9 Sensational Stories from the West Side Story Press Conference

December 8, 2021

By Courtney Potter

“Could it be? Yes, it could. Something’s coming, something good!” 20th Century Studios’ West Side Story opens in U.S. theaters just a few days from now, and those lyrics—written by the late Stephen Sondheim, in one of his first Broadway forays—certainly sum up the excitement to come. Directed by Academy Award^® winner Steven Spielberg, from a script by Tony^® and Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner, this reimagining of the beloved musical tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City.

Recently, Spielberg, Kushner, and legendary actress Rita Moreno (who won an Oscar^® for her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 version of West Side Story, and who not only costars in this iteration as Valentina but also executive produces) joined several other members of the film’s cast—including Rachel Zegler (María), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Mike Faist (Riff), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank), and Brian D’Arcy James (Officer Krupke)—for a memorable virtual press conference, hosted by Sunny Hostin from ABC’s The View. Read on for an inside look at bringing such an iconic tale to big-screen life once again:

1. Spielberg on Sondheim’s vital role in this reimagining:
“Steve was the first person I met when I sought the rights to make our version of West Side Story,” explained the acclaimed director. He was the first person I sat down and met with at his place in New York City, in person, with his dogs,” he recalled, chuckling. “We had met before because my company made Sweeney Todd… I met Steve at the premiere of that for the first time. And then we wound up bumping into each other at the White House when we received the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Steve, myself, and Barbra Streisand. And each time I met Steve, I wanted to say to him, ‘I have this desperate desire to do my version of West Side Story’—and I just couldn’t get the words out of my mouth… And then finally, I just sort of bit the bullet, and I was able to meet with him and the other estates. Steve was very involved. He was involved in commenting about Tony’s script; they had an open dialogue during the process of going from one draft to the next. But where Steve got really involved, which was the best place for his involvement, was [when] we did all the pre-records with the artists. Steve was there for three weeks, five days a week, every day sitting right next to me at the recording studio. And that was a such an honor, to share that.”

2. Kushner on how his husband is somewhat responsible for Moreno’s role in the film:
“When Steven first asked me to do it, I went home and told my husband, ‘Steven just asked me to do something completely insane,’” he remembered, laughing. “[I thought], ‘How do I get out of it? This is absolutely an impossible thing!’ I love the 1961 film; everybody does. It’s a masterpiece. But it felt like an impossible thing to do, that even if we did a great job with it, we would be overshadowed by what was inarguably one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time. And justifiably so. I’ve said this before, but [my husband] Mark’s first response was ‘You should do it, but you have to get rid of the character of Doc—and what you should do is make the character Doc’s widow—make her Puerto Rican, and ask Rita Moreno to play it.’ So, I called Steven immediately and I said, ‘Mark just had a great idea.’ And Steven said, ‘Oh my God, that is a great idea!’ That’s how the character of Valentina was born.”

3. Moreno on “passing the torch” of her original character to DeBose:
“That’s a great way to put it,” the colorful Emmy^®, Grammy^®, Oscar, and Tony-winning actress said. “I wasn’t easy. I mean, I’m not gonna say I wasn’t envious—that would be a bloody lie. I wished I could be that young again and do it again, obviously. But that wasn’t going to be. And I get this beautifully written [new] part by this man [indicates Kushner]. I love me in this movie,” she added, bringing chuckles from Spielberg and Kushner. “You don’t say things like that easily. Because [people are] gonna say, ‘Oh, ma, give me a break.’ I don’t care what they say. I love every scene I’m in, therefore I love what I’m doing.”

4. Elgort on how his friendship with Faist wound up mirroring their characters, and on the encouragement he felt from the cast and crew:
“Mike and I—we were sort of like Riff and Tony for a long time through the rehearsal process,” explained the actor. “We spent a lot of time together, and we built that friendship—we imagined about what it was like being kids, ‘playing’ as the Jets, before things even probably got too violent. And then [in the musical number] ‘Cool’—it’s kind of like us revisiting that friendship and almost having too much fun and playing with fire again, and then it gets to the point where he crosses a line… I have to give a lot of credit to being able to work with such amazing people, because I came into that rehearsal—rehearsing months in advance—and I was not the strongest dancer. But you have these incredible dancers who are all around me and also are all supporting me… It felt like the whole process—singing, dancing, acting—it was like an incubator. And Steven wanted us to all to be at our best.”

5. Faist on making his character as sympathetic as possible:
Said the actor, “You have to really lean into where it’s coming from—obviously fear. But where is that fear coming from? Underneath all of that, there is a love. The background that these boys have, they don’t have the family that [the Puerto Rican immigrants] are attempting to create in a new city. They don’t have that. All they have is this toxicity of a tribe and familial relationship that they’ve built and culminated together, and it’s totally unhealthy and co-dependent, but it’s what they’ve got.”

6. Alvarez on the unique way he wound up auditioning for the film:
“The casting director somehow found me online [via social media],” the Broadway performer explained. “She sent me a message, and she was like, ‘Hey, I remember I saw you in Billy Elliot back in 2009. I’ve been looking for you for a while. Where have you been?’ You’ve disappeared!’ I was backpacking in Mexico for three years—I had taken a break. But then she found me. When I read her message, and I saw that it was Steven Spielberg [directing], I thought, ‘Well, what do I have to lose, to just send in the self-tape?’ I expected nothing. I was like, ‘I’m t gonna send it in just so I feel good.’

