The TMC Classic Film Festival kicks off tonight (May 6) with a series of classic films playing throughout the week along with interviews with stars.
The Opening Night film will be a 60th anniversary screening of West Side Story, which includes a reunion with some of the cast like Rita Moreno, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn. Moreno and Chakiris won Academy Awards for their supporting roles in the musical. In total, the film won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Score.
In a clip of the virtual reunion, Chakiris describes the moment he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1962 and remembers how happy Moreno was when they called his name.
“Her reaction was a beautiful part of that,” Chakiris says. “Thank you, Rita. I could see how you felt. It was great.”
Moreno admits that she teared up when her co-star, who is also the godfather of her daughter Fernanda, won the award. “I was just so happy for you,” she says. “We are very close. We love each other dearly. That’s never changed.”
Moreno will star in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story this December. She plays a new character, Valentina, who was not in the original stage production or the original film.
“I’m eighty-f–king-nine,” Moreno told Remezcla earlier this year. “And when [the remake of] West Side Story comes out later this year, I will be 90! That’s pretty spectacular.”
The opening night screening of West Side Story premieres on TCM and HBO Max on May 6 at 8 p.m. ET.