How old is johnny castle in dirty dancing
Behind-The-Scenes Of An 80s Movie Classic
From start to finish, the film fills audiences with feel-good vibes that would be difficult to recreate. However, when the cameras stopped rolling, the vibes were very different, and filming was quite challenging. Even if you’re a “Dirty Dancing” fanatic, you probably haven’t heard all of these dirty, behind-the-scenes facts.
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey Weren’t First Picks for Lead Roles
Can you imagine Dirty Dancing without Jennifer Grey or Patrick Swayze? It’s absurd to even TRY.
Outrageous as it may sound, these two weren’t actually the first choices for the film. Val Kilmer was initially offered the role of Johnny Castle, and both Sarah Jessica Parker and Sharon Stone auditioned to play Baby.
Image via Vestron PicturesThe film almost happened without Swayze entirely. It was confirmed when filming began that Billy Zane was going to play bad-boy-turned-good Johnny, but he was pushed out of the film when people realized that he had no chemistry with Jennifer Grey.
Obviously, it was for the best.
Your Favorite Scenes Probably Weren’t Planned
Everyone remembers the film’s linchpin musical montage. You know the one: Johnny and Baby are practicing the Mambo for the big show, and Baby has a hard time stifling her giggles while Johnny looks ongoingly frustrated. That wasn’t planned.
You’re getting a real glimpse of Jennifer Grey being insanely ticklish and Patrick Swayze being fed up with his co-star.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesRemember the scene where the two are fooling around on the dance floor to Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange?” That wasn’t in the script either.
The two actors had no idea that the cameras were rolling, and they were merely getting into character to prepare for the scene.
The more you know.
It Wasn’t Summer When They Were Filming
When you watch the film, you may feel a nostalgic twinge inside that reminds you of summers during your youth.
You’ll probably be surprised to find that it was absolutely freezing outside during the filming of the movie. The movie was filmed during a cold autumn in Virginia and North Carolina.
To create the feeling of summer, they had to spray paint the changing leaves green. This means that during the scene where Baby and Johnny are practicing the famous lift in the water, the water was at a frigid temperature. That’s why the movie didn’t show any close-ups of the actors during the scene. Their blue lips would have given away the true season.
Patrick Swayze Was Battling a Knee Injury During Filming
In Swayze's book, The Time of My Life, he discusses an injury he suffered during his Broadway days that interfered with his dancing in the movie.
Swayze was known for turning down roles because of a knee issue that was severe enough to put a halt to his career. But because Swayze was seen more as a “dancer-turned-actor,” he found it difficult to stay away from dance-centered roles.
Even though Dirty Dancing was an exception, it didn’t mean that his pain was behind him. It was revealed that Swayze struggled to hide a severe pain episode during the lake-lift, but he managed to push through it.
As an audience member watching the scene, you would never have known.
After the Film, Jennifer Grey Had a Procedure That Changed Her Career
Thanks to Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey catapulted to superstardom in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. It was during this time that Grey made a decision that would change her career forever.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesGrey had a rhinoplasty done in the early ‘90s, and many critics said that this decision derailed her acting career.
Grey ended up having to go under the knife a second time due to complications that popped up from the operation. After the corrective surgery, she was so unrecognizable that she considered changing her name to restart her career from scratch.
Although she decided against it, the operation essentially put a huge dent in her acting career.
In Real Life, the Actors Were Far Older Than Their Characters
We see young adults playing teenagers all the time, and sometimes, it’s a little unrealistic. But in Dirty Dancing, the age difference between the actors and the characters didn’t jar audiences that much. In the film, Johnny is 24, and Baby is 18.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesJennifer Gray was 26 when she was cast as Baby, a character that was intended to be fresh out of high school. When Patrick Swayze was cast to play the role of Johnny in the film, he was 34 — a staggering ten years older than his character in the movie.
But to be honest, does it matter considering they played the parts so perfectly? Not really.
The Movie Almost Had a Completely Different Name
Back when the film first came out in the late 1980s, the title Dirty Dancing was a tad scandalous.
The title became such an issue that censorship officers were hesitant and assumed it was a porn film.
Thank goodness this was the chosen title given that the alternative was “I Was a Teenage Mambo Queen.”
