Beauty Is Never Tarnished : According to Word Of God, they had to make up Cynthia Rhodes to look worse during the agony scene, because she was too beautiful without makeup to look convincing.
Creator Cameo : Writer/Producer Eleanor Bergstein is the woman Johnny is dancing with when Baby comes to get him after she finds Penny in the kitchen.
It Will Never Catch On: When the film was screened for Aaron Russo, a producer at Vestron Pictures, his reaction to the film was "Burn the negative and collect the insurance."
This also applies to those working behind the scenes as well. Choreographer Kenny Ortega previously choreographed St Elmos Fire and later went on to direct and choreograph Newsies and High School Musical, while his assistant, Miranda Garrison, later went on to choreograph Selena, Baseketball, and Caroline In The City. Ironically, Jerry Orbach later worked for Walt Disney himself, when he was cast as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast. In addition, director Emile Ardolino later went on to direct Sister Act. Also, music supervisor Michael Lloyd simultaneously worked as music producer for the Kidsongs franchise, while producer Linda Gottlieb served as executive producer of One Life to Live from 1991 to 1994.
Throw It In : During the "Hungry Eyes" montage, when Baby and Johnny are practising Baby turning and looking in Johnny's eyes and they bump noses, that was real. They kept it. Jennifer Grey also had a habit of giggling when Johnny ran his hand down her side, much to everyone's annoyance. And the three-way dance scene came from rehearsals with the show's choreographer.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Billy Zane originally auditioned for the roles of Baby and Johnny, but they couldn't dance very well, and director Emile Ardolino only wanted experienced dancers in the film, to avoid the problems of using dance doubles, which occurred in Flashdance.
Writer and co-producer Eleanor Bergstein originally wanted her close friend, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and Grey's father, Joel Grey, to play elderly resort guests and kleptomaniacs Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher, the actual culprits who stole Moe Pressman's wallet, but Westheimer dropped out when she discovered that the character was a thief and Joel Grey did not appear. Instead, the roles were played by Paula Trueman and Alvin Myerovitch.
Originally, Ms. Bergstein pitched the film to Metro Goldwyn Mayer, and MGM executive Eileen Miselle actually approved it. Unfortunately, however, management changes at MGM placed the film into turnaround, until Vestron Pictures stepped in.
Later, when Vestron Pictures was looking for a corporate sponsor to help promote the film, Proctor & Gamble, manufacturers of Clearsil skin care and acne ointment, almost signed on feeling that it could be a vehicle to reach a teen target audience. The company backed out, however, due to their dislike of the Penny abortion subplot.
