<P> Dirty Dancing is based in large part 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 nicknamed "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 whom 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 . </P> <P> Bergstein then shopped the script around to other studios but was repeatedly rejected, until she brought it to Vestron Pictures, the newly formed studio division of Stamford, Connecticut, based Vestron Inc., the leading independent home video distribution company . While honing their pitch to Vestron, Gottlieb and Bergstein chose Emile Ardolino as the film's director, 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; he even sent a message from where he was sequestered on jury duty, insisting that he was the best choice as director . The team of Gottlieb, Bergstein, and Ardolino then presented their vision for the film to Vestron's president, Jon Peisinger, and the company's vice president for production, Mitchell Cannold . By the end of the meeting, Peisinger had greenlighted the project to become Vestron's first feature film production . The approved film was budgeted at the relatively low amount of $5 million, at a time when the average cost for a film was $12 million . </P> <P> For choreographer, Bergstein chose Kenny Ortega, who had been trained by Gene Kelly . For a location, they did not find anything suitable in the Catskills (as many of the resorts had been shut down at that point), so they decided on a combination of two locations: Lake Lure, North Carolina and the Mountain Lake Hotel near Pembroke, Virginia, and with careful editing made it look like all shooting was done in the same area . </P> <P> 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 Flashdance (1983). 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 (e.g., of the film Cabaret (1972)), who, like her father, was a trained dancer . 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 Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) and Red Dawn (1984). He was a seasoned dancer, with experience from the Joffrey Ballet . The producers were thrilled with him, but his agent was opposed to the idea . However, Swayze read the script, liked the multi-level character of Johnny, and took the part anyway, and Johnny was changed from being Italian to Irish . Grey was initially not happy about the choice, as she and Swayze had difficulty getting along on Red Dawn, but when they did their dancing screen test, the chemistry between them was obvious . Bergstein described it as "breathtaking". </P>

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