Lionsgate, a US global entertainment company, has announced it will produce a remake of the 1987 hit film, Dirty Dancing.
The original film's choreographer, Kenny Ortega (who was also responsible for High School Musical and Michael Jackson's This is it), will direct and produce and the studio is in talks with Eleanor Bergstein, the writer and co-producer of the original film, regarding her involvement in the new film in a producing capacity. The cast has not yet been announced.
Dirty Dancing remains one of Lionsgate' most popular films, having sold more than 10 million units on DVD, and is one of the most enduring modern classics in feature film and home entertainment history. Starring Jennifer Grey as "Baby" Houseman and Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle, the film won dual Oscars for Best Music and Best Original Song.
Said Ortega of the project, "The opportunity to direct Dirty Dancing is like returning home for me. Growing up in the 60s on the dance floor helped define me as a person and as an artist. I am looking forward to assembling a great creative team and an exciting cast to bring Dirty Dancing to the screen for a new generation. Patrick Swayze set the bar for men dancing in the movies as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire did before him. I believe everywhere you look there is evidence that the talent is out there and I can't wait to begin the process of discovering the next breakout triple-threats."
A musical of the film premiered in Australia in 2005, starring Josef Brown and Kim Valentine, and has since opened in the UK, where it is still showing. A Broadway production is on the cards.