ok being that i was a child of the 80s and dirty dancing in 1987 was everything to me and many other people, I'm not sure if I dig a sequel finally coming to fruition...I hear Patrick Swayze is reprising his role as Johnny Castle...interesting!

...only if the wife MAKES me...!

This movie was supposed to be released in early 2003 and it has been pushed back like 3 times which is never a good sign.

Also, I heard Patrick just has a very quick cameo role.

But for the record nobody puts Purplegypsy's thread in the corner

Cast: Romola Garai (Katey), Diego Luna (Javier Perez), Mika Boorem (Susie), Jonathan Jackson (James Phelps), January Jones (Eve), Rene Lavan (Carlos Perez), John Slattery (Bert), Patrick Swayze (cameo), Sela Ward (Jeannie)

Cast Notes: (12/28/00) When this project was announced in May, 2000, Ricky Martin and Natalie Portman were mentioned as possible new stars... but they have both since said things to the effect that they don't think they're interested. Patrick Swayze is also rumored to be in talks to return for cameo as Johnny Castle. (10/15/02) The lead role of the Cuban dancer has gone to Diego Luna, who costarred with Gael Garcia Bernal in Y Tu Mama Tambien. (11/11/02) The female lead has gone to newcomer Romola Garai, who costars in the new version of Nicholas Nickleby due out this Christmas. (3/15/03) Since this is a prequel to the original film, might the bandleader character from that film, Tito Suarez, be the connecting character between the film (I admit I only pick him out as my guess because he has a Spanish last name)? Suarez was played in that film by jazz singer Charles 'Honi' Coles, who is now 81. (4/15/03) Michael Fleming of "Variety" reported this week that Patrick Swayze has indeed filmed a cameo in this movie, appearing on a dance floor to tell the young couple to "Have the time of your lives" (I'll let that reference sink in...). I wonder if they owe it all to him? Have they ever felt that way before?

Director: Guy Ferland (The Babysitter, Telling Lies in America, After the Storm)

Screenwriter: Ronald Bass (What Dreams May Come, My Best Friend's Wedding; cowriter of Rain Man, Entrapment, Snow Falling on Cedars)

Based Upon: (5/13/00) This movie is a remake of the 1987 surprise hit, Dirty Dancing, which grossed more than $150 million worldwide on a budget of only $6 million, which makes it one of the most profitable films ever made, right up there with The Blair Witch Project and Halloween. The original film was about a teenage girl (Jennifer Grey) summering at a Catskills resort in 1963 (five years later than this movie's 1958 setting), who falls in love with a rebellious dance instructor (Patrick Swayze). (6/25/02) It appears this is more of an "inspired by" sort of a prequel than a direct one (ie, don't expect to see any of the same characters returning, etc.). (7/6/03) The teaser trailer now sells this movie not as a sequel at all, but as a remake.

Premise: Set in 1958 Havana, this is the story of a lonely 17-year-old American girl, Katie (Garai), who moves to Cuba in the days right before the Revolution with her parents, where she soon meets a charming and talented local dancer, Javier (Luna), who encourages her to discover her natural dancing abilities. Undoubtedly, it all leads to an exciting climax as Castro's forces take control and the Americans are forced to leave... will the girl choose to stay with her true love or go back to America with her mean, un-dirty-dancing parents? (Ward and Slattery play Katie's parents; Boorem plays Susie, Katie's little sister; Lavan plays Javier's revolutionary brother, Carlos; Jackson plays an American teenager who doesn't like Katie's new boyfriend)

Here's how Artisan Entertainment puts it:

"Havana: November, 1958. 18-year-old Katey Miller (Romola Garai) brings an innate curiosity and a smattering of Spanish to her new life in Cuba's lush capital, where her father has taken an executive posting at Chrysler. Schooled by her parents in the art of ballroom dancing, Katey is expected to join the smart set of American teenagers who are the Miller's neighbors at the exclusive Oceana Hotel. But Katey finds herself drawn instead to the proud, purposeful Javier (Diego Luna), a waiter who also happens to be [a] brilliant dancer. Determined to learn the slinky, spectacular moves that Javier seems to know in his bones, Katey persuades him to partner with her in a prestigious national dance competition at a grand local nightclub, The Palace. Meeting secretly in an out-of-the-way Havana nightclub, Katey and Javier practice their steps, their bodies aligning in a sensual harmony that mirrors the growing passion between them. As the night of the contest finally arrives, Katey and Javier are ready to take their place as a couple on the dance floor, unaware that the country club, and the streets of Havana itself, are about to erupt in revolutionary violence."

Old Premise: (6/25/02) Here's the original premise, which has now been discarded: This film focuses on a hotel owner from the original film, who, 38 years later, now owns a nightclub in Miami's South Beach district with his grandson. That's about all that's currently known, but presumably, he meets a girl, they dance dirty, fall in love, etc. (Swayze might return in a cameo as Johnny Castle). (3/14/03) I've received word that the original premise was actually set at around the same time as the current version (AKA the 1950s). The setting was indeed a South Beach hotel, but the romance revolved not around the grandson of the owner, but around a girl staying at the hotel and a Cuban pool boy.

I think this Havana Nights is a poor slap in the face of Dirty Dancing.. Dirty dancing was my and still is all time favorite movie.. Growing up i must of seen it 300 times..The orignal is best.. leave the rest alone!

I saw the trailer the other night at my local googleplex. People were snickering all during the whole thing, so that doesn't bode well!

what is the talented Diego Luna ( of "Y tu mama también" fame) doing in this?!?
[This message was edited Fri Feb 13 4:07:39 PST 2004 by garganta]

i'll probably watch it...but on video only...i won't be paying to watch it in the theater...