OT: Should “Dirty Dancing” Be Remade? (TAKE POLL)
Hey All! I’m curious about what you think of the news on a new “Dirty Dancing” remake? If you haven’t heard yet, one of the most loved, iconic dancing movies and classics of all time is in the works. Kenny Ortega is set to choreograph the second as he did the first. His producing, directing, and choreographing credentials are a mile long including the recent Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” concert tour and movie. Kenny had this to say about it…
“Patrick Swayze set the bar for men dancing in the movies as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire did before him,” Ortega said in a statement. “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.”
Jennifer Grey, the female lead in the first “Dirty Dancing” and Season 11 Dancing With The Stars Champion is excited about the project. When she heard the news, this is how she reacted….
“I’m so excited about this news, and I think there’s nobody better to do this than my beloved Kenny Ortega, who is as responsible as anyone for the success of the first one,” Grey said. “I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do with it.”
So, what do you think? Do you support the idea of this remake? Will the Dirty Dancing remake be as good and as successful as the first? Do you think a remake is disrespectful to Partick Swayze’s memory? Did any of you see “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” seven years ago? It was good. I love dancing movies of any kind, but, it was lame compared to the first. Lastly, who should play the leads in the movie? I have not a clue who the female lead should be. But, last night at twitter, several of us were commenting how perfect Derek Hough would be in the Johnny Castle part. I couldn’t agree more!! I say bring the remake on!!
EDIT TO ADD: ABC is reporting on the “outrage” over the news of this remake. Also, read below for who the front runners might be for the lead predicted by an Irish Bookmaker. Carrie Ann’s tweets are also being reported by the link as well. It appears the promotion for Derek Hough to star in this remake has officially began. 🙂 ;
According to Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, Justin Timberlake is the front-runner to fill Swayze’s iconic role, followed closely by “Thor” star Chris Hemsworth and Derek Hough from “Dancing With The Stars.”
Hough’s close pal from the show, Carrie Ann Inaba, is already leading the campaign for him to win the role.
“If they do a dirty dancing remake – THEY BETTER USE DEREK HOUGH,” she tweeted Tuesday.
I only think Dirty Dancing should be remade if Maks Chmerkovskiy plays the lead. To me, he’s the only man that could pull off both the dancing and hot, bad boy factor. If not Maks, then no, it shouldn’t be remade.
Any remake they make is going to pale in comparison to the original, IMO. A big part of the magic was Patrick and Jennifer themselves. I honestly don’t think that Derek would be doing his career any favours to take this on.
Can’t Hollywood come up with a new dancing plot, for heaven’s sake??
Didn’t they do Dirty Dancing Havana Night?
I’m all for Derek doing this btw.
@Maddy – Yep, they did Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights back in 2004, which was billed as a “sequel” but really had nothing to do with the first movie and I think chronologically it was set before the events of the first movie. The only common denominator it had with a first one was Patrick Swayze – he had a short cameo as a dance instructor, but he wasn’t playing Johnny. Anywho – it kind of stunk, and flopped at the box office. I’m honestly surprised they’re considering remaking the original, given how poorly DDHN did.
I’m giving this one a big resounding “NO!”. They’ve already made a mockery of Footloose (which, from what I’ve seen from the previews, seems torn between being modern and being true to the original), so why do they feel the need to murder Dirty Dancing? It just seems…sacrilegious to me. That movie is what inspired me to start dancing – I don’t want to see its legacy sh*t on by a crappy remake. And there’s something about remaking a movie which starred a recently-departed, much beloved star that doesn’t sit right with me. I remember hearing a rumor that a remake of The Crow was in the works last year, and there was a huge uproar from fans of the original against it – a lot of them (myself included) consider the original somewhat sacred, since Brandon Lee was tragically killed while filming it. And to think they were going to replace him with *shaking head* Bradley Cooper?! Ugh. Thankfully, there was enough bad press that the project was scrapped…and I’m kinda wondering if the same might be true of this DD reboot. It was Patrick’s magnum opus…let’s just leave it alone. Hell, if things go badly enough, Kenny might abandon the project like he did Footloose.
Guys, I’d like to see Derek, Maks, Julianne, whoever from DwtS doing a “new classic dance movie”.
