A Movie Star Returns to Her NJ School for Special Movie Screening

A pretty cool event happened this Friday in Lodi, NJ. The students at Immaculate Conception High School were treated to a special screening of the 2021 version of the movie West Side Story.

The movie stars Rachel Zegler as the lead character Maria. Rachel graduated from Immaculate Conception in 2019. The movie is a remake or as they say in Hollywood re-imaged from the 1961 movie West Side Story that starred Rita Moreno and Natalie Wood.

The new release is directed by super star director Steven Spielberg and 1961-star Rita Moreno makes an appearance in the film as the character Valentina.

This is a big Hollywood production and it’s great that the filmmakers and producers would allow the film to be shown at Immaculate Conception. The students appreciated the screening and poured lots of applause for their famous alumni.

She had that Jersey “never give up” attitude that landed her the coveted role in the movie. She didn’t have an agent and made a couple of tapes herself and sent them in, working hard on her delivery. Many auditions and callbacks later she finally got the word that she got the part.

With the guidance of Steven Spielberg, she finally landed an agent halfway through filming. Something tells me that agent will enjoy landing many roles to come for the talented 20-year-old Rachel.

The film is now playing in movie theatres throughout the country and once again we applaud the talents of New Jersey’s own. Congratulations Rachel, continued success. Support one of our own and check out the movie.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.