I could write a book about the making of the movie: "Dirty Dancing," but here are some highlights. The woman who wrote the script did have a father who was a doctor, they vacationed in the Catskills (where the movie was depicted but not produced), and she and a lot of other kids would hang out in a basement listening to music that they weren't supposed be listening to and they'd do some dirty dancing.
She and a friend who was an independent movie producer, tried to get movie studios to produce the movie but they all hated the idea. They received over 40 rejection letters. Vestron Production mostly distributed VHS tapes but they did produce some very low budget movies (some porn). They got their hands on the script and thought it might be a good movie to be their first full length feature film. At this point the two women with the script were willing to try anything to get the movie produced.
The studio didn't have much money so they allocated 14 days of film production in a location in Virginia and around 30 days at a lodge in North Carolina. They couldn't afford established talent to make the film so they brought in a director who hadn't made a full movie yet, but he had won an award for a short film he produced. They couldn't afford A-List actors so they brought in Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. The two actors competing against them for the parts were Billy Zane and Sarah Jessica Parker.
They couldn't afford leasing music for the film so they tried to produce new songs that fit 1963 or earlier. They used a song Patrick Swayze wrote and sang called: "She's Like the Wind." The song: "The Time of My Life," of course sounded old but it was new music. The film crew and actors/dancers didn't know what the last song for the big finale was going to be until at the end of filming because "The Time of My Life," came in last minute. They knew the dance routine, but didn't know the music.
When they finished the film, the head of Vestron watched it and told them to dump the film and collect insurance from it. They had invested around $4.5 million at that point. The director and producer asked him to please test it with an audience to see what they thought and the crowd went crazy over the movie so he told them to move forward.
They worked out deals to get the movie in theaters across the country and it struck gold. For 19 weeks it topped the box office. The soundtrack from the movie went number one. To date, it has brought in over $200 million dollars.
Time and time again we've seen throughout history that our lives have been enriched by people who had the fortitude to not take no for an answer.
She and a friend who was an independent movie producer, tried to get movie studios to produce the movie but they all hated the idea. They received over 40 rejection letters. Vestron Production mostly distributed VHS tapes but they did produce some very low budget movies (some porn). They got their hands on the script and thought it might be a good movie to be their first full length feature film. At this point the two women with the script were willing to try anything to get the movie produced.
The studio didn't have much money so they allocated 14 days of film production in a location in Virginia and around 30 days at a lodge in North Carolina. They couldn't afford established talent to make the film so they brought in a director who hadn't made a full movie yet, but he had won an award for a short film he produced. They couldn't afford A-List actors so they brought in Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. The two actors competing against them for the parts were Billy Zane and Sarah Jessica Parker.
They couldn't afford leasing music for the film so they tried to produce new songs that fit 1963 or earlier. They used a song Patrick Swayze wrote and sang called: "She's Like the Wind." The song: "The Time of My Life," of course sounded old but it was new music. The film crew and actors/dancers didn't know what the last song for the big finale was going to be until at the end of filming because "The Time of My Life," came in last minute. They knew the dance routine, but didn't know the music.
When they finished the film, the head of Vestron watched it and told them to dump the film and collect insurance from it. They had invested around $4.5 million at that point. The director and producer asked him to please test it with an audience to see what they thought and the crowd went crazy over the movie so he told them to move forward.
They worked out deals to get the movie in theaters across the country and it struck gold. For 19 weeks it topped the box office. The soundtrack from the movie went number one. To date, it has brought in over $200 million dollars.
Time and time again we've seen throughout history that our lives have been enriched by people who had the fortitude to not take no for an answer.
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