newsmakers

newsmakers

‘Dirty Dancing’ remake announced

LOS ANGELES

“Dirty Dancing” is coming back to the big screen.

Lionsgate says it is remaking the 1987 film that starred Jennifer Grey as a naive dance student and Patrick Swayze as her teacher and lover.

The studio said Monday that Kenny Ortega, who choreographed the original film, will direct the remake.

Ortega says he is eager to discover and cast “the next breakout triple-threats” to define dancing for a generation, the way Swayze did in the original “Dirty Dancing.”

Singer Gavin DeGraw released from hospital

NEW YORK

Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw has been released from a New York City hospital after an attack that left him with a broken nose, a concussion and other injuries. DeGraw tweeted Tuesday afternoon that he didn’t remember much of Sunday’s beating. Police say DeGraw was attacked by a group of “unknown male attackers”” in the East Village. No arrests have been made yet.

He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in an ambulance; an investigation is ongoing.

DeGraw has been forced to cancel a planned concert Tuesday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He had a slew of other tour dates and appearances, but there’s no information about how those would be affected.

DeGraw has a new album, “Sweeter,” due out in September. He’s probably best known for his hit song, “Chariot.”

Cowsills to play reunion concert

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Surviving members of the 1960s pop group The Cowsills are reuniting for a performance in Providence, R.I., after the screening of a new documentary chronicling the band’s rise and fall.

The Cowsill family got their musical start in Newport, R.I. Three members of the family are scheduled to sing at Veterans Memorial Auditorium today after the premiere of the film “Family Band: The Cowsills Story.” It is being shown as part of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

The fresh-faced clan served as the inspiration for the TV show “The Partridge Family.” The group’s hits included “Rain, The Park and Other Things,” which was featured in the movie “Dumb and Dumber,” as well as “Hair.”

VH1 film explores hip-hop, cocaine link

NEW YORK

VH1 is exploring the connection between hip-hop and cocaine.

The network will air “Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation” next month. It explores the development of crack cocaine in the urban community and features rappers Snoop Dogg, Cyprus Hill’s B-Real and Wu-Tang Clan members RZA and Raekwon.

The two-hour special will air Sept. 18 at 10 p.m. Eastern. It was executive- produced by rapper-actor Ice-T. He also narrates the documentary.

VH1 made the announcement Tuesday.

“Planet Rock” is the latest documentary by VH1 Rock Doc, which recently earned an Emmy nomination for the special “Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America.”

Role is a good fit for Jesse Ventura

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.

Jesse Ventura thinks his time as Minnesota’s governor makes an acting role as Indiana’s governor not much of a stretch.

The former pro wrestler and occasional actor spent Monday in Terre Haute, Ind., filming scenes with veteran actor Tom Sizemore for the movie “The Drunk.”

The film written by Terre Haute natives William Tanoos and Paul Fleschner stars Tanoos as the fictional grandson of 20th-century labor leader Eugene Debs who is running for governor against Sizemore’s corrupt- prosecutor character.

Ventura said he found the role interesting and that it was written with him in mind.

Vindicator wire services