Hit 1980s film Dirty Dancing is to return to the big screen, a Hollywood film studio has said. Lionsgate is remaking the 1987 film that starred Jennifer Grey opposite Patrick Swayze.
Kenny Ortega, who choreographed the original, directed Michael Jackson movie This Is It and High School Musical, will direct the remake.
“The opportunity to direct Dirty Dancing is like returning home for me,” Ortega told film magazine Variety.
“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 movies as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire did before him,” he added. The original romantic movie, which was set in the 1960s, tells the story of a teenage girl who falls in love with her dance teacher while on holiday with her family.
The accompanying soundtrack was a big success and included number one hits such as Time of my Life and Hungry Eyes. It has since been made into a successful stage show, and after a five-year run in the West End which ended in July, the musical begins a tour of the UK in September. Grey, 51, who played Baby in the original film, was crowned the winner of US show Dancing with the Stars last year. Swayze, who played Johnny, died of pancreatic cancer in September 2009 at the age of 57.
