This December the musical West Side Story will once again be in theaters with Steven Spielberg’s treatment. This new reedition of the film comes 60 years after the original won the Oscar for best picture and introduced us to The Jets, The Sharks, Tony, Maria, Anita, and Bernardo.
Academy Award-winning actor George Chakiris, who played Bernardo in the original film, joined Jason Carr today on Live In The D to talk about the special screening of the film that is happening this weekend at the Redford Theater.
Chakiris says 60 years ago while on set, he overheard two gentlemen from the front office say, “We do not know if we will have a commercial success, but I think we might have an artistic success.” He says it turns out he was right because the loved what they were doing.
In regards to working in series television versus film, Chakiris says in film people take their time and in television things must move quickly because of weekly shows. He says while working on television he had fun because they were organized and well-written. He says writing is key.
Watch the video above for full interview with George Chakiris.