I want see them doing a never-seen picture, with a good flavour… that’s my opinion.
Hope Derek can reach this with his movie with BoA, Cobu.
About DD… it’s a classic and always will be. No matter how many remakes would be done… the first will be fantastic forever.
But, it doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun watching these remakes too…
I liked Havana Nights (I don’t know why it got the name of Dirty Dancing… yes, I know… just to get money… heheh)
Okay, first..I agree with the above commenter that said they would rather see Hollywood come up with new dance movie classics. I would rather have Derek have his own ‘Dirty Dancing’, ‘Footloose’, ‘Fame’ type of movie rather than him starring in a remake. If he stars in an original movie that becomes a cult classtic or sleep hit, it’s all him!
But if it’s going to be made anyway, I’d want Derek to play the male lead. It almost feels like his whole season with Jennifer Grey was one big audition with the freestyle as the cherry on top. In the deadline article, it was said that the script for the remake has been in the works for a few years now. So the success that he had with Jennifer in season 10 would only bring attention to him for consideration for the male lead since he brought back so many DD memories dancing with Jen.
But my dream would be for Derek to star in a Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly biopic. That would be the most ideal “dance” movie for me for Derek.
Anyways, not a big fan of remakes, but I will go see the movie 100 times in the theater if Derek Hough is cast as the male lead.
While seeing Derek as the male lead would make a DD remake a bit more palatable for me, I fear lil sis is gonna pull yet another c*ckblock and get cast as the female lead. Jules is great & all, but by the time Rock of Ages hits theaters next year, I have a feeling I’m gonna be sick of seeing her in every major dance flick that comes out. I would put money on it that we’re going to be hearing her name as a possible candidate for the female lead within the next few months…and if they do go with her as the female lead, we’re probably going to end up with a relative unknown for the male lead (a la Kenny Wormald or Diego Boneta). Zzzzzzz.
Thanks for all of your cool replies so far Everyone!!!xx
C, I don’t want to see Julianne get the female role before Derek either. I agree…she needs a break after Rock of The Ages.
Wonton, I also love the idea of Maks getting the male lead. But, I can see Derek in it more so than Maks for some reason.
Sorry Dirty Dancing should not be remade! Leave all the classics alone!
Maks would make a great teacher though. =)
I don’t think it should be remade but the idea of Maks in it is intriguing. But Maks in anything……enough said. Is there no originality in the movie world that they keeping trying to remake movies that are classics. And I love Derek but how can anyone be better than Patrick S.
I am really pretty sick of remakes no matter what genre.
Broadway has been wallowing in them for several years now and film is skipping merrily down the same yellow brick road.
Do we really have no one out there who can create something of quality that is new and original? I think we do and I would much prefer to see that.
I love Julianne Hough, but I cannot say that I am truly excited about another “Footloose”. When a film has been done, and done well (or in the case of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” which was done perfectly in Sweden) why do it again?
Well, that would be a career mistake for Jules of epic proportions. She’s already done Footloose (and she is SO NOT right for Baby) and Rock of Ages, and Dirty Dancing would pigeon hole her. Derek, on the other hand, only has one movie under his belt -and while it is a dance movie, it’s not a remake. While I think it would do little to further his career, I don’t see where it would do harm either. At this stage of a movie career (for Derek) all he needs is to get good notices – the movie itself can flop as long as people recognize that he’s talented. The onus is going to be on the directors in both cases. Same goes for Jules in Footloose and Rock of Ages. Now, if all the reviews say they suck (which I don’t expect they will), then they might have a problem. All that said, I would completely understand if he said “no thanks” – and since he does know Kenny Ortega and Kenny appears to be a fan, it’s possible he’s on the list. Hell, Carrie Ann Innaba is pimping Derek for the role.
What do *I*, the Derek fan think about it?? Well, I’m against most remakes. But if they are going to do it regardless and Derek wants to do it, then I’ll support him and go see it when it hits theaters. I also tend to agree with Elmari when she says if they’re going to do it anyway, Derek would be the best choice. I will NOT be heartbroken if he doesn’t get picked. I would also prefer he NOT follow Juliannes footsteps with the remakes – Jules is now on Number 2. But, you know, sometimes you gotta take all the crap that comes your way just to prove your skills.
