Charlottesville Film Festival celebrates 20th anniversary of ‘Dirty Dancing’
By Casey Gillis on Nov. 01, 2007
“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
Any 80s movie fan worth his or her salt know what classic film this came from.
“Dirty Dancing,” shot at Mountain Lake Resort in Giles County, was first released in 1987 — the same year of the inaugural Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville.
In celebration of both of their 20th anniversaries, a special screening and panel discussion will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at Regal Cinema in Charlottesville as part of the 2007 Virginia Film Festival.
Panelists will include Doro Bachrach, one of the film’s producers, Rita McClenny, director of the Vir-ginia Film Office, and Mountain Lake resort manger Buzz Scanland.
The movie was originally supposed to be shot in North Carolina, but that location was lost, and producers were afraid they didn’t have enough time to find a new one before the fall weather hit. By chance, they saw a picture of Mountain Lake in an airline magazine and quickly booked it for the shoot. It became a race to complete the film before the leaves fell, and crew members spent a great deal of time spray painting autumn leaves green to keep the illusion of summer.
“Dirty Dancing” went on to gross $214 million at the box office and has spawned two soundtracks, a television series, a theatrical musical and a sequel, “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.”
Mountain Lake Resort still hosts occasional “Dirty Dancing Weekends,” which feature tours, lessons and a dance. The next one is scheduled for Nov. 16 and 17. For more information, check out http://www.mtnlakehotel.com.
The 2007 Virginia Film Festival, which runs today through Sunday, has a number of featured guests this year, including actor/director John Turturro (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”), actor and University of Vir-ginia alum Sean Patrick Thomas (“Save the Last Dance”) and director John Sayles (“Eight Men Out,” “Lone Star”).
Turturro will screen his new musical, “Romance and Cigarettes,” at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, as well as his 1992 directorial debut, “Mac,” at 10:15 a.m. Sunday.
For a complete listing of the festival’s events and screenings, visit http://www.vafilm.com.
For more information about the “Dirty Dancing” screening, call (800) UVA-FEST.
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