From Director Steven Spielberg

The trailer for Indiana Jones 5 has been revealed.

Oh, and the title too.

Ever wondered why shots like this are so impactful? Fancy learning more about Spielberg’s themes and visual style?

Well, have I got the thing for you! Spielberg Shots is an ebook that brings together 50 of Spielberg’s greatest images and provides anlaysis into what makes them so great.

As I’ve mentioned a few times this weekend, From Director Steven Spielberg now has a Substack newsletter.

Subscribe to my Substack to get regular bitesize chunks of Spielbergy goodness!

Steven Spielberg has filled the final two major roles in his new production of West Side Story and brought in over 50 actors, singers and dancers to round out the cast as a whole. 

Dear Evan Hansen star Mike Faist will play Riff, leader of the Jets, while Puerto Rican star Ana Isabelle will bring to life the role of Rosalia, a friend of Maria’s. They join Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler and Rita Moreno in the core cast. 

The rest of the Sharks and Jets have also been announced, with some 20-odd performers making up each gang. Maddie Ziegler has been confirmed as one of them, though it’s unclear how significant her role will be. 

Justin Peck, who’ll act as choreographer on the film, said: “One of our largest priorities was to find a caliber of triple-threats who could bring this film to life with great proficiency.

“West Side Story has influenced generations of dancers since its inception, and I am thrilled that we have found this extraordinary group to bring our new vision for the musical to the big screen.”

West Side Story begins shooting this summer and will be released in 2020. 

With West Side Story nearing production, Spielberg’s Tony and Maria (Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler) pose for a picture after the latter’s performance in Shrek: The Musical. 

"This entire process has helped me realize more and more that we're the same person. I think we all have a little bit of her inside of our heart: someone that is really hopeful for a future that is equal and beautiful and that one day we'll find that place for us."

Rita Moreno entertains Spielberg and some of the West Side Story team in this picture from her Twitter account. She wrote:

Corey Stoll and Brian d'Arcy James are the latest additions to the cast of Spielberg’s West Side Story.

Stoll will play racist cop Lieutenant Schrank, while d'Arcy James will fill the role of Sergeant Krupke, whom the song 'Gee Officer Krupke' is based around.

The pair join a starry cast that already includes Ansel Elgort as Tony, Rita Moreno, Ariana DeBose and David Alvarez.

Newcomer Rachel Zegler will play Maria in the film which is set to start shooting in New York in June.

Jeffrey Katzenberg comments on rumours that Spielberg wants to ban Netflix films (and those of other streaming services) from qualifying for the Oscars.

This story has rumbled on for over a week now, and I really hope this draws it to some kind of an end because it’s nothing more than a storm in a teacup. Let’s review the story so far.

Spielberg has indeed spoken about Netflix films, stating that he wants to preserve the theatrical experience and that a film that does not get a theatrical run is a TV movie that should not qualify for the Oscars. Here are those quotes:

“I hope all of us really continue to believe that the greatest contributions we can make as filmmakers is to give audiences the motion picture theatrical experience. I’m a firm believer that movie theatres need to be around forever.”

"Once you commit to a television format, you're a TV movie. You certainly, if it's a good show, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar. I don't believe films that are just given token qualifications in a couple of theaters for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination."

Further to these quotes, Amblin issued a statement (the one Katzenberg refers to), and this can be seen below:

“Steven feels strongly about the difference between the streaming and theatrical situation. He’ll be happy if the others will join [his campaign] when that comes up [at the Academy Board of Governors meeting]. He will see what happens.”

Nowhere in any of those quotes does Spielberg dismiss the quality of Netflix films (he is not using ‘TV movie’ as a pejorative) or argue that there should be a blanket ban on their qualification for an Oscar. The numerous reports that he is stating such things are simply not true and are drawn more from speculation, click-bait headlines and poor journalism than anything that the man himself has said.

What we can draw from these comments is that Spielberg believes that a meaningful exclusive theatrical window should be in place: that to qualify for an Oscar, films should have to play for a certain time in cinemas before they are available on a streaming service. The Hollywood Reporter speculated that this window may be four weeks, but there have been no comments from Spielberg stating that so we can’t be sure that he actually believes it.

Indeed, amongst all the chaos, the real truth of this debate has been lost: we don’t actually know what Spielberg wants to do (if indeed he wants to do anything) with regard to Netflix and Oscar qualification. What we do know is that he does not hate the platform, as some have suggested. He was pictured celebrating with the Roma team after the Oscars and has worked with Netflix in the recent past, both directly (through 2017′s docu-series Five Came Back, which he appears in) and indirectly (through The Haunting of Hill House, which is an Amblin production).

Spielberg’s also been very vocal about his love for TV, a medium which he got his break in and which Amblin continues to work and thrive in to this day.

“I love television. I love the opportunity. Some of the greatest writing being done today is for television, some of the best directing for television, some of the best performances [are] on television today.”

Also lost in the madness is the fact that Spielberg almost took Lincoln to HBO because he didn’t think it would find a big enough audience at cinemas. In a joint interview with George Lucas, the following was stated in The Hollywood Reporter:

"I think eventually the Lincolns will go away and they're going to be on television," Lucas said. "As mine almost was," Spielberg interjected. "This close - ask HBO - this close."

So, what’s to be learned from all this? Not much really. We still don’t know exactly what Spielberg thinks of how streamed films should be dealt with at the Oscars. Perhaps he really does think they should be banned and perhaps he really does dislike Netflix.

Steven Spielberg on the death of former President and COO of MCA Inc. and Universal Studios, Sid Sheinberg. Sheinberg was a mentor to Spielberg and helped give him his break. 

I missed the boat on this one a bit, but last month it was revealed that David Newman will score Steven Spielberg’s new version of West Side Story. 

John Williams is, of course, Spielberg’s go-to composer, but with West Side Story hitting cinemas in 2020 and a new Star Wars film out at the end of 2019, there’s a clash in Williams’ schedule. 

David Newman is part of a film music dynasty. His father Alfred composed classics such as Wuthering Heights, All About Eve and How The West Was Won, while his brother Thomas worked with Spielberg in 2015, when he scored Bridge of Spies. 

West Side Story marks the fifth time Spielberg has made a film without Williams, following Duel, The Color Purple, Bridge of Spies and Ready Player One.