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Without a Word, the film's working title, describes the publicity strategy of the ballet movie since it began filming in town March 12 under the direction of Niemi, who also wrote the screenplay. The sets, which included the Walker Theatre, the Mondragon coffee shop and the Deer Lodge Centre, were closed to the media for the duration of seven-week shoot.
Starring Swayze, Niemi and George De La Pena, the film is about a trio of ballet dancers who come out of retirement to collaborate on the last masterwork of a star choreographer. The production was a smooth one, says Winnipeg production manager Ellen Rutter.
"It's a very different picture than we've done here before," she said. "It has a lot of dance and a lot of dance talent from all over the world. And that in itself is its own logistical challenge."
Winnipeg weather, for example, was tough on some of the dancers hired for secondary roles in the film, according to producer Rhonda Baker of Minds Eye Pictures.
"It's been different for international dancers coming in to a climate that's not their 80* weather," Baker says. "But it has had very little negative impact on us. The weather really added to the look of the picture, if anything."
Baker says Swayze and Niemi enjoyed the city, weather and all.
"They've been here since January and they've been through a dozen winter storms here and they've adapted very well," she says. "They've also learned some good driving techniques."
Another challenge was making Winnipeg look like New York City. Rutter says it's possible they may add some exterior scenes shot on location in New York City.
"To matter how bad we think our rush hour is, it's nothing in comparison to New York. We've been trying to do it with three yellow cabs ... but you can only drive around the block so many times."