West Side Story dances into theaters this Friday and director Steven Spielberg credits the “invaluable” Rita Moreno for making the movie what it is.
“She was an invaluable asset to our entire production and she kept a kind of moral compass for us and continued to give us purpose,” the esteemed director told ABC News.
“Why are we telling the story again? Because the power of the story needs to be told to a generation who perhaps have never heard of West Side Story. That was another reason I wanted to bring this movie out now,” the 74-year-old director added.
The musical, inspired by William Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet, is set in New York City and follows the story of Tony and Maria — two star-crossed lovers with ties to rival gangs that are fighting for control over their Upper West Side neighborhood. The musical tackles themes of violence, racism and sexual assault.
Ansel Elgort, who stars as Tony in West Side Story, says the groundbreaking film earned a seal of approval from the late, legendary composer Stephen Sondheim.
“Sondheim was able to see it before he passed and he loved it,” the 27-year-old actor revealed. “It’s so sad that he’s gone, but what a legend and how great to be able to celebrate him at this time with this great piece of work.”
Rachel Zegler stars as Maria and some critics predict her performance could score an Oscar nod for Best Actress. She credits her “old soul” for helping her dive into character and, when discussing her “technique,” she says her talent was born from being “raised on classic films” such as “All About Eve and George Cukor‘s The Women.”
West Side Story bows in theaters Friday, December 10.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Utah 118, Philadelphia 96
Memphis 108, L.A. Lakers 95
San Antonio 123, Denver 111
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Chicago 2, Montreal 0
Tampa Bay 5, Toronto 3
Anaheim 2, Columbus 1 (SO)
Nashville 4, NY Islanders 3
St. Louis 6, Detroit 2
Carolina 2, Calgary 1 (OT)
Boston 3, Edmonton 2
Winnipeg 3, Seattle 0
Minnesota 5, San Jose 2
Los Angeles 4, Dallas 0
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Minnesota 36, Pittsburgh 28
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Rutgers 70, Purdue 68
Gonzaga 80, Merrimack 55
Seton Hall 64, Texas 60
Iowa St. 73, Iowa 53
(OXFORD, Mich.) — More than a week after the mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, the last remaining hospitalized victim has left the intensive care unit, authorities said Thursday.
The hospitalized student is one of 11 people who were shot, four fatally, at the school on Nov. 30. She has been moved to a “standard room” at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, according to Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe. The 17-year-old student, who has not been identified, is expected to remain hospitalized for another four to six weeks during her rehabilitation, McCabe said in a statement.
Six students and a teacher were among those wounded in the shooting. Four students were killed in what prosecutors allege was a premeditated attack.
The suspected shooter, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, a sophomore at the high school, faces multiple charges, including four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of assault with intent to murder, after allegedly pulling a semiautomatic handgun out of his backpack and firing it in the school’s hallway. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have also each been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting. All three have pleaded not guilty to their charges.
On Thursday, the family of two students at the school, including one shot during the attack, filed a $100 million lawsuit against the Oxford Community School District and various school employees, alleging they enabled the suspected shooter in the days and hours before the shooting.
Riley Franz, a 17-year-old senior, was struck in the neck, while her sister, Bella Franz, a 14-year-old freshman, stood next to her and “narrowly escaped the bullets discharged toward her, her sister and her friends,” according to the complaint filed in Detroit federal court on behalf of the sisters.
“We’re going to hold people responsible for betraying the trust we put in them to protect our children,” the family’s attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said during a press event announcing the lawsuit Thursday. “We’re going to hold every one of them responsible.”
The suit charges that Oxford Community Schools downplayed social media threats allegedly made by Crumbley prior to the shooting, including “countdowns and threats of bodily harm, including death … warning of violent tendencies and murderous ideology prior to actually coming to school with the handgun and ammunition to perpetuate the slaughter,” the complaint stated.
It also alleges school staff acted recklessly by letting him return to class after a meeting with his parents over violent drawings just hours before students were gunned down.
The district is not commenting on the allegations in the lawsuit at the request of the prosecutor to “avoid compromising” the court proceedings, according to a letter its attorney, Timothy Mullins, sent to Fieger on Thursday. “Furthermore, to allow the entire community the ability to heal, I have no intention of litigating this matter in the media,” Mullins wrote.
