Steven Spielberg recalled the worst day on the set of his new film ‘West Side Story’. He has also said that he won’t be making any musicals after this film, despite the film being a major critical success.
According to many critics, Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ was a critical success, even surpassing the original. It’s a genre Spielberg hasn’t explored much in his long career as a filmmaker. As a result, his fans were taken aback when he announced that it would be his final musical film. Throughout his five-decade career, the director has dabbled in a variety of genres. He demonstrated his mastery in horror, adventure, dramas, and period pieces. But for him to say he’ll stop doing musicals after ‘West Side Story’ is truly surprising. In a recent interview, he stated that the most difficult day of shooting was the last day because he knew it would be the last time Spielberg was on the set of a musical film he was directing.
Highlights —
- Steven Spielberg won’t make musicals anymore
- No more musicals by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg won’t make musicals anymore
The 2021 version of the legendary musical, the ‘West Side Story’ is the second film adaptation after a 1961 film of the same name. Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay for Spielberg’s version and everything about the musical, from the music to dance to the performances, was widely acclaimed. The film ended up winning several awards and Oscar nominations. The film also bagged multiple awards at the recently concluded Golden Globe Awards. Critics called it a triumphant masterpiece that will be remembered for ages. However, when it comes to the box office returns, the film turned out to be a big flop. Can this be the reason for Steven quitting musicals altogether?
Steven was speaking at the Producers Guild of America, where he was contending for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award. He said that while he will not be directing any musicals after this, he would like to produce a few. In fact, the production of ‘The Colour Purple’ is already underway under his production company Amblin Entertainment. Hence, it’s not that Spielberg is completely averse to the idea of making musicals. He just doesn’t want to direct them.
One would think that he had decided not to do any musicals because he must have had a bad experience on the film’s set. But that is not the case. In fact, he pretty much enjoyed the entire process of making ‘West Side Story’. Earlier, he had even expressed his desire to make a musical film, a genre that he had not tackled in his long and illustrious film directing career.
No more musicals by Steven Spielberg
‘West Side Story’ got nominated for seven Oscars in 2022, but only one got awarded: Best Supporting Actress for Ariana DeBose. The film was nominated for several awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design.
Steven Spielberg is a master of the film craft. It’s a piece of sad news for the fans of ‘West Side Story’ to know that there won’t be another Spielberg directed musical after this one.
Tell us in the comments if you think Spielberg is being too harsh on himself with this decision? Also, tell us your favourite musical film not directed by Spielberg.
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