In 1987, a movie was released to box offices but it wasn’t expected to make much of a splash. It had a fairly low budget and the cast was largely unrecognizable at the time. The movie was Dirty Dancing, and when it hit the screen, it absolutely blew away anybody’s expectations.
As of 2009, just over 20 years after it was released, it has already earned $214 million from a worldwide audience. If you are somebody that loves the movie, you know exactly why it has reached that level of popularity. The storyline is fresh and the parts are played in such a way that it makes the entire movie human.
Many people love the movie but there are some interesting facts about it that you may not know. Here are our favorite hidden secrets about this iconic movie.
Jennifer Grey did not want to be in the film at first, because she didn’t like Patrick Swayze after the filming of Red Dawn. Patrick Swayze had to convince her to be in Dirty Dancing
The scene were Baby and Johnny crawl towards each other was not supposed to be in the film. They were just goofing off but the director liked the look and kept it in.
When Johnny and Baby are practicing dancing, she keeps laughing when he runs his arm down hers. It wasn’t meant to be part of the scene, she was really laughing and his frustration is real as well.
You won’t see any close-ups during the iconic lake scene. The weather was so cold the actors lips were turning blue.
Patrick Swayze was offered $6 million to do a Dirty Dancing sequel. Swayze didn’t like sequels and turned the offer down.
Jennifer Grey was 10 years older than the character of Baby. She had five minutes during her audition to prove she could play a teenager.
The dance that Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze do during the love scene was part of the original screen test. It wasn’t supposed to be in the film at first.
The scene where Baby and Johnny are dancing in the woods and in the water was shot in October. The leaves had already started to change color so they were spray-painted green. If you look closely, you can see them falling off the trees.
Eleanor Bernstein, the screenwriter of Dirty Dancing was interviewed in 2008. The characters of Johnny and the Baby were influenced by her own biography.
Jennifer Grey’s father played in a Broadway musical in 1975, Goodtime Charlie. Patrick Swayze was one of the ensemble dancers.
Johnny and Baby wore contrasting colors through the entire film. Baby wore light colors and Johnny wore dark colors.
Patrick Swayze cowrote the theme song for Dirty Dancing “She’s like the Wind.” Swayze sang the song.
The actress who was originally cast as Marjorie Housman (Lynn Lipton) was replaced with Kelly Bishop. She was originally cast as Vivian Pressman, the bungalow bunny. Since there was no longer an actress available to play Vivian, they gave the role to Mariana Garrison, the assistant choreographer for the film.
Conan O’Brien led a petition to re-release the film, and it was rereleased in 1997. O’Brien later joked that he didn’t care much for the movie.
Robbie tried to lend a book to Baby to explain his refusal to help her. The book is ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand. Rand created a philosophy known as objectivism, which states that it is more important for a person to be concerned with their own well-being rather than trying to help others. Apparently, Robbie used it as justification for his selfish act.
Baby was said to be attending Mount Holyoke College in the fall. Frances Perkins, her namesake, graduated from that college in 1902.
Val Kilmer was given the offer for lead but declined.
The love scene between Baby and Jodi during the “Cry to Me” sequence appears in the 20th anniversary DVD release but was cut from the original film.
Max Cantor played Robbie Gould, and he was no stranger to acting. His father was a Broadway producer and they lived in the Dakota Apartments on W. 72nd St. in New York City. He attended Harvard but died of a heroin overdose when he was 32.
The “Cry to Me” love scene was voted “One of the sexiest movie moments in cinematic history.”
Patrick Swayze did his own stunts for the movie. During the log scene, he kept falling off and he injured his knee to the point where he had to have fluid drained because of swelling.
When Johnny Castle is dancing with Penny, she was wearing a red dress that crisscrossed in the back. Swayze kept getting his finger stuck.
Billy Zane said he and Sarah Jessica Parker auditioned for the leads
Jane Bruckner, the actress who played Baby’s older sister, Lisa, cowrote the song, “Hula Hana.” She didn’t receive credit until March, 2002.
Via: Tickld
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