7. Rivera on what the film means to him, and the arc of his character Chino:
“This film was a lot of things for me,” the actor explained, “and it’s my first feature, it’s a work of Steven Spielberg’s, and it’s that representation of Puerto Ricans—which is my heritage. So, it was just a lot of things at the same time. When people ask me how it feels, there’s so many components to that. To be able to dive into it with the nuance that [audiences see], in all the characters… Chino starts out kind and gentle, and—spoiler alert—does go to the ‘dark side.’ What’s nice is, and I thank Tony Kushner for this, he gave me a lot of meat and potatoes [to work with], which I really appreciate. You get to really see and understand and empathize with the arcs of all the characters and how everything plays out. You see it in real time. So, to be able to represent that, and to be able to like chat with my family about it—being part of this film… Yeah, it’s nothing short of incredible.”

8. James on watching the film’s youthful cast making magic together:
“I spent five days [filming] the ‘Dance at the Gym’ number, literally on the outside just standing and watching this incredible array of ability and talent and enthusiasm and joy and spirit. I always laughed at the fact that after every take, a throng of 40 dancers would run over to the monitor and watch the scene—and after the scene was over, everyone would go, ‘Hooray!’ That was great. And to me, that is the lifeblood of this film. Because the spirit of this film is captured by everybody [being] so in love with the fact that they got to do it—and so in love with each other.” Speaking to his castmates, he continued, “You appreciated it because you guys were in it, and we—who had not as much to do—were lucky to witness it as it was unfolding. That kind of thing is very rare, I think… To watch it and still be a part of it was really special.”

9. …and Spielberg on his collaboration with Kushner, and why it makes this film so special:
“I don’t think there was a scene in this film that Tony and I didn’t feel we had to get absolutely perfect,” the director said. “A scene is simply a progression toward making a point or reaching the end of the story. We both felt that if the scene did not contribute to the overall story—or it didn’t contribute to the growth, or the arc of these characters—that scene should not, would not, find a place in West Side Story. So, every scene has an essential role to play in basically unspooling the story—in celebration of being alive, and in tragedy, because conversation wasn’t able to be had before tragedy occurred. And the message [is], that conversation must always be attempted before anything else is attempted. All of these are all little building blocks; it’s like a string of pearls.”

See 20th Century Studios’ West Side Story in U.S. theaters beginning this Friday, December 10!

Making Their Mark in West Side Story

December 7, 2021

By Courtney Potter

20th Century Studios’ upcoming reimagining of the beloved musical West Side Story tells the iconic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. Set among the streets of adjoining Upper West Side neighborhoods Lincoln Square and San Juan Hill, the film—like its source material—is inspired by the star-crossed protagonists of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, putting a couple in love in the middle of a tense standoff that’s both powerfully political and deeply personal.

Two of the most iconic roles in the pantheon of both musical theater and film, West Side Story’s María is the young Puerto Rican immigrant who falls for an American despite the danger their love incites; and Anita, girlfriend to María’s brother Bernardo, is the knowing mother figure to his new-to-New-York little sister. In this new iteration, premiering in U.S. theaters in just a few days’ time, the roles are filled by newcomer Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose (Hamilton, Schmigadoon!), respectively.

D23 was lucky enough to sit down recently with both Zegler and DeBose for a spirited discussion about their experiences making the film, and what they hope today’s audiences take away from such an influential story.

“My friend McKenna sent me a tweet she’d seen from Cindy Tolan, the casting director, saying, ‘Thank me when you’re famous,” explained Zegler, chuckling. “I thought, ‘Oh, silly McKenna’—but then I sat down and made a tape and [thought] ‘Why not? What do I have to lose?’… I think it was about two weeks shy of a year [since the process began] when I was called in for a final time, on January 9, 2019, to a dance studio in Manhattan. I did two scenes for Steven, and he sent me out of the room, and I just kind of waited patiently. And then he brought me back in and everybody had formed this semi-circle around me that looked like an intervention!” the actress laughingly recalled. “And Steven said, ‘I just want to tell you that we would like for you to be María.’ It was an incredible moment—and also a real big, deep sigh of relief that the process was over. And then it was gearing up for what was to come!”

As for DeBose, her process was a little different—but equally memorable: “I came to [the process] kind of late,” she explained. “Cindy Tolan called and asked me to come to Brooklyn on a Saturday morning [for an audition]. At the time I was starring in a Broadway show [Donna: The Donna Summer Musical], and that Saturday would be a two-show day for me… I told them I could come in and dance and sing for them, but that I’d need more time to prepare the ‘sides’ [sections of scenes] they’d sent me… So I get there, and Steven Spielberg is there, and I think ‘Oh no.’ I dance for him, and he likes my dancing, and they ask me to stay in the room, and he says to me, ‘Will you read for me?’ And I said ‘No.’ And he looked at me a little cross-eyed,” she remembered, laughing. “Thank goodness Cindy came to my rescue and explained to him the situation… But we did have a short conversation about my being Afro-Latina [DeBose’s father is Puerto Rican]—that it would be important for me, should I get the role, to explore that. And he said, ‘Well, I can’t wait to see you again’… [After the rest of the process], I was at a nail salon in Manhattan when I found out I’d gotten the role. I had to have the nail technician answer the phone for me!”

