West Side Story (2021) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg was the director in charge of this remake of a film which won ten Oscars in its first version. Spielberg had first become interested in the film as a child and mentioned his interest in directing a new version back in 2014, although he has been quoted as staying he wanted to make a musical as long ago as 2004. The film was originally due to be released in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic intervened, but the delay to 2021 gave the new film an extra resonance, 60 years after the original.

Spielberg's credits are far too numerous to list but include 'Jurassic Park' (1993), 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) and 'Bridge of Spires' (2015) to name a few.

Answer: Valentina

In the original version, Tony worked in a store for a character named Doc. Moreno was cast as the widow of Doc, still employing Tony in her shop and allowing him to live on the premises. Valentina is the mentor for many of the Jets, not just Tony, and (as Doc did in the original) prevents the gang attack on Anita and shames the young men for their actions. Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Anita but has not been nominated for the 2021 version.

As well as acting in the film, Moreno was credited as executive producer.

Answer: Tony

Elgort was born in New York in 1994 and began studying acting at the age of 12, overlapping with his ballet training at the School of American Ballet. His first acting role came on the stage in 2012 before he landed a role in 'Carrie' (2013) as Carrie's date for the ill fated prom. Ansel also starred in the 2014 film 'The Fault in Our Stars'.

In 'West Side Story', Ansel did all his own singing, including some which were done live during filming of the scenes, including parts of 'Maria'. Playback was used for several songs - unsurprisingly when you consider how strenuous some of the scenes are.

Answer: The Lincoln Center

The musical on which both films are based, and the films themselves, are set in the late 1950s or early 1960s at a time when much redevelopment was going on in New York, although that city was not the only one to destroy its past. The tenements were torn down to make way for new buildings of which the Lincoln Center was one.

The 2021 film makes this explicit by showing a hoarding about the new building. The Jets and Sharks are fighting over an ever diminishing area, a point which is made by Lieutenant Schrank (Corey Stoll) when he breaks up an early fight between the rival gangs.

The fact that the area is getting smaller means that both the American Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks are desperate to lay claim to what is left.

Answer: Rachel Zegler

All of the actresses appeared in the 2021 film but Rachel was the one making her debut. Casting for the new version was particular to choose Latino/Latina actors for the Puerto Rican characters and they are shown speaking Spanish among themselves, without subtitles being used. Rachel Zegler was born in New Jersey in 2001 and has Colombian heritage from her grandmother on her mother's side of her family.

The role of Maria was her first film role, although she had already established herself as a singer on a YouTube channel she set up in 2015.

Other film roles are in the pipeline for her at the time of writing.

Answer: Vasquez

The characters are fleshed out a little more than in the original film with Bernardo being depicted as a promising boxer. There are posters showing him in the boxing ring and clearly showing his surname as Vasquez and Maria, as his sister, would have the same name. Bernardo lives with Anita in a flat, with Maria in their second bedroom.

The flat is still located in a block with a rickety fire escape which Tony scales to see Maria later on the night they meet and is his way of escape when Anita sees him with Maria after Bernardo's death.

Answer: Cloisters Museum

Tony is given a back story in the film and is said to be on parole after spending time in prison for beating up another man. After meeting Maria, he takes her to the Cloisters, which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, telling her that he first saw it when en route to prison.

In a major change from the original film, it is here that Tony and Maria sing 'One Hand, One Heart'. The make believe marriage scene feels more serious in this setting and both Ansel (Tony) and Rachel (Maria) are said to have sung live during the scene rather than using playback.

Answer: Anybodys

In the original 1961 film, Anybodys, played by Susan Oakes, was depicted as a tomboy but the new film is more explicit in showing the character as transgender. The character wants to be a Jet but is rejected. In the new film, certain comments are made that make it clear the existing members know Anybodys is nonbinary. The character's role remains the same - warning the Jets that Chino intends to kill Tony and getting the same response of 'you done good buddy-boy'.

In 2021 the part is played by iris menas (lower case is deliberate as that is how they depict their name), who identifies as a nonbinary actor.

Answer: Ariana DeBose

Ariana was born in North Carolina in 1991 with her surname coming from her Puerto Rican father. She appeared on the reality show 'So You Think You Can Dance' in 2009 before progressing to stage roles including in 'Hamilton' and 'Motown' with her role as Donna Summer in the stage musical depicting the singer's life being particularly well acclaimed. Ariana's first major film role came in 2020 in 'The Prom', but her performance as Anita is likely to prove her major breakthrough. Rita Moreno won an Oscar for playing Anita in 1961 and Ariana may emulate her as she has been nominated for the same part - at the time of writing, the 2022 Oscars have not taken place.

Answer: Somewhere

In a major change from the 1961 film, 'Somewhere' is given to Rita Moreno's character to sing. In 1961, it was sung by Tony and Maria. Since her marriage to Doc was a mixed race marriage, the song is appropriate to her and indicates that life wasn't always easy for them. The other song which is performed by new characters is 'Cool', which is sung by Tony and Riff (Mike Faist) as they struggle for possession of the gun which Riff has acquired. In the 1961 film gang member Ice (Tucker Smith) and the other Jets perform 'Cool' after Riff has been killed.

Tony still sings both 'Something's Coming' and 'Maria' while Maria performs 'I Feel Pretty'. The other big difference between the two films is the lack of dubbing in the 2021 film, with all the actors singing their own songs. Both Tony (Richard Beymer) and Maria (Natalie Wood) had their songs dubbed, by Jim Bryant and Marni Nixon respectively in 1961.