Who will star in 'Dirty Dancing' remake?

Let the guessing games begin.

The news of a "Dirty Dancing" remake, to be directed by Kenny Ortega ("Michael Jackson's This is It"), was followed almost immediately by speculation about who would fill the shoes of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, the stars of the iconic 1987 original.

No casting announcements have yet been made, though several names are already being tossed around by gossip websites. They range from Zac Efron, whom Ortega directed in three "High School Musical" films, to "Twilight" hunk Taylor Lautner, a famously muscular actor with martial-arts training. Other nominees include Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl") and the rock singer Joe Jonas.

Less attention seems focused on Grey's role, though some obvious names might include Vanessa Hudgens, Aimee Teegarden (Disney's "Prom") and Alyson Stoner (the "Step Up" films).

Ortega, 61, choreographed the original "Dirty Dancing," which starred Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman, a high-school graduate visiting a Catskills resort, and Swayze as Johnny Castle, a dance instructor. The low-budget film became not only a surprise hit but a cultural landmark, thanks to Swayze's sexuality and an overheated script filled with now-classic lines such as "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!" The soaring theme song, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," won an Oscar and Golden Globe.

The film's enduring appeal was proved just last month by "Crazy, Stupid, Love," a romantic comedy with Ryan Gosling as a hunky pickup artist and Emma Stone as his latest mark. His surefire tactic: re-enacting the climactic "Dirty Dancing" scene in which Swayze hoisted Grey into the air. Gosling also tried it with Al Roker on NBC's "Today."