As far as rehearsals, “I had been told that Steven doesn’t like to rehearse [scenes],” explained DeBose, “but we had extensiverehearsals for the dance numbers. But for the scenes, we actually didn’t rehearse them—which is a new experience for me, coming from the Broadway community, because we employ copious amounts of rehearsal. When you’re doing something eight times a week, you workshop it, you find the nuances, and you do it over and over and over again so that you truly understand the circumstances that you play out every night for the audience. Whereas Steven likes to keep things spontaneous and fresh and authentic and honest. So there was a real trust that Steven cultivated—not just with me, but with all of my company members. It was a beautiful thing to behold… When we were discussing the process, he made it very clear to me; he said ‘I chose you because I trust you. But I want you to explore; I want you to bring those sides of yourself, and if something feels wrong, let’s talk about it’… We would get to these beautiful moments of collaboration. Working with Steven as a director, it was a dream.”

“There wasn’t a lot of scene work rehearsal, for sure,” Zegler added. “But it was an intense couple months of just figuring out and mapping out the scale of the thing we had all signed on to… I personally loved the mornings [during dance rehearsals] because we would all do ballet bar. And for the most part, it was me being the only girl there—because I was there for most of the mornings, and it was all of the Jets, all of the Sharks. All the boys and then me. We all had a really fun bonding experience. That was beautiful.”

Besides exhaustive dance rehearsal, the cast was privy to several days of panels with leading experts in New York City history—“There were professors and writers and people who had done research in the history of San Juan Hill back in 1957 Manhattan,” recalled Zegler, “[talking about] the risks between the police and the Puerto Ricans; the police and the white kids; the white kids and the Puerto Ricans—how they all interacted. What the conflict really was, how the city was changing, and how those changes affected that conflict and their views.”

DeBose had the extremely special, although unenviable, task of filling the shoes of Anita in the presence of the woman who originally played her on the big screen—and won an Academy Award® for her efforts: Rita Moreno. The Oscar, Tony®, Emmy®, and Grammy® winner not only executive produced this reimagining but also costars as Valentina, the widow of local drugstore owner Doc. “I was incredibly humbled by how gracious Rita was with me,” admitted the actress. “She did ask, ‘What do you want to know?’ I’ll tell you anything you want to know.’ And I said, ‘I want to know anything that you want to tell me!’ And we had an understanding about the character. I care so much about Anita; as a person and as an actor, I don’t believe you can really move forward without knowing where [the character] came from… [Rita’s] is one of the most beautiful performances we’ve ever seen on screen. It changed the way the industry looked at Latinas. My specific goal was to find Anita in my physical manifestation, and what that means. And she gave me the space to do all of that and supported me through it.”

Speaking of Moreno’s groundbreaking performance, representation was truly key for this West Side Story: “It was very important to everyone involved that this movie be cast as accurately as possible, with representation in mind,” said Zegler, a Latina of Colombian descent. “We were so fortunate to have such a wonderful ensemble of so many different walks of life, from so many different Latin American countries—primarily Puerto Rico and Cuba, but from all over… And Rita was my idol from a very young age, because Singin’ in the Rain was my favorite movie. So it was an incredible moment when I got to meet her. It was so inspiring to talk to her, because she’s so aware of how she’s made a career for herself [as a Latina]… She just had the greatest stories and pieces of advice.”

All told, both performers hope the film resonates with audiences. “So much love and care went into this film,” said Zegler. “The performers in the entire ensemble are unreal and really incredible.” “To know that young women and young girls will see this film, with characters like Anita and María, and hopefully feel empowered by some of the things they’re witnessing—that is very exciting,” added DeBose… and the fact that this tale is now a part of the worlds of Disney is not lost on the actress either. “I’ve always found music to be incredibly healing, and it’s been a way for me to process things when I was a kid… Disney has brought that type of healing and processing to young people, and that’s not something I think we talk about [often]—the power of this art form. Whether it’s animation or live action, there is such power in the way that audiences receive these stories.”

And DeBose believes West Side Story will sit squarely amongst that memorable Disney canon. “[This project is] truly one of epic proportions,” said DeBose. “That’s the only way I know how to describe it.”

20th Century Studios’ West Side Story debuts in theaters across the U.S. beginning this Friday, December 10!

How Live in Front of a Studio Audience Is Recreating The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes

December 7, 2021

By Zach Johnson

Tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, the Emmy^® Award-winning Live in Front of a Studio Audience will make its highly anticipated return with a third iteration, featuring live reenactments of the hit series The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes. The one-night-only special features an all-star lineup and reunites executive producers Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Brent Miller, Kerry Washington, Will Ferrell, Justin Theroux, and Jim Burrows.

As was true for the first two iterations, the creative team have assembled an impressive cast. Starring in The Facts of Life are Jennifer Aniston as Blair, Gabrielle Union as Tootie, Allison Tolman as Natalie, and Kathryn Hahn as Jo, with Jon Stewart taking on a mystery role. Starring in Diff’rent Strokes are John Lithgow as Mr. Drummond, Kevin Hart as Arnold, and Damon Wayans as Willis. Ann Dowd will star as Mrs. Garrett in both live reenactments.

“For the most part, we keep these [casts] a secret…” Kimmel said last week during ABC’s Midseason’s Greetings virtual press conference. “Occasionally word gets out amongst agents or publicists, and we do get solicitations from actors; it’s good to know who wants to do it and who’s interested. But we keep the parts very, very quiet. We keep the shows very quiet. So, in general, we have the casting done before anybody even knows about it.”

Sometimes, the casting choices are obvious. “We do a lot of talking about who would be best for each role. I don’t think there is anyone in the world who could play Arnold Drummond other than Kevin Hart,” said Kimmel with Lear saying he “couldn’t agree more.” The cast has palpable chemistry, they added. “The two table reads have been fabulous,” said Lear, with Miller adding, “They proved that Jimmy was spot on with his [idea for this].”