Maks as Johnny?? Bwahahahahahaha….oh, allow me to catch my breath… Sorry – similar to casting Julianne as Baby, you best not call it Dirty Dancing anymore. In my mind, someone similar to Lea Michele would make a much better Baby – not traditionally beautiful, but cute with a good body. Johnny Castle is suppose to be a young guy from the wrong side of the tracks – not a guy from the wrong country. 🙂
Courtney, everyone:
I agree leave this iconic movie be. They are obviously running out of ideas for future films. Why redue perfection? Patrick and Jennifer were second to none in the leads and if anyone should be considered for leads, I say Derek (absolutely, he above anyone could pull this off) and Jennifer grey should play a mom to one of the leads. I guess if she trusts Kenny Ortega, this would be a tribute to Patrick Swayze, but no one could even touch him or come close. Lets just look at it as a tribute. Remember this could be abandoned like everything else!
Hey, don’t be dissing my guy! LOL! Actually, though I think Maks could pull it off, I would rather see a new dance movie written, or something new on Broadway for him. I just think Derek is too vanilla for the part. I don’t see enough bad boy in him, and Maks has that in spades!
Great topic. As much as I like Derek, he is more Donald O’Conner or Ray Bolger than Patrick Swayze. No way can you recreate the Catskills, the Jerry Orbach role, even mix of classes, etc. of the original. Didn’t see the one with Romola Garai but that made sense with a new story, potentially great setting. I like heartwarming stuff; the movie with Julia Stiles was great. Like others have said, why not develop some new properties with contemporary scripts for our DWTS heroes. How about should I stay on the little screen (DWTS) or go Broadway!!!
I think Derek plays something of a bad boy in Cobu, Wonton, so you might get your mind changed. He said that the role is much darker than what people are used to seeing from him. I know he gets beat up – which has me oddly excited to see the movie. 🙂
But besides all that – just because Maks can dance doesn’t mean he can (or should) act – is there any evidence whatsoever that he has experience or talent?? Does he WANT to act?? And no, the Cube and the Bachelor technically don’t count. 🙂 Although I suppose you could make an argument for The Bachelor. Derek and Mark both acted extensively in school and Derek spent a year or more in a lead role on West End. Even then Derek will have to go a long way to prove himself, I think, and there will be failures AND successes along the way – since he’s barely 26, there’s time. It’s not something you just do on a whim, though.
Donald O’Connor?? Hell no. More like a mix of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire – but better looking. 🙂
Dirty Dancing is a classic in my eyes, and shouldn’t be touched. I do think Derek would be perfect as Johnny, and while I love him and the original movie, I don’t want to see this happen!
Seriously, what is it these days with Hollywood and remakes? 🙁
“”Donald O’Connor?? Hell no.” “That’s the sad thing in today’s world. No one would make a movie for a Donald O’Conner or a Ray Bolger. I understand what you mean, but I don’t think Derek would be insulted to be compared to those two dancers. There used to lots of great hoofers in Hollywood. Gene Nelson comes to mind-he played Will in Oklahoma.
Oh, I have no idea if Maks would even be remotely interested in something like that, I was just offering my opinion. Really, the best thing would be if they don’t try to remake it. Remakes are seldom as good as the originals.
Hey Guys, check out the post for an ADDITION to it when you get a moment. ABC is reporting on the outrage of the remake and an Irish Bookmaker is saying the lead will go to Justin Timberlake, Chris Hemsworth, or DEREK!
I agree with Princess Heidi…. Derek is perfect for the role, because HE CAN ALREADY DANCE BALLROOM!!!!!!!!! and the wouldn’t have to teach the lead first, HOW TO DANCE, or second, how to TEACH ballroom.
As much as I am a fan, I DON’T THINK Julianne would be good in the role of Baby, because SHE CAN DANCE, and I think it needs to be someone who CAN’T already dance…. Giving a ballroom dancer the role of someone who has never danced ballroom before would be a HUGE mistake.
And, I do think Derek could totally pull off the role of a bad boy.
I think there really shouldn’t be a remake. I seem to think producers are running out of ideas, but if they do remake DD, derek is the only one who can pull it off. I think Jennifer Grey would agree. He’s a professional dancer as was Patrick Swayze, he’s good looking, athletic, etc.
