Los Angeles: Actor Jennfer Grey has said that the sequel to her cult classic movie Dirty Dancing will not recast Patrick Swayze’s character. Jennfer Grey had featured as ‘Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman’ opposite Swayze’s ‘Johnny Castle’ in the 1987 movie, directed by Emile Ardolino.
Dirty Dancing turned out to be a cultural phenomenon in the US as it grossed USD 218 million at the global box office. The film won an Oscar for best original song ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’, sung by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.
Grey has recently been quoted as saying by the ‘People’ magazine regarding the sequel to Dirty Dancing. She said the sequel’s producers will not be trying to replace Swayze, who passed away in 2009 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
“All I can say is there is no replacing anyone who’s passed – you never try to repeat anything that’s magic like that. You just go for something different,” the 60-year-old actor said.
Grey believes it was the ‘very genuine and simple appeal of Dirty Dancing that has ensured its popularity even after so many years.
“It was about innocence and the way that innocence is lost and how people explode into a different iteration of themselves,” Grey said.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed that the sequel will be made. He said that during the company’s conference call with Wall Street analysts. Feltheimer said that Dirty Dancing 2 will be directed by filmmaker Jonathan Levine.
“It will be exactly the kind of romantic, nostalgic movie that the franchise’s fans have been waiting for. A movie that has made it the biggest-selling library title in the company’s history,” Feltheimer said.
In addition to starring in the new movie, Grey will also serve as an executive producer.
