,458 ♪ TONY TONY ♪ 54 00:03:02,458 --> 00:03:03,492 >> IT STILL SPEAKS TO US BECAUSE "ROMEO AND JULIET" AND 55 00:03:03,492 --> 00:03:06,128 SUBSEQUENTLY "WEST SIDE STORY" ARE BOTH ABOUT LOVE, TRYING TO 56 00:03:06,128 --> 00:03:11,500 RISE ABOVE HATRED. 57 00:03:11,500 --> 00:03:14,704 ♪♪ 58 00:03:14,704 --> 00:03:22,645 >> AND SO NOW "WEST SIDE 59 00:03:22,645 --> 00:03:23,713 STORY" IS BEING RE‐IMAGINED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG. 60 00:03:23,713 --> 00:03:26,882 THREE‐TIME OSCAR‐WINNER. HIGHEST‐GROSSING DIRECTOR IN THE 61 00:03:26,882 --> 00:03:29,018 HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD. HE IS FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF 62 00:03:29,018 --> 00:03:35,858 FILM. JUST LOOK AT HIS MOVIES. SOME OF THE BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTERS 63 00:03:35,858 --> 00:03:43,232 "SCHINDLER'S LIST," "E. T.," THE "INDIANA JONES" MOVIES, AND OF 64 00:03:43,232 --> 00:03:45,334 COURSE "JAWS." WHY NOW? 65 00:03:45,334 --> 00:03:49,005 >> THE SCORE'S BEEN IN MY LIFE SINCE I WAS 10 YEARS OLD. 66 00:03:49,005 --> 00:03:53,776 MY PARENTS BOUGHT THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST ALBUM FOR "WEST 67 00:03:53,776 --> 00:03:57,480 SIDE STORY." AND MEMORIZED EVERY SONG, AND IT 68 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:58,514 WAS MY FAVORITE MUSICAL MY ENTIRE LIFE. 69 00:03:58,514 --> 00:04:00,650 >> IF WE HAD BEEN IN YOUR HOME BACK THEN, WOULD WE HAVE SEEN A 70 00:04:00,650 --> 00:04:02,218 YOUNG STEVEN SPIELBERG SINGING THIS MUSIC AROUND THE HOUSE? 71 00:04:02,218 --> 00:04:09,058 >> NO. I ‐‐ I ‐‐ I ‐‐ NO. YOU KNOW, WHAT ‐‐ WHAT'S THAT 72 00:04:09,058 --> 00:04:11,694 CLINT EASTWOOD SAID IN THAT MOVIE? 73 00:04:11,694 --> 00:04:12,762 >> A MAN'S GOT TO KNOW HIS LIMITATIONS. 74 00:04:12,762 --> 00:04:15,398 >> OKAY. I KNEW MY LIMITATIONS. 75 00:04:15,398 --> 00:04:18,901 IT WASN'T AS A SINGER. BUT I LOVED THE MUSIC SO MUCH. 76 00:04:18,901 --> 00:04:21,604 ♪♪ 77 00:04:21,604 --> 00:04:24,774 >> TONIGHT IS THE NEW YORK OPENING OF "WEST SIDE STORY." 78 00:04:24,774 --> 00:04:30,579 WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS STEADILY FOR NINE MONTHS. 79 00:04:30,579 --> 00:04:35,351 >> THIS WAS WAY AHEAD OF ITS TIME IN THE '50s. 80 00:04:35,351 --> 00:04:41,624 SO YOU'RE HEARING ABOUT RACE. TURF WARS IN NEW YORK. 81 00:04:41,624 --> 00:04:42,692 THE CHOREOGRAPHY AND THE MUSIC WAS GROUNDBREAKING. 82 00:04:42,692 --> 00:04:47,463 >> THERE WILL BE TIME TO READ THE REVIEWS AND HAVE A DRINK OF 83 00:04:47,463 --> 00:04:48,497 CELEBRATION, OR PERHAPS CONSOLATION. 84 00:04:48,497 --> 00:04:51,167 >> AND IT GOT A FANTASTIC OPENING NIGHT PARTY. 85 00:04:51,167 --> 00:04:55,371 AMONG THE ATTENDEES IS CHITA RIVERA, WHO ORIGINATED THE 86 00:04:55,371 --> 00:04:57,473 ROLE ONSTAGE OF ANITA. 87 00:04:57,473 --> 00:05:03,312 >> I HAPPEN TO THINK THAT "WEST SIDE STORY" WAS PERFECT. 88 00:05:03,312 --> 00:05:06,482 I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE A PART OF IT. 89 00:05:06,482 --> 00:05:13,889 EVERY SINGLE NIGHT I WENT IN THERE, I WAS TOTALLY COMPLETE. 90 00:05:13,889 --> 00:05:19,161 >> IT WAS DIRECTED, CONCEIVED, AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY 91 00:05:19,161 --> 00:05:21,797 JEROME ROBBINS. BOOK BY ARTHUR LAWRENCE. 92 00:05:21,797 --> 00:05:26,035 MUSIC BY LEONARD BERNSTEIN. LYRICS BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM. 93 00:05:26,035 --> 00:05:28,137 THAT LEGEND OF MUSICAL THEATER GETTING HIS BIG BREAK AT JUST 94 00:05:28,137 --> 00:05:28,637 25 YEARS OF AGE. 95 00:05:28,637 --> 00:05:36,045 >> ARTHUR HAD HEARD MY WORK. SO WHEN THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A 96 00:05:36,045 --> 00:05:38,114 LYRICIST, I HAPPENED TO RUN INTO HIM AT A PARTY. 97 00:05:38,114 --> 00:05:46,555 HE WAS TELLING ME, "I'M GONNA 98 00:05:46,555 --> 00:05:52,895 WORK ON THIS MUSICAL OF ROMEO AND JULIET. 99 00:05:52,895 --> 00:05:53,963 HE SAID, "I DIDN'T MUCH LIKE YOUR MUSIC, BUT I THOUGHT YOUR 100 00:05:53,963 --> 00:05:56,098 LYRICS WERE REALLY GOOD," SO I GOT THE JOB. 101 00:05:56,098 --> 00:05:57,166 >> HISTORY‐MAKING IS THE WORD FOR THE MOTION PICTURE CRITICS 102 00:05:57,166 --> 00:05:58,200 HAVE ACCLAIMED AS A MASTERPIECE. 103 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:00,836 >> SO FOUR YEARS LATER, 1961, THERE'S A BIG SCREEN VERSION OF 104 00:06:00,836 --> 00:06:06,642 "WEST SIDE STORY" THAT'S A MASSIVE HIT. 105 00:06:06,642 --> 00:06:10,846 >> YOU KNOW, YOU THINK ABOUT THE SCENE OF RITA MORENO ON THE 106 00:06:10,846 --> 00:06:16,752 ROOFTOP OF NEW YORK CITY IN THAT GORGEOUS PURPLE DRESS. 107 00:06:16,752 --> 00:06:17,853 ♪♪ 108 00:06:17,853 --> 00:06:22,091 >> MY FIRST RECOLLECTION OF "WEST SIDE STORY" WAS MY 109 00:06:22,091 --> 00:06:24,727 ABUELITA Y MI MAMA TALKING ABOUT RITA MORENO. 110 00:06:24,727 --> 00:06:28,998 AND I REMEMBER WANTING SO BADLY TO BE ANITA FOR HALLOWEEN, BUT 111 00:06:28,998 --> 00:06:31,634 MY MOM WAS LIKE, "JUST BECAUSE YOU WEAR A PURPLE DRESS DOES NOT 112 00:06:31,634 --> 00:06:37,473 MEAN PEOPLE ARE GONNA KNOW WHO YOU ARE FOR HALLOWEEN." 113 00:06:37,473 --> 00:06:40,576 >> WE'RE A PUERTO RICAN FAMILY. FOR US IT WAS REALLY THE FIRST 114 00:06:40,576 --> 00:06:41,644 TIME WE SAW THAT TYPE OF REPRESENTATION HERE ON THE 115 00:06:41,644 --> 00:06:43,212 MAINLAND. 116 00:06:43,212 --> 00:06:46,916 >> IT GOES ON TO WIN TEN ACADEMY AWARDS AND CONTINUES TO BE A 117 00:06:46,916 --> 00:06:50,619 BELOVED CLASSIC, WHICH MAYBE IS WHY STEVEN SPIELBERG 118 00:06:50,619 --> 00:06:54,824 RE‐IMAGINING IT ON THE BIG SCREEN IS A BIG RISK. 119 00:06:54,824 --> 00:06:56,425 YOU'VE NEVER DIRECTED A MUSICAL BEFORE. 120 00:06:56,425 --> 00:06:59,061 >> NO, I NEVER HAVE. THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE OF MUSICAL 121 00:06:59,061 --> 00:07:01,697 NUMBERS IN A FEW OF MY FEATURE FILMS. 122 00:07:01,697 --> 00:07:09,638 >> SO MAYBE YOU REMEMBER THE OPENING SEQUENCE OF "INDIANA 123 00:07:09,638 --> 00:07:11,207 JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM." THERE'S A BIG ANYTHING GOES 124 00:07:11,207 --> 00:07:15,110 NUMBER. 125 00:07:15,110 --> 00:07:22,985 IF YOU GO TO THE BLU‐RAY 126 00:07:22,985 --> 00:07:25,354 VERSION, YOU CAN FIND KATE CAPSHAW, INTERVIEWING HER 127 00:07:25,354 --> 00:07:27,523 FUTURE HUSBAND ABOUT THAT NUMBER. 128 00:07:27,523 --> 00:07:28,591 >> MR. SPIELBERG, HOW DOES IT FEEL DIRECTING A MUSICAL? 129 00:07:28,591 --> 00:07:30,159 >> WELL, IT FEEL JUST SWELL. JUST SWELL. 130 00:07:30,159 --> 00:07:31,227 >> HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT REMAKING A MASTERPIECE? 131 00:07:31,227 --> 00:07:33,863 >> WE NEVER ATTEMPTED TO REMAKE THE '61 FILM. 132 00:07:33,863 --> 00:07:36,498 WE TOOK ALL OF OUR INSPIRATION BASED ON THE ORIGINAL SOURCE 133 00:07:36,498 --> 00:07:41,170 MATERIAL. WHICH WAS THE 1957 BROADWAY 134 00:07:41,170 --> 00:07:43,806 MUSICAL. 135 00:07:43,806 --> 00:07:48,043 >> IT'S AN INSANE SCORE. IT IS INCREDIBLY CONVOLUTED, AND 136 00:07:48,043 --> 00:07:50,145 BERNSTEIN IS AND WAS A GENIUS. 137 00:07:50,145 --> 00:07:54,383 >> IN THE CASE OF BERNSTEIN, ROBBINS, LAURENTS, AND SONDHEIM, 138 00:07:54,383 --> 00:07:58,621 THEY ALL HAD THESE ELEMENTS OF OTHERNESS IN THE UNITED STATES. 