The studio stuck to their guns, and Dirty Dancing was born. Patrick Swayze, on the other hand, despised the film name. During a 1987 interview with reporter Bobbie Wygant, Swayze admitted, “I hate the title Dirty Dancing...I absolutely hate it. We all really fought to have it not called Dirty Dancing. That’s what the studio went with, so that’s what we have to be stuck with and publicize…”
The Ending Was Almost Very Different Than the One We Know
The line “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” is one of the most iconic lines in film history. Can you imagine a world where this line didn’t exist to use at our leisure?
Well, Patrick Swayze had a deep hatred for the line, and producers almost cut it completely.
Swayze believed that the line was just TOO corny. In his book, The Time of My Life, Swayze wrote: “We did a lot of rewriting for the big final scene, but one line that I hated stayed in. I could hardly bring myself to say: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” It sounded so corny. But, seeing the finished film, I had to admit it worked. And, of course, it became one of the most quoted lines in the movie.”
The Whole Film Was Created in Just Under Three Months
Yes, the entire movie was made in a short amount of time, and it had an incredibly tight budget. The film was put together in just under three months, which included two weeks for rehearsals. (It took only two weeks for the actors to get the complex dance movements down). The overall shooting of the footage was completed in 44 days, and we don’t even want to know what the actors' shooting schedules were like.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesThey also shot the final dance scene in a single take.
Grey was extremely nervous about the lift (just like her character in the movie), and she didn’t want to practice ahead of time. When the time came to film it, the pair nailed it in a single take, which is the one you see on screen.
Everyone Thought the Film Would Flop (and It Did at First)
The film officially wrapped on October 27, 1986. However, Vestron executives thought the movie would flop. During the test screening, 39 percent of viewers had no clue that there was a subplot about Penny's (Cynthia Rhodes) terminated pregnancy.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesAfter the testing, distributors were considering sending it straight to home video. However, the repeat viewings (and enthusiastic response) to the movie's August 21, 1987 release made it an instant hit.
The film earned $64 million in North America and $170 million worldwide. The year after its release, the film won an Oscar for Best Original Song, (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, and broke the record for being the most popular home video rental of the year.
The First Person Cast in the Film Was Cynthia Rhodes
Cynthia Rhodes was hired to play Penny before any of the other characters were cast. Rhodes was building up her resume as an actress at the time, appearing in films such as Flashdance, and Staying Alive with John Travolta. Dirty Dancing, was the film that slingshotted her career forward.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesThe only issue that the director and producers had with Rhodes was her beauty. During the scene where Penny was supposed to be in excruciating pain, Rhodes' performance wasn’t convincing enough because she still looked “too beautiful.” (Imagine having that problem.)
Stylists had to cover her in makeup to make her look bland and sweaty. She rode out the high of her career by joining Los Angeles pop group Animotion as their lead singer and stayed with them until 1990.
The Film Was Largely Based on Screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein’s Experiences
The screenwriter of the film, Eleanor Bergstein, based the movie on her experiences during the 1960s. Her family was originally from Brooklyn, and her father was a doctor. Like Baby, Bergstein and her family visited the Catskills every summer where she would get into different shenanigans like Baby and her sister do in the film.
It was during their trips to the Catskills that Bergstein earned the nickname “Baby” which stuck with her until her twenties.
Image via Vestron PicturesWhere did the dancing portion stem from? Bergstein had an experience with a dance instructor who was way older than she was.
We love a good scandal, especially when it inspires an incredible movie!
Dirty Dancing Wasn’t the First Movie Swayze and Grey Did Together
The first movie that the two actors starred in together was the 1984 film Red Dawn..jpg)
Rumor has it that this is where the tension in their relationship began. Perhaps that’s why producers were hesitant to cast Swayze opposite Grey in the movie.
Regardless, the pair were able to look past their differences (sort of) long enough to make a classic, culturally seminal movie. Years after the film, Grey admitted to The Hollywood Reporter, that “...his fearlessness with my fearfulness...together was like a marriage where you have two opposites. He’d do anything, and I’d be scared to do anything.”
Excuse us... WE JUST NEED A MOMENT ALONE.
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey Didn’t Exactly Get Along
It may be disappointing to hear, but the two actors didn’t exactly have a natural connection on set. It’s rumored that although the pair shared undeniable chemistry on film (that’s good acting!), they would get into arguments before the cameras started rolling.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesIn Swayze’s autobiography, he recalled: “We did have a few moments of friction when we were tired after a long day of shooting.
