THE FANS' LOVE STORY: How The Movie 'DIRTY DANCING' Captured The Hearts Of Millions! by Sue Tabashnik Read Free Book Online

Catskills was not going to be possible due to budgetary constraints as the filmmakers had to make the movie for under five million dollars. The producers had already found Lake Lure Inn in North Carolina. Then in June 1986, the Dirty Dancing producers saw Mountain Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia in an advertisement in Piedmont Airlines in-flight magazine, and went there and decided to make it the film’s Kellerman’s Resort. The movie was filmed at Mountain Lake from September 5 to September 20, 1986. Most of the exterior scenes were shot there as well as some interior scenes, including the outside of the main lodge, the kitchen, the dining room, the gazebo, the beach, the Houseman cottage (Virginia Cottage), and the lift scene in the lake (shot in about 30 degree weather). Most of the cast stayed at Mountain Lake—at least some of the time. Mr. Swayze stayed in Room 232 and Ms. Grey in Room 513. (See list of guests and room assignments.)
    Regarding the history of Mountain Lake, it started out as a resort in around 1857. The stone lodge was built in 1936. The beautiful Mountain Lake 2,600 acreage (of which 2,455 acres are forests) is 4,000 feet above sea level in the Appalachian Mountains in Giles County, Virginia. Per the Mountain Lake Hotel website: “The Mountain Lake Conservancy is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 to help manage and protect the 2,600 acres of Mountain Lake Property and to provide environmental and cultural education to the public . . . Our mission is to further Mary Moody Northern’s desire to forge bonds between people and nature in Mountain Lake’s unique environment.” 12 The natural lake on the property is amazing because of how high up on the mountain it is and also it is one of only two fresh water lakes in the state. The water level is cyclical—high and low depending on how much rain and snowfall occur. In April 2009, the lake was rising again, and by July 2009, it was up to 43’ below full pond. With the snowfall from Winter 2010, the lake is said to be slowly rising again.
    I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Mr. H. M. “Buzz” Scanland Jr., General Manager, and Mr. Mike Porterfield, Executive Chef, regarding the filming of Dirty Dancing at Mountain Lake.

BUZZ SCANLAND
     
    January 16 & 17, 2009.
    In-person interviews at Mountain Lake Hotel, Pembroke, Virginia.
    Introduction: E-mail to me from Buzz, December 4, 2008.
    If you have not been here, you should come. Also, have you seen the stage play? I thought it was great. I saw it in Toronto. It is now playing in Chicago and will open next year in Boston. You would not believe how many people come here just because of Dirty Dancing . The weekend before Thanksgiving, we had a Dirty Dancing Weekend and one couple came from England and another couple from Toronto. We get guests for Dirty Dancing from all over the world.
    The first part of the interview on January 16th was done while Buzz was driving me to my first visit to Mountain Lake.
What was your position with Mountain Lake when Dirty Dancing was filmed?
I had just come to Mountain Lake. I was doing marketing. My first few weeks on the job were when Dirty Dancing was filmed.
Who in the cast did you have contact with?
I had minimal contact with Jerry Orbach and Jack Weston—like “hi”—that was it.
I met Jennifer Grey once and hadn’t even known who she was. Supposedly, Jennifer’s father, Joel Grey, sent Jennifer flowers every day. I didn’t have any contact with Buddy.
You know, Patrick wanted to be called Buddy.
When Dirty Dancing was being made, did you think it would be a big hit?
No. Nobody did.
While filming, were there guests in the hotel?
Yes, and we had to be careful regarding the noise.
Where did the movie people eat?
They ate where the guests did.
They would bus the extras over and give them lunch and $50.00 for all day.
The first choice for extras was for Jewish people from Blacksburg.
They would pay $100.00 a day for a vintage car to be in the