139 00:07:58,621 --> 00:08:08,664 >> THEY WERE FOUR JEWISH GAY 140 00:08:08,664 --> 00:08:11,834 MEN, THAT UNDERSTOOD THE WHOLE NOTION OF THE IMMIGRANT'S 141 00:08:11,834 --> 00:08:13,435 JOURNEY, GETTING TO A COUNTRY THAT ACCEPTS THEM FOR THEIR 142 00:08:13,435 --> 00:08:14,470 TALENT, MAYBE DOESN'T ACCEPT THEM FOR WHO THEY REALLY ARE. 143 00:08:14,470 --> 00:08:15,537 AND SO THEY KNEW HOW TO WRITE ABOUT OTHER OUTSIDERS. 144 00:08:15,537 --> 00:08:16,071 >> WHO ASKED YOU TO MOVE HERE? 145 00:08:16,071 --> 00:08:17,106 >> WHO ASKED YOU? 146 00:08:17,106 --> 00:08:19,742 >> GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM! 147 00:08:19,742 --> 00:08:20,809 >> SPICS! 148 00:08:20,809 --> 00:08:21,343 >> MICK! 149 00:08:21,343 --> 00:08:23,445 >> WOP! 150 00:08:23,445 --> 00:08:30,853 >> THE GREAT THING ABOUT ART IS THAT IT'S PERSONAL. 151 00:08:30,853 --> 00:08:37,526 SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHARACTERS IS FAMILIAR AND RESONATES. 152 00:08:37,526 --> 00:08:40,095 "WEST SIDE STORY" DOES THAT. 153 00:08:40,095 --> 00:08:41,163 >> MANY PEOPLE ARE CAUGHT BETWEEN RED AND BLUE OR BLACK 154 00:08:41,163 --> 00:08:42,231 AND WHITE. 155 00:08:42,231 --> 00:08:43,799 >> I ACTUALLY THINK IT'S MORE RELEVANT TODAY THAN IT WAS IN 156 00:08:43,799 --> 00:08:48,604 '57 WHEN THEY PUT IT UP ON THE BOARDS FOR THE FIRST TIME. 157 00:08:48,604 --> 00:08:53,876 >> SO JOINING SPIELBERG ON THIS JOURNEY, A LEGEND IN HIS OWN 158 00:08:53,876 --> 00:08:55,444 RIGHT, THE PULITZER PRIZE‐WINNING AUTHOR OF "ANGELS 159 00:08:55,444 --> 00:08:57,579 IN AMERICA," TONY KUSHNER, WHO ALSO COLLABORATED WITH SPIELBERG 160 00:08:57,579 --> 00:09:05,487 ON THE SCREENPLAYS FOR "MUNICH" AND ON "LINCOLN." 161 00:09:05,487 --> 00:09:06,555 >> I CAME BACK FROM HAVING BREAKFAST WITH SPIELBERG, AND HE 162 00:09:06,555 --> 00:09:07,589 HAD SAID, "I WANT YOU TO WRITE THE SCREENPLAY." 163 00:09:07,589 --> 00:09:11,794 AND I SAID, "STEVEN'S LOST HIS MIND. 164 00:09:11,794 --> 00:09:17,099 HE WANTS TO REMAKE WEST SIDE STORY." 165 00:09:17,099 --> 00:09:19,201 >> WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU COULD BRING TO THIS MATERIAL? 166 00:09:19,201 --> 00:09:24,473 >> MY LOVE. 167 00:09:24,473 --> 00:09:29,778 MY LOVE FOR STEPHEN SONDHEIM, FOR LEONARD BERNSTEIN AND FOR 168 00:09:29,778 --> 00:09:32,414 ARTHUR LAURENCE, FOR JEROME ROBBINS AND FOR 169 00:09:32,414 --> 00:09:35,584 EVERYTHING THEY INSPIRED ME AS A KID. AND I ALSO THOUGHT AFTER 170 00:09:35,584 --> 00:09:37,720 60‐SOMETHING YEARS THE TIME HAS COME AGAIN BECAUSE THIS SHOULD 171 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,856 BE SHARED GENERATIONALLY. 172 00:09:40,856 --> 00:09:41,924 >> AND AFTER 60‐SOMETHING YEARS, LOVE FOR "WEST SIDE STORY" WAS 173 00:09:41,924 --> 00:09:44,026 STILL DEEPLY FELT BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM IN THIS, HIS 174 00:09:44,026 --> 00:09:48,263 LAST AMERICAN TELEVISION INTERVIEW BEFORE HIS PASSING ON 175 00:09:48,263 --> 00:09:53,535 NOVEMBER 26th AT THE AGE OF 91. 176 00:09:53,535 --> 00:09:58,307 >> I WAS 25 YEARS OLD, AND IT 177 00:09:58,307 --> 00:10:06,115 WAS A THRILL. TO HAVE IT COME OUT SO WELL. 178 00:10:06,115 --> 00:10:08,250 I'M PROUD OF THE SHOW. I LEARNED SO MUCH FROM THOSE 179 00:10:08,250 --> 00:10:10,853 THREE GUYS. IT WAS A CRASH COURSE IN HOW TO 180 00:10:10,853 --> 00:10:11,387 WRITE FOR MUSICAL THEATER. 181 00:10:11,387 --> 00:10:12,454 >> FOR STEVEN SPIELBERG, FOR TONY KUSHNER. 182 00:10:12,454 --> 00:10:15,624 IT'S A HUGE THING TO REALLY WANT TO REDO. 183 00:10:15,624 --> 00:10:18,794 >> AND SO IS IT A GAMBLE? PROBABLY. 184 00:10:18,794 --> 00:10:25,167 >> IT'S A HUGE, HUGE RISK, REMAKING SOMETHING THAT IS SO 185 00:10:25,167 --> 00:10:30,439 ICONIC, AS "WEST SIDE STORY" IS. 186 00:10:30,439 --> 00:10:34,109 >> WHEN WE COME BACK, BETTING IT ALL ON A MARIA FROM A HIGH 187 00:10:34,109 --> 00:10:35,244 SCHOOL MUSICAL. 188 00:10:35,244 --> 00:10:39,448 ♪♪ 189 00:10:39,448 --> 00:10:42,051 AND A TONY WHO'S GOING FROM BABY DRIVER TO LEADING MAN? 190 00:10:42,051 --> 00:10:45,821 >> I JUST TRIED TO JUMP INTO IT AND SING IT. 191 00:10:45,821 --> 00:10:48,057 >> NEXT. 192 00:10:54,176 --> 00:10:56,278 >>> "MUST BE ABLE TO SING, DANCE EXPERIENCE IS A PLUS." 193 00:10:56,278 --> 00:10:59,982 THAT'S FROM THE CASTING CALL THAT GOES OUT IN 2018 TO TRY TO 194 00:10:59,982 --> 00:11:03,118 GET PERFORMERS TO APPEAR IN THIS RE‐IMAGINED VERSION OF "WEST 195 00:11:03,118 --> 00:11:05,754 SIDE STORY." 196 00:11:05,754 --> 00:11:09,391 >> IT WAS A GLOBAL SEARCH. I POSTED ONE FLYER ON SOCIAL 197 00:11:09,391 --> 00:11:13,628 MEDIA ONE DAY, AND THEN IT WENT VIRAL. 198 00:11:13,628 --> 00:11:16,798 >> WE HAD 35,000 PEOPLE SENT IN THEIR AUDITION TAPES FOR FOUR 199 00:11:16,798 --> 00:11:18,934 PARTS. FOR MARIA, FOR ANITA, FOR TONY, 200 00:11:18,934 --> 00:11:23,138 AND FOR BERNARDO. 35,000 TAPES. 201 00:11:23,138 --> 00:11:26,308 >> SELF‐TAPES FROM EVERYWHERE. AUSTRALIA, LATIN AMERICA, 202 00:11:26,308 --> 00:11:28,944 ARGENTINA, SPAIN. 203 00:11:28,944 --> 00:11:33,181 >> AND ONE OF THE FIRST TAPES THAT COMES IN IS FROM A TEENAGE 204 00:11:33,181 --> 00:11:36,318 GIRL FROM NEW JERSEY WHO WANTS TO BE MARIA. 205 00:11:36,318 --> 00:11:40,055 >> I RESPONDED TO AN OPEN CASTING CALL THAT OUR CASTING 206 00:11:40,055 --> 00:11:43,759 DIRECTOR, CINDY TOLAN, POSTED ON TWITTER. 207 00:11:43,759 --> 00:11:48,530 AND MY FRIEND McKENNA FROM CALIFORNIA SENT IT TO ME WITH 208 00:11:48,530 --> 00:11:49,564 THE CAPTION, "THANK ME WHEN YOU'RE FAMOUS." 209 00:11:49,564 --> 00:11:52,734 >> I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY WHO COULD ACT, SING, AND DANCE. 210 00:11:52,734 --> 00:11:54,870 AND MOST OF OUR CAST HAVE NEVER ‐‐ 50 CAST MEMBERS HAVE 211 00:11:54,870 --> 00:11:58,540 NEVER BEEN IN A MOVIE BEFORE, INCLUDING RACHEL WHO ‐‐ WHO IS 212 00:11:58,540 --> 00:12:03,845 RIGHT OUT OF PLAYING PRINCESS FIONA IN HER HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR 213 00:12:03,845 --> 00:12:06,481 YEAR PRODUCTION OF "SHREK." 214 00:12:06,481 --> 00:12:13,321 ♪♪ 215 00:12:13,321 --> 00:12:15,424 >> SHE WAS THE SECOND PERSON I SAW OUT OF 30 PEOPLE THE FIRST 216 00:12:15,424 --> 00:12:17,025 DAY. 217 00:12:17,025 --> 00:12:20,729 >> AMONG THE ACTORS WHO WANTED TO PLAY TONY WAS A YOUNG MAN 218 00:12:20,729 --> 00:12:24,933 WHO'D BEEN IN "BABY DRIVER." 219 00:12:24,933 --> 00:12:27,035 >> I'M A DRIVER. 220 00:12:27,035 --> 00:12:29,171 >> AND IN "THE FAULT IN OUR STARS." 221 00:12:29,171 --> 00:12:34,476 >> I HOPE YOU REALIZE YOU TRYING TO KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM ME IN 222 00:12:34,476 --> 00:12:35,544 NO WAY LESSENS MY AFFECTION FOR YOU. 223 00:12:35,544 --> 00:12:36,044 >> AND THAT WAS ANSEL ELGORT. 224 00:12:36,044 --> 00:12:37,112 >> I DID A LOT OF MUSICALS IN HIGH SCHOOL, JUST LIKE RACHEL 225 00:12:37,112 --> 00:12:40,282 DID. AND THEN SOMEHOW, I ENDED UP DOING MOVIES, AND I STILL NEVER 226 00:12:40,282 --> 00:12:45,554 MADE IT TO BROADWAY. BUT THEN THIS IS KIND OF THE 227 00:12:45,554 --> 00:12:48,723 PERFECT, LIKE, THE CHILDHOOD DREAM ROLE. 228 00:12:48,723 --> 00:12:52,427 >> AND ANSEL HAS A PRETTY IRONIC LINK TO "WEST SIDE STORY." 