The executive producers encourage each actor to “bring their own thing” to their roles, Miller said, rather than simply to recreate what the original actor in each show did. “Jamie Foxx, for example, in our past one, he really wanted to go after Sherman Hemsley and take on that presence,” Miller said. “Whereas with someone like Marisa Tomei, she had on her own version of who Edith was. So, I think that we encourage all the actors creatively, as do [directors] Jimmy Burrows and Pam Fryman, to have fun with it and just have a good time.”

There will be additional guest stars in the special, but their names are being kept under wraps so as not to spoil the fun. “I know that’s a little bit of a disappointment—but isn’t it more fun [this way]?” Kimmel said. “Don’t you want your presents wrapped on Christmas?”

For Kimmel, the Live in Front of a Studio Audience specials are more than just a passion project—they’re a way of honoring many of Lear’s programs that colored his childhood. “I remember watching these shows in syndication; that’s really where I got a big dose of them,” he said. “They would run back-to-back on my local Channel 5 affiliate in Las Vegas. It was just like part of my day. I’d come home from school, and I had a very busy schedule of TV shows to watch.” Kimmel was such a fan of Diff’rent Strokes that he later bought memorabilia from one of its stars. “Many years ago, Gary Coleman was selling a pair of his pants on eBay, and I purchased them from him,” Kimmel recalled. “They hung in our studio for around 10 years—much like a championship pennant would at a baseball stadium. So, I just love the whole thing. Those shows really were like my babysitter, and they had so much to do with why I love television. To me, the most magical thing, really, is to be on the set—because for the most part, the only original character in this production is the set, which our set builders duplicated exactly. It has such artistry, and what they can do in such a short period of time is so amazing. When you walk onto that set, it really is overwhelming.”

The special will be also available Wednesday on demand and on Hulu.

Pulling Back the Curtain on Rogers: The Musical in Hawkeye

December 6, 2021

By Zach Johnson

Broadway is buzzing over Rogers: The Musical, with critics calling it “a soaring, smashing, flying, fighting, musical triumph.” Sadly, the “powerful” stage show that “captures the heart of a hero” exists only in the world of Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye, streaming on Disney+—so don’t bother lining up outside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in the hopes of snagging tickets!

Since the series premiered on the streaming service November 24, we’ve been singing along to the show-stopping number “Save the City,” written by the award-winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (of Hairspray, Mary Poppins Returns, and Smash fame). Luckily, the longtime collaborators agreed to pull back the curtain to share insights into their songwriting process, their path to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and more.

D23: Marc, is true that your involvement with Rogers: The Musical stemmed from a chance encounter with Kevin Feige, executive producer and Marvel Studios president?
Marc Shaiman (MS): Sort of. I think I might have put myself and Scott in his head. We were at an Academy Awards function when someone tapped me on my shoulder and said, ‘Kevin Feige would love to meet you.’ I was like, ‘Kevin Feige would like to meet me?’ Now, my husband is a complete and total Marvel nerd, so I knew who he was. So, I went over and said, ‘Hi! Nice to meet you.’ And he started reciting all my film scores; he’s a real film score aficionado. There he was, just going on and on! I said, ‘Wow! Thank you. My husband, Lou, would die to think he’s not here.’ So, we took a picture. Then it was two years almost to the day where our agent emailed and said, ‘Marvel wants you to write a Broadway musical number for the new Hawkeye series. You want to do it?’ I was like, ‘Yeah!’ That’s where Scott came in, and we listened to what they needed and wanted. We knew we had to walk this tightrope between it being an entertaining and hopefully good song. But it also had to be something that makes Clint [Jeremy Renner] kind of roll his eyes, because this musical of this huge event in his life is now being… I don’t want to say the word ‘reduced,’ but it’s—
Scott Wittman (SW): Broadway-ized!
MS: That’s also why they added Ant-Man into the number, to show that a Broadway musical—or any other kind of entertainment, really—might take some creative liberties.
D23: Ant-Man is a founding Avenger in the comics. Is that why he was chosen?
MS: I think it was, I guess, a random choice—or just someone who didn’t belong there. Maybe it could have been someone more obscure, but Ant-Man was the perfect choice.

D23: Was it always the intention to write a song set during the Battle of New York, or had you considered other seminal MCU moments—like a battle with Thanos, perhaps?
SW: Marvel wanted it to be very much that scenario, because that was such an emotional time for those characters, I think. That also added another layer for Clint [in the audience].
MS: And that bridge at Grand Central Station is such a perfect, iconic Broadway set!

D23: How did you manage to seamlessly incorporate so many iconic lines—like “Avengers, assemble,” “I could do this all day,” and “Hulk smash”—into the lyrics?
MS: Well, like I said, my husband, Lou, he’s just a full-on nerd.
SW: Stan! He’s not a nerd. He’s a stan!
MS: I need a thesaurus for all these words! I mean, I knew about the Tesseract from having seen all the movies, but I’m sure I’d turned to Loui and asked, “It’s Tesseract, right? And it’s Chitauri?’ Shawarma got stuck in my head, because Iron Man is constantly talking about how he wanted to go to that Shawarma restaurant. It had to be all things that the real people who live in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have heard about. They don’t go to the movies; it’s in their real life. Right? So, clearly, someone has heard Captain America more than once say, ‘I could do this all day.’ And, you know, that’s such a great line to sing.

