History Trivia / WestSideStory2021

* DawsonCasting: Like with the 1961 film and stage productions, no one in the two gangs is played by a teen, while they're supposed to be (the closest was Creator/RachelZegler, who hit 18 just before filming began).

* ApprovalOfGod: Creator/StephenSondheim, as the only one of the four creative minds behind the original show who was still living during the film's production, was involved throughout filming and after seeing the film gave it high praise. He passed away two weeks before the release.

* BannedInChina: Banned in multiple Middle Eastern countries for containing a transgender character, [[Main/QueerCharacterQueerActor played by non-binary actor Iris Menas (zie/hir).]] Co-producer Kevin [=McCollum=] compared the situation to when Creator/WilliamShakespeare had to contend with the [[MoralGuardians Puritans]] who viewed otherwise-innocuous works such as theatre as the [[EveryoneIsSatanInHell work of the devil]]:

** Contrasting with most modern movie musicals, almost the entirety of the cast is made up of musical theatre performers unknown to mainstream film audiences.

* BannedInChina: Banned in multiple Middle Eastern countries for containing a character who is transgender, [[Main/QueerCharacterQueerActor played by non-binary actor Iris Menas (zie/hir).]] Co-producer Kevin [=McCollum=] compared the situation to when Creator/WilliamShakespeare had to contend with the [[MoralGuardians Puritans]] who viewed otherwise-innocuous works such as theatre as the [[EveryoneIsSatanInHell work of the devil]]:

* BannedInChina: Banned in multiple Middle Eastern countries for containing a character who is transgender, [[Main/QueerCharacterQueerActor played by someone who is non-binary.]] Co-producer Kevin [=McCollum=] compared the situation to when Creator/WilliamShakespeare had to contend with the [[MoralGuardians Puritans]] who viewed otherwise-innocuous works such as theatre as the [[EveryoneIsSatanInHell work of the devil]]; "I think we have to remember that during Shakespeare’s time, at the height, the Puritans came in and tore all of the theaters down. You couldn’t go to the theater, and yet Shakespeare survived. ... I believe that love will win, and this is a story about love, made with love, and what happens when you try to keep people from loving freely. ... I think we’ve done our jobs as artists to make this film, and the world will discover it even if certain cultures decide they don’t want it in their borders."

* BannedInChina: Banned in multiple Middle Eastern countries for containing a character who is transgender, [[Main/QueerCharacterQueerActor played by someone who is non-binary.]] Co-producer Kevin McCollum compared the situation to when Creator/WilliamShakespeare had to contend with the [[MoralGuardians Puritans]] who viewed otherwise-innocuous works such as theatre as the [[EveryoneIsSatanInHell work of the devil]]; "I think we have to remember that during Shakespeare’s time, at the height, the Puritans came in and tore all of the theaters down. You couldn’t go to the theater, and yet Shakespeare survived. ... I believe that love will win, and this is a story about love, made with love, and what happens when you try to keep people from loving freely. ... I think we’ve done our jobs as artists to make this film, and the world will discover it even if certain cultures decide they don’t want it in their borders."

* BannedInChina: Banned in multiple Middle Eastern countries for containing a character who is transgender, [[Main/QueerCharacterQueerActor played by someone who is non-binary.]]

* AwesomeDearBoy: David Alvarez was retired from acting but the idea of working with Steven Spielberg attracted him to the project.

* MeaningfulReleaseDate: Released a few weeks after the 60th anniversary of the [[Film/WestSideStory1961 Robert Wose film]] (October 18, 1961) and a few days after the 40th anniversary of Creator/NatalieWood's death (November 29, 1981).

* MeaningfulReleaseDate: Released a few weeks after the 60th anniversary of the [[Film/WestSideStory 1961 film]] (October 18, 1961) and a few days after the 40th anniversary of Creator/NatalieWood's death (November 29, 1981).

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Unique to the casting in this film, since Tony has always been Polish-American. The Puerto Rican Bernardo dislikes his sister Maria's dalliance with Tony, whom he calls a "[stupid] Polack". Maria is played by Creator/RachelZegler, who is of Polish descent.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Unique to the casting in this film, since Tony has always been Polish-American. The Puerto Rican Bernardo dislikes his sister Maria's dalliance with Tony, whom he calls a "[stupid] Polack". Maria is played by the half-Polish Creator/RachelZegler.

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* AbilityOverAppearance: A downplayed variation. Ariana [=DeBose=] is Afro-Latina and has a darker complexion than the average Anita. There's nothing to indicate Anita couldn't Afro-Latina, but the actress herself thought she'd look wrong for the role and even said so to Steven Spielberg, who insisted he wanted her for the part anyway.

* MeaningfulReleaseDate: Released a few weeks after the 60th anniversary of the [[Film/WestSideStory 1961 film]] (October 18, 1961) and a few days after the 40th anniversary of Creator/NatalieWood's death (November 29th, 1981).

* DarkhorseCasting: The film is Creator/RachelZegler's first foray into film. She was cast due to impressing Creator/StevenSpielberg with her singing on Website/YouTube. Contrasting with most modern movie musicals, almost the entirety of the cast is made up of musical theatre performers unknown to mainstream film audiences.

* PromotedFanboy: In a 2020 interview, Spielberg told ''Vanity Fair'': "''Film/{{West Side Story|1961}}'' was actually the first piece of popular music our family ever allowed into the home. I... fell completely in love with it as a kid."

* CaliforniaDoubling: Since the West Side of Manhattan had long been redeveloped and gentrified since the time of the original musical and filming of the 1961 adaptation, the film was shot in various other locations in the New York City area that more closely resemble how the neighborhood used to look, including Harlem, Brooklyn, and Newark and Paterson in New Jersey.

* DarkhorseCasting: The film is Creator/RachelZegler's first foray into film. She was cast due to impressing Creator/StevenSpielberg with her singing on Website/YouTube. Contrasting with most modern movie musicals, almost the entirety cast is made up of musical theatre performers unknown to mainstream film audiences.
* DuelingWorks: Releases just six months after [[Film/InTheHeights the film adaptation]] of another iconic stage musical centered on struggles in a Hispanic neighborhood, ''Theatre/InTheHeights''.

* ApprovalOfGod: Creator/StephenSondheim, as the only one of the four creative minds behind the original show who was still living during the film's production, was involved throughout filming and after seeing the film gave it high praise.

* ApprovalOfGod: The only one of the four creative minds behind the original show still living, Creator/StephenSondheim was involved throughout filming and after seeing the film gave it high praise.

* PromotedFanboy: In a 2020 interview, Spielberg told ''Vanity Fair'': "''West Side Story'' was actually the first piece of popular music our family ever allowed into the home. I... fell completely in love with it as a kid."