Rita Moreno returns to 'West Side Story' and stars as Valentina in Steven Spielberg's remake



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EXCLUSIVE: After winning an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing the role of Anita in 1961, West Side Story, EGOT laureate Rita Moreno will return to the next big-screen adaptation of the lyrical musical Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim, directed by Steven Spielberg, an Oscar winner. In addition, Moreno will also be an executive producer of the film.

In the new West Side StoryMoreno will play Valentina, a redesigned and extended version of Doc, the owner of Tony's convenience store. Filming for West Side Story should start in the summer of 2019.

"Never in my wildest dreams have I seen this fundamental work revisited," says Moreno. "And being invited by Steven Spielberg to participate is simply exciting! Then work with the brilliant playwright Tony Kushner – what a wonderful stew! I tingle! "

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In the original film, Anita Palacio de Moreno is the girlfriend of Bernardo, leader of the Puerto Rican gang The Sharks. The younger sister of Bernardo, Maria, who is also a best friend of Anita, cracks for Tony, co-founder of the American gang The Jets. Of course, they are fighting a big fight against the Sharks. Anita de Moreno sings musical iconic tunes such as "America" ​​and the "Tonight Quintet".

"From our first discussions, we wanted to include Rita Moreno in our production," says Steven Spielberg. "Her Anita is one of the greatest musical performances ever filmed and one of my favorites. We have created an original role for her and we are very pleased that Rita brings her extraordinary gifts as an actress, as well as her deep understanding of 'West Side Story' in this production as an executive producer. "

At the beginning of the month, Warner Bros. published an adaptation of the award-winning musical Tony. In the heights was interested in the casting of Moreno. However, no discussion took place between the actress's representatives and the studio. Moreno has long been considered for the success of Spielberg. West Side Story. In summary, a bidding war for the award winning actress never happened here after what we know.

Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner (who worked with Spielberg Lincoln) Wrote the adaptation of the 1957 musical, originally written by Arthur Laurents, with music by Bernstein, words by Sondheim and concept, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Spielberg, Kevin McCollum and Kristie Macosko Krieger will produce the musical, which will be released by Twentieth Century Fox.

Moreno is one of 15 people to have achieved EGOT status after winning two Emmys, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. She currently plays in the critically acclaimed Latino remake of Norman Lear's classic sitcom, One day at a time, on Netflix. Among the other notable acting works are roles in the films. Sing in the rain and Carnal knowledge, as well as a long report on the children's TV show The electric company, an Emmy-winning appearance on The show of muppet and a role on HBO Oz.

In addition to his EGOT awards, Moreno has won several awards for all of his achievements, including the Screen Life Actors Guild Life Achievement Award and an honor from the Kennedy Center, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Recently, Moreno has performed in guest roles in television series such as Be certain, Jane the Virgin, and Grace and Frankie.

Spielberg's most recent projects include the twice-best Oscar-winning film The post office, a political drama inspired by the Washington PostKatharine Graham (Meryl Streep), first editor, and Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), editor-in-chief, and Player Loan A based on Ernest Cline's sci-fi novel YA, which grossed nearly $ 600 million at the global box office.

Moreno is relaunched by innovative artists.

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