While promoting “West Side Story”, filmmaker Steven Spielberg expressed his desire to make a western. A very famous genre that he has never yet approached during his immense career.
West Side Story : Steven Spielberg’s first musical
December 8 will be released in French cinemas West Side Story. Directed by Steven Spielberg this is the remake of the incredible West Side Story, released in 1961. The film by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, awarded 10 Oscars, was therefore taken over by the undisputed maestro: Steven Spielberg. The jack-of-all-trades artist signs with West Side Story his very first musical. The opportunity to surround yourself with a cast including Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler or even the thunderous return of Rita Moreno, already featured in the original film.
Now that Steven Spielberg has fulfilled his childhood dream of directing a musical, one question remains: what will be his next challenge? We know that the filmmaker is working on many projects, including a biopic on his own youth. But beyond this meta biopic, the director has another desire: to stage a western.
The maestro soon to attack the western?
In sixty years of career and 32 films shot, Steven Spielberg has pretty much touched on all genres. Science fiction obviously with movies like Encounter of the third kind Where AND The Alien. Historical films with works like Munich, Schindler’s List, Lincoln or theEmpire of the Sun. Adventure films with the saga Indiana Jones Where Hook. Comedy too with The terminal. Steven Spielberg even touched on horror (from quite a distance) with films like Duel, Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds. But if there’s a genre he’s never staged this is the western.
A cinematographic genre that the big boss would also potentially like to approach. In a recent interview with Yahoo entertainment, the filmmaker returned to this question:
I’ve been asked this question in the last 40 years of my career, if not more, and I always said, “A musical is the only thing I haven’t done.” The thing I forgot to say is that the genre that I haven’t really touched on yet is the western. So who knows? Maybe I’ll put on spurs someday. Who knows ?
Steven Spielberg has already produced a few westerns like Back to the future 3 or the mini-series Into the West. But the filmmaker never took action by being behind the camera. While the Western genre is back in force, and is back in fashion, the idea of seeing Steven Spielberg directing a western is not far-fetched. And it’s even rather a good idea!
