Movies | Pop Culture | 80s
10 Secrets From The Set Of Dirty Dancing That Will Make You Appreciate This Classic Even More
They may have seemed like they had the time of their life, but there was a lot that went into the making of one of the movies that we all love that we never knew about. Dirty Dancing is one of the greatest movies of the 80s, but how much do you know about the process that went into it?
The movie came out in 1987 and the behind-the-scenes drama started right away. Whether it was the cast members not getting along, or actors being unable to keep it together on set, it seems like it was as epic behind the scenes as it was on camera.
The movie almost had different leads
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey weren't the only options. Initially, the role of Johnny was offered to Val Kilmer but he declined. Billy Zane also auditioned, but apparently he couldn't dance well enough. Sarah Jessica Parker auditioned for the role of Baby, as did Sharon Stone.
Swayze and Grey didn't get along
The two actors had worked together in the movie Red Dawn and didn't get along. They had resolved their issues enough for the screen test which proved they had insanely good chemistry.
After filming began, they started to get frustrated with each other and were arguing a lot. To help get them back on track, the director forced the actors to watch their screen test again to show them how good they looked together. Luckily it worked and they were able to finish the movie.
Baby laughing while they are practicing was not in the script
Jennifer Grey was actually laughing because she was ticklish and all of the frustration you see in Patrick Swayze's face was legitimate. The director loved it and kept it in the movie.
The iconic 'Lover Boy' dance scene was also not originally supposed to be in the movie
They were supposed to be warming up for the scene but then they started to mess around and do this so the director used it in the movie.
Jennifer Grey was a lot older than Baby was supposed to be
Jennifer Grey was a full 10 years older than Baby, and she only had 5 minutes to prove that she could successfully portray the 17-year-old girl when she auditioned. Obviously she nailed it.
There are no close-ups of the lake scene because the actors lips were turning blue
The movie was shot in October and it was getting very chilly.
Patrick Swayze did his own stunts and got hurt while doing them
While he was doing the log balancing trick he kept falling and ending up injuring his knee. They ended up having to get fluid drained from it to reduce the swelling.
The mother in the first scene is different than the rest of the movie
Kelly Bishop was originally cast as Vivian Pressman but during the first week of filming the original mother became ill. The original actress cast as Baby's mom was Lynne Lipton and she is still visible in the scene where the family pulls in. You can see her blonde hair in the front seat of the car but then it switches to Kelly Bishop.
Kelly Bishop is not much older than her movie kids
The actress was only 16 years older than Jane Brucker and 14 years older than Jennifer Grey.
Everyone thought it would be a complete flop
The film finished shooting on October 27, 2987 and when everyone saw the first rough cut of the movie they thought it would be absolutely terrible. When producer Aaron Russo saw it he apparently said "Burn the negative, and collect the insurance." Obviously he was VERY wrong.