She seemed particularly emotional, sometimes bursting into tears if someone criticized her. Other times, she slipped into silly moods, forcing us to do scenes over and over again when she’d start laughing.”
However, we refuse to accept this little tidbit because Johnny + Baby = Forever.
Swayze Said the Film Endured Because of Its Heart
During an interview with AFI, Swayze felt he had a pretty good idea as to why the film has endured with audiences for so long.
Image via Vestron PicturesHe said: “It’s got so much heart, to me. It’s not about the sensuality; it’s really about people trying to find themselves, this young dance instructor feeling like he’s nothing but a product, and this young girl trying to find out who she is in a society of restrictions when she has such an amazing take on things. On a certain level, it’s really about the fabulous, funky little Jewish girl getting the guy because [of] what she’s got in her heart.”
We’re not crying.
..you are.
Penny’s Pregnancy in the Movie Was A HUGE Deal
Many brands caught on quite early that the film would be a big hit with young people. The famous acne skin-care company Clearasil initially wanted to join as a promotional sponsor, but they pulled out.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesIn the 1960s, when Dirty Dancing takes place, terminating a pregnancy was illegal in the U.S., and because of Penny’s subplot in the film, Clearasil decided to back out.
Producers begged screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein to take out the storyline, but she refused, saying, “Hey I would love to, but I can’t, because if I take it out, everything will fall apart. There’s no reason for Baby to meet Johnny, for Penny not to be able to dance, for Baby to learn to dance with Johnny, for her to make love with Johnny - there’s no story without that.”
After the First Film’s Success, Studios Wanted to Pay Big Money for a Sequel
After the first film’s success, studios wanted to cash in on a sequel immediately.
Swayze was offered big money —$6 million, to be exact — to return for the sequel as Johnny. Swayze, who wasn’t a fan of doing sequels, declined.
Swayze knew that they wouldn’t be able to reprise the magic of the first film, and fans applauded him for his decision.
Image via Lions Gate Home EntertainmentStudios ended up doing a second film anyway, called Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and it (obviously) didn’t compare to the original. Billed as a "re-imagining" of the original, the film released in 2004, a full 17 years later. The only thing the two films had in common were the words Dirty Dancing in the title.
Filming Was a 24/7 Party
During the lodge staff’s dancing scenes, the goal was to create a realistic party setting. To make that happen, director Emile Ardolino pretty much threw a party every day. Dance rehearsals often turned into disco parties, and the cast would have drinks and dance around to let loose.
This tactic ended up being an excellent way for the actors to get to know each other and create a more relaxed atmosphere. It also led to a lot of improvising by the cast while the cameras were rolling, which was encouraged.
The Role of Stan Was Wayne Knight’s Big Break
Watching the film today, you might be surprised to see a big-time actor like Wayne Knight playing such a small role. Well, when Knight received the part, he had only done a few minor television and commercial roles. It was after his portrayal of a hilarious comedian who performed in the lodge talent show that his career blew up.
Image via Vestron PicturesHe went on to star in other films such as Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, and Basic Instinct. After seeing his role in Basic Instinct, Steven Spielberg cast him in Jurassic Park.
He would go on to land the recurring role of mailman Newman on Seinfeld.
The Cast and Crew Believed the Set Was Cursed
When everyone finally buckled down and filming began, there was a sudden halt to production. On the sixth day, things started going haywire. In just a short period, some of the crew’s property was stolen. There was flooding on the streets surrounding the set, and one of the vans was destroyed. One of the set decorators fell off a ladder and hurt himself. The second assistant director broke her wrist, and the wardrobe assistant broke her toe. Then, three of the crew members wound up with food poisoning.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesA month before the end of the shoot, the lead makeup artist quit and went home for personal reasons. That same day, a wasp infestation was discovered, and Jennifer Grey’s arms were covered in stings.
By the time filming was complete, one producer was so dissatisfied with the footage that he suggested they should “burn the negatives and collect the insurance.
”
Mountain Lake Lodge Still Has ‘Dirty Dancing’ Weekends
If you want to experience the setting of Dirty Dancing first-hand, then you can stay in the Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia. Not only can you stay there, but the resort also hosts three Dirty Dancing-themed weekends every year.
Image via Wikimedia CommonsDuring these weekends, you can take dance lessons, enjoy a walking tour of the grounds, participate in a Dirty Dancing-themed scavenger hunt, and play trivia games.