229 00:12:52,427 --> 00:12:59,301 HE WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL IN THE ACTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THE 230 00:12:59,301 --> 00:13:06,708 FILM IS SET. 231 00:13:06,708 --> 00:13:10,312 AND HE ALSO HAS AN INTERESTING CONNECTION WITH 232 00:13:10,312 --> 00:13:11,379 LEONARD BERNSTEIN. 233 00:13:11,379 --> 00:13:12,447 >> MY FATHER, WHO'S A PHOTOGRAPHER, TOOK PHOTOS OF 234 00:13:12,447 --> 00:13:13,515 LEONARD BERNSTEIN. AND THEY WERE ON THE WALL IN MY 235 00:13:13,515 --> 00:13:20,889 LIVING ROOM MY WHOLE LIFE, AND ONE DAY, I SAID TO MY PARENTS 236 00:13:20,889 --> 00:13:21,957 SAID, "OH YEAH, THE PHOTOS OF GRANDPA ON THE WALL, ABOVE THE 237 00:13:21,957 --> 00:13:23,024 PIANO." THEY SAID, "THERE'S NO PHOTOS OF 238 00:13:23,024 --> 00:13:29,865 GRANDPA ON THE WALL ABOVE THE PIANO. THAT'S LEONARD BERNSTEIN." 239 00:13:29,865 --> 00:13:30,932 SO I GREW UP MY WHOLE LIFE THINKING LEONARD BERNSTEIN WAS 240 00:13:30,932 --> 00:13:33,034 MY GRANDFATHER. 241 00:13:33,034 --> 00:13:35,704 >> AND THERE, OF COURSE, IS THE PART OF BERNARDO, WHO IS THE 242 00:13:35,704 --> 00:13:36,771 LEADER OF THE SHARKS. 243 00:13:36,771 --> 00:13:38,874 >> I THINK HONESTLY THE HARDEST PART TO CAST WAS BERNARDO, HAD 244 00:13:38,874 --> 00:13:40,442 BEEN LOOKING FOR SIX MONTHS AND WE WEREN'T HAVING ANY LUCK 245 00:13:40,442 --> 00:13:40,976 REALLY. 246 00:13:40,976 --> 00:13:42,043 >> AND THAT'S WHEN CINDY TOLAN REMEMBERED THE THREE 247 00:13:42,043 --> 00:13:44,679 10‐YEAR‐OLDS WHO HAD STARRED IN THE STAGE PRODUCTION OF THE 248 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,816 MOVIE "BILLY ELLIOT" ON BROADWAY. 249 00:13:47,816 --> 00:13:52,053 >> IF YOU GO ONLINE YOU CAN SEE THE THREE OF THEM ACCEPTING 250 00:13:52,053 --> 00:13:56,791 THEIR TONY AWARD. 251 00:13:56,791 --> 00:13:58,927 >> MOM, DAD, AND TWO SISTERS. 252 00:13:58,927 --> 00:14:01,062 >> AND I TURNED TO MY OFFICE AND I SAID, "WHERE'S DAVID ALVAREZ? 253 00:14:01,062 --> 00:14:04,733 WHY AREN'T WE AUDITIONING DAVID ALVAREZ?" 254 00:14:04,733 --> 00:14:07,302 DAVID DROPPED OUT OF THE BUSINESS. HE JUST STOPPED ACTING. 255 00:14:07,302 --> 00:14:12,073 HE WENT INTO THE ARMY WHEN HE WAS A TEENAGER AND THEN HE WAS 256 00:14:12,073 --> 00:14:14,709 LIVING IN OHIO, AND HE LOOKED LIKE A LUMBERJACK. 257 00:14:14,709 --> 00:14:18,947 >> I HAD BEEN BACKPACKING IN MEXICO FOR A COUPLE YEARS. 258 00:14:18,947 --> 00:14:22,117 SO I WAS KIND OF OFF‐GRID, AND CINDY TOLAN ENT ME A PRIVATE 259 00:14:22,117 --> 00:14:26,354 MESSAGE SAYING THAT THEY WERE CASTING FOR BERNARDO FOR THE NEW 260 00:14:26,354 --> 00:14:30,025 STEVEN SPIELBERG "WEST SIDE STORY" MOVIE. 261 00:14:30,025 --> 00:14:33,228 >> AND NOW IT'S TIME TO LET THE WINNERS KNOW THAT THEY GOT THE 262 00:14:33,228 --> 00:14:35,830 GIG. 263 00:14:35,830 --> 00:14:38,500 >> DID EVERYONE CRY WHEN YOU CALLED THEM ON THE PHONE TO TELL 264 00:14:38,500 --> 00:14:43,772 THEM THAT THEY HAD BEEN CAST IN THIS? 265 00:14:43,772 --> 00:14:45,907 >> YEAH, YEAH, THEY ‐‐ THEY DID. THEY CRIED. 266 00:14:45,907 --> 00:14:46,975 THIS IS WHY I LIKE TO TELL ACTORS WHO GET THE PARTS 267 00:14:46,975 --> 00:14:50,645 PERSONALLY. I WANNA GET THEM WHEN THEY LEAST 268 00:14:50,645 --> 00:14:51,746 EXPECT GOOD NEWS, I WANNA START WITH A KIND OF SOMBER VOICE LIKE 269 00:14:51,746 --> 00:14:55,951 I'M SETTING THEM UP FOR THE FALL, AND THEN I WANNA TELL THEM 270 00:14:55,951 --> 00:14:58,587 THEY GOT THE PART AND JUST LET THE TEARS FLY. 271 00:14:58,587 --> 00:15:01,256 LOOK, I'M WEIRD, OKAY? BUT I LIKE THAT. 272 00:15:01,256 --> 00:15:07,529 >> ARIANA DEBOSE HAD PLAYED A CHARACTER CALLED THE BULLET IN 273 00:15:07,529 --> 00:15:08,563 NOW SHE WAS ABOUT TO GET THE CALL. 274 00:15:08,563 --> 00:15:14,936 >> I FOUND OUT IN A NAIL SALON. I HAD TINFOILS ON MY NAILS. 275 00:15:14,936 --> 00:15:21,243 AND THE PHONE RANG, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU IF YOU WOULD BE MY 276 00:15:21,243 --> 00:15:22,310 ANITA IN "WEST SIDE STORY." AND I LITERALLY STARTED SILENT 277 00:15:22,310 --> 00:15:26,548 CRYING. THE POOR LITTLE WOMAN WAS, LIKE, 278 00:15:26,548 --> 00:15:27,582 "ARE YOU OKAY?" AND I WAS, LIKE, "I'M REALLY 279 00:15:27,582 --> 00:15:30,252 GOOD. YES, SIR, I WOULD BE SO HONORED." 280 00:15:30,252 --> 00:15:31,319 >> I'M LIKE, "HEY, MR. SPIELBERG, NICE TO HEAR FROM 281 00:15:31,319 --> 00:15:35,523 YOU. I HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL." AND IT'S LIKE, "OH, PLEASE. 282 00:15:35,523 --> 00:15:37,125 DON'T CALL ME MR. SPIELBERG. CALL ME STEVEN 'CAUSE I'LL BE 283 00:15:37,125 --> 00:15:38,693 CALLING YOU BERNARDO FROM NOW ON." 284 00:15:38,693 --> 00:15:39,761 >> I GOT THIS CALL, UNKNOWN NUMBER, AND PICKED IT UP AND IT 285 00:15:39,761 --> 00:15:42,397 WAS STEVEN SPIELBERG. AND STEVEN WAS OBVIOUSLY VERY 286 00:15:42,397 --> 00:15:45,033 GIDDY AND GIGGLY. AND I THINK HE LOVES ‐‐ HE LOVES 287 00:15:45,033 --> 00:15:47,135 BEING ABLE TO TELL PEOPLE SOME, YOU KNOW, DELIVER GREAT NEWS. 288 00:15:47,135 --> 00:15:52,941 I REMEMBER CALLING MY PARENTS AFTERWARDS AND WE WERE ALL JUST, 289 00:15:52,941 --> 00:15:53,475 LIKE, TOTALLY IN TEARS. 290 00:15:53,475 --> 00:15:58,780 >> I DIDN'T CRY. I CURSED. YIKES, SORRY, MOM. 291 00:15:58,780 --> 00:16:06,187 >> EVEN BEFORE THE CAMERAS WERE ROLLING, STEVEN SPIELBERG DID 292 00:16:06,187 --> 00:16:11,393 SOMETHING THAT IS SO IMPACTFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY. 293 00:16:11,393 --> 00:16:14,029 HE ALREADY HAS 20 ACTORS THAT ARE PUERTO RICAN OR OF PUERTO 294 00:16:14,029 --> 00:16:18,266 RICAN DESCENT. IT'S GROUNDBREAKING. 295 00:16:18,266 --> 00:16:21,936 >> AS MUCH AS I ADORE THE ORIGINAL MOVIE OF "WEST SIDE 296 00:16:21,936 --> 00:16:25,106 STORY," THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT THE ORIGINAL "WEST 297 00:16:25,106 --> 00:16:28,810 SIDE STORY" THAT COULD STAND WITH IMPROVEMENT. 298 00:16:28,810 --> 00:16:31,980 AND PRIMARILY, THERE'S THE FACT THAT THE ACTORS WHO PLAYED THE 299 00:16:31,980 --> 00:16:37,786 SHARKS WERE NOT NECESSARILY LATINX OR PUERTO RICAN AT ALL. 300 00:16:37,786 --> 00:16:38,320 >> YOU KEEP AWAY FROM HIM. 301 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,657 >> I'M GOING TO THINK FOR MYSELF. 302 00:16:42,657 --> 00:16:45,860 ♪♪ 303 00:16:45,860 --> 00:16:49,564 >> IT WAS VERY FORMATIVE FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO WALK ON TO SET AND 304 00:16:49,564 --> 00:16:52,934 TALK TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN PUERTO RICO, WHO ARE AFRO‐LATINO. 305 00:16:52,934 --> 00:16:58,440 LOOK WHO I FOUND. IT MAKES ME SUPER EMOTIONAL, SO 306 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,076 I APOLOGIZE. IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR THAT NEXT 307 00:17:01,076 --> 00:17:05,814 GENERATION TO SEE SOMEONE THAT LOOKS LIKE THEM, AND IT'S 308 00:17:05,814 --> 00:17:07,382 SOMETHING THAT I'M SO UNBELIEVABLY PROUD OF. 309 00:17:07,382 --> 00:17:10,585 >> AND AS IT TURNS OUT SOMEBODY ELSE WAS ABOUT TO GET A BIG CALL 310 00:17:10,585 --> 00:17:12,153 FROM STEVEN SPIELBERG, SOMEBODY WHO HAD WON AN OSCAR FOR 311 00:17:12,153 --> 00:17:16,891 PERFORMING IN "WEST SIDE STORY" NEARLY 60 YEARS EARLIER. 