D23: How long did it take you to write “Save the City”?
SW: Well, I had to watch all the movies, because I don’t have a husband! [Laughs] But it was also written in the height of the pandemic, so I had a lot of time on my hands anyway.

D23: What was it like to actually see Rogers: The Musical staged in Hawkeye?
SW: Marc is in it! He went to the filming in Atlanta, so he has a little cameo there.
MS: It was thrilling! It’s so fun to watch. Some of the people who are performing the number are not the people singing it. Some Broadway stars are supplying a lot of the voices.
SW: Like Adam Pascal, who was the star. [Editor’s note: Pascal plays Lead New Yorker #1.]
MS: Luckily, with Adam, he’s both the voice and in [the production]. As Scott and I were writing it, usually I’ll demo the song and send it to the producers and ask, ‘What do you think?’ But I knew I couldn’t possibly sing the song; I needed that high rock ‘n’ roll voice. I said, ‘I wish I could just call Adam Pascal and see if he could sing the demo.’ Then, I realized I can! I got his number and I texted him out of the blue. I had maybe met him in passing, but I was like, ‘Hey, would you want to sing this demo for Marvel?’ Of course, everyone says yes. The vocal that you hear on the recording is what he and Ty Taylor sang from their own homes—because everyone has their own form of microphone at home now.

D23: Is there any chance we’ll ever get to see more from Rogers: The Musical?
SW: Tell people to write to Kevin Feige!
MS: Start petitions! I’ll say, it is thrilling to watch how the fans react.
SW: Someone said it ‘slaps.’ I thought that was better than a rave in the New York Times!

5 Fantastic Things to Watch This Week

December 6, 2021

By Zach Johnson

Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas continues to bring good cheer all week long! Start your week off in a festive spirit with one of our favorite films, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, airing Monday. Later that night, ABC will present a new musical special, A Very Boy Band Holiday. Catch an early premiere of Quinta Brunson’s all-new comedy series Abbott Elementary Tuesday on ABC before new episodes air in its regular time period starting Tuesday, January 4. On Wednesday, Welcome to Earth debuts its complete season on Disney+, and on Thursday, the complete fifth season of Trolls: Trollstopia arrives on Hulu.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York—Monday December 6, at 3:40 p.m. ET on Freeform
The McCallisters are in a rush once again as they embark on a Christmas trip to Florida. In their haste, Kevin (Macaluay Culkin) gets separated from them and winds up on a plane bound for New York—with enough money to turn the Big Apple into his own playground! Meanwhile, the notorious Wet Bandits (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) are plotting a huge holiday heist, and it’s up to Kevin to set up another battery of booby traps to thwart them.

A Very Boy Band Holiday—Monday, December 6, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC
Some of the most beloved members of iconic boy bands—including *NSYNC’s Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick; Boys II Men’s Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman; New Edition’s Bobby Brown and Michael Bivins; New Kids on the Block’s Joey McIntyre; 98 Degrees’ Justin Jeffre, Drew Lachey, Nick Lachey, and Jeff Timmons; and O-Town’s Erik-Michael Estrada—are rocking around the Christmas tree with classic tunes and their holiday hits, along with some special surprise guests to help celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. The special includes the debut of a new original song, “A Very Boy Band Holiday,” performed by Fatone and Morris; a special performance of “This One’s For the Children” by McIntyre and his son; and the groups’ hits and a mix of classic holiday favorites, such as “Let It Snow,” “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,” and “This Christmas.”

Abbott Elementary—Tuesday, December 7, at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC
In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers—and a slightly tone-deaf principal—are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed. Though these educators may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do… even if they don’t love the school district’s unenthusiastic attitude toward educating today’s kids.

Welcome to Earth—Wednesday, December 8, on Disney+
The visually stunning series from National Geographic follows Will Smith on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure around the world to explore Earth’s greatest wonders and reveal its most hidden secrets. Smith is guided by elite explorers on an awe-inspiring journey, getting up close and personal with some of the most thrilling spectacles on the planet, from volcanoes that roar in silence to deserts that move beyond our perception to animal swarms with minds of their own. Combining breathtaking cinematography with Smith’s boundless curiosity and enthusiasm, Welcome to Earth—which debuts with all six episodes—is an exciting, multisensory ride through Earth’s most mind-bending portals.

Trolls: Trollstopia—Thursday, December 9, on Hulu
In TrollsTopia, nothing is more important than parties and friendship. During the exciting fifth season, the Trolls welcome a K-Pop girl group on a mission; Holly and Val meet a Bergen for the first time; and Synth and Minuet take a ride down the Tunnel of Friendship!

Jewish Apple Cake Recipe

December 3, 2021October 26, 2023

By the D23 Team

Our new Jewish Apple Cake recipe will be a delicious addition to any gathering with friends and family this Hanukkah! (For the younger set, make sure to have adult supervision—and have your parents do any cutting or chopping. Safety first during the holidays!)

Ingredients

Apple Ingredients

6 medium apples (Gala, Fuji, Honey Crisp or Granny Smith apples)
5 tbsp granulated sugar
11/2 tsp cinnamon

Cake Ingredients

23/4 cups of all-purpose flour - sifted
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 tbsp powdered sugar

Special Equipment

Tube or bundt cake pan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

Step 1:
Prepare the apples.

Peel, core, and cut the apples into thin slices.
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and then add to the apples and mix.
Set aside.

