- Antonio Banderas initially turned down the film because he found it was all about ballroom dancing. Banderas finally agreed to the contract after hearing the producers explain the story, watching a documentary about it, and meeting dancer Pierre Durain.
- The prototype of the story, Pierre Durain himself, made a cameo appearance as a judge of the dance competition in the film.
- The film was inspired by a report by producer Diane Nabatov about Pierre Durain on the CBS television show "Early Show."
- The film changes the location of the story from the public elementary school in Pierre Durain's real experience to a public high school, and combines the two dance forms.
- Director Liz Friedlander spent a lot of time wandering various campuses in New York, observing how students dressed and interacted with each other, and she hoped to present a more realistic scene on the big screen.
- All the actors in the film went through a month of training and rehearsal to learn dances including tango, merengue, salsa, foxtrot, waltz and hip-hop .
Take the Lead behind the scenes gags
2022-03-01 08:01
Extended Reading
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Pierre Dulaine: [watching Rock shooting hoops] Nice job. We could've used that in class today.
[Rock grabs his backpack and starts to leave]
Pierre Dulaine: Rock, just a second. The night you destroyed Miss Augustine's car, why did you do it?
Rock: Because it felt good.
Pierre Dulaine: That's all?
Rock: Why you in my business, man?
Pierre Dulaine: It's hard to lose someone you love. It hurts. It's easy to think that something on the street can fill the bad feeling inside, but you know what? It won't.
Rock: You need to stop acting like you know my life.
Pierre Dulaine: Stop assuming I was talking about your life.
Rock: [pause] What are you doing here?
Pierre Dulaine: Not everybody has ulterior motives.
Rock: In my world they do. And if our worlds ain't that far apart, you would understand that. Youcome around here with your fancy suits on, your slick little dance moves, you think you're better than us, don't you?
Pierre Dulaine: No no, you don't know who I am...
Rock: Oh I don't know anything, huh? You can know about me but I can't know anything about you?
[pause]
Rock: I got work.
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Rock: Hey man, this is just for the night, you know? Don't think I'm gonna come to your class or anything. We ain't kickin it, we ain't friends.
Pierre Dulaine: Got it.
Rock: And maybe I snore a little, I don't know...
Pierre Dulaine: That's okay, because I know *I* snore.
Rock: This is a nice place you got here. I'm gonna have me a spot like this someday. Someplace clean.
Pierre Dulaine: You can get whatever you want, Rock.
Rock: No, only some people get the shit they want.
Pierre Dulaine: That's true. Those are the people who show up to get it.
Rock: [pause] Anybody ever tell you you talk too much?
Pierre Dulaine: Yeah, they do.
[they share a mutual smile]
Pierre Dulaine: Good night.