School leaders have said Crumbley’s parents refused to take him home after the meeting, and because he lacked a disciplinary record, they sent him back to class.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who brought charges against the suspected shooter and his parents, said she has not ruled out charging school officials.
In a letter to the school community Wednesday, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne said the district has been “fully cooperative” with the county investigation into the school shooting.
He has also called for a third-party investigation into all of Crumbley’s communication with students and staff leading up to the shooting. In his letter Wednesday, he noted he would recommend to the district school board “a review of our entire system.”
The district plans to welcome students, except for high schoolers, back to the classroom Friday for the first time since the deadly shooting. The half-day is part of a “safe, slow and soft re-opening,” and students will be greeted by an increased law enforcement presence, therapy dogs and trauma specialists, Throne said in a letter to families on Thursday.
Backpacks will not be allowed in buildings through at least the end of the next week, the superintendent added.
(WASHINGTON) — On Thursday evening, the Senate passed a bill that will start the process of raising the debt limit with only Democrats’ votes.
Having gained the necessary support to clear the filibuster earlier Thursday afternoon, the Senate-passes legislation will permit a one-time change to Senate rules and allow Democrats to raise the federal borrowing limit by a simple majority.
Despite only requiring 51 votes, 10 Republicans voted with all Democrats to pass the rule, resulting in a 59-35 margin.
On Tuesday, congressional leaders announced a deal that would avert a default of the nation’s credit by allowing Democrats to raise the debt ceiling in the Senate without any Republican support, and the House approved the measure along party lines in a late-night 222-212 vote.
The bill will now head to President Joe Biden’s desk. Once Biden signs the rule change, Democrats in both chambers of Congress will need to pass a second piece of legislation that actually raises the debt limit. Biden must sign that second bill before Dec. 15 to avert catastrophic default, according to the Treasury Department.
ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
Bryan Adams has just released a new track from his forthcoming studio album, So Happy It Hurts, and the tune really, um, kicks a**!
The catchy, melodic-rock song is titled “Kick A**,” and it begins with a spoken-word interlude delivered in the form of a Biblical-style sermon by legendary Monty Python member John Cleese about the creation of rock ‘n’ roll music.
The track, which Adams co-wrote with famed producer “Mutt” Lange, is available now as a digital download and via steaming services, and you can check out a companion lyric video at Bryan’s official YouTube channel.
“Kick A**” is the third advance track released from So Happy It Hurts, following the title track and “On the Road.” The album is due out March 11 and can be pre-ordered now.
“On the Road” also was co-written by Adams and Lange and was penned specifically to promote the 2022 edition of the Pirelli Calendar, for which Bryan shot the photos.
As previously reported, the calendar is titled On the Road, and it was photographed in Los Angeles, the Italian isle of Capri and Canada last summer. Among the artists who Bryan shot for the calendar: Cher, Iggy Pop, Jennifer Hudson, rapper Saweetie, pop stars Normani and Rita Ora, alt-pop artist Grimes and alt-rocker St. Vincent.
After just 10 hours of deliberation, a Chicago jury has found actor Jussie Smollett guilty on five of six counts for filing a false police report related to the hoax racist attack he suffered at the hands of two men in January 2019.
The former Empire star had claimed two racist supporters of President Trump beat him up, poured bleach on him, called him racist and homophobic slurs, and tied a noose around his neck.
Not long after giving a tear-filled recounting of the alleged crime to ABC News’ Robin Roberts, Smollett’s story fell apart, and police claimed two associates of his admitted the actor paid them to stage the attack.
Prosecutors maintained he paid brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo $3,500 to “fake beat him up” to raise his profile on Empire. Smollett, who took the stand in his own defense, claimed the attack was real, because the bodybuilding brothers were homophobic.
Smollett was initially charged on Feb. 20, 2019, with Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson saying the attack was orchestrated because he was unhappy with his salary on the Fox hit show.
The charges were dropped against Smollett in March 2019, but in February 2020, a special prosecutor announced an indictment for six disorderly conduct charges for allegedly filing a false police report. Smollett pleaded not guilty.
The 39-year-old now faces up to three years in prison, though will likely not receive such a stiff sentence.
(CHICAGO) — After just 10 hours of deliberation, a Chicago jury has found actor Jussie Smollett guilty on five of six counts for filing a false police report related to the hoax racist attack he suffered at the hands of two men in January 2019.
