NEWS

'Dirty Dancing' filming delayed until late summer

Emily Patrick
epatrick@citizen-times.com

A "Dirty Dancing" remake that was scheduled to film in the Asheville area this spring has been delayed until late summer.

The three-episode TV series remake of the 1987 drama starring Patrick Swayze received a $4 million grant from the state, which will come in the form of reimbursements, as part of the NC Film and Entertainment Grant.

The production company, Lionsgate TV, planned to film in April and May when it applied for the grant, but the project has been delayed.

Because the grant stipulates that film companies must begin principal photography within 100 days of receiving it, Lionsgate requested an extension from the state, which was granted. The company will be eligible for the grant through Sept. 6.

"As we continue to lock down our creative elements, I'd like to formally request an extension on our grant for an additional two months," John Valentine, senior vice president of television strategy and operations at Lionsgate, wrote in an email to Mark Poole at the Department of Commerce. "August would be the deadline for us to be on the ground in NC rolling cameras in order to complete production before winter."

According to the project's grant application, the 2015 production will air as a three-episode TV miniseries on ABC Networks.

A synopsis on the form describes a "night of singing and dancing as we update the classic film 'Dirty Dancing' as a three-hour event."

Emails from Lionsgate partners to the Department of Commerce list High Hampton Inn in Cashiers and Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville as potential locations for the filming.

The production company requested a $4 million grant, which means it would have to spend at least $16 million in North Carolina to obtain the full amount. (The reimbursements apply for 25 percent of the money spent in the state up to $16 million.)

However, the company can still qualify for grant money as long as it spends at least $5 million, but it would receive fewer reimbursement dollars.

If filming does not begin in August, Valentine said in an email to Guy Gaster, the director of the North Carolina Film Office, "We'll miss our window before winter and I'll likely be returning the money."

Gaster said if the project does fold, the money will be awarded to a different project.

"It returns back to the grant pot if you will, and then commerce could start accepting new applications in for the funding," he said. "If you look at the legislation, the state basically has three years to award the funds, so in theory it could go that long."

The grant came from a one-time allocation of $10 million by the state legislature in the 2015 budget.

The grant system replaces more lucrative tax cut incentives. From 2010-14, film productions could claim a 25 percent refund on all qualified expenses in the state — up to $20 million. Under the new system, no production can receive more than $5 million from the state.