ariana debose

Ariana DeBose has made history as the first Afro-Latino and openly queer woman to be nominated for an acting Academy Award. In this crossover episode with “The Envelope,” DeBose talks about the expectations she must carry, her experience with “West Side Story” and more.

More reading:

Ariana DeBose wants you to feel Anita’s presence before you even hear her

‘West Side Story’s’ Ariana DeBose makes the case against ‘ethnically ambiguous’

Here’s how Oscar nominee Ariana DeBose could make history

In her first audition for the role of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” Ariana DeBose stressed the importance of having her identity represented. “If you aren’t interested in reflecting that in the context of your script,” she told the acclaimed director, “I don’t think that you should hire me.” The result is a far cry from the “ethnically ambiguous” characters DeBose has portrayed in the past, and she is now the first Afro Latina and the first queer woman of color to be nominated for an acting Oscar. In this interview, DeBose details the most joyful (and harrowing) moments of shooting “West Side Story,” her experience of being typecast in Hollywood, and why — despite initial hesitance — she ultimately decided to follow in Rita Moreno’s footsteps by starring in the remake.

To read a full transcript of this interview, please visit the episode page at latimes.com.

Fresh off getting a slew of Oscar nods for his KING RICHARD, director Reinaldo Marcus Green joins us to talk about the peerless Sidney Poitier's Oscar-winning performance in 1963's LILIES OF THE FIELD.  Then, how will the panelists fare in a newsy quiz about Oscar firsts??

What’s Good Mentions
Alonso - treasured memories of Entertainment Weekly
Drea - Olympic athletes
Ify - Lake Arrowhead and the LA freedom to opt-in to winter
Rei - ya know, six Oscar nominations, nbd

ITIDIC
Steven Soderbergh doesn’t think movie superheroes are having sex; James Gunn begs to differ

“Missing Movies” Organization seeks to help films that streaming forgot

Staff Picks:
Ify - Sister Act
Drea - Catch the Fair One
Alonso - Marry Me
Rei - Licorice Pizza

Look out for Rei's We Own This City in April on HBO!

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With:
Ify Nwadiwe
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Reinaldo Marcus Green

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With
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Ify Nwadiwe

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

SUMMARY
Our guest on this episode of Songcraft is Cinco Paul, the creator, executive producer, showrunner, and songwriter for the Apple TV Plus series Schmigadoon!, starring Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key. Though previously known as the scriptwriter for animated features such as the Despicable Me films, this project was Paul’s opportunity to lovingly and very impressively recreate the songwriting style of golden era musicals with a humorously contemporary twist. He joins us to deconstruct his reconstruction of the world of Rogers and Hammerstein. 

PART ONE
Scott and Paul get into their feelings about musical theater, touch on the Beatles documentary once again, and discover they disagree about the concept of perfect rhyme in lyrics. 

PART TWO
Our in-depth interview with Cinco Paul

ABOUT CINCO PAUL

Cinco Paul is best known for his long resume of blockbuster animated films which he co-wrote with partner Ken Daurio, including the Despicable Me series, the Dr. Seuss films The Lorax and Horton Hears a Who, and The Secret Life of Pets. Other films written by the pair include The Santa Clause 2 with Tim Allen, College Road Trip with Martin Lawrence and Raven Symone, and Hop with Russell Brand. Paul and Daurio’s films have earned over four billion dollars at the box office. 

While not primarily known as a songwriter or musician, Cinco Paul previously wrote a stage musical adaptation of their script for Bubble Boy after the Jake Gyllenhaal film version failed to live up to their original vision. Additionally, he wrote the lyrics for the original songs in The Lorax, which earned him an ASCAP award in 2013. As far as music goes, that was about all the world heard from Cinco Paul until 2021 when he appeared as the creator, executive producer, showrunner, and, perhaps most impressively, songwriter for the Apple TV Plus series Schmigadoon!

The six-episode musical comedy stars Cecily Strong from Saturday Night Live and Keegan-Michael Key from Key & Peele who get lost hiking in the woods and stumble on a magical version of an early-1900s town that you’d find in a musical from the 1940s or ‘50s. Part parody, part loving tribute to golden era productions such as Oklahoma, The Music Man, Carousel, and The Sound of Music, Schmigadoon’s songs are an impressive recreation of a lost era of American songwriting that skewer the tropes that haven’t aged well while also celebrating what was great about that brand of songcraft. The soundtrack for Episode 1 earned Paul his first Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.    

Who’s that little Will in that podcast, there? WHAT PODCAST, WHERE?! That’s right, we’re reviewing the new West Side Story this week, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler as star-crossed lovers in different worlds, alongside best friends and family played by Ariana DeBose, Mike Fast, David Alvarez, and Rita Moreno.

Intro Music: “All I Wish for Christmas” by Tony Thriller.

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WEST SIDE STORY. An Oscar nominated film for Best Picture,Best Director,Best Supporting Actress,Best Cinematography,Best Costume Design,Best Production Design and Best Sound for the 94th Academy Awards.  The classic movie is cemented in cinematic history. If anyone could be trusted with such an iconic piece of film, it would be the one and only Steven Spielberg. Spielberg has directed an adaption of the 1957 musical. It explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. 

We have interviews with Steven Spielberg, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Mike Faist, Stephen Sondheim and so much more. We take you on the set and have clips from the movie West Side Story. You don’t want to miss this.

The new film of West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, just came out in theatres. Kyle and Jenn went to the movies and are now going to tell you what they think.

You can listen to the podcast Somebody Date Jenn and Kyle here: https://www.somebodydatejennandkyle.com

You can follow Jenn here: https://twitter.com/thejennsanford

You can purchase Stephen Sondheim's first book of lyrics, Finishing the Hat, by going here: https://amzn.to/2LB9ZJo

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1. Pod Power - With Pod Power, our sponsors are making it possible for us to amplify the voices of Albertans and Alberta podcasters. This episode, Edmonton Community Foundation is helping us give a Pod Power shout out to Is This For Real? - https://isthisforreal.ca - Black ex-journalism from a place calling itself Edmonton. 
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In this week's episode, musical theatre fangirl Annabel takes on the pilot of Apple TV+ musical comedy series 'Schmigadoon!'. The show revolves around rocky couple Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan Michael Key), who one day accidentally get trapped in the zany, hyper-colour town of 'Schmigadoon!' whose residents are seemingly plucked straight from a Golden Age musical. Will a daunting amount of Broadway stars, spontaneous, partially ironic corny musical numbers and 20th century repression and conservatism be the perfect recipe for a glowing review? Stream now to find out.