Step 2:
Prepare the cake batter.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
In another bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, juice, and vanilla together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula to combine.
Add one egg at a time and mix well between each egg. The batter will be thick at first, but as each egg is added, the batter will thin.

Step 3:
Assemble and bake the cake.

Grease the cake pan and then add a thin layer of batter to the bottom. Using a slotted spoon, add a layer of apples and then a layer of batter. Repeat and then finish with apples on the top. TIP: Use the liquid from the apples to brush on top when finished assembling. Arrange the apples to cover the top nicely.
Place the cake pan on the center rack in the middle of the oven. Bake at 350° for about 1 hour 30 minutes, or when a toothpick comes out clean.
When done, allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes so the cake pulls away from the pan. Place a plate over the top of the pan, and gently flip it over to remove the cake from the pan. If the cake sticks, gently tap the pan.
Flip the cake back over so the apples are on the top. Optional: Dust the top with powdered sugar to finish.

Like our must-try Rugelach recipe, there's no step 4—except to enjoy every morsel! Let us know what you thought of our Jewish Apple Cake on Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to tag @disneyd23 with your baking masterpiece!

Looking for a printout? Download a PDF copy here.

Handmade Warmth from Disney+’s Arendelle Castle Yule Log: Cut Paper Edition

December 3, 2021

By Courtney Potter

Imagine gathering by a cozy hearth this holiday season, celebrating family and toasting to the coming of a fresh new year. Sounds absolutely lovely… but what if you don’t have a fireplace? Never fear: Our friends at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney+ are once again providing homes near and far with a virtual version sure to warm your heart.

Themed to the world of Frozen and Frozen 2, Arendelle Castle Yule Log: Cut Paper Edition—which debuts on the streaming service on Friday, December 17—features beloved characters Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven around Arendelle Castle’s fireplace (known as the location for many a “Family Game Night”). What makes this year’s yule log fantastically unique is that it’s handmade… and we truly mean handmade. What you’ll see on your TV screen (or streaming device of choice) is a high-resolution image of an incredible paper art sculpture designed and created by Disney Animation visual development artist Brittney Lee.

D23 recently spoke with Lee, the production designer for the short Myth: A Frozen Tale (now streaming on Disney+), about what made this project so very special:

On returning to a familiar world…
“I am so immersed in Frozen at this point that it feels like home. It almost feels like I never left,” Lee admitted. “I never thought in a million years someone was going to be asking me to design a yule log—but the idea of it being the family at home in Arendelle made total sense to me. It was really comfortable and easy to a point where, I’m used to stressing over getting something done, but this was just very natural—because it felt like the pieces exist in Arendelle already. So, it was mostly just composing a ‘family picture’ of that; making it cozy and feel like a tactile piece that could be a little ‘vignette’ in front of a fireplace, or a shadowbox you put on your mantle.”

On what the process was like…
At her home studio in Southern California, Lee mapped out her images and then cut the pieces from sturdy cardstock paper using a precision craft-carving knife. “I think I cut the majority of the yule log piece all on one day… The idea behind it is that all of these different layers are cardstock, stacked,” she said. “They’re about 32 inches by 20 inches, stacked, and there are probably five or six different layers.” The finished-product Arendelle Castle Yule Log: Cut Paper Edition that viewers will see on their Disney+ screens is not a digital scan of the artwork. “Scanning collapses the depth for my pieces,” Lee explained. “I photographed some ‘works in progress’ just to see the detail levels on them… then I took a photo and I processed it, so that it’s the right dimensions; the right aspect ratio; and to make sure my feet aren’t in the image,” she laughingly admitted.

“We took that photo and broke it into layers, so that they can be processed in depth with our CGI artists… One thing that I haven’t ever done tactilely in real life, with my own work, is add the element of backlighting. Since it’s a fireplace, it feels like lighting could be alive… [so] it was really important that we try to capture that [practically] rather than digitally,” she continued. “It was a huge question mark for me. I’m pretty confident that I can compose a front-lit image out of paper; I know how to do that and I can make it look good. But I am not a professional photographer, nor do I have a lot of experience with LED lighting. So, there was a bit of trial and error at my house—trying to figure out the best way to photograph it, and the best temperature of lights to use, to get the photo closest to the concept.”

On how the artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios help bring the image to life…
“We have an effects animator helping us to figure out what the design of the animated fire will look like,” Lee explained. “I cut each frame of the fire out [of vellum, a kind of opaque paper], and hopefully it’ll have a stop-motion feel to it.” Keep an eye out for other animated touches, like glittering snow—“very subtly, so that you get that mix of a warm fire, but also paying homage to Elsa”—as well as certain diamond shapes incorporated into the flames of the fire: “Those are used all throughout Frozen 2, and were a huge design element for us in Myth: A Frozen Tale,” she added.

…Any other Easter eggs viewers should look out for?
“It just made sense, because this was a cozy scene by the fire, that everybody should be in their pajamas,” said Lee. And guess what? She designed Elsa’s original pajama gown for Frozen 2—“another full-circle thing.”

On how she began with paper art in the first place…
“I started working with paper about a decade ago,” she explained. “I’m so used to working digitally for every job that I’ve ever done, so I wanted to work on a project for myself where I could focus on something tactile… there’s a bunch of artists through the years who’ve focused on paper, and [it soon became clear] how experimental it can be—the added depth of pieces of paper. There’s something magical to it that invites you in. So, I started experimenting with it on a single piece that took me forever, but I fell in love with it—and I’ve been experimenting ever since.”