Heidi Stone, the hotel’s manager, says, “It’s amazing how many thousands of Dirty Dancing fans we meet every summer. We have guests from all over the world that come to Mountain Lake Lodge just for the Dirty Dancing weekends.”
‘She’s Like the Wind’ Wasn’t Made for the Film
The soundtrack for the film was a hit, and people fell in love with the dramatic ballad “She's Like The Wind,” that plays during Johnny and Baby's goodbye scene.
The song was originally written by Patrick Swayze and Stacy Widelitz for the movie Grandview U.S.A, about Swayze’s relationship with Jamie Lee Curtis’s character, but it was dropped.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesAs a last resort, Swayze showed it to the Dirty Dancing producers who immediately fell in love with the tune and wanted it in the movie.
Had the song not been picked up by producers, Swayze would have let the song sit and waste away.
Kelly Bishop Got the Role of Baby’s Mom by Chance
Kelly Bishop may have looked like she was made for the role of Baby’s mom, but that wasn’t the role she was given originally. She had initially been cast as Vivian Pressman, the cougar who seduces Johnny during their “dance lessons,” while the role of Mrs. Houseman was given to Lynne Lipton.
Image via NetflixThe role was given to Bishop after Lipton caused scheduling problems due to an illness that forced her to leave the set regularly.
When Bishop took the part of Mrs. Houseman, the role of Vivian was given to assistant choreographer, Miranda Garrison. After the film, Kelly Bishop was cast as Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls.
Patrick Swayze Did All His Own Stunts
Ok, so Dirty Dancing wasn’t a film full of blazing gunfire and insane stunts. Nevertheless, Swayze was adamant about doing all his scenes on his own.
In the scene where Johnny and Baby dance on the log over the river, Swayze kept falling off. Apparently, he hit his already-injured knee a few times, causing even more damage.
Image via Vestron PicturesHe had to have the fluid drained from his knee to reduce the swelling and avoid a bigger problem. Seeing as he was already suffering from a knee problem beforehand, the situation had to be handled with the utmost delicacy.
Regardless, knowing that Swayze did everything on his own makes the movie even more iconic.
Bill Medley Thought He Was Hired to Make a Song for a “Bad Porno”
Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes were the voices behind the famous song, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” but at first, Medley was confused about what the song was for.
Medley quipped, “It sounds like a bad porno movie." He rejected the song because his wife was expecting a child.
It took months of convincing to get Medley to do the song. After finishing, he didn’t think that the movie would be popular.“We just went in to work together, to sing together, and little did we know it was going to be the biggest movie of the year. Just unbelievable,” he later reflected.
The song wound up selling more than 500,000 copies.
There Are Many References to the Film in Today’s Pop Culture
The final lift scene has become iconic over the years and has made plenty of appearances in pop culture.
In the 2012 movie Crazy, Stupid, Love with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, the two actors reference the movie and give the lift a go. During the scene, Gosling admits to Stone's character that he gets women to do the move with him as a ploy to get them into bed.
Jennifer Grey admitted when she saw the film that she was totally shocked. She told Yahoo!: “I’m just such a fan of Ryan Gosling and all of a sudden he’s saying my name [in the movie]. I’m just in the theater with my husband, and I look at him like, ‘Oh my God, Ryan Gosling just said my name. What’s going on?’”
On ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life,’ Medley and Warner Represent Older Versions of Johnny and Baby
Bill Medley told Rolling Stone,: “I’m kind of supposed to be Swayze on the record, and Jennifer’s voice kind of fit Jennifer Grey’s character.” The two singers wanted to connect with the characters as much as possible, so they recorded the song with footage from the film rolling in the studio.
Image via Vestron PicturesMedley recalls: “We sang to each other and to the movie. When he raised her up in the air, I knew it had to be joyful, and that’s why there’s a real spirit and joy in the vocals.
That’s not fake. We were having a good time.”
The Film Reflected Eleanor Bergstein’s Jewish Upbringing
Kellerman’s Resort may have been a fictional place, but it was based on a real resort. The concept of Kellerman’s was based on the Borscht Belt — a number of vacation resorts in the Catskill Mountains that once attracted a lot of Jewish Americans.
Jewish American families would come and visit these resorts for the summer between 1920 and 1980, Bergstein’s family included.
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesThere have been a handful of famous A-listers who started their careers performing at these resorts, including Joan Rivers and Jerry Seinfeld.
