LOS ANGELES — “Dirty Dancing” has become the latest ’80s movie classic to be remade for the big screen.
Lionsgate confirmed Monday it was remaking the 1987 movie, which starred Jennifer Grey as a teen who spends her summer family vacation in a holiday camp and falls for moody dance instructor Patrick Swayze.
Kenny Ortega, who choreographed the original movie, was set to direct and produce the remake, the movie studio added.
Ortega, 61, had served as the director for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” tour, before the singer’s untimely death, and was also the mastermind behind Disney’s “High School Musical” franchise.
“The opportunity to direct ‘Dirty Dancing’ is like returning home for me,” Ortega said in a statement. “I believe everywhere you look there is evidence that the talent is out there and I can’t wait to begin the process of discovering the next breakout triple-threats.”
“I love @Kennyortega and trust that he will do something special #DirtyDancingRemake,” Grey, 51, tweeted in response to the news.
Swayze passed away in 2009 at the age of 57, after battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year.