Rita Moreno on Which 'West Side Story' Scene 'Sealed the Deal' for Ariana DeBose's Oscar Nom (Exclusive)

etonline.com:

Rita Moreno is back on the awards season circuit with Steven Spielberg's celebrated new adaptation of the Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim musical and ready to cheer on Ariana DeBose, who is poised to make Oscars history once again with a win for the same role.«I'll tell you what, this is an Oscar part,» Moreno told ET's Will Marfuggi at the 74th Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday night. «And I can tell you the scene that seals it, and it's the scene in the candy store.

Because now I can say things like that. I couldn't then, but that's the scene that absolutely sealed the deal.»After playing the boisterous Anita in the 1961 adaptation, Moreno takes on an elder statesman role in the updated version of the film.

She plays Valentina, the Puerto Rican widow of drug store owner Doc, who built her life amid the racially charged atmosphere of Manhattan's San Juan Hill and serves as boss and mentor to Tony (Ansel Elgort), teaching him Spanish and giving him hope for his star-crossed romance with Maria (Rachel Zegler).The scene in question, however, is a heartbreaking confrontation between Anita and Valentina that occurs as the devastating consequences between the film's central couple begin to wreak havoc on their friends and family.

Anita shows up to the drug store looking for Tony, who has just killed her fiancé, Bernardo (David Alvarez). She's attacked and assaulted by members of the white Jets gang, and saved by Valentina, though she has no love for the older woman, pushing her away and calling her a «traitor» for providing a safe haven for the «monsters» who attacked her.«I always felt that was the scene that sealed it for me,» Moreno said of the devastating moment. «Here's the weird thing: I was in that.