Bergstein even pointed out to TabletMag.com, “It’s a Jewish film, if you know what you’re looking at.” Many of the resorts have since closed their doors and no longer exist.
Johnny Was Originally Supposed to Be Italian
We can’t think of Johnny Castle being any other way than how Swayze embodied him, but producers originally had a different idea when it came to the famous bad boy.
In the original script, Johnny Castle was an Italian dancer who had a “dark, exotic look.” This is probably why Billy Zane was the original choice for the role.
Image via Paramount PicturesThe issue with Billy Zane was that he was lacking in the dance department. The producers’ saving grace was finding Swayze, who had an extensive background in dancing on Broadway.
The only problem? He didn’t look Italian! Producers decided to change Johnny Castle’s heritage to Irish.
The Characters Were Based on Real People
It’s already been mentioned that Baby was based on Bergstein’s experiences growing up, but other characters were also based on real people from Bergstein’s childhood.
Although many of the characters were inspired by people from her summers in the Catskills, she couldn’t contact them for help. She has mentioned, “My old partners are either in jail or out on parole….it was a very rough neighborhood.”
Image via Great American Films Limited Partnership/Vestron PicturesWhen Bergstein began researching for the film, she met dance instructor Michael Terrace in the Catskills, who was the basis of Johnny Castle’s character.
It sounds like Dirty Dancing is basically a biography about Bergstein's life!
How Old Baby & Johnny Are In Dirty Dancing
By Quinn Hough
Updated
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Dirty Dancing features an iconic pairing in Patrick Swayze's Johnny and Jennifer Grey's Baby, but their characters are far from the same age.
Dirty Dancing features an iconic pairing in Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, but how big is their age gap, and does it make the movie problematic? Dirty Dancing is somewhat autobiographical for screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, as it's based on her own teenage experiences. This fact only brings the question of Baby and Johnny's age difference further into the light. While the movie doesn't explicitly state the two protagonists' ages, there's enough evidence to suggest that the years between them borders on creepy.
Now streaming on HBO and HBO Max, the 1987 film explores the romance between a teenage girl and her much older dance partner, who meet at a New York resort. Dirty Dancing became a pop culture phenomenon due to its soundtrack and central performances, and was Directed by Emile Ardolino. Set in the early '60s, Dirty Dancing stars Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman and Swayze as Johnny Castle. The storyline takes place at a Catskills resort called Kellerman's (actually the Mountain Lake Lodge in Mountain, Lake Virginia), where Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach) and wife Marjorie (Kelly Bishop) spend time with their daughters, Baby and Lisa (Jane Brucker). Meanwhile, Patrick Swayze's Johnny teaches classes and performs with his long-time friend Penny Johnson (Cynthia Rhodes). When Penny becomes pregnant and contemplates an abortion, Baby accepts an offer to train and perform with Johnny so that he can keep his job. In the process, the partners bond through the power of dance.
Related: All HBO Max Original Shows & Movies Releasing In 2022
Johnny and Baby's ages in Dirty Dancing come into question simply by looking at Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray. The two don't even look like they're in the same age group, and the movie takes no strides to explain any part of it. While this could be a product of the time it was made, Dirty Dancing might not hold up well under today's magnifying glass in terms of its more problematic areas. Here's exactly how old Baby and Johnny are in Dirty Dancing, and whether or not their age is far too wide.
How Old Are Baby And Johnny
Clues in Dirty Dancing place Johnny's age at 25 years old and Baby’s age at 17. At the beginning of Dirty Dancing on HBO, Baby's narration references the "summer of '63." Early dialogue reveals that she's planning to attend Mount Holyoke (an all-female private college in Massachusetts) to study the economics of underdeveloped countries.
In Dirty Dancing, Baby also states that she plans to join the Peace Corps shortly before laying eyes on Johnny for the first time. Some reports have suggested that Baby is supposed to be 18 or even 19 years old. However, based on iMDB's trivia notes and a 2017 interview with Grey (via Closer Weekly), it seems that Baby was presumably born in 1946 and is supposed to be 17 years old. The character doesn't actually reveal her age in Dirty Dancing, nor does Johnny ask on-camera. If Baby is indeed a minor, that would explain her father's confrontational attitude with Mr. Castle throughout most of the film.
