Can 'West Side Story' live up to the original at the Oscars?
STORY: Will the remake of 'West Side Story' win a top prize at the Oscars?
The musical has made it to the final 10 nominees for best picture
Half a century ago the original won 10 Oscars
Steven Spielberg said he’s been remaking the classic in his head for decades
and that taking it on was an intimidating task
[Steven Spielberg, Director]
"It was something that's been really a part of my life and as I've grown up and I have 7 kids, all my kids memorized the album and I have home videos of my children performing 'West Side Story' in our living room."
The new movie emphasizes the issues of race, immigration, poverty
[Ariana DeBose, Actor]
"He's taking you as an audience into the Latino community, which is one of the things I really love, how the choice to take America to the streets and I want you to get to know the community, what we look like, what we sound like and the things that we experience and you get to experience Latino joy."
[Rachel Zegler, Actor]
"I mean, she's an incredible character. I'm so blessed to be able to play her with so much context and I think she's usually been portrayed as very black and white, virginal ingenue, and this is just not your momma's Maria, she's not."
