West Side Story, Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, is nominated for Best Picture Award, making him the only person to ever receive 11 nominations for the most coveted category.
Starring Ansel Elorgt (The Fault in Our Stars), and Rachel Zegler in her film debut, West Side Story is an adaptation of the 1957 musical which explores the themes of forbidden love and New York street gang rivalries among teenagers of different ethnical backgrounds, the Jets and the Sharks.
Ansel Elorgt plays Tony, a former member of a white gang —the Jets, who falls in love with María (Rachel Zegler) the sister of the Shark’s leader, a rival Puerto Rican gang. Some of the highlights of the movie come with the Spanish dialogues, which for the first time in a big production, do not offer subtitles, serving to emphasize the linguistic barrier between the gangs and the lovers.
The film has received 6 more nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design.
But it is the nomination for Best Picture that earns Spielberg the Oscar record badge. If he wins this year, he will be joining the very select group of 3 time Best Picture award winners, alongside William Wyler, Frank Capra, and John Ford. His two previous statuettes came with Saving Private Ryan in 1999 and Schindler’s List in 1994.