In Dirty Dancing, Johnny's 1938 birth date makes him 25 years old. The character initially questions why Baby gained access to a private dancing area, but then invites her to boogie and subsequently teaches her some moves. Johnny and Baby slowly become friends while dealing with Penny's medical procedures (Jake Houseman provides the appropriate assistance), and they eventually become romantic partners.
Dirty Dancing on HBO never addresses the eight-year age difference between the two characters, which makes the film somewhat controversial – both then and now – because Baby is indeed a minor. In 1963 America, though, it wasn't uncommon for men and women to commit at a young age. The focal Dirty Dancing relationship may not be appropriate, but the age gap isn't enough to make Baby's father concerned during the climactic performance. In fact, Jake Houseman essentially apologizes to Johnny.
How Old Were Patrick Swayze And Jennifer Grey During Dirty Dancing?
The late Swayze was approximately seven years older than Grey in real life. When Dirty Dancing premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1987, Patrick Swayze was 34 years old and was best known for portraying Darrel "Darry" Curtis in The Outsiders and Jed Eckert in Red Dawn. As for Grey, she had just turned 27 and had previously portrayed Jeanie Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
She also appeared alongside Swayze in Red Dawn as Toni Mason. In 2010, Grey won Dancing with the Stars season 11, just over a year after her Dirty Dancing co-star, Swayze, passed away at age 57 from pancreatic cancer.
Related: Why Road House Is Patrick Swayze's Most Misunderstood Movie
Johnny And Baby’s Age Gap In Dirty Dancing Is Questionable At Best
Johnny and Baby's ages in Dirty Dancing are certainly problematic. And worse still, if she was 17 years old and he was 25, then New York state law would deem nothing wrong with their relationship. This is a problem, as the age gap is discomforting to think about, technically legal, and would definitely raise concerned discussions were a movie to feature it today. Despite this, age gaps like in Dirty Dancing are unfortunately too common. Movies like Licorice Pizza can get away with extensive lovers' age differences, and people seem to be forgiving of its inclusion.
After all, Dirty Dancing is still a beloved and critically acclaimed movie when it comes down to it. The film is so prolific that it got a (pretty terrible) TV remake in 2017. Dirty Dancing remains popular, but when put up to today's standards, the age gap between Johnny and Baby wouldn't fly unquestioned were a script to include it today.
Next: What Happened To Dirty Dancing's Jennifer Grey
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About The Author
Quinn Hough (1894 Articles Published)
Q.
V. Hough is a senior writer at Screen Rant. He's also the founding editor at Vague Visages, and has contributed to RogerEbert.com and Fandor.
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Hard facts: everything we know about the Dirty Dancing remake
Patrick Swayze (Johnny) and Jennifer Gray (Frances "Baby" Houseman) in Dirty Dancing (1987)
Thirty years ago Johnny Castle and Frances Houseman made their first appearances on the big screen with their maddeningly sensual and energetic dance performances. The project, which was originally planned as a low-budget melodrama (the picture took only about $6 million to produce) with a touch of sexuality, has become a cult classic (the box office alone in the first year amounted to more than $170 million). Dirty Dancing made Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, millions of girls and women fall in love with superstars, and inspired hundreds of thousands of dancers around the world.
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Original poster for Dirty Dancing (1987)
The official poster for the remake appeared in March 2017.
The remake was planned for a long time. Some part of the "preparatory work" was carried out in 2009. It was then that Baby of the 87th year, actress Jennifer Gray (for her role in "Dirty Dancing" became the most successful in her career) refused to act in the new version, giving the authors of the project tough advice "to make your own movie, and not repeat the path once passed" . In 2009th, the main star of the original film, actor Patrick Swayze, who died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, did not become. Today, the remake crew says that the new interpretation of "Dirty Dancing" is a tribute to the great actor's respect and talent.
The new Frances Houseman ─ a typical representative of the "golden youth" who was brought together by chance with a poor but proud professional dancer ─ will appear in the guise of Abigail Breslin.
She was only 10 years old when she starred in Little Miss Sunshine and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (one of the youngest nominees in film history). Continuing to act in films (in Taste of Life, for example, she joined Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart, and in the romantic comedy Yes, Maybe, she played the daughter of the hero Ryan Reynolds), she says that she wants to become a designer and ( or?) by a veterinarian. Perhaps the remake of "Dirty Dancing" will become for her the point of opening new horizons in the cinematic field.
Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
The girl grew up a little...
