1 13131313What the hell
is Spielberg’s
Aer Dark?
The big questions about the
legendary filmmaker’s other
project — a mobile-only TV show
you can only watch at nightHANG ON — SPIELBERG’S MAKING A TV SHOW?
I THOUGHT HE HATED TV!
Not at all. He’s just a vocal critic of how certain
streaming services handle their films. He’s cool
with TV. If proof were ever needed, his revival of
Amazing Stories is headed to Apple, and now he’s
signed up to write an “anthology horror” series
(working title: Spielberg’s After Dark) for new
mobile streaming service Quibi.HOW CAN IT BE ONLY WATCHED IT NIGHT?
It’s a specific request from Señor Spielbergo
himself, for maximum spookiness. The Quibi app
will run a countdown clock to sundown, geo-
tagged to wherever the user is, before allowing
the series to be played. The show will then be
locked out when the sun comes up again.WHAT IS QUIBI, ANYWAY?
It’s a new mobile streaming service launching
next April, the brainchild of Spielberg’s old
buddy and fellow DreamWorks founder Jeffrey
Katzenberg. Short for “quick bites”, it’s designed
for short (seven to 10 minutes) content, to be
viewed on small screens by millennials with short
attention spans. Guillermo del Toro and Sam
Raimi are also on board to produce new material.SPIELBERG’S WRITING IT? I THOUGHT
HE ONLY DIRECTED.
True, it’s very rare for The Beard
to flex his writing muscle.
He usually prefers to work
closely with trusted
screenwriters — but this
wouldn’t be his first time (he
wrote or co-wrote A.I., Close
Encounters Of The Third Kind
and The Goonies, among
others). Katzenberg told
Variety that Spielberg has
already “written five or six
episodes of a 10- or
12-chapter story.”
JOHN NUGENTSPIELBERG’S AFTER
DARK IS ON QUIBI
FROM 2020RICARDO ZAYAS
CHAGO (SHARKS)
Brooklyn-based Zayas starred
in Hamilton on Broadway in
2016 and Elizabethan jukebox
musical Head Over Heels
(scored by ’80s songs) in- He’s also a singing,
dancing skeleton in a 2019
episode of surreal TV show
At Home With Amy Sedaris.
JULIUS ANTHONY
RUBIO
QUIQUE (SHARKS)
Playing Quique — one of
several Sharks renamed from
the original — the Dominican
actor has appeared in five
Broadway musicals, including
Frozen, and made his film
debut dancing in The
Greatest Showman (2017).DAVID ALVAREZ
BERNARDO (SHARKS)
The 25-year-old plays Maria’s
overprotective older brother.
Born in Montreal to Cuban
parents, Alvarez speaks three
languages, plays classical
piano and won a Tony Award
(shared with Trent Kowalik
and Kiril Kulish) in 2009 for
his role as Billy Elliot.
JOSH ANDRÉS RIVERA
CHINO (SHARKS)
Puerto-Rican actor, singer
and dancer Rivera is another
Hamilton veteran in the
cast, appearing in the
2017 tour. “I feel very
fortunate... I’m confident
Puerto-Ricans will see
ourselves reflected in this
project,” he told Deadline.CARLOS SÁNCHEZ
FALÚ
PIPO (SHARKS)
Falú was choreographer of the
dance team at the University
of Puerto Rico, and held high
heels dance classes in San
Juan. On Instagram, he said of
his casting, “Blessings comes
in many forms and I thinks this
one of them.”SEBASTIAN SERRA
BRAULIO (SHARKS)
Serra started ballet dancing
in Puerto Rico aged nine,
racking up credits in both
film and theatre (including
Romeo & Juliet). In 2013
he appeared on TV talent
show So You Think You Can
Dance, performing ballet in
surf shorts.WEST SIDE STORY IS IN CINEMAS FROM 31 DECEMBER 2020