We got to talk to the writer of “Dirty Dancing” — one of our favorite movies EVER — and she even told us her favorite scene

There are some films that everyone just has to see in life, and one of those special gems is Dirty Dancing. The late Patrick Swayze and his costar Jennifer Grey are mesmerizing as Johnny Castle and Baby Houseman (not to mention the unforgettable dance numbers). And  Dirty Dancing returned to theaters recently to celebrate its 30th anniversary, and we couldn’t be happier that a whole new generation got to experience it on the big screen.

For our own little celebration, we spoke with the movie’s writer, Eleanor Bergstein, and got some pretty fascinating insights into one of our favorite ’80s classics.

She was incredibly charismatic and humorous on the phone, mentioning in the first few minutes that the alternate title of the film was, I was a Teenage Mambo Queen, but they had to change it “because people thought it was a porn film.” Seriously LOL.

Although the film is not based on her life (though widely reported as such), Bernstein explained how she knew the dancing world very well. “I grew up during the dirty dancing sets in junior high in Brooklyn, and went with my parents to the Catskills” (as in the Catskill Mountains in New York, where the movie takes place).

via giphyCurious to know if there is a scene that Bergstein connects with the most, we posed this question — and she quickly mentioned one of our favorites:

The scene with Baby when Johnny says, ‘You are not scared of anything,’ and she says, ‘Me? I’m scared of everything! […] And most of all I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.’

"I think that everyone has that moment where they understand that it's the most intense moment of their life, from which everything else will come. You can spend your life regretting that you didn’t walk through the door, or glad that you did," Bergstein said.

via giphySince Dirty Dancing, Bergstein has continued working as a writer of screenplays and novels. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I can’t imagine my life if I didn’t make it into something where I told stories to people that I think are useful for them to hear. That’s the way life has the most meaning for me,” she explained.

It’s a great reminder to chase what you love. Thanks for sharing yourself with us, Eleanor!

Now if you’re itching to see Dirty Dancing, the 30th Anniversary Edition Collector’s Box Set, Blu-ray, and DVD are available now. Trust us, it’s worth it. And if you’re seeing it for the first time…you’re in for a treat.