312 00:17:16,891 --> 00:17:18,460 >> MY AGENT SAID, "STEVEN SPIELBERG WANTS TO CALL 313 00:17:18,460 --> 00:17:23,231 YOU. CAN I GIVE HIM YOUR NUMBER?" IT'S LIKE, ARE THERE HOOKERS IN 314 00:17:23,231 --> 00:17:28,503 HOUSTON? ARE YOU SERIOUS? 'COURSE I WANT HIM TO CALL ME. 315 00:17:28,503 --> 00:17:32,741 WHY WOULD HE BE CALLING? I REALLY, HONESTLY, COULDN'T 316 00:17:32,741 --> 00:17:34,008 IMAGINE. 317 00:17:43,184 --> 00:17:47,956 >>> MY FIRST RECOLLECTION OF "WEST SIDE STORY" WAS THE FILM. 318 00:17:47,956 --> 00:17:50,592 I WAS SITTING IN MY GRANDMOTHER'S LIVING ROOM 319 00:17:50,592 --> 00:17:52,427 WATCHING DANCE AT THE GYM. 320 00:17:52,427 --> 00:17:56,164 ♪♪ 321 00:17:56,164 --> 00:18:02,504 >> AND I SAW THE WOMAN IN THE PURPLE DRESS AND I WAS LIKE, I 322 00:18:02,504 --> 00:18:05,673 KNEW I WANTED TO DO THAT. OF COURSE LATER ON I DISCOVERED 323 00:18:05,673 --> 00:18:10,945 THAT THE WOMAN IN THE PURPLE DRESS WAS RITA MORENO. 324 00:18:10,945 --> 00:18:15,183 >> I AUDITIONED MY ARSE OFF. I WANTED THAT PART SO BADLY. 325 00:18:15,183 --> 00:18:18,353 AND IT WAS SO THRILLING TO GET IT. 326 00:18:18,353 --> 00:18:20,455 >> EVERYONE WANTED TO BE RITA MORENO. 327 00:18:20,455 --> 00:18:26,261 WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE A PUERTO RICAN GIRL SINGING AND 328 00:18:26,261 --> 00:18:32,100 DANCING. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. 329 00:18:32,100 --> 00:18:36,771 >> AND THE FACT THAT SHE SHOWED PUERTO RICAN TALENT, AND THAT 330 00:18:36,771 --> 00:18:38,840 SHE TACKLED IT AND THEN SOME, WAS FOR US A SOURCE OF 331 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:40,942 INSPIRATION. 332 00:18:40,942 --> 00:18:45,180 >> SOMETIMES I DON'T KNOW WHICH IS THICKER, YOUR SKULL OR YOUR 333 00:18:45,180 --> 00:18:46,781 ACCENT. 334 00:18:46,781 --> 00:18:49,417 >> RITA MORENO HAS BEEN IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS FOR 70 YEARS. 335 00:18:49,417 --> 00:18:51,019 SHE HAS WON AN EMMY, AN OSCAR, A TONY, AND A GRAMMY. 336 00:18:51,019 --> 00:18:55,223 THAT'S RIGHT. SHE HAS THE EGOT. 337 00:18:55,223 --> 00:19:01,563 >> BUT THE GIRL WHO JOINED "WEST SIDE STORY" WAS VERY BEATEN UP. 338 00:19:01,563 --> 00:19:02,130 I WAS REALLY BARELY HANGING ON. 339 00:19:02,130 --> 00:19:05,834 >> BEFORE HER OSCAR‐WINNING PERFORMANCE, RITA MORENO FOUND 340 00:19:05,834 --> 00:19:08,436 HERSELF AMID THE COLORISM AND PREJUDICE THAT REALLY WAS A 341 00:19:08,436 --> 00:19:11,606 HALLMARK OF HOLLYWOOD IN THAT PERIOD. 342 00:19:11,606 --> 00:19:15,310 AND IT SCARRED HER INSIDE AS WELL. 343 00:19:15,310 --> 00:19:20,081 >> FOR THE LONGEST TIME, I ACQUIESCED. I HATED IT. 344 00:19:20,081 --> 00:19:23,284 I WAS OFFERED NOTHING BUT ISLAND 345 00:19:23,284 --> 00:19:29,090 GIRLS. OR AMERICAN INDIAN, OR EGYPTIAN 346 00:19:29,090 --> 00:19:29,591 GIRLS. 347 00:19:29,591 --> 00:19:30,658 >> SHE WAS CAST IN "THE KING AND I" AS A CHARACTER WHO IS 348 00:19:30,658 --> 00:19:31,693 BURMESE. 349 00:19:31,693 --> 00:19:36,397 >> MY NAME IS TUPTIM. I ALREADY SPEAK ENGLISH. 350 00:19:36,397 --> 00:19:40,068 >> AS LONG AS I WAS DOING THOSE KIND OF ROLES ALL THE TIME, I 351 00:19:40,068 --> 00:19:43,238 WAS ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS, BECAUSE I 352 00:19:43,238 --> 00:19:47,442 HAD REALLY NO SENSE OF MYSELF. AND I DIDN'T FEEL STRONG ENOUGH 353 00:19:47,442 --> 00:19:51,112 THAT I COULD SPEAK UP ABOUT THE SITUATION TO SAY I DON'T WANT TO 354 00:19:51,112 --> 00:19:55,850 DO THIS. AND WHEN I FINALLY GOT TO PLAY A 355 00:19:55,850 --> 00:19:56,951 GENUINE LATINA ‐‐ 356 00:19:56,951 --> 00:20:01,155 >> WHAT AM I? CUT GLASS? 357 00:20:01,155 --> 00:20:05,860 >> ANITA, I THOUGHT, "THIS IS MY ROLE MODEL. 358 00:20:05,860 --> 00:20:07,996 A LITTLE LATE IN THE DAY," I WAS ALMOST 30. 359 00:20:07,996 --> 00:20:12,700 I NEVER WAS AFRAID TO DEPICT HER ‐‐ 360 00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:13,201 >> DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH ME. 361 00:20:13,201 --> 00:20:14,302 >> ‐‐ BECAUSE IT WAS ME. 362 00:20:14,302 --> 00:20:17,438 >> SO AT THE OSCARS, ROCK HUDSON READS THE NOMINEES AND REVEALS 363 00:20:17,438 --> 00:20:18,506 THE WINNER. 364 00:20:18,506 --> 00:20:23,244 >> RITA MORENO IN "WEST SIDE STORY." 365 00:20:23,244 --> 00:20:27,482 >> RITA MORENO WAS IDOLIZED BY ALL OF US IN THE PUERTO RICAN 366 00:20:27,482 --> 00:20:33,788 COMMUNITY IN NEW YORK. 367 00:20:33,788 --> 00:20:38,993 >> I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. GOOD LORD. I LEAVE YOU WITH THAT. 368 00:20:38,993 --> 00:20:41,129 I UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE WERE SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS THAT 369 00:20:41,129 --> 00:20:46,401 RITA MORENO HAD WON THE OSCAR 370 00:20:46,401 --> 00:20:47,468 >> FAST FORWARD ABOUT SIX DECADES AND FATE COMES KNOCKING 371 00:20:47,468 --> 00:20:48,536 AGAIN. 372 00:20:48,536 --> 00:20:49,604 >> MY AGENT SAID, "STEVEN SPIELBERG WANTS TO CALL 373 00:20:49,604 --> 00:20:54,375 YOU. CAN I GIVE HIM YOUR NUMBER?" "ARE YOU SERIOUS? 374 00:20:54,375 --> 00:20:58,613 'COURSE I WANT HIM TO CALL ME." HE SAID, "I'M WONDERING IF YOU 375 00:20:58,613 --> 00:21:03,351 WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BEING A PART OF IT." 376 00:21:03,351 --> 00:21:06,521 AND I SAID TO HIM, "I'M SO FLATTERED. 377 00:21:06,521 --> 00:21:13,394 BUT I DON'T DO CAMEOS." AND THEN HE SAID, "CAMEO? NO. 378 00:21:13,394 --> 00:21:18,132 THERE IS A PART IN HERE THAT TONY KUSHNER WROTE FOR YOU. 379 00:21:18,132 --> 00:21:21,302 I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED." 380 00:21:21,302 --> 00:21:27,108 I SAID, "I ‐‐ YES, I AM." AH! LIKE THAT. 381 00:21:27,108 --> 00:21:33,948 >> TONY KUSHNER CAME UP WITH THE IDEA, WHAT IF YOU GOT 382 00:21:33,948 --> 00:21:36,050 RITA MORENO TO PLAY DOC'S WIDOW? 383 00:21:36,050 --> 00:21:39,687 >> COME ON, DOC, DON'T LET IT GET YOU. 384 00:21:39,687 --> 00:21:40,221 >> I'M SICK. 385 00:21:40,221 --> 00:21:41,289 >> SO DOC HAS DIED AND THE WIDOW HAS TAKEN OVER THE CANDY STORE. 386 00:21:41,289 --> 00:21:42,323 WHEN TONY CALLED ME ABOUT THIS IDEA, I THOUGHT IT WAS A 387 00:21:42,323 --> 00:21:46,027 MASTERSTROKE. I REALLY DID. 388 00:21:46,027 --> 00:21:48,663 >> WE WANTED HER KNOWLEDGE AND HER WISDOM, AND HER INCREDIBLE 389 00:21:48,663 --> 00:21:50,231 TALENT. 390 00:21:50,231 --> 00:21:53,901 >> AND WHEN SHE WALKED ON THE REHEARSAL STAGE FOR THE FIRST 391 00:21:53,901 --> 00:21:58,106 TIME, AND THEY SAW THE RITA MORENO COMING IN TO TELL 392 00:21:58,106 --> 00:22:00,274 HER STORY TO OUR 60‐MEMBER ENSEMBLE COMPANY, THERE WASN'T A 393 00:22:00,274 --> 00:22:03,378 DRY EYE IN THE HOUSE. 394 00:22:03,378 --> 00:22:10,251 >> WHAT'S FOREVER, LIKE, I WANT TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER? 395 00:22:10,251 --> 00:22:12,420 >> YOU DON'T WANT TO START MAYBE WITH, I'D LIKE TO TAKE YOU OUT 396 00:22:12,420 --> 00:22:12,954 TO COFFEE? 397 00:22:12,954 --> 00:22:16,057 >> SHE COMES IN WITH SO MUCH ENERGY TO THE REHEARSAL PROCESS. 398 00:22:16,057 --> 00:22:16,624 IT'S UNBELIEVABLE. 