Take The Lead upcoming new movie releases starring Antonio Banderas
About Take The Lead Modern Hip Hop Dance / Ballroom Dancing Fusion Movie: Official Movie Site
About Take the Lead Hip Hop Dancing Movie
While watching CBS' "The Morning Show," producer
Diane Nabatoff
caught a snippet of a story about a dance teacher in the public schools of New York;
Pierre Dulaine
. Nabatoff became fascinated with the idea of a man teaching young inner city kids to ballroom dance. She was determined to find him and discover his story. After two months, she finally located him in
New York
and arranged a meeting. "I knew immediately that I had to tell this story, no matter how long it took to get it on screen," recalls Nabatoff.
Nabatoff and former partner
Michelle Grace
caught the interest of
Chris Godsick
, then a Senior Vice President at
New Line Cinema
. He jumped on the idea right away. "I've always been a big fan of mentor movies and dance movies. I thought that this was a really interesting combination of the two. Instead of being a mentor-sports movie, it was a mentor dance movie, which was a unique take on the genre."
With New Line on board, development of the preliminary idea began in earnest. While the story is clearly inspired by Dulaine's work, the filmmakers decided to change some details to make the story more accessible. As a result, the school in "
Take the Lead
" was changed from an elementary school to a high school. "We made the kids older so they could be more relatable and open the story, and we also decided to fuse the two forms of dance to broaden its appeal," says Nabatoff.
Godsick continues, "We wanted to deal with more mature issues - issues that are magnified in high school." The give and take involved in the relationship between Pierre and his students is also magnified. As he teaches them the classic dances, they infuse these unfamiliar forms with their own
hip-hop moves
- creating a fusion - a balance of both worlds. Screenwriter
Dianne Houston
was brought in to draft the script. "She has an incredible voice and was at one time a dancer which gives her an understanding, and an amazing take on the story," adds Nabatoff.
With a draft of the script complete, it was time to find a director.
Liz Friedlander
was an easy choice. "The minute Liz walked in, it was just so clear to me," recalls Nabatoff. "She totally understood the story and had tremendous respect for it. Her background in music videos and dance also gave her an understanding of the world of the kids and the audience we wanted to reach." While Friedlander was initially attracted by the dance and music elements of the story, "it was that combined with really amazing characters that grow and change that I found most satisfying."
Friedlander started to work with Houston to shape the story. She was particularly interested in ensuring that Dulaine be a character, and not a caricature. She explains, "even though it's a 'fish out of water' story, Pierre needs to be a person who changes. He needs to be a person that you can believe walks and breathes amongst us because then he is that much more extraordinary. The real Pierre gets angry, has a great sense of humor - he's human. But unlike us, he actually takes time to stop and do something that makes a difference."
Hip hop dancing movie starring actor Antonio Banderas and Jenna Dewan
Starring Antonio Banderas as professional ballroom dancer Pierre Dulane
