Steven Spielbergis opening up about his decision to not subtitle the Spanish-language scenes in hisWest Side Storyfilm adaptation.
The director, 74, toldIGNin an interview that he “didn’t want to subtitle any of the Spanish out of respect for the inclusivity of our intentions to hire a totally Latinx cast to play the Sharks' boys and girls.”
“That was a mandate that I put down to Cindy Tolan who cast the movie, that I wasn’t going to entertain any auditions that aren’t [descended from] parents or grandparents or [are] themselves from Latinx countries,” Spielberg said. “Especially Puerto Rico, we looked a lot in Puerto Rico, we have 20 performers in our film from Puerto Rico or they’re Nuyorican.”
Spielberg said casting actual Latinx performers “was very important and goes hand-in-hand with my reasoning for not subtitling the Spanish.”
“If I subtitled the Spanish I’d simply be doubling down on the English and giving English the power over the Spanish,” he said. “This was not going to happen in this film. I needed to respect the language enough not to subtitle it.”
Ariana DeBose, Steven Spielberg and Rachel Zegler.Jamie McCarthy/Getty
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“We just wanted for this movie to get it right in the way that we wanted every single person who plays a Puerto Rican to be from the Latinx community, and that was a mandate from the get-go,” Spielberg said.
The director also revealed why he chose the iconic musical as his latest project, telling the BBC, “I think I wanted to direct a musical film because I knew I couldn’t sing and dance.”
Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler as Tony and Maria inWest Side Story.20th Century Studios
“It’s a tremendous way of sort of throwing myself into a genre that physically I would never be part of, except to be able to tell a story in that idiom,” he added.
The new adaptation starsHamilton’sAriana DeBoseas Anita, newcomerRachel Zegleras Maria,Ansel Elgortas Tony andDavid Alvarezas Bernardo.
Moreno, who turns 90 on Saturday, also makes a return to the musical in the new role of Valentina, a store owner who offers Tony work after he attempts to rebuild his life following a prison stint. The Oscar winner was also an executive producer on the film.
West Side Storydebuts in theaters this Friday.
source: people.com