399 00:22:16,624 --> 00:22:18,726 >> I TOOK EVERY OPPORTUNITY I COULD TO SIT AND CHAT WITH HER 400 00:22:18,726 --> 00:22:20,828 ABOUT NOTHING AND ABOUT VERY IMPORTANT THINGS. 401 00:22:20,828 --> 00:22:24,532 ABOUT THIS INDUSTRY, ABOUT HOW UNKIND IT CAN BE TO LATINAS. 402 00:22:24,532 --> 00:22:29,270 >> RITA MORENO WOULD BRING UP TO THOSE YOUNG CAST MEMBERS 403 00:22:29,270 --> 00:22:30,338 THOSE STORIES ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE MAKEUP DEPARTMENT 404 00:22:30,338 --> 00:22:32,407 DARKENING THE SKIN OF SOME OF THE ACTORS. 405 00:22:32,407 --> 00:22:34,509 >> THERE WAS NOT AN UNDERSTANDING THAT PUERTO RICANS 406 00:22:34,509 --> 00:22:41,315 HAVE ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW AND A VERY COMPLEX 407 00:22:41,315 --> 00:22:43,418 >> I USED TO HATE THAT VERY DARK MAKEUP THAT THEY USED ON ALL THE 408 00:22:43,418 --> 00:22:45,553 SHARKS. I MEAN, WE WERE REALLY ALL 409 00:22:45,553 --> 00:22:49,757 MOSTLY ONE SHADE. AND I SAID, "GOD, I HATE THIS 410 00:22:49,757 --> 00:22:51,859 MAKEUP. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO DARK?" 411 00:22:51,859 --> 00:22:56,631 I SAID, "I'M PUERTO RICAN. WHY CAN'T WE BE MY COLOR?" 412 00:22:56,631 --> 00:23:00,334 IT TRULY NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT TIMES WOULD CHANGE. 413 00:23:00,334 --> 00:23:02,437 >> DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? 414 00:23:02,437 --> 00:23:07,141 >> RITA'S PERFORMANCE AS ANITA WOULD OF COURSE CAST A SHADOW 415 00:23:07,141 --> 00:23:09,811 OVER ARIANA DEBOSE, WHO NOW HAD TO TAKE ON THIS ICONIC ROLE. 416 00:23:09,811 --> 00:23:12,980 AND THOSE ARE SOME PRETTY BIG SHOES TO STEP INTO. 417 00:23:12,980 --> 00:23:15,616 >> I ALMOST DIDN'T AUDITION FOR THE FILM. 418 00:23:15,616 --> 00:23:19,287 I IDENTIFY AS AFRO‐LATINO, AND GROWING UP, I DIDN'T NECESSARILY 419 00:23:19,287 --> 00:23:22,990 HAVE ACCESS TO MY HISPANIC HERITAGE. 420 00:23:22,990 --> 00:23:26,160 [ SPEAKING SPANISH ] 421 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,262 >> SPEAK ENGLISH. 422 00:23:28,262 --> 00:23:31,966 >> I THOUGHT THAT I WASN'T HISPANIC ENOUGH, OR THAT I 423 00:23:31,966 --> 00:23:34,602 WASN'T LATINA ENOUGH. BUT I WILL TELL YOU THIS. 424 00:23:34,602 --> 00:23:37,238 I'M NOT BLACK ENOUGH IN CERTAIN CIRCLES. 425 00:23:37,238 --> 00:23:39,841 AND I'M NOT LATINA ENOUGH IN OTHERS. 426 00:23:39,841 --> 00:23:42,477 AND "WEST SIDE STORY" ODDLY ENOUGH WAS ONE OF THE FIRST 427 00:23:42,477 --> 00:23:47,749 EXPERIENCES I'VE EVER HAD WHERE I FELT EMBRACED BY A COMMUNITY 428 00:23:47,749 --> 00:23:52,453 AND WHAT I HAD TO OFFER WAS ENOUGH. 429 00:23:52,453 --> 00:23:57,258 I SAID TO STEVEN SPIELBERG, "IF YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO CONSIDER 430 00:23:57,258 --> 00:23:58,826 ME FOR THIS PART, I HOPE THAT YOU WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I'M A 431 00:23:58,826 --> 00:24:00,394 BLACK WOMAN." 432 00:24:00,394 --> 00:24:03,598 >> SHE GOT THE JOB BECAUSE SHE DANCED LIKE THERE WAS NO 433 00:24:03,598 --> 00:24:06,200 TOMORROW. SHE COULD SING ‐‐ 434 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,904 ♪♪ 435 00:24:09,904 --> 00:24:12,507 ‐‐ LIKE THERE WASN'T YESTERDAY. 436 00:24:12,507 --> 00:24:16,377 >> ARIANA, ANITA, IS A STANDOUT. 437 00:24:16,377 --> 00:24:20,648 ♪♪ 438 00:24:20,648 --> 00:24:23,317 >> SHE'S FIERCE. 439 00:24:23,317 --> 00:24:25,920 >> ANITA IS SHEER BEAUTY AND AMBITION AND PASSION. 440 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,624 AND I'M ALL THOSE THINGS. 441 00:24:29,624 --> 00:24:34,896 >> STILL AHEAD ‐‐ THE TWO GENERATIONS OF ANITA 442 00:24:34,896 --> 00:24:36,464 COME TOGETHER FACE TO FACE, AND FIERCE TO FIERCE. 443 00:24:36,464 --> 00:24:40,067 >> YOU HAD TO PLAY YOUR OWN ANITA. YOU HAD TO. 444 00:24:40,067 --> 00:24:43,237 >> BUT FIRST, WE'RE TAKING YOU WHERE SPIELBERG RARELY ALLOWS 445 00:24:43,237 --> 00:24:50,912 CAMERAS ‐‐ ONTO HIS VERY OWN SET. NEXT. 446 00:24:59,587 --> 00:25:07,728 ♪♪ 447 00:25:07,728 --> 00:25:08,763 >>> STEVEN SPIELBERG'S VERSION OF "WEST SIDE STORY." 448 00:25:08,763 --> 00:25:11,432 I DON'T THINK OF IT AS A REMAKE. IT'S A RE‐IMAGINING. 449 00:25:11,432 --> 00:25:13,568 >> THIS IS A TRADITION IN ALL OF OUR MOVIES WHERE WE TOAST THE 450 00:25:13,568 --> 00:25:17,238 FIRST SHOT AND WE TOAST THE LAST SHOT. 451 00:25:17,238 --> 00:25:20,408 WELL, THE WHOLE TEMPLATE OF OUR RE‐IMAGINED "WEST SIDE STORY" 452 00:25:20,408 --> 00:25:22,510 WAS IT NEEDED TO BE AUTHENTIC. IT NEEDED TO BE REALISTIC. 453 00:25:22,510 --> 00:25:26,747 IT HAD TO FEEL LIKE THESE WERE THE REAL STREETS THAT THESE 454 00:25:26,747 --> 00:25:29,917 STORIES AND THIS TRAGEDY WAS TAKING PLACE ON. 455 00:25:29,917 --> 00:25:32,553 >> ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT STEVEN SAID TO ME, HE SAID, "I 456 00:25:32,553 --> 00:25:35,189 FEEL LIKE THERE'S A KIND OF URBAN POVERTY ON THE STREETS 457 00:25:35,189 --> 00:25:40,494 THAT'S PART OF WHAT WAS INTENDED IN "WEST SIDE STORY" THAT I'D 458 00:25:40,494 --> 00:25:42,630 REALLY LIKE TO CAPTURE. THERE'S A SERIES OF SOCIAL 459 00:25:42,630 --> 00:25:45,766 PRESSURES WHERE FLESH MEETS CEMENT. 460 00:25:45,766 --> 00:25:49,470 >> THE OPENING SHOT OF OUR FILM ACTUALLY SHOWS THE DEMOLITION 461 00:25:49,470 --> 00:25:54,709 THAT IS BEING DONE TO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THAT PEOPLE WERE 462 00:25:54,709 --> 00:25:58,379 BEING EVICTED, AND WHY THE JETS AND THE SHARKS ARE FIGHTING OVER 463 00:25:58,379 --> 00:26:02,083 TERRITORY, AT WHAT WOULD LATER BECOME LINCOLN CENTER. 464 00:26:02,083 --> 00:26:06,821 >> THERE IS A NEW "MAKING OF WEST SIDE STORY" BOOK WITH 465 00:26:06,821 --> 00:26:14,762 PHOTOGRAPHS AND YOU CAN SEE THE EPIC SCALE OF THE PRODUCTION. 466 00:26:14,762 --> 00:26:19,000 >> I DAMN NEAR PASSED OUT WHEN I SAW THE SET OF OUR LITTLE 467 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,102 BARRIO, WHICH WAS NOT SO LITTLE EITHER. 468 00:26:21,102 --> 00:26:23,738 >> I WANTED TO FEEL NEW YORK. AND I WANTED TO FEEL NEW YORK 469 00:26:23,738 --> 00:26:24,305 IN 1957. 470 00:26:24,305 --> 00:26:29,043 >> I REMEMBER THERE WAS ONE DAY WE WERE SHOOTING IN HARLEM. 471 00:26:29,043 --> 00:26:33,814 AND WE TURN LEFT ONTO BROADWAY, AND FOR, LIKE, TEN BLOCKS 472 00:26:33,814 --> 00:26:37,485 THERE'S NOTHING BUT 1957. THERE'S HUNDREDS OF EXTRAS, 473 00:26:37,485 --> 00:26:39,620 SIGNAGE, STOREFRONTS. 474 00:26:39,620 --> 00:26:41,722 >> AND WE'RE ALL DRESSED UP, AND THE CARS ARE DRIVING BY, AND 475 00:26:41,722 --> 00:26:44,358 THEY'RE ALL OLD‐FASHIONED CARS. 476 00:26:44,358 --> 00:26:48,095 >> AND IT'S LIKE, ONLY SPIELBERG COULD TURN BACK TIME AND BRING 477 00:26:48,095 --> 00:26:51,699 US INTO THIS REALITY. 478 00:26:51,699 --> 00:26:53,301 >> THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT NOT FEEL LIKE A MUSICAL. 479 00:26:53,301 --> 00:26:57,004 IT JUST FEELS REAL INSTEAD. 480 00:26:57,004 --> 00:27:00,708 >> SO TO DELVE BACK IN TIME, THE CAST AND THE CREW CHECKED OUT 481 00:27:00,708 --> 00:27:04,412 THE WORK OF DOCUMENTARIANS FROM THAT ERA, LIKE BRUCE DAVIDSON. 