... and dyed her hair brown for the new film
Jennifer Green played young Frances Houseman at 27, and she was 10 years older than her on-screen heroine (by the way, it was for this role that the actress received the only nomination for a film award in her career - the Golden Globe). Abigail Breslin is 21 and much closer in age and emotional state to Baby.
Nevertheless, the choice of the casting director of the picture cannot but surprise.
Jennifer Gray ("Dirty Dancing, 1987)
Abigail Breslin ("Dirty Dancing, 2017)" (relevant for the XXI century).
31-year-old Colt Pratts, who will have to endure a difficult comparison with the screen image of Patrick Swayze's Johnny Castle, is still an unknown actor (he has a couple of TV series and several Broadway musicals to his credit). He got the main role in the remake of Dirty Dancing thanks to his dancing skills: Colt is a professional dancer, and even performed as backup dancers in the team of the singer Pink for several years.
Colt Pratts in the Pink Try video (2012)
Dirty Dancing fans will have one more reason for nostalgia: the remake will feature the original soundtrack. The creepy composition by Frankie Previte and Donald Markowitz, The Time of My Life, is an 1987 Oscar winner (“Best Song for a Film”), and it will be especially pleasant to hear it, albeit in a new arrangement.
In the meantime, the actors enjoy the music (and the demonstration of their own plasticity), generously advertising on their own Instagrams (an extremist organization banned in Russia).
@abbienormal9 ─ microblog Abigail Breslin
@coltprattes ─ Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia) by Colt Pratts
Who else will we see in the remake?
Sarah Hyland from Vampire Academy played Baby's older sister Lisa Houseman...
... and Trevor Einhorn ─ Neil Kellerman, grandson of boarding house owner Max Kellerman and friend of Baby
Johnny's dance partner, Penny, was played by Nicole Scherzinger, actress, model and vocalist for the Pussycat Dolls.
Deborah Messing, who played Baby's mother, Marjorie Houseman, admitted that it was Dirty Dancing that inspired her to become an actress.
Katey Sagal, one of the "voices" of the animated series "Futurama", embodied on the screen the image of the judge of the dance competition Vivian Pressman.
There are few spoilers so far, so fans are waiting for the continuation of the story with special trepidation and wondering what happened to Baby and Johnny after the final dance at the end of the film. They say that the 2017 version is very different from its “predecessor”: Wayne Blair made every effort not to step on the rake that the prequel of the original stumbled on - Dirty Dancing 2: Hawaiian Nights, which almost completely duplicates the well-known plot. The TV version is longer than the original, and for this extra time, the creators promise a lot of new information about their favorite characters. At the same time, all magical key moments in the remake are preserved.
The iconic Dirty Dancing scenes reimagined
Johnny and Baby dancing on a log over a stream to practice the necessary balance skill
Practicing the classic support in the lake: if you fall, it won't hurt at all
Final Dirty Dancing
Photo: Getty Images, archives of the press services
Evgenia Karpovskaya
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Who died from Dirty Dancing? – Celebrity.
fm Patrick Swayze with Barbara Walters. LOS ANGELES - Patrick Swayze, the classically trained actor and dancer whose role in the enduringly popular "Dirty Dancing" propelled him into a movie star, a man who struggled with alienating fame and being a typical leading man, died Monday, Sept. . January 14, 2009. He was 57 years old.
So how old is Johnny Dirty Dancing?
In Dirty Dancing, Johnny was born in 1938. 25 years old . The character first asks why Baby got access to the private dance area, but then invites her to boogie and then teaches her some moves.
Moreover, was Patrick Swayze the wife in Dirty Dancing?
Given the couple's love and talent for dancing, it would make sense for Lisa to appear in Dirty Dancing. But as it turns out, Lisa Niemi's wasn't in the movie, not even in a small cameo as .
Also how did Robbie from Dirty Dancing die?
Max Kantor as Robbie Gould. Kantor died in 1991. drug overdoses at age 32.
Why did Jennifer Gray hate Patrick?
Why didn't Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray love each other? … That's where the tension between Gray and Swayze started: reportedly ordered everyone around and she obviously couldn't stand him . A few years later, Gray was offered a role in Dirty Dancing and had several screen tests with various actors.
Contents
How old is Baby in Dirty Dancing?
The film takes place in 1963. is 18 , while Johnny is 24. In real life, Jennifer Gray was 26 when she landed the role of Baby, a character who was supposed to be a fresh out of high school.
