20 Incredible Facts You Didn't Know About 2021's Biggest Movies
3. The Film Was Steven Spielberg's Childhood Dream - West Side Story
The audacity required to even consider remaking a movie as beloved as 1961's West Side Story speaks for itself, but Steven Spielberg is no mere filmmaker - a titan of industry who ultimately proved himself worthy of updating, and arguably even improving upon, the iconic musical.
But it wasn't merely the whim of a bored director wanting to challenge himself - Spielberg explained ahead of the movie's release that he'd wanted to direct an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical ever since he heard the album as a 10-year-old boy. He said:
"I could never forget my childhood. I was 10 years old when I first listened to the West Side Story album, and it never went away. I've been able to fulfill that dream and keep that promise that I made to myself: You must make West Side Story."
Almost 65 years later, Spielberg got to fulfill a near-lifelong dream, and in turn delivered one of the fiercest directorial efforts of his entire career. How many filmmakers ever get to do that?