482 00:27:04,412 --> 00:27:08,649 >> AND YOU SEE, LIKE, THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE DESPERATE AND AT 483 00:27:08,649 --> 00:27:13,921 THE SAME TIME ARE NIHILISTIC, AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF 484 00:27:13,921 --> 00:27:14,989 THE EXTREME POVERTY, AND THEY DON'T REALLY SEE A FUTURE FOR 485 00:27:14,989 --> 00:27:17,091 THEMSELF. THAT'S NOT, LIKE, A REAL THING 486 00:27:17,091 --> 00:27:20,294 FOR THEM. 487 00:27:20,294 --> 00:27:23,965 >> THE JETS ARE THE GREATEST AND YOU, YOU'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW, 488 00:27:23,965 --> 00:27:26,100 BLOOD TO ME. 489 00:27:26,100 --> 00:27:29,804 >> YOU KNOW, I WAS VERY STRICT ABOUT KEEPING THE JETS IN A COOL 490 00:27:29,804 --> 00:27:37,712 TONE. A LOT OF GRAYS AND BLUES. AND THEN TO CREATE A CONTRAST 491 00:27:37,712 --> 00:27:41,415 WITH THE SHARKS, STRONG REDS AND YELLOWS, AND WARM TONES. 492 00:27:41,415 --> 00:27:44,552 >> AND WE REALLY SEE THOSE REDS AND YELLOWS POP ON THE SCREEN IN 493 00:27:44,552 --> 00:27:47,788 THIS RE‐IMAGINED VERSION OF "AMERICA." 494 00:27:47,788 --> 00:27:57,298 ♪♪ 495 00:27:57,298 --> 00:28:00,434 >> SO IT'S ORIGINALLY A PERFORMANCE ON A ROOFTOP, LIKE 496 00:28:00,434 --> 00:28:02,570 AN ARGUMENT IN A PARTY, BUT THIS VERSION OF "AMERICA" SWEEPS INTO 497 00:28:02,570 --> 00:28:09,944 THE STREETS OF NEW YORK. WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU PUT 498 00:28:09,944 --> 00:28:11,545 "AMERICA" INTO THE STREET? 499 00:28:11,545 --> 00:28:14,715 >> IT JUST OPENED EVERYTHING UP. THE CAST SMILED BIGGER. 500 00:28:14,715 --> 00:28:17,351 EVERYBODY SMILED BIGGER. 501 00:28:17,351 --> 00:28:21,689 >> WE WERE DANCING IN A HEAT WAVE IN NEW YORK CITY. 502 00:28:21,689 --> 00:28:24,859 I KID YOU NOT. I BURNED HOLES IN MY SHOES. 503 00:28:24,859 --> 00:28:25,926 >> HOW HOT WAS IT OUT THERE WHEN YOU SHOT THAT? 504 00:28:25,926 --> 00:28:26,961 >> THAT WAS BAD. THAT WAS BAD. 505 00:28:26,961 --> 00:28:30,664 YOU'RE BRINGING UP THE BAD NEWS NOW. THAT WAS BAD. 506 00:28:30,664 --> 00:28:34,368 >> JEROME ROBBINS' ORIGINAL CHOREOGRAPHY WAS LEGENDARY, AND 507 00:28:34,368 --> 00:28:38,072 JUSTIN PECK WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT. 508 00:28:38,072 --> 00:28:39,673 AND HE GOT TO RE‐INTERPRET THAT CHOREOGRAPHY FOR THIS VERSION. 509 00:28:39,673 --> 00:28:44,979 >> WHAT JEROME ROBBINS DID WITH "WEST SIDE STORY" REALLY MOVED 510 00:28:44,979 --> 00:28:47,048 THE NEEDLE IN TERMS OF HOW DANCE AS A LANGUAGE COULD TELL A 511 00:28:47,048 --> 00:28:53,354 STORY. SO IT'S A REALLY FINE LINE, A 512 00:28:53,354 --> 00:28:57,591 KIND OF TIGHTROPE WALK REMAKING AN ORIGINAL VERSION OF SOMETHING. 513 00:28:57,591 --> 00:29:00,761 >> I WANT TO DANCE! 514 00:29:00,761 --> 00:29:04,432 >> SO IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF TOPPING, IT'S A QUESTION OF 515 00:29:04,432 --> 00:29:06,033 FINDING YOUR OWN LANGUAGE WITH THE FILM AND WITH THE 516 00:29:06,033 --> 00:29:08,135 CHOREOGRAPHY. 517 00:29:08,135 --> 00:29:11,872 >> WE LOOKED AT THAT TIME PERIOD IN PARTICULAR, AND HOW, LIKE, 518 00:29:11,872 --> 00:29:16,610 THE EVOLUTION FROM MAMBO TO SALSA WAS VERY MUCH, LIKE, KIND 519 00:29:16,610 --> 00:29:21,882 OF RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS. 520 00:29:21,882 --> 00:29:27,755 ♪♪ 521 00:29:27,755 --> 00:29:29,857 >> TWO THINGS THAT AREN'T CHANGING ARE MUSIC AND LYRICS. 522 00:29:29,857 --> 00:29:30,925 IN THE ORIGINAL 1961 FILM, TONY AND MARIA'S SINGING VOICES WERE 523 00:29:30,925 --> 00:29:34,628 DUBBED. WHEN WE HEAR RACHEL AND ANSEL, 524 00:29:34,628 --> 00:29:35,663 YOU'LL ACTUALLY HEAR THEM SINGING SONDHEIM'S UNFORGETTABLE 525 00:29:35,663 --> 00:29:38,099 LYRICS. 526 00:29:38,099 --> 00:29:48,709 ♪♪ 527 00:29:48,709 --> 00:29:52,413 >> IT WAS SO COOL AND SO NERVE‐RACKING TO HAVE 528 00:29:52,413 --> 00:29:56,650 STEPHEN SONDHEIM IN THE ROOM WHILE YOU'RE SINGING HIS LYRICS. 529 00:29:56,650 --> 00:30:02,957 ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE IS THAT 530 00:30:02,957 --> 00:30:09,296 HE CALLED ME A NIGHTINGALE, AND THAT HE DIDN'T WANT ME TO KNOW 531 00:30:09,296 --> 00:30:10,364 THAT HE CALLED ME A NIGHTINGALE, BUT HE DID. 532 00:30:10,364 --> 00:30:11,932 >> THE COLORS, THE LIGHTS, EVERYTHING DOES ALL THE WORK FOR 533 00:30:11,932 --> 00:30:13,534 YOU. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WALK DOWN 534 00:30:13,534 --> 00:30:14,068 THE STREET AND SING THE SONG. 535 00:30:14,068 --> 00:30:15,136 >> THE JOY, THE JOY WAS PALPABLE. 536 00:30:15,136 --> 00:30:18,272 >> IT TOOK 430 CAST AND CREW MEMBERS TO BRING 1957 TO LIFE, 537 00:30:18,272 --> 00:30:19,874 AND NOW, ONCE THE FILM OPENS, AUDIENCES WILL GET TO SEE FOR 538 00:30:19,874 --> 00:30:23,544 THEMSELVES. 539 00:30:23,544 --> 00:30:28,315 >> I WOULD COME HOME EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, AND I WOULD SAY TO 540 00:30:28,315 --> 00:30:29,917 KATE, "YOU KNOW WHAT I'M DREADING? 541 00:30:29,917 --> 00:30:33,053 THE LAST DAY OF SHOOTING. I DON'T WANT THIS EVER TO END." 542 00:30:33,053 --> 00:30:37,758 >> THAT WAS GREAT! GREAT JOB! 543 00:30:37,758 --> 00:30:43,430 >> COMING UP, WHAT THE BELOVED ORIGINAL FILM OF "WEST SIDE 544 00:30:43,430 --> 00:30:44,165 STORY" GOT WRONG. 545 00:30:44,165 --> 00:30:45,766 >> I GOT THIS CLOSE TO NOT DOING IT. 546 00:30:45,766 --> 00:30:50,905 >> THAT THE NEW FILMMAKERS ARE FINALLY MAKING RIGHT. NEXT. 547 00:31:03,617 --> 00:31:06,854 ♪♪ 548 00:31:06,854 --> 00:31:10,524 >>> THERE WOULDN'T BE A STEVEN SPIELBERG "WEST SIDE 549 00:31:10,524 --> 00:31:11,989 STORY" HAD THERE NOT BEEN THE ORIGINAL ONE. 550 00:31:11,989 --> 00:31:17,795 >> RITA MORENO ALMOST DIDN'T DO THIS FILM BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T 551 00:31:17,795 --> 00:31:25,169 LIKE A LYRIC IN THE SONG "AMERICA." 552 00:31:25,169 --> 00:31:27,304 >> ONE DAY BEFORE WE ACTUALLY STARTED REHEARSALS, I LOOKED AT 553 00:31:27,304 --> 00:31:27,838 THE SCORE AND THERE IT IS ‐‐ 554 00:31:27,838 --> 00:31:32,076 ♪ PUERTO RICO 555 00:31:32,076 --> 00:31:38,949 YOU UGLY ISLAND ISLAND OF TROPIC DISEASES ♪ 556 00:31:38,949 --> 00:31:40,017 AND I WENT ‐‐ 557 00:31:40,017 --> 00:31:43,187 [ GASP ] 558 00:31:43,187 --> 00:31:50,060 AND IT FELT AWFUL. IT FELT HORRIBLE. 559 00:31:50,060 --> 00:31:54,798 AND I THOUGHT, "I CAN'T DO THIS. I CAN'T DO THIS TO MY PEOPLE." 560 00:31:54,798 --> 00:32:00,070 I GOT THIS CLOSE TO NOT DOING IT. WITHIN DAYS I GOT A NEW SCRIPT. 561 00:32:00,070 --> 00:32:03,807 AND WHEN I LOOKED AT "AMERICA," IT WENT ‐‐ 562 00:32:03,807 --> 00:32:06,410 ♪ PUERTO RICO 563 00:32:06,410 --> 00:32:10,147 MY HEART'S DEVOTION 564 00:32:10,147 --> 00:32:14,885 LET IT SINK BACK IN THE OCEAN ♪ 565 00:32:14,885 --> 00:32:19,556 AND I WAS SAVED. 566 00:32:19,556 --> 00:32:20,624 >> I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHE CAN LIVE WITH, BECAUSE SHE 567 00:32:20,624 --> 00:32:23,260 STILL HAS HER LOVE FOR HER BELOVED PUERTO RICO. 568 00:32:23,260 --> 00:32:27,464 >> IN ITS ORIGINAL INCARNATION, "WEST SIDE STORY" WAS THE WORK 569 00:32:27,464 --> 00:32:34,872 OF FOUR CREATORS WHO IN A SENSE THEMSELVES WERE PART OF A 570 00:32:34,872 --> 00:32:40,677 MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY IN AMERICA. 