On what Lee hopes Disney+ viewers take away from in this year’s Arendelle Castle Yule Log: Cut Paper Edition …
“I don’t have a fireplace in my house,” the artist said, “so during the holidays, I’ll often end up putting on a yule log [on my TV] just to have that feeling. Hearths in general are so warm and so inviting and so much about family. I wanted to bring people together, and Frozen already does that so well. And I think the neat thing about Frozen, and Disney in general, is that there’s always that added touch of magic. I think that’s what we’re trying to do here… I’m hoping that everybody will enjoy it!”

Look for Arendelle Castle Yule Log: Cut Paper Edition beginning Friday, December 17—only on Disney+!

Rugelach Recipe

December 3, 2021April 21, 2023

By the D23 team

Our Rugelach recipe is sure to be a hit with friends and family all year round! (For the younger set, make sure to have adult supervision—and have your parents do any cutting or chopping.)

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients

21/2 cups flour
6 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes 6 oz cream cheese, cold and cut into small cubes 1 large egg yolk

Filling Ingredients (Chocolate filling, as shown)

For a chocolate filling as shown 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Other Filling Ideas

Nuts or dried fruits
Jams

Special Equipment

Food processor

Directions

Step 1: Make the dough

In a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse a few times to mix. Add the cubes of butter, cream cheese, and egg yolk. Pulse until the dough starts to combine into a moistened consistency, maybe half a minute. Remove the dough and place onto a flour-dusted work surface. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth. (Or, cut the ingredients together using a pastry cutter.)
Separate into 3 equal amounts. At this point, decide which shape the rugelach will be. Either the spiral or the crescent shape—or both as shown.
For the spiral shape: roll out the dough in a rectangle shape about 1/2” thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour. For the crescent shape, roll out the dough in a circular shape about 1/2” thick. Wrap and refrigerate the dough. If desired, refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Step 2: Make the filling

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place into a microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30-second intervals, stirring the melted chocolate with the un-melted. (Or use a double boiler method.)
Stir in the sugar and salt. The mixture will be grainy.

Step 3: Roll out the dough

Line the baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375°.
For the spiral shape, roll out the dough to about 1/8” thickness on a lightly floured surface in a rectangle shape. Spread the warm filling onto the rectangle leaving a small amount of dough around the edges free of filling. Roll the dough in a tube shape. Chill the dough again for about 30 minutes. When cool, cut about 1” thick pieces with a sharp knife. Place the pieces with the seam down onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
For the crescent shape, roll out the dough in a circular shape to about 1/8” thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out shapes like a pizza. Apply the filling and then roll each cookie ending with the point.
TIP: Be sure the chocolate filling is warm when it is applied to the dough. Work quickly when rolling the dough before it cools. Place the cookies on the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on a rack.

Step 4? Enjoy! If you’ve just finished baking these delicious treats with us, be sure to send us a photo of your masterpiece and tag us @disneyd23 on Twitter and Instagram.

Looking for a printout? Download a PDF copy here.

New Look at The Book of Boba Fett—Plus More in News Briefs

December 3, 2021December 10, 2021

By Courtney Potter

**Disney+’s The Book of Boba Fett: New Character Posters and TV Spot**

Earlier this week, Disney+ released cool new character posters of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand for its brand-new, live-action series from Lucasfilm, The Book of Boba Fett! But that’s not all: in addition to premiering a thrilling new TV spot, our pals at the streaming service also announced the series will have seven weekly episodes, starting December 29.

The Book of Boba Fett, a sure-to-be-galactically-memorable Star Wars adventure teased in a surprise end-credit sequence following the season two finale of The Mandalorian, follows legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and mercenary Fennec Shand (Disney Legend Ming-Na Wen) as they navigate the galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate. Disney Legend Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson are the executive producers. Mark those calendars, y’all!

5 Fantastic Things to Watch This Weekend

Oh boy—the holidays are really and truly upon us, and we couldn’t be more jingle-jazzed! So, what kind of merriment can you get into this very weekend from around the worlds of Disney? Disney Channel gets festive as all get out with the premieres of Disney’s Holiday Magic Quest and Christmas… Again?!; FX presents a marathon of The Santa Clause trilogy (Bernard the Elf is a fave ’round here); and so much more.

**Production Wraps on Chang Can Dunk for Disney+**

More cool news from the good folks at Disney+: Production has just wrapped on Chang Can Dunk—an original, live-action film from Disney slated for release in 2023, exclusively on the streaming service.

Chang Can Dunk tells the story of Chang, a 16-year-old Asian American high school student in the marching band who bets the school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads the 5’ 8” Chang on a quest to find the hops he needs to dunk in order to impress his crush, Kristy, and finally gain the attention and respect of his high school peers. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he’ll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships, and his family.

Bloom Li plays the lead, Chang. Fun fact: Li was encouraged to audition by a friend and submitted a self-tape on his own, which put him on the path to eventually getting the part! Additionally, Ben Wang, recently seen in Disney’s Launchpad short Dinner Is Served, plays Bo, Chang’s best friend; Dexter Darden, a former pro basketball player and two-time Estonia League MVP, plays Deandre; Chase Liefeld plays Matt, the school’s star athlete; and Zoe Renee plays Kristy. To lend authenticity to the film and properly represent the dunk culture, filmmakers hired one of the foremost dunk experts, Connor Barth, to help the actors train.

In his feature-film debut, Jingyi Shao is writing and directing from a script he wrote that placed second on last year’s Blacklist—a platform for film and TV writers to showcase their screenplays for industry members.

