INTERVIEW: Rita Moreno on how her life can inspire women today
Photo: Rita Moreno is the subject of a new documentary from American Masters on PBS. Photo courtesy of Getty Images / Provided by PBS press site with permission.
Rita Moreno is a trailblazer and accomplished performer who has earned tons of awards, a slew of accolades, and high praise from critics and audiences alike. As a Puerto Rican woman, she has been an inspiration to many people throughout her life and career, especially when she broke down barriers and provided necessary representation in Hollywood.
Her credits are too numerous to list, but certainly her enduring performance in the film version of West Side Story still lives on as one of the most important parts of her résumé. She is one of the rare actors to win an Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar and Tony and one can appreciate her performances on TV, stage and film throughout the decades.
Now, on the verge of turning 90, Moreno is feeling nostalgic. Her beloved West Side Story film is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and she’s also gearing up for Steven Spielberg’s new version of the movie musical this December. Additionally, PBS is about to roll out a new American Masters documentary about the performer. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It will premiere Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 9 p.m.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox joined a roundtable interview with Moreno, series executive producer Michael Kantor and director/producer Mariem Pérez Riera. Hollywood Soapbox asked how Moreno’s life can still inspire girls and women in 2021, and here’s what the team had to say:
RITA MORENO: First of all, let me say, and this is from the bottom of my heart, and I address this to Mariem … she made the most relevant, “of this moment” documentary. It’s a documentary not about an actress, but it is a documentary about the times, about the times now and about the times then. It’s like a lesson in history and women, and that just thrills me to pieces.
Mariem, I saw it again the other day to show to somebody who I like very much, and I was more stricken than ever by the notion that you really put the nail on the head. It is the most relevant documentary or comment about women and how women have been seen over the years.
I think one of the most brilliant touches is to bring in two people in fact — this is just completely brilliant — to bring in two academics who can comment on the times in a way that I really could not. …
MARIEM PÉREZ RIERA: Well, the idea behind the documentary was also to be able to show what it means to be a woman, period, but mostly what it means to be a woman of that time, when Rita was trying very hard to accomplish her goals and to do what she wanted to do, but also it speaks to us now.
When I was interviewing Rita, I often felt very related to what she was saying, so I figured that if I felt that way, any woman could feel that way. So that was the idea. It was also to show through Rita what it means to be a woman, period, and what it means to be a woman especially if you’re a Latina, and if you’re an immigrant in Hollywood and in the United States.
So I hope girls understand what we have come to, [how] other women like Rita have opened doors and had to struggle with so that we can appreciate where we are right now and so that we can also continue our efforts for the future.
MORENO: … We tell women that we have value, and it’s something that’s very, very difficult for women to understand because they have been mistreated for so long, and particularly women of color and women from other countries, but all women. It’s so important to understand that we really do have value, no matter how I hate to say the word, men have treated us or perceived us.
MICHAEL KANTOR: I just wanted to share, I have two daughters, and when I look at this film, I see Rita as a groundbreaker and pathfinder who was fighting the Me Too fight decades before those organizations emerged. It is hugely inspirational.
I would point out for younger contemporary audiences, after the film Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It, PBS is airing a companion piece called Lights, Camera, Acciòn that looks at the past, present and future of the Latinx experience in entertainment. I urge you to watch the full two-hour block that gives both Rita’s pioneering story and a contemporary look at what’s happening.
MORENO: See, that’s why only PBS really could have done this. That’s why really American Masters, you could say, earned the right to air and to back and help to produce a documentary like this. We belong on PBS.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It will premiere Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 9 p.m. on PBS as part of the American Masters program. Click here for more information.