Even Carrie Ann Inaba and Samantha Harris are pulling for him. It should be him and only him!
If “Dirty Dancing” is remade, I would love to see Derek as Johnny and either Lea Michele or even one of the SYTYCD alumni who are triple threats. I’ve seen promoting for Molly Gray as Baby.
If this movie has to happen I would say Channing Tatum or Justin Timberlake as Johnny and Heather Morris or Lea Michele from Glee as Baby. (preference towards Heather though).
No offense vin, but I think I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a dull pencil than watch Channing or Justin as Johnny. Channing’s already done Step Up, and has more of an urban look; and Justin seems better suited to rom-coms than more dramatic stuff. Plus I think the role of Johnny is so dance-intensive that they’re going to need a dancer that can also act, as opposed to an actor that can also dance. For Baby, I think they’re going to be looking more for an actress that can also dance, like a Lea Michele or Dianna Agron, rather than a great dancer who can also (kinda) act, like Heather. Plus I think Heather lacks the certain innocent appeal necessary to play Baby – a quality better suited to the other two Glee ladies I mentioned.
@Deena – Really? Mollee Gray? She always struck me as kinda immature…I always thought she was 14 instead of 18 😛 She’s young alright…but maybe too young-looking to play Baby.
Ugh…talking about Mollee just made me have a thought that kinda made me gag a little bit. Another dance movie “it” girl besides Julianne that I’m sick of seeing: Kherington Payne. IMO, the most overrated dancer ever to appear on SYTYCD. And I could totally hear her name popping up as a possibility. Yuck.
No offense taken. I can see what you said about Heather but my only issue with lea is the fact that she can overact sometimes. I’m a huge Glee fan and while she is a good actress I can see her doing movie adaptions of broadway musicals more.
Maybe Dianna Argon and Derek Hough or now that I think of it how about Chord Overstreet?
I have to say “no” to Dianna Agron – she’s too beautiful for the part, as is Julianne (just.no.). Remember, Jennifer was playing a young “ugly duckling” type that turns into a swan. Not that she was actually ugly, but she was more cute than she was traditionally beautiful.
I think that Dianna Argon is gorgeous but not traditional beautiful. If not her maybe Ashley Tisdale (but truth be told her acting is kinda bad). All I really know is John Lithgow or Dennis Quaid as Baby’s father and Demi Moore or Jenifer Grey as Baby’s mother would be great!
On a side note, Kherington Payne probably wouldn’t be able to do it since she is a Pussycat Doll know and a backup dancer for Katy Perry. First one seemed kinda odd for her but whatever.
Emma Stone would be perfect, I think, but she’s probably too ‘big’ for it now. 🙂
I don’t really get the reverence for Dirty Dancing I’m seeing/hearing in the media – why shouldn’t it be remade any more than any other old movie? Is it just because Patrick Swayze died, or is it really considered such a classic? With dance having such a resurgence again over the last 5 to 10 years, it makes sense for a dance movie to be remade. They can update the dancing and find an excuse to include other styles of dancing in a remake of the movie. I must admit to only having seen bits and pieces of the movie before – never sat and watched the whole thing all at one time. But I would certainly go see a remake on the big screen, because I know the dancing and music would be out of this world. So personally I hope they do a remake.
Kherington was part of the failed Fame remake. Doubt she will do this move. Molly? She aeemed like a kid and sorr, her speaking voice drove me nuts. I think Lea or Diana would be great choices for Baby.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t quite get the reverence for Dirty Dancing either. I love the movie and have seen it many times, but come on!! I actually liked Footloose better.
I kinda get the reverance for Dirty Dancing. It seems that every decade has its movies that people automatically think of and view as classics and they pass it on to their kids. Dirty Dancing seems to be one of those for the 80s. Footloose can go in the same catagory since people were flabergasted that someone would have the nerve to remake it (including me and I was born in the 90s). Persoanlly, my family loves Grease and passed that love onto me and if they ever remade it I would go nuts.
OMG, Kenny Ortega is guest judge on SYTYCD and mentioned his new project and says its been 25 years.