More news on Chang Can Dunk in the coming months…

Limited-Time Festivals Return to the Disneyland Resort in 2022

It’s an early holiday gift we’re quite excited for! Two fan-favorite, ever-so-enjoyable, limited-time festivals are returning Disneyland Resort (specifically, Disney California Adventure Park) next year—namely, the Lunar New Year celebration, taking place from January 21 through February 13; and the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival, running from March 4 through April 26.

Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure is a joyous celebration that commemorates traditions of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures. The festival—which celebrates 2022’s Year of the Tiger—is chock full of multicultural performances, special activities, culinary delights, colorful décor, celebratory merchandise, and more. New this year: Tigger will join in on the fun, along with beloved Disney characters including Mulan and Mushu; Mickey and Minnie; the Three Little Pigs and other favorites, all donning festive attire.

Later in the spring, family and friends will come together for the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival—and they’ll enjoy a totally delicious taste of what they’ve been missing. The festival allows guests to explore California regions and neighborhoods in several ways, from delicious eats to vibrant entertainment and festival merchandise. During the festival, epicureans will taste their way through a dozen festival marketplaces, savoring mouthwatering bites and beverages; plus, entertainment will fill the festival’s Palisades Stage and Paradise Gardens Bandstand, with live musical performances and visits from Chef Mickey. And as in years past, a Sip and Savor pass will be available for purchase, as well as special signature events including the Carthay Circle Winemaker Receptions, and Wine, Beer and Mixology Education & Tasting Seminars.

Additional details on both festivals will be announced soon!

**Coming Soon: Best in Dough to Bring Pizza-rific Fun to Hulu**

Fans of delicious flavor, listen up! Hulu has just announced the latest addition to its delectable lineup of unscripted food series: the new original series Best in Dough.

In a world where there seems to be little agreement on anything, there is one great unifier… the universal love of pizza. Best in Dough brings together pizza-obsessed competitors from all walks of life to showcase their pizza slinging skills and battle it out for a cool $10,000. Fire up the oven, because the first ever pizza competition is on!

Best in Dough is hosted by Wells Adams, with head judge Chef Daniele Uditi of Pizzana—and features Chef Millie Peartree, comedian and food influencer Eunji Kim, and baker Bryan Ford serving as judges. Adams is best known from The Bachelor franchise, where he first emerged as a fan favorite on season 12 of ABC’s The Bachelorette and went on to become a semi-permanent fixture on both The Bachelor and The Bacheloretteseries as well as ABC’s Bachelor in Paradise.

The first season of Best in Dough—from Alfred Street Industries, Vox Media Studios, and Majordomo Media—will consist of 10 episodes. Keep your eyes peeled (and your stomach primed) for a premiere date and further info.

**ICYMI: New Details on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the 30th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris, and More**

Were you on an extended Thanksgiving sojourn and, therefore, missed some of the most amazing announcements from our recent Destination D23 event? Or just want a bit of a refresher on all the incredible things you can expect at Disney Parks and Resorts in the months to come? Fret not: We’ve got you covered with this nifty rundown.

Christmas…Again?! Is a DCOM You’ll Never Want to Fir-Get

December 3, 2021December 2, 2021

By Zach Johnson

Christmas comes but once a year… most years, anyway.

But in the Disney Channel Original Movie Christmas… Again?!, debuting tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 12-year-old Ro (Scarlett Estevez) unexpectedly finds herself reliving the holiday. How, exactly, does something like this happen? For starters, Ro isn’t handling her parents’ divorce well. After a disappointing day with her family, she asks a local Santa Claus (Gary Anthony Williams) for a do-over. Now, in order to break a magical, mysterious loop, Ro must learn to appreciate her family as it is and to embrace the true meaning of Christmas.

“Ro is very bold,” says Estevez, who cites Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas! as one of her favorite DCOMs. “She can be stern, and she likes to get what she wants; if she doesn’t, she’ll do anything to get it. But she’s also very loving, and she cares a lot about her family.”

In fact, despite her parents’ divorce, Ro had been excited about continuing her family’s holiday traditions, like watching the Santas vs. Elves hockey game with her dad (Daniel Sunjata) and visiting the Winterfest Carnival. Not on the agenda? Spending time with her dad’s girlfriend, Diane (Beth Lacke), and her 8-year-old son, Louie (James McCracken). To make matters worse, the other members of Ro’s family refuse to see things from her POV.

But is Ro willing to see things from their side? “You’ll definitely see how her opinions change,” Estevez assures us. “She starts to discover that maybe people aren’t as bad as she thought. In the beginning, she convinces herself that these people are out to get her, so that makes it OK for her to block them out. But Ro starts to realize that maybe those opinions were wrong, that they really are nice people who want to be a part of her family.”

“At the end of the day, they all love each other,” adds Alexis Carra, who plays Carolina, Ro’s warm-hearted and outgoing mom. “Even though families come in all shapes and sizes, it takes some time for Ro to accept that her family has changed. It doesn’t mean that her parents love her any less or any differently. And who doesn’t need to be reminded of that?”

Suffice it to say, making Christmas… Again?! was a “magical experience,” says Carra. Estevez also shares “fond memories” from her time on set, particularly when it came to “repeat” scenes. “It was super fun, but also a little crazy, because I would lose track of what loop we were in,” she recalls. “I would be like, ‘Wait, what scene are we doing?’ It was super cool and very different, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to experience something like this again.”