‘And they also had to be triple threats, meaning they needed to be able to sing, dance and act. ‘I felt my mandate was pretty clear, that all of the Sharks, María, Anita, Bernardo and Chino – everyone needed to be Latinx,’ says casting director Cindy Tolan. To be able to bring that role to life - a role that means so much to the Hispanic community - is so humbling.’ ‘As a Colombian-American woman growing up in this day and age, strong roles like Maria are so important.
‘I am so thrilled to be playing the iconic role of Maria alongside this amazing cast,’ exclaimed Zegler. The high school student responded to the production’s open casting call – which called solely for Latinx actors – with a video of herself singing ‘Tonight’ and ‘Me Siento Hermosa’ (‘I Feel Pretty’). Spielberg has cast 18-year-old singer-songwriter Rachel Zegler as Maria, who will be making her film debut. The casting of West Side Story involved the biggest casting search Steven Spielberg has ever undertaken, with the exception of Schindler’s List. It marks the film debuts of over 50 young performers. Who has been cast in West Side Story so far? Introducing the nominees for Best Original Score at the 2019 Oscars.He is also the brother of film composer Thomas Newman, who has written the scores to 1917, Finding Nemo and The Shawshank Redemption, as well as several James Bond films.ĭavid is also the cousin of Randy Newman, who has scored many Disney-Pixar films including Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story. He was up against Thomas in the 2019 Academy Awards, for which Thomas was nominated for 1917 and Randy for Marriage Story. The original West Side Story score will be adapted for the new film by David Newman, who also wrote the scores to Ice Age, Matilda and Anastasia, the latter of which won him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.ĭavid Newman comes from a composing family: he is the son of legendary film composer Alfred Newman, who won nine Academy Awards and was nominated 45 times. Leonard Bernstein wrote the score for the original 1957 Broadway production, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Who is writing the score to the new West Side Story adaptation? After endless date changes, the official release date of the new West Side Story film was announced at the 2021 Oscars, along with a new teaser trailer.