Ortega to direct 'Dirty Dancing' remake

By Adnan Tezer Aug 9, 2011, 19:19 GMT

Kenny Ortega will direct Lionsgate's remake of the 1987 coming of age romance film "Dirty Dancing," for which he did the original dance choreography.

According to Variety, Ortega and Debra Martin Chase will produce.

Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote and co-produced the original, is in talks to join the producing team.

The remake will use songs from the original, in addition to classic 1960s tunes and new songs.

Ortega's directing credits include the Michael Jackson concert film "This Is It" as well as the "High School Musical" trilogy.

The 1987 original, which starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, told the story of 17-year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman (Grey) who falls in love with dance instructor Johnny Castle (Swayze) during the summer of 1963 while vacationing with her family at a resort in the Catskill Mountains.

The film has since grossed $214 million worldwide and was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video. It has sold over 10 million copies on DVD.

The two soundtracks from the film both went multi-platinum and contained several hit singles including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Arguably one of the most popular films ever amongst women, the film has been referred to as the "female Star Wars" and contains the immortal line "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"

An unsuccessful 2004 sequel, "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights," followed.