Selling "Dirty Dancing II"

On August 8, 1989 -- about two years after the release of the movie Dirty Dancing -- The Daily News newspaper in New York, NY, published an article titled They're having the time of their life selling 'Dirty II', written by David Hinckley.

He reported that Vestron intended to begin filming a Dirty Dancing -- called Dirty Dancing II in the article -- within a few weeks and to release the finished movie in the summer of 1990. Vestron already was planning various licensing projects in relation to that sequel.

Although Dirty Dancing had earned huge profits during the two years since its release, however, Vestron was in financial trouble.

The article in The Daily News, published on August 8, 1989

Excerpts from the article:

The first time around, Dirty Dancing caught everyone by surprise.

"We couldn't give the licensing rights away," says Blaise Noto. "Who knew who Patrick Swayze or Jennifer Grey was? Who wanted to be associated with a movie called Dirty Dancing?

Noto smiles. He can afford to. He's vice president of marketing for Vestron pictures, which made Dirty Dancing, and once it became clear what was happening, marketing caught up fast. Furthermore, Dirty Dancing II is scheduled to start this summer, once Swayze and Grey agree to get rich, and this time marketing will be under way before the first dance at Kellerman's.

Of course, this time there's also a secondary plot: financial insolvency, which Vestron is facing and would dearly love to stave off until it can make DD II, which it trusts will clear that little problem up for good.

Even before this little life-or-death drama, however, it was fairly clear that Dirty Dancing II, like its parent or like Batman, is no more "just a movie" than Moby Dick was just a whale.

Dirty Dancing has become much more than a film, a soundtrack album, a concert tour," Vestron says. "It has become a fashion statement, an attitude ... It is a phenomenon that has become lifestyle sparking the imaginations of millions of people all over the world."

And gosh, you say, how did it do all this? Well, after the movie came the video, the soundtrack album, the Dirty Dancing jewelry, the posters, the instructional book, the T-shirts and the Dirty Dancing bicycle.

The coffee mugs and door magnets aren't far behind, nor are the Dirty Dancing clothes soon to be available at 2,00 K-Mart outlets.

"We wanted to go with a mass-market retailer," explains Noto. "Nothing against Bloomingdale's, but I'm not sure our audience shots there. Also, people might not pay $500 for a Dirty Dancing dress, but they'll pay $24.95.

Besides, Vestron's projections say America has barely begun to Dirty Dance.

After the clothing line, which includes Dirty Dancing outfits for toddlers, there will be another push on the video. In February 1990, CBS will show Dirty Dancing on broadcast TV. In March 1990, there will be a national Dirty Dancing competition at 25 to 30 shopping malls. Next summer, Dirty Dancing II comes out, with soundtrack, etc. In early 1991, the home video of "II" arrives. You get the idea.

And did we mention Vestron is negotiating with Arthur Murray?

"That's ow far we've come," says Noto with a laugh. ...

Now Noto readily admits Dirty Dancing took off all by itself the first time. "Our first audience was women over 25," he says. "Which is why our campaign was soft and romantic. The as the ages spread, it got sexier. And since it was a PG-13 it kept going all the way down to the 8 and 9-year olds. ....

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On August 18 -- eleven days after the above article was published -- the Hartford Courant newspaper in Connecticut (where Vestron was headquartered) reported that Vestron was going through a management shakeup.

Vestron official quits

The president and chief operating officer of Vestron Inc., Strauss Zelnick, has left the ailiing film maker and distributor to head the Fox Film Corp., a division of Fox Inc.

Austin O. Furst Jr., Vestron's chairman and chief executive officer, will assume Zelnick's responsibilities at the company, which produced Dirty Dancing, Vestron said in a statement ...

In June [1989], ... Vestron laid off about 140 employees, effectively shutting down its film production and distribution business. The company said the layoffs were necessitated by Vestron's loss of a $100 million line of credit.

It seems to me that at the beginning of August 1989, Vestron thought that Swayze and Grey would agree to do a sequel movie. When the agreement did not happen, however, Zelnick was removed from the company's top management, and Vestron continued its decline toward bankruptcy..

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I found both articles on Newspapers.com