Who turned down the role of dirty dancing?
Who were considered for dirty dancing? Jeff Fahey turned down the role of Johnny Castle. Heather Graham turned down the lead role. Val Kilmer turned down the lead role.
Is Jason Whittle really Patrick Swayze's son?
Jason Whittle is the only son of the late American celebrity Patrick Swayze.
Did Baby and Johnny stay together?
Johnny flies out into the night and Baby goes to the Peace Corps. End of story. But it is obvious that this is not the case. Stay together guys!
What's wrong with Penny in Dirty Dancing?
The child of wealthy conservative Jewish parents, Baby lies to his father to get the $250 needed for an operation to ingratiate himself with the "cool crowd". Penny's abortion goes terribly wrong because it was done by a dude who used a "dirty knife and folding table". Left bleeding Penny and...
Did Patrick Swayze get along with Jennifer Grey?
Patrick Swayze hated working with Jennifer Gray - "He kind of played a joke on her" Dirty Dancing is one of the most popular films of all time. … But viewers may not realize that Swayze and Gray didn't get along on the set of . The tension you see between Johnny and Baby doesn't work - it's a real annoyance.
How old were Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray in Dirty Dancing?
The film is set in 1963 and Baby is 18 and her love interest, Johnny, is 24. Grey, aged 27 at was eight years older than the character Baby at the time.
Why did they drain Dirty Dancing Lake?
“When the lake drains – when it actually pours out – it cleans up by moving the sediment that has accumulated at the bottom of the lake through this rather complicated plumbing system to actually make the lake bigger, deeper and keep it clean,” Cowley said.
What happened to Patrick Swayze's wife Lisa?
At the age of 14, Niemi met the son of owner and director Patrick Swayze in the dance company of the Houston Ballet; they eventually started dating when she was 19 years old. Niemi and Swayze married on June 12, 1975 and remained married until Swayze's death from pancreatic cancer on September 14, 2009.
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Did Johnny and the baby stay together?
Johnny flies out into the night and Baby goes to the Peace Corps. End of story. But it is obvious that this is not the case. Stay together guys!
Why did they call her Dirty Dancing Baby?
Through voice-over, Gray's character recalls the summer of 1963, describing it as "the time when everyone called me 'Baby' and it didn't cross my mind." When the Housemans move in with Kellerman, it is implied that Frances' name is "Baby". because she is the child of the family.
How old are Johnny and Baby?
In the movie Johnny is 24 and Baby is 18 . Jennifer Gray was 26 when she landed the role of Baby, a character who was supposed to be fresh out of high school. When Patrick Swayze was cast as Johnny in the film, he was 34 years old - a full ten years older than his character in the film.
Why does he say "No one corners a child"?
The meaning of the phrase "no one corners a child" is that no one with talent should be prevented from expressing it or showing off .
It's about self-expression - about giving everyone the opportunity to show their best side, and about a bright call against anyone who seeks to hold back the potential of people.
Why did the girl cry in Dirty Dancing?
She figured Robbie wouldn't give her the money - certainly not by next Thursday. But Robbie did not reconcile with Penny and married her. Penny tried to control her emotions but she started crying. She could not go to the gazebo to dance with the guests there.
Does Penny like Johnny in Dirty Dancing?
Penny Johnson dancer and former love interest of Johnny . One night, when she had complications from an illegal abortion, Baby sent for her father, a doctor, to help Penny.
Why did Jennifer GRAY leave her friends?
Most likely Gray couldn't return in Season 2 for some reason. Friends decided to remake the role of . The sitcom has been known to recast minor roles from time to time.
Because Mindy didn't have a prominent presence, this change went unnoticed by many viewers.
Who was the main star in Dirty Dancing?
Jennifer Gray is an American actress best known for her role as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing. '
What happened to Penny in Dirty Dancing?
The child of wealthy conservative Jewish parents, Baby lies to his father to get the $250 he needs for surgery to ingratiate himself with the "cool crowd". Penny's abortion goes terribly wrong because it was done by a dude who used a "dirty knife and folding table". Penny's left bleeding and...
What happened to Dirty Dancing Lake?
In 2008 Lake made famous by the 1987 film Dirty Dancing , 'Dried up and stayed that way for over ten years. … The Lake The water level first dropped in 1999 but returned in 2003. It fell again in 2006, and by 2008 it was completely dry, according to The Roanoke Times.
