'Dirty Dancing' To Be Remade

The ever-widening trend to remake all things '80s (Conan The Barbarian, Footloose) has claimed another victim. Dirty Dancing, the 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey as star-crossed dance rebels, will be remade, Lionsgate announced Monday. The choreographer of the original, Danny Ortega, will direct the new version.

"The opportunity to direct Dirty Dancing is like returning home for me," Ortega, who directed the High School Musical movies, said in a press release. "Growing up in the '60s on the dance floor helped define me as a person and as an artist.... Patrick Swayze set the bar for men dancing in the movies as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire did before him.

The news of a remake, however, leaves many questions unanswered, such as whether the throwback '60s setting of the original will be preserved or updated, how to modernize the abortion-themed conflict at the center of the film, and — most importantly — which actors will step into the roles Swayze and Grey made iconic. "I believe everywhere you look there is evidence that the talent is out there," Ortega said. "I can't wait to begin the process of discovering the next breakout triple-threats."

No release date was announced.