571 00:32:40,677 --> 00:32:41,745 FOR 2021, THEY KNEW THAT THIS NEW VERSION HAD TO GO BEYOND 572 00:32:41,745 --> 00:32:42,813 EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING. 573 00:32:42,813 --> 00:32:43,847 >> WE KNOW SO MUCH MORE NOW ABOUT IDENTITY, ABOUT 574 00:32:43,847 --> 00:32:45,416 REPRESENTATION. THIS FILM MUST REFLECT THAT. 575 00:32:45,416 --> 00:32:49,653 >> STEVEN AND I WANTED TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT THE PUERTO RICAN 576 00:32:49,653 --> 00:32:51,255 COMMUNITY WAS THINKING AND FEELING ABOUT OUR IDEA THAT WE 577 00:32:51,255 --> 00:32:54,391 WERE GOING TO MAKE THIS. 578 00:32:54,391 --> 00:32:56,493 >> HOW WILL YOU REPRESENT US IN THIS NEW VERSION OF "WEST SIDE 579 00:32:56,493 --> 00:32:57,594 STORY"? 580 00:32:57,594 --> 00:33:00,197 >> ONE OF THE REASONS WE ARE HERE, ONE OF THE REASONS WE HAVE 581 00:33:00,197 --> 00:33:04,968 HIRED SO MANY PUERTO RICAN SINGERS, DANCERS, AND ACTORS, IS 582 00:33:04,968 --> 00:33:09,740 SO THEY CAN HELP GUIDE US TO REPRESENT PUERTO RICO IN A WAY 583 00:33:09,740 --> 00:33:11,875 THAT WILL MAKE ALL OF YOU AND ALL OF US PROUD. 584 00:33:11,875 --> 00:33:13,444 >> WHY WAS THAT SO IMPORTANT? 585 00:33:13,444 --> 00:33:18,115 >> BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT REPRESENTATION BE AUTHENTIC, TO 586 00:33:18,115 --> 00:33:19,149 RETURN THE PIECE TO THE INTEGRITY THAT I THINK IT 587 00:33:19,149 --> 00:33:20,250 DESERVES. 588 00:33:20,250 --> 00:33:23,921 >> SPIELBERG AND KUSHNER BROUGHT IN HISTORICAL CONSULTANTS TO 589 00:33:23,921 --> 00:33:26,023 HELP GUIDE THE CAST SO THEY MIGHT BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THE 590 00:33:26,023 --> 00:33:29,760 PEOPLE OF THAT TIME REALLY WERE GOING THROUGH. 591 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:32,896 >> WE HAD A HUGE TEAM OF DOZENS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE EVERY 592 00:33:32,896 --> 00:33:36,600 DAY MAKING SURE THAT NOT ONLY THAT IT STAYS TRUE TO PUERTO 593 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:41,371 RICANS, BUT THAT IT STAYS TRUE TO PUERTO RICANS IN THE '50S. 594 00:33:41,371 --> 00:33:45,042 >> AND WE BROUGHT ALL THESE MATERIAL, ALL THESE EXPRESSIONS, 595 00:33:45,042 --> 00:33:48,745 AND LANGUAGE, IDIOSYNCRASIES, AND WAYS OF REACTING TO 596 00:33:48,745 --> 00:33:50,848 THINGS ‐‐ ALL OF THAT, WE THREW IT ON THE TABLE. 597 00:33:50,848 --> 00:33:52,449 >> PARTS OF THE FILM HAVE SPANISH DIALOGUE WITH NO 598 00:33:52,449 --> 00:33:55,085 SUBTITLES. 599 00:33:55,085 --> 00:33:57,721 [ SPEAKING SPANISH ] 600 00:33:57,721 --> 00:34:02,993 >> AND IT REALLY BRINGS YOU IN AS A VIEWER TO THE EXPERIENCE OF 601 00:34:02,993 --> 00:34:05,129 LIVING IN A BILINGUAL HOUSEHOLD. 602 00:34:05,129 --> 00:34:07,764 >> THE PEOPLE THAT WE MEET WHO ARE PUERTO RICAN HERITAGE IN THE 603 00:34:07,764 --> 00:34:10,400 MUSICAL ARE NEW ARRIVALS IN NEW YORK. 604 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:18,242 AND THEY'RE GREETED WITH RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA. 605 00:34:18,242 --> 00:34:19,309 >> IT'S THE THING ABOUT, "YOU ARE DIFFERENT THAN ME, YOU DO 606 00:34:19,309 --> 00:34:19,843 NOT BELONG ON THIS BLOCK." 607 00:34:19,843 --> 00:34:21,411 >> SO WE TOOK THAT AND RAN WITH IT. WE TOOK IT FARTHER THAN IT 608 00:34:21,411 --> 00:34:24,047 SEEMED POSSIBLE I THINK TO TAKE IT IN 1957. 609 00:34:24,047 --> 00:34:27,751 >> WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE TELLING THE HISTORIC 610 00:34:27,751 --> 00:34:30,387 EVENTS OF THE MOMENT. 611 00:34:30,387 --> 00:34:32,523 >> THE JETS ARE THESE GUTTER RATS WHO ARE BEING FLUSHED OUT 612 00:34:32,523 --> 00:34:35,159 OF THE GUTTER. THE PUERTO RICANS ARE PEOPLE WHO 613 00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:38,862 HAVE ARRIVED AND ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO SORT OF FIND THEIR WAY 614 00:34:38,862 --> 00:34:44,701 INTO THE AMERICAN DREAM, AND THEY'RE AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS. 615 00:34:44,701 --> 00:34:48,906 >> THE RECENT ARRIVALS HAD MOVED INTO WHAT HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN AN 616 00:34:48,906 --> 00:34:52,075 AFRICAN‐AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD CALLED SAN JUAN HILL. 617 00:34:52,075 --> 00:34:58,448 IT WAS A HUGE AREA FROM BROADWAY ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER FROM 618 00:34:58,448 --> 00:34:59,483 ABOUT 60th STREET TO 72nd STREET, THAT WAS TARGETED FOR 619 00:34:59,483 --> 00:35:00,017 DEMOLITION BY ROBERT MOSES. 620 00:35:00,017 --> 00:35:03,153 >> WHILE THEIR ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD IS BEING DESTROYED 621 00:35:03,153 --> 00:35:08,458 BY THE WRECKING BALL, THEY'RE FIGHTING FOR THE RUINS WHERE 622 00:35:08,458 --> 00:35:10,561 THEY'RE CLEARING OUT SAN JUAN HILL IN ORDER TO BUILD THE 623 00:35:10,561 --> 00:35:12,663 LINCOLN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS. 624 00:35:12,663 --> 00:35:15,866 >> THAT WAS A PUERTO RICAN NEIGHBORHOOD, AND A LOT OF 625 00:35:15,866 --> 00:35:19,536 PEOPLE WHO GOT DISPLACED. 626 00:35:19,536 --> 00:35:22,172 >> TONY KUSHNER BROUGHT A HUGE DEPTH TO THE WRITING OF EACH OF 627 00:35:22,172 --> 00:35:24,274 THESE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERS. 628 00:35:24,274 --> 00:35:29,046 >> WHAT I LOVE THE MOST ABOUT BEING ABLE TO PLAY A CHARACTER 629 00:35:29,046 --> 00:35:32,716 LIKE BERNARDO WAS THAT I COULD REPRESENT MY CULTURE, I COULD 630 00:35:32,716 --> 00:35:35,385 REPRESENT THE STRUGGLES OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO COME TO A NEW PLACE 631 00:35:35,385 --> 00:35:42,259 AND FIGURE OUT FROM SCRATCH HOW YOU'RE GOING TO SURVIVE. 632 00:35:42,259 --> 00:35:45,929 >> THE CASTING OF ANYBODIES REFLECTS THE REPRESENTATION OF 633 00:35:45,929 --> 00:35:51,735 ANOTHER COMMUNITY WHICH HAS FOUGHT SO HARD FOR RECOGNITION. 634 00:35:51,735 --> 00:35:52,803 ANYBODIES PREVIOUSLY WAS DESCRIBED AS A TOMBOY. 635 00:35:52,803 --> 00:35:54,438 >> I'M A KILLER, I WANT TO FIGHT. 636 00:35:54,438 --> 00:35:58,642 >> IN HIS VERSION, SPIELBERG CASTS TRANS NON‐BINARY ACTOR 637 00:35:58,642 --> 00:36:02,346 IRIS MENAS, WHO BRINGS A NEW IDENTITY TO THIS CHARACTER. 638 00:36:02,346 --> 00:36:06,049 >> YOU KNOW, WE REALLY JUST FEAR WHAT WE DON'T KNOW. 639 00:36:06,049 --> 00:36:08,118 AND WE ALL NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE OPEN AND COMPASSIONATE 640 00:36:08,118 --> 00:36:11,321 TOWARD ONE ANOTHER. 641 00:36:11,321 --> 00:36:17,094 >> STEVEN HAS THIS STRANGELY UNCANNY ABILITY TO DO PIECES 642 00:36:17,094 --> 00:36:21,865 THAT MIRROR SOCIETY AND WHERE WE ARE. 643 00:36:21,865 --> 00:36:23,467 >> DIVISIONS BETWEEN UNLIKE‐MINDED PEOPLE IS AS OLD 644 00:36:23,467 --> 00:36:25,035 AS TIME ITSELF. 645 00:36:25,035 --> 00:36:29,273 >> THE WORLD WANTS TO DIVIDE ITSELF ALWAYS, THEM AND US, 646 00:36:29,273 --> 00:36:30,874 DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS. THERE ARE JETS AND SHARKS 647 00:36:30,874 --> 00:36:34,411 EVERYWHERE. 648 00:36:34,411 --> 00:36:35,512 >> KILL THE LIGHTS. 