Did he offer Melanie a part in the movie? He said he would love to work with her and mentioned his new project he will be doing….hmmmmm…
I agree with vin. Many felt the same way with karate kid. I know many who still have not seen the new one. They smartly made sure it was different from themoriginal which respected Ralph and pat morita. If Kenny does the same, then we should be fine.
Melanie as baby? I hope not. She can be in the movie but I do not need hermas Baby. Granted I am incredibly annoyed with the tongue baths she has been getting all season. She is good nut not that good.
Yeah, Sandy, he sorta kinda did offer her a part. Don’t know which one (part that is) but I think she would make a credible Baby.
I think Kat pushed Kenny a bit too much on whether he would cast Melanie as Baby and she kind of put Kenny “in the corner”, so to speak. I think Melanie is a great dancer, but not who I would want to see in the movie. I think Derek would be great in it though! 🙂
I think a lot of the casting is going to depend on what direction Kenny is planning on taking this remake. Is he going to stay true to the original story, but update it to modern times? Is he going for star power, and getting big names to star in it? Or is he going more for quality, and getting well-suited (but maybe not so famous) names to star in it? I guess time will tell what kind of movie we can expect, judging from what names we hear being cast.
Melanie as Baby? I can see it, yes, but I don’t know that I want to. I guess I’m just a bit puzzled by all the Melanie love…I mean, she’s a great dancer & all, but I have failed to see anything very remarkable about her. I actually find Sasha to be far more versatile & unique.
I know we’ve all been very focused on who could get cast as Johnny & Baby, but there’s also several supporting roles that will be interesting to cast. What about Penny? Another very dance-intensive role that is rather the opposite of Baby, personality-wise – very jaded and wise to the ways of the world. And then there’s Dr. & Mrs. Houseman, Baby’s parents, and Lisa Houseman, her conceited older sister. There’s also the resort staff – Max Kellerman, the owner; Neil Kellerman, his son; Robbie Gould, the smarmy waiter that gets Penny pregnant; and Tito Suarez, the band leader. And of course, the other dancers – I imagine we’ll see quite a few familiar faces amongst the backup dancers.
so far i love the idea of Maks as Johnny i can so picture that but i must admit at first i was totally thinking derek i think most ppl are tihinkin derek hough bcuz he partnered JGrey on Dwts but Maks would b way better as johnny…
for the lead as Baby i havent seen anyone i like on this list so far and ppl plz keep away from the Eonline suggestions. But lat night the guest judge on SYTYCD who ws Kenny Ortega was giving Melanie Moore great coments { Kenny “melanie i would push to the front of the line to get a chance to work with you”} so as it stands my cast leads are
Maksim Chmerkovskiy {DWTS}= Jonny
Melanie Moore {SYTYCD}=Baby
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/08/11/justin-timberlake-emma-stone-dirty-dancing/
Apparantly these are the odds on favs for the roles according to the British.
I think the British rags pull stuff out of their ass, actually. I don’t think there ARE front runners that anyone knows of. I think the UK did their usual read through of twitter, made some crap up based on that and now everyone is taking them seriously. Journalism actually sucks these days to a disturbing degree. More so now than ever.
The article has one good contender for “Baby” that hasn’t come up prior: Demi Lovato. Same for the Zac Efron idea as well.
How about making it a little different, by using Marco and Melanie from this years ‘So You Think You Can Dance” ?
Would never have thought of this one on my own, but apparently Chris Hemsworth (Thor) did DWTS in his home country Australia. Here’s the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ8FGRalerw
I thought he had pretty good hip action 😉 Could he be a contender to play Johnny?
Remake or no remake, Dirty Dancing with Jennifer & Patrick will always be the iconic & the classic.I can see a PRO like Derek Hough as Johnny.On the other hand, “Baby” I feel shouldn’t be. What made Jennifer the perfect “Baby” was her youthful innocence,her being truthful & always being able to be in the moment with the character she portrays.She was casted as “Baby” with no professional training but learned 1 or 2 routines with that amazing unforgettable final dance.Their chemistry made millions fall in love this couple for over 2 decades.
Lastly I would love to see Jennifer playing mom, DD was & still is Patrick & Jennifer… always will be. As a tribute to the original cast,I am for Jennifer playing one of the major characters, aside from the fact that she is a dynamic performer!