Dirty Dancing (2017)

Dirty Dancing is a 2017 American television film directed by Wayne Blair and written by Jessica Sharzer. It is a remake of the 1987 film of the same name. The film stars Abigail Breslin, Colt Prattes, Debra Messing, Bruce Greenwood, Sarah Hyland, Nicole Scherzinger and Tony Roberts. It aired on May 24, 2017, on ABC. In its original broadcast, the film was seen by 6.61 million viewers with a 1.4 Nielsen rating in the 18-49 age demographic and a 5 share.It received negative reviews from a majority of critics.

Plot
In late summer 1963, affluent, college-bound Frances "Baby" Houseman visits Kellerman's Catskills resort with her family and falls in love with working-class dance instructor Johnny Castle. The film closely follows the plot of the original film; although there are notable changes: A frame story is added. In 1975, Frances attends "Dirty Dancing," a Broadway show choreographed by Johnny and inspired by a book Frances wrote. Frances' faith in Johnny gave him the confidence to pursue a career. Frances is married and has a daughter. Frances takes a weekly dance lesson; she and Johnny encourage each other to continue dancing.
 * Baby plans to study medicine, rather than economics.
 * The role of Marjorie Houseman is significantly expanded. Feeling alienated by Jake's lack of attention and affection, despite her active efforts to engage him, Marjorie contacts a divorce lawyer and suggests she and Jake live apart. As Kellerman's is where Marjorie and Jake met and fell in love, Jake romances Marjorie and they have sex, reconciling.
 * The role of Vivian Pressman is also expanded; now a divorcee who visits Kellerman's alone, she tells Marjorie of her intense loneliness at night. When Johnny is accused of theft, the stolen property is no longer Vivian's husband's wallet, but instead her former husband's watch, which Johnny earlier rejected as a gift and which Vivian apparently planted among his belongings.
 * Lisa rejects Robbie much earlier in the film. She befriends a new character, Marco, the resort's African-American pianist. Over his boss Tito's objections, Marco teaches Lisa to play the ukulele and performs with her in the talent show. Tito and Max acknowledge that the world is changing for the better.

Cast

 * Abigail Breslin as Frances "Baby" Houseman
 * Colt Prattes as Johnny Castle
 * Sarah Hyland as Lisa Houseman
 * Nicole Scherzinger as Penny
 * Tony Roberts as Max Kellerman
 * J. Quinton Johnson as Marco
 * Shane Harper as Robbie Gould
 * Trevor Einhorn as Neil Kellerman
 * Beau Casper Smart as Billy Kostecki
 * Katey Sagal as Vivian Pressman
 * Billy Dee Williams as Tito Suarez
 * Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Jake Houseman
 * Debra Messing as Marjorie Houseman

Production
In January 2011, Lionsgate announced that Kenny Ortega, the choreographer of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, would direct its remake; however, the project was shelved the following year. In December 2015, ABC and Lionsgate Television announced a three-hour remake of the movie which will not be live and would be in the same vein as The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again, a remake of the 1975 film of the same name. The remake was directed by Wayne Blair and the screenplay was written by Jessica Sharzer. Allison Shearmur was attached to the project as executive producer.

Casting
Abigail Breslin had been officially attached as Baby, while the studio would green-light the project after further casting. In January 2016, ABC officially green-lit the project after Debra Messing was cast as Baby's mother. The following month, after a lengthy audition process, dancer Colt Prattes was announced as Johnny, the role originally played by Patrick Swayze. In March 2016, it was announced that Nicole Scherzinger would co-star as Penny, Johnny's dance partner, alongside Sarah Hyland as Lisa Houseman, Baby's sister, and Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Jake Houseman, Baby's father. Billy Dee Williams as Tito, the band leader, Shane Harper as Robbie,[13] joined the cast of the movie alongside Beau “Casper” Smart and J. Quinton Johnson. Later that month, Trevor Einhorn was tapped to play Neil Kellerman. In April 2016, Katey Sagal and Tony Roberts were respectively cast as Vivian Pressman and Max Kellerman.

Filming
Filming was based in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Most of the filming locations were across western North Carolina including Hendersonville Asheville, Cashiers and Saluda, with filming taking place in April and May 2016. People living in the Hendersonville area served as crew members, extras and dancers, and they were invited to provide cars from the 1960s. Much of the filming took place at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, as well as Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville. It created an estimated 1,225 jobs, including 900 extras, 30 cast members and 225 crew positions to support the project.

Marketing
The official poster was unveiled in March 2017, and features Breslin and Prattes in an embrace from their final dance in the movie. A 30-second teaser trailer was released a month before the television movie's release.