649 00:36:35,512 --> 00:36:37,114 >> THIS COUNTRY IS BETTER THAN IT WAS, BUT IT IS STILL 650 00:36:37,114 --> 00:36:38,148 IMPERILED. AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO THINK 651 00:36:38,148 --> 00:36:39,716 ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED AND THE GREAT DISTANCE 652 00:36:39,716 --> 00:36:42,386 THAT WE STILL HAVE TO GO. 653 00:36:42,386 --> 00:36:47,658 >> THOUGH IT'S A TRAGEDY IN THE END, THERE'S STILL A REAL SENSE 654 00:36:47,658 --> 00:36:50,827 OF HOPE. THAT EVEN IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY, THERE CAN BE SO MUCH 655 00:36:50,827 --> 00:36:53,463 HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. 656 00:36:53,463 --> 00:36:56,133 >> LOVE ENDURES INTOLERANCE, AND PREJUDICE HAS TO BE DEFEATED ONE 657 00:36:56,133 --> 00:36:59,836 LOVE STORY AT A TIME. AND THIS WAS THE ONE LOVE STORY 658 00:36:59,836 --> 00:37:02,439 THAT I WANTED TO TELL. 659 00:37:02,439 --> 00:37:18,322 ♪♪ 660 00:37:18,322 --> 00:37:22,526 RITA MORENO GOES ONE‐ON‐ONE WITH ANITA 3.0. 661 00:37:22,526 --> 00:37:24,227 >> YOU PLAY EVERY POSSIBLE COLOR KNOWN TO MAN IN THIS ONE ROLE, 662 00:37:24,227 --> 00:37:25,295 AND SHE'S A FEMALE. 663 00:37:25,295 --> 00:37:26,396 >> AND SHE'S A FEMALE. 664 00:37:26,396 --> 00:37:28,498 >> AND SHE'S A FEMALE. 665 00:37:28,498 --> 00:37:32,060 >> NEXT. 666 00:37:36,973 --> 00:37:40,644 ♪♪ 667 00:37:40,644 --> 00:37:41,177 >>> WE'RE CLAPPED, WE'RE SLATED? 668 00:37:41,177 --> 00:37:41,678 >> YEAH, WE'RE SLATED. 669 00:37:41,678 --> 00:37:43,813 >> WILL, WE'RE GOOD? 670 00:37:43,813 --> 00:37:44,314 >> YES, SIR. 671 00:37:44,314 --> 00:37:48,051 >> LET'S GO. 672 00:37:48,051 --> 00:37:49,085 >> I PERSONALLY AM VERY GLAD THAT WE GET TO DO THIS. 673 00:37:49,085 --> 00:37:53,857 THE FIRST TIME I MET YOU, I WAS INCREDIBLY AWKWARD. 674 00:37:53,857 --> 00:37:54,891 >> YOU WEREN'T AWKWARD. YOU WERE ‐‐ YOU WERE NERVOUS, IS 675 00:37:54,891 --> 00:37:57,027 WHAT YOU WERE. 676 00:37:57,027 --> 00:37:58,595 >> I WAS, OOF ‐‐ BEYOND. I'M STILL NERVOUS. A LITTLE BIT. 677 00:37:58,595 --> 00:37:59,663 I'M SWEATING. IT'S FINE. 678 00:37:59,663 --> 00:38:00,196 >> OH, COME ON! 679 00:38:00,196 --> 00:38:03,900 >> IT NEVER GOES AWAY. 680 00:38:03,900 --> 00:38:05,468 >> WE'RE PLAYING, YOU KNOW, TWO DIFFERENT GENERATIONS OF ONE 681 00:38:05,468 --> 00:38:06,536 CHARACTER ‐‐ 682 00:38:06,536 --> 00:38:11,274 >> ‐‐ OF ONE CHARACTER. IT'S AMAZING. 683 00:38:11,274 --> 00:38:14,411 I UNDERSTOOD ANITA SO WELL, BECAUSE I WAS BORN IN 684 00:38:14,411 --> 00:38:17,614 PUERTO RICO. I WAS BROUGHT TO THE 685 00:38:17,614 --> 00:38:23,420 UNITED STATES WHEN I WAS 5 YEARS OLD. 686 00:38:23,420 --> 00:38:30,193 MY FIRST AMERICAN EXPERIENCE WAS LOOKING AT THE ICE CREAM CONE. 687 00:38:30,193 --> 00:38:33,897 I THOUGHT, ON THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT 688 00:38:33,897 --> 00:38:35,498 IT WAS ‐‐ AN ICE CREAM CONE, WOW! AND MY MOTHER EXPLAINED WHAT 689 00:38:35,498 --> 00:38:37,100 THAT WAS. YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A COMPLETELY 690 00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:37,600 DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. 691 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:39,769 >> I HAD A SIMILAR REACTION WHEN I FIRST READ THIS SCRIPT. 692 00:38:39,769 --> 00:38:42,372 I REALIZED VERY QUICKLY THAT THIS WAS A WOMAN WHO WANTED TO 693 00:38:42,372 --> 00:38:45,008 ASSIMILATE. I AM PUERTO RICAN, I'M ALSO 694 00:38:45,008 --> 00:38:48,178 BIRACIAL. MY MOTHER IS WHITE, AND I GREW 695 00:38:48,178 --> 00:38:52,916 UP IN A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE COMMUNITY. 696 00:38:52,916 --> 00:38:57,153 AND I SHED SO MANY THINGS IN ORDER TO FIT IN. 697 00:38:57,153 --> 00:38:59,289 AND THEN IN MY ADULTHOOD, I REALIZED I HAD SHED SOME OF THE 698 00:38:59,289 --> 00:39:03,526 MOST SPECIAL AND UNIQUE PARTS ABOUT ME. 699 00:39:03,526 --> 00:39:06,129 AND THAT'S WHERE MY ANITA COMES FROM. 700 00:39:06,129 --> 00:39:13,536 >> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ABSOLUTELY ATTRACTED ME WAS 701 00:39:13,536 --> 00:39:16,172 PLAYING SOMEONE WHO NOT ONLY HAD AN OPINION, BUT WAS PLEASED TO 702 00:39:16,172 --> 00:39:19,376 OPINE. 703 00:39:19,376 --> 00:39:23,580 >> GIRLS HERE ARE FREE TO HAVE FUN. SHE IS IN AMERICA NOW. 704 00:39:23,580 --> 00:39:26,216 >> ANITA HAS TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT SELF‐RESPECT. 705 00:39:26,216 --> 00:39:29,319 I AM SOMEONE, I THINK WE CAN AGREE ‐‐ 706 00:39:29,319 --> 00:39:29,853 [ LAUGHTER ] 707 00:39:29,853 --> 00:39:34,057 WHO IS NOT AFRAID TO USE THE WORD "NO." 708 00:39:34,057 --> 00:39:36,192 BUT, YOU KNOW, EVEN I HAVE MY OWN JOURNEY WITH SELF‐RESPECT. 709 00:39:36,192 --> 00:39:38,328 >> BUT YOU KNOW WHY THAT JOURNEY IS SO DIFFICULT? 710 00:39:38,328 --> 00:39:42,499 IT'S BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST THING WE'VE BEEN CONVINCED FOR 711 00:39:42,499 --> 00:39:45,135 TOO MANY YEARS IN THE PAST THAT WE HAVEN'T EARNED IT. 712 00:39:45,135 --> 00:39:48,338 ESPECIALLY IF YOU COME FROM ANOTHER NATIONALITY. 713 00:39:48,338 --> 00:39:50,974 >> YOUR BROTHER HAS SOMETHING TO SAY TO YOU. 714 00:39:50,974 --> 00:39:52,542 >> I APOLOGIZE FOR BEHAVING LAST NIGHT LIKE A ‐‐ 715 00:39:52,542 --> 00:39:54,144 >> LIKE A GANGSTER! 716 00:39:54,144 --> 00:39:56,780 >> I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T TAKE A MOMENT TO JUST TELL YOU 717 00:39:56,780 --> 00:40:02,585 THANK YOU. I WOULDN'T BE HERE WITHOUT YOU. 718 00:40:02,585 --> 00:40:04,687 I CAN'T IMAGINE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU WENT THROUGH, BUT 719 00:40:04,687 --> 00:40:10,527 BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE THINGS YOU WENT THROUGH, I HAVE OPPORTUNITY. 720 00:40:10,527 --> 00:40:12,629 AND YOU ARE, YOU'RE A HERO. THANK YOU. 721 00:40:12,629 --> 00:40:16,332 >> YOU KNOW, ARIANA, YOU ARE A REMARKABLE YOUNG WOMAN. 722 00:40:16,332 --> 00:40:21,638 FIRST OF ALL, THE CHOICE TO CHOOSE YOU AS ANITA, I THOUGHT 723 00:40:21,638 --> 00:40:25,375 WAS GORGEOUSLY PLACED BECAUSE I LOVED THE IDEA THAT YOU WERE 724 00:40:25,375 --> 00:40:26,910 AFRO‐LATINA. 725 00:40:26,910 --> 00:40:28,978 >> YEAH. 726 00:40:28,978 --> 00:40:31,080 >> I PUT MYSELF IN YOUR PLACE WHEN YOU DO "AMERICA," AND I 727 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:34,250 JUST, I GLORY IN IT. IT'S WONDERFUL. 728 00:40:34,250 --> 00:40:38,521 >> HEY, Y'ALL! I'M DOING THIS BECAUSE I 729 00:40:38,521 --> 00:40:41,124 ACTUALLY DID IT FOR THE VERY FIRST MOVIE. 730 00:40:41,124 --> 00:40:49,098 SO I THOUGHT THIS WOULD KIND OF BRING THIS FULL CIRCLE. TAKE 12. 731 00:40:49,098 --> 00:40:52,268 >> I AM SO GRATEFUL TO THE GODS UP THERE, THE PLANETS ALIGNING, 732 00:40:52,268 --> 00:40:56,473 THAT ALL OF THIS HAPPENED. I'M IN "WEST SIDE STORY," AGAIN. 733 00:40:56,473 --> 00:41:01,244 >> AGAIN! 734 00:41:01,244 --> 00:41:04,948 >> PEOPLE LIKE STEPHEN SONDHEIM, WHO WE SHALL MISS DREADFULLY, 735 00:41:04,948 --> 00:41:08,117 AND STEVEN SPIELBERG AND TONY KUSHNER WERE AROUND TO MAKE 736 00:41:08,117 --> 00:41:12,388 THIS HAPPEN. 737 00:41:12,388 --> 00:41:15,558 ♪ HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET ♪ 738 00:41:15,558 --> 00:41:28,605 ♪♪ 739 00:41:28,605 --> 00:41:29,606 ♪♪