After Eternals, West Side Story Banned From Saudi Arabia, UAE & Other Middle East Regions

News

oi-Sanyukta Thakare

|

Updated: Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 16:38 [IST]

After

Eternals,
another
Hollywood
film
has
been
banned
from
several
Middle
East
countries
including
Saudi
Arabia,
Kuwait,
Bahrain,
Oman,
Qatar
and
the
UAE.
According
to
Deadline,

West
Side
Story
will
not
be
released
in
these
countries
due
to
censorship
rules
about
a
transgender
character
called
Anybodys.

Steven
Spielberg
On
Directing
West
Side
Story:
Most
Delightful
Family
Affair
I
Have
Had
Since
ET

Deadline
revealed
that
an
official
statement
about
the
ban
has
not
been
released,
but
reportedly
the
film
has
not
received
distribution
rights
due
to
the
character
Anybodys
played
by
Iris
Menas,
a
nonbinary
performer.
While
Saudi
Arabia
and
Kuwait
did
not
approve
distribution
certificates,
the
censors
in
the
other
regions
requested
cuts
but
Disney
opted
to
not
make
the
edits.

This
isn’t
the
first
time
that
a
movie
has
been
banned
from
Middle
East
countries.
Earlier
this
year,
Marvels’

Eternals
was
also
banned
in
the
Middle
East
region
over
censorship
issues.
UAE
eventually
released
Eternals
after
removing
every
intimate
scene
from
the
movie.

West
Side
Story,
set
to
release
this
week
is
Steven
Spielberg’s
version
of
the
1957
Broadway
musical
of
the
same
name.
The
film
has
already
created
quite
the
buzz
across
the
globe
and
has
also
received
a
nod
for
Best
Cinematography
from
the
New
York
Film
Critics
Circle.

Tribute:
Legendary
Broadway
Music
Composer
Stephen
Sondheim
Passes
Away
At
91

West
Side
Story
is
releasing
on
December
10,
2021.
The
film
stars
Ansel
Elgort
as
Tony,
Rachel
Zegler
as
Maria,
Ariana
DeBose
as
Anita,
Rita
Moreno
as
Valentina
and
Mike
Faist
as
Riff.

from Hollywood Trailers: Top Hollywood Movies https://ift.tt/3dtbLLu