Pre-production
Dirty Dancing is in large part based on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein’s own childhood: She is the younger daughter of a Jewish doctor from New York, spent summers with her family in the Catskills, participated in “Dirty Dancing” competitions, and was herself called “Baby” as a girl. In 1980, Bergstein wrote a screenplay for the Michael Douglas film, It’s My Turn. However, the producers cut an erotic dancing scene from the script, much to her dismay. She then conceived a new story, focused almost exclusively on dancing. In 1984, she pitched the idea to MGM executive Eileen Miselle, who liked it and teamed Bergstein with producer Linda Gottlieb. They set the film in 1963, with the character of Baby based on Bergstein’s own life, and the character of Johnny based on the stories of Michael Terrace, a dance instructor that Bergstein met in the Catskills in 1985 while she was researching the story. She finished the script in November 1985, but management changes at MGM put the script into turnaround, or limbo. Bergstein then shopped the script around to other studios, but was repeatedly rejected until she showed it to Austin Furst, president of Vestron Pictures, a new studio in Century City. Vestron’s vice-president Mitchell Cannold liked the story, as he too had spent some of his own childhood in the Catskills. He and fellow vice-president Dori Berinstein agreed to seek financing for the film, if an appropriate director could be found. Gottlieb and Bergstein chose Emile Ardolino, who had won the 1983 Academy Award for the documentary, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’. Ardolino had never directed a feature film, but was extremely passionate about the project, even sending a message from where he was sequestered in jury duty, insisting that he was the best choice as director. The film was approved, and budgeted at the relatively low amount of $5 million, at a time when the average cost for a film was $12 million.
For choreographer, Bergstein chose Kenny Ortega, who had been trained by the legendary dancer Gene Kelly. For a location for the film, they did not find anything suitable in the Catskills, so they decided on a combination of two locations: Lake Lure in North Carolina, and Mountain Lake Resort near Roanoke, Virginia, with careful editing making it look like all of the shooting was done in the same area.
Director Ardolino was adamant that they choose dancers who could also act, as he did not want to use the “stand-in” method that had been used with the 1983 Flashdance. For the female lead of Frances “Baby” Houseman, Bergstein chose the 26-year-old Jennifer Grey, daughter of the Oscar-winning actor and dancer Joel Grey of the 1972 film Cabaret. They then sought a male lead, initially considering 20-year-old Billy Zane, who had the visual look desired (originally the Johnny character was to be Italian and have a dark exotic look) but initial dancing tests when he was partnered with Grey did not meet expectations. The next choice was 34-year-old Patrick Swayze, who had been noticed for his roles in The Outsiders and Red Dawn, in which he had co-starred with Grey. Swayze was a seasoned dancer, with experience from the Joffrey Ballet. The producers liked him, but Swayze’s agent was against the idea. However, Swayze read the script, liked the multi-leveled character of Johnny, and took the part anyway and Johnny was changed from being Italian to Irish. Grey was not happy about the choice, as she and Swayze had had difficulty getting along on Red Dawn. However, the two of them met, worked things out, and when they did their dancing screen test, the chemistry between them was obvious. Bergstein described it as “breathtaking”.
Other casting choices were Broadway actor Jerry Orbach as Dr. Jake Houseman, Baby’s father; and Jane Brucker as Lisa Houseman, Baby’s older sister. Bergstein also attempted to cast her friend, sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer to play Mrs. Schumacher, and Joel Grey as her husband. However, Westheimer backed out when she learned the role involved being a kleptomaniac. The role went instead to 79-year-old Paula Trueman, and Joel Grey was not cast. Another role went to Bergstein’s friend, New York radio personality “Cousin Brucie”. Bergstein initially wanted him to play the part of the social director, but then later asked him to play the part of the magician. The part of the social director went to the then unknown Wayne Knight (of later Seinfeld and 3rd Rock from the Sun fame). The part of Baby’s mother was originally given to Lynn Lipton, and if you watch carefully in the beginning when the Houseman family first pulls into Kellerman’s, Lipton is in the front seat for a few brief seconds; you can see her blonde hair, but that is the only indication. But she became ill during the first week of shooting and was replaced by actress Kelly Bishop, who had already been cast to play Vivian Pressman, the highly sexed resort guest. Bishop moved into the role as Mrs. Houseman, and the film’s assistant choreographer Miranda Garrison took on the role of Vivian.
