The Rocky Horror Picture Show | 22 Facts you may not know
Rocky Horror turns 41 this year and to celebrate, FOX is releasing a reinvented version, using the same script but creating its own unique visual style. The date for release is the 20th of October, just in time for Halloween.
We thought it was only fitting to do our very own RHPS inspired post, so, here’s 22 facts about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which you may not know!
1) When Frank pulls back the tablecloth to reveal the corpse of Eddie, the cast were not informed (only Tim), so their reactions of horror were real!
2) Richard O’ Brien (Riff Raff) wrote it!
3) At the start of the movie, we see Brad and Janet posing for a photo at a church. In the background we see a Vicar and a Gothic American couple – this was actually Tim Curry (Frank), O’ Brien and Patricia Quinn (Magenta).
4) The red triangle seen on Frank’s doctor cape was actually used by the Nazis to point out a gay man, though this version of the triangle is flipped pointing upwards, a symbol for gay pride.
5) Tim Curry, Nell Campbell (Columbia) and Patricia Quinn played their characters in the original stage musical.
6) Susan Sarandon caught pneumonia after filming the pool scene – the set had no toilets or heating – though she refused to stop filming… bless her.
7) Props are often used in the live stage version/screening of the film.
Some of the things on the list are:
Rice to throw at the wedding
Newspapers to cover heads when Janet covers her own in the rain
Rubber Gloves to snap in synch with Frank's own snap.
Toast (preferably unbuttered) to throw when Frank exclaims 'a toast'.
8) It’s the longest running theatrics film release of all time, starting in 1975 and still running!
9) Rocky was made by Frank, therefore had no need for an umbilical cord, so they made the model who played Rocky wear a plug in his belly button.
10) Meatloaf played Dr. Scott AND Eddie in the original musical. He claimed that the musical was better than the film due to him playing both roles!
11) Frank has a tattoo of some numbers on his right leg, 4711, which was actually a popular German cologne, and in certain shots you can clearly see it.
12) Mick Jagger expressed an interest in playing Frank. Luckily, they chose to stick to the original.
13) Mick Rock made a photography book/album around Rocky Horror, the book is fantastic and really gives the inside look at the behind the scenes moments, have a look HERE!
14) Frank N’ Furter was originally German and blonde. Tim made a few changes to the character before he perfected the role, starting off German and blonde, then going American and finally English with German influences, Tim felt that Frank would talk like the Queen – which he certainly did.
15) Tim Curry was thrown out of a screening for being an imposter. He arrived without costume and due to his lack of fishnets and black curls was thrown out. When his identity was proved he still refused to go back in.
16) Tim cursed the role for typecasting him. Though he expressed how glad he was that he played Frank, he did feel that it almost doomed his future career as no one could seem to look past the stilettos. We disagree – as fantastic and iconic as his portrayal of Frank was, he has played other roles in films such as IT, the Devil in Legend, Annie, Home Alone 2, various voice roles such as Nigel Thornberry and releasing 4 albums, famously singing and writing Sloe Gin – covered by Joe Bonamassa.
17) The entire film was shot in 2 months.
18) The lips at the start of the film were Quinn’s due to her not being allowed to sing the opening song, so a compromise was made.
19) There was a sequel! Shock Treatment loosely followed Rocky Horror, was also written by O’ Brien and featured most of the cast apart from Tim Curry, which is possibly why it flopped publically (though still has a cult following). Rik Mayall also starred.
A true sequel was written but never performed, the script references the planet Transsexual (mentioned in the film,) and goes by the story of aliens being on earth and walking amongst people, tightly clad with fishnet and leather.
20) Steve Martin auditioned for the part of Brad, but was beaten to the punch by Barry Bostwick for his time in Grease the musical.
21) It was Tim Curry’s first role in film and second role ever, the first being in Hair.
22) There was some injuries on set but, for our entertainment, they were also included in the film, two big ones to be exact. Bostwick accidentally slaps Susan’s hand as he hits the table in outrage in the dining room scene and Susan steps on his foot just after they emerge from the pool, we found the exact moment here (skip to 1:40 to see the moment we’re talking about. Ouch!)
Why is Rocky Horror such a cult film? Well, it proved to the watcher you should never conform to society, you can be whoever you want to be, shouldn’t be ashamed and most importantly: “Don’t dream it, be it”!
It brings people together, breaks boundaries and is full of fantastic music! What more do we need in a film?
Richard O’ Brien, the writer and star, was and still is, a strong believer of not pushing a gender on anyone, especially not children and generally not caring about what people think or say. If you want to wear a corset, by god wear one… even if you happen to have chest hair.
Do you agree with the choice of casting and themes for the new version of RHPS? Laverne Cox looks the part, yes! But is she too much of a woman for the part? The point of Rocky Horror is the shock factor. Frank, though feminine, had some masculine features about him too, he made us feel at home as he wasn’t perfect, his makeup wasn’t ‘on point’ his hair wasn’t perfect, he had some cheesy tattoos and some tacky choices of jewellery. However, seeing him smiling ear to ear, proud and happy of who he was, made us love him even more.
The other actors include Victoria Justice as Janet Weiss, Ryan McCartan as Brad Majors, Annaleigh Ashford as Columbia and Adam Lambert as Eddie – who we’re very happy with, someone who’s not afraid to do the taboo.
Kenny Ortega is choice of director. He previously worked on High School Musical 1, 2 and 3, as well as with Michael Jackson, who was wacky and brilliant, so at least he’s used to the wonderfully weird.
But, he worked on 80s’ and 90s’ classics such as St. Elmo’s fire, Pretty in Pink and the Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus – that’s more like it. We hope he doesn’t cheese it up and cheapen it. RH needs the naughty side we love so.
No judgement as we haven’t yet seen it… in a way, it’s a good thing that they’re changing it up. It’s 2016 and if they had tried to copy the original it would have been pointless. You can’t perfect something that’s already timelessly perfect. They have decided to make it more vibrant, sticking to the same script with different imagery.
Tim Curry also features as the narrator, so at least we still have the heart and soul of the original.
What do you think? We suppose we’ll have to see!