The “Empire” actor alleged he was attacked, doused with an unknown liquid, had a noose placed around his neck and called racist and homophobic slurs by two men late at night on a Chicago street. He has maintained it was not orchestrated by himself.
He did not show any reaction as the verdicts were read.
Smollett was charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report.
The defense rested its case on Tuesday after a week of testimony, with Smollett taking the stand in his own defense. He alleged Abimbola and Ola Osundairo, the brothers who carried out the assault, were lying when they said during the trial that they were friends of Smollett and had been paid $3,500 to carry out the attack.
Smollett, 39, received widespread support in the wake of the attack and made an emotional appearance at a concert in early February 2019, but then word emerged after authorities spoke to the Osundario brothers’ return from overseas that the attack was allegedly a hoax. Smollett was charged on Feb. 20, 2019, with Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson saying the attack was orchestrated because he was unhappy with his salary on the Fox hit show.
The charges were dropped against Smollett in March 2019, but a special prosecutor announced an indictment for the six disorderly conduct charges was handed down in February 2020. Smollett pleaded not guilty.
The jury deliberated for about three hours on Wednesday and then began again on Thursday morning.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(CHICAGO) — The jury has reached a verdict in the case against actor Jussie Smollett, who was charged with lying about a racist attack.
The “Empire” actor alleged he was attacked and called racist and homophobic slurs by two men in Chicago in January 2019. He has maintained it was not orchestrated by himself.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Common and Tiffany Haddish ended their relationship in November, and the rapper/actor explains why they broke up.
“I don’t think the love really dispersed,” he says. “I think it was just like we weren’t feeding the relationship.”
Common made the comment during Fox Soul’s Hollywood Unlocked Uncensored in a clip obtained by Page Six. The couple went public with their romance in August 2020, and he says their busy careers led to their breakup, preventing them from spending “as much time” or putting “as much energy” into their relationship.
The John Wick: Chapter 2 star added that it became hard “to balance” personal life and career, “and keep the relationship fair.”
In other news, And Just Like That… A New Chapter of Sex and the City,debuts Thursday night on HBO Max with Nicole Ari Parker joining the cast as Lisa Todd Wexley. Nicole tells Essenceshe is proud to bring a woman of color to the show and says the series will not shy away from racial issues.
“They are not going to magically resolve the massive conflict that we are continuing to struggle with in this country; but without giving away too much, they did try to have those issues trickle down into conversations between two women that might become friends,” she says. “How does the absence of Black people in your life manifest when you’re invited to a dinner party, have a cup of coffee or pick up your kids from the same school?”
Finally, Porsha Williams from Real Housewives of Atlanta is planning more than one wedding ceremony with her fiancé, Simon Guobadia. She tells Us Weekly that in addition to the A-T-L,” “we’ll be doing one in Nigeria as well, and we’re thinking about doing one at our home in Costa Rica.
Alec Baldwin posted to Instagram a statement from some of the crew of the movie Rust, on which the actor and producer fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October.
Some crew members have described the fatal incident as a result of unsafe work conditions, long workdays, and unqualified hires — notably neophyte armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
However, in the message Baldwin passed along to his 2.4 million followers, these other crew members denied claims that the film set was, “a representation of the kind of conditions our unions are fighting against.”
These conditions reportedly led some to walk off the set — even among Hutchins’ own department.
Baldwin, who was an actor and producer on the project, previously told ABC News he hadn’t been made aware of such allegations, nor did he believe the set to be unsafe.
“The descriptions of Rust as a chaotic, dangerous, and exploitative workplace are false and distract from what matters most: the memory of Halyna Hutchins, and the need to find modern alternatives to outdated industry firearm and safety practices,” Thursday’s statement read.
“While it is true that a few crew members quit prior to the accident, the vast majority of us remained, never feeling the need to protest or quit. We were enjoying our workplace. Those disgruntled few do not represent the views of all of us.”
Baldwin denied to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he pulled the trigger on a pistol loaded with a live round, insisting the gun just “went off.”
Industry experts have publicly doubted his claims, including veteran movie armorer Steve Wolf. When asked by The Wrap to assess how likely the odds are that Baldwin was telling the truth, Wolf replied, “On a scale of one to 10? Zero.”
The investigation into the shooting that left Hutchins dead, and director Joel Souza injured, continues.