Filming
The tight schedule allowed only two weeks for rehearsal, and 44 days for filming as it was already the tail end of summer. The cast stayed in the same hotel at Mountain Lake Resort in Pembroke, Virginia (15 minutes from Virginia Tech), and rehearsals quickly turned into disco parties involving nearly every cast member, even non-dancers such as Jack Weston. The dancing and drinking went on almost non-stop and, immersed in the environment, the lead actors, Grey and Swayze, began identifying with their characters. Bergstein built upon this, encouraging the actors to improvise in their scenes. She also built the sexual tension by saying that no matter how intimate or “grinding” the dance steps, that none of the dancers were to have any other kind of physical contact with each other for the next six months.
Filming started on September 5, 1986, but was plagued by the weather ranging from pouring rain to sweltering heat. The outside temperature rose to 105 °F (41 °C), and with all the additional camera and lighting equipment needed for filming, the temperature inside could be as high to 120 °F (49 °C). According to choreographer Kenny Ortega, on one day 10 people passed out within 25 minutes of shooting. The elderly Paula Trueman collapsed and was taken to the local emergency room to be treated for dehydration. Patrick Swayze also required a hospital visit: insisting on doing his own stunts, he repeatedly fell off of the log during the “balancing” scene and injured his knee, so had to have fluid drained from the swelling.
Delays in the shooting schedule pushed filming into the autumn, which required the set decorators to spray-paint the autumn leaves green. The uncooperative weather then took a different turn, plunging from oppressive heat to down near 40 °F (4 °C), causing frigid conditions for the famous swimming scene in October. The crew wore warm coats, gloves and boots. Swayze and Grey stripped down to light summer clothing, to repeatedly dive into the cold water. Despite her character’s enjoyment, Grey later described the water as “horrifically” cold, and she might not have gone into the lake, except that she was “young and hungry”.
Relations between the two main stars varied throughout production. They had already had trouble getting along in their previous project, Red Dawn. They worked things out enough to have an extremely positive screen test, but initial cooperation soon faded, and they were soon “facing off” before every scene. There was concern among the production staff that the animosity between the two stars would endanger the filming of the love scenes. To address this, producer Bergstein and director Ardolino forced the stars to re-watch their initial screen-tests—the ones with the “breathtaking” chemistry. This had the desired effect, and Swayze and Grey were able to return to the film with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
Director Ardolino encouraged the actors to improvise, and often kept the cameras rolling even if actors went “off script”. One example of this was the scene where Grey was to stand in front of Swayze with her back to him, and put her arm up behind his head while he trailed his fingers down her arm (similar to the pose that is seen in the movie poster). Though it was written as a serious and tender moment, Grey was exhausted, found the move ticklish, and could not stop giggling each time Swayze tried it, no matter how many takes Ardolino asked for. Swayze was impatient to finish the scene, and found Grey’s behavior annoying. However, the producers decided that the scene worked as it was, and put it into the film complete with Grey’s giggling and Swayze’s annoyed expression. It became one of the most famous scenes in the movie, turning out, as choreographer Kenny Ortega put it, “as one of the most delicate and honest moments in the film.”
Post-production
The shooting wrapped on October 27, 1986, both on-time and on-budget. No one on the team however liked the rough cut that was put together, and Vestron executives were convinced that the film was going to be a flop. In May 1987 the film was screened for producer Aaron Russo. According to Vestron executive Mitchell Cannold, Russo’s reaction at the end was to say simply, “Burn the negative, and collect the insurance.”
Further disputes arose over the question of whether a corporate sponsor could be found to promote the film. Marketers of the Clearasil acne product liked the film, seeing it as a vehicle to reach a teen target audience. However, when they learned that the movie contained an abortion scene, they asked for that part of the plot to be cut. As Bergstein refused, the Clearasil promotion was dropped. Consequently, Vestron promoted the film themselves and set the premiere on August 16, 1987. The Vestron executives had planned to release the film in theaters for a weekend, and then send it straight to video, since Vestron had been in the video distribution business before film production. Considering how many people disliked the film at that point, producer Gottlieb’s recollection of her feelings at the time was, “I would have only been grateful, if when it was released, people didn’t yell at me.”
