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  • 5 months ago
The stars of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ — Tim Curry (Dr. Frank-N-Furter), Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors), Patricia Quinn (Magenta), and Nell Campbell (Columbia) — reunite to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the cult classic that forever changed midnight movies. Together, they look back on the wild early days of ‘Rocky Horror,’ from their unexpected casting stories to the unforgettable chaos on set. Nell recalls busking in the streets of London when she was discovered by director Jim Sharman and writer Richard O’Brien, while Tim shares how he landed the role after singing Little Richard’s ‘Tutti Frutti’ at his audition. From long filming days to the tight five-week shoot, the cast remembers the scrappy joy of making a musical with a small budget — and the lasting thrill of watching new generations discover and reinvent ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’

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Transcript
00:00When I'm ever in front of an audience, I always say,
00:03your grandmother was a s**t.
00:13Hello, Nell Campbell.
00:15I could show you my...
00:17Hi, Barry Bostwick here.
00:18My name's Brad Majors.
00:20I'm Patricia Quinn.
00:21We're all lucky!
00:22Hello, I'm Tim Curry.
00:24Hard to do, I.
00:26We're the cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
00:28Today, we're going to answer questions in honour of the 50th anniversary.
00:34Hey, hey, should we get started?
00:36Well, for God's sake, let's get started.
00:39Should we get started?
00:40Go for it.
00:41I'm ready.
00:42I'm marginally alert.
00:44You're lucky.
00:49Well, you guys got cast off the street.
00:53I mean, you were there forever.
00:54Yeah, we were hookers.
00:55You were.
00:56Yeah, you were working the block.
00:58I was working the block and tap shoes.
01:00I was a very serious actress, actually.
01:02Yes, you were.
01:03I was busking in the streets of London, and Jim saw me busking, and I used to dress in top
01:08hat and tails and tap dance and sing 1930s and 40s songs, and I was tap dancing on a tabletop.
01:16They walked into the cafe, and Jim just turned to Richard O'Brien and said, and there's your servant.
01:23Lucky to be invited up to Frank's laboratory.
01:26I saw you in a play called ACDC.
01:28Oh, yes, you're right.
01:29And you were amazing.
01:31Bless your heart.
01:32That was upstairs at the Royal Court.
01:33Same room, same building.
01:35I actually suggested that they should talk to you.
01:39Wow.
01:41Never knew that.
01:42Yeah, it's true.
01:43Good heavens.
01:45Things you find out.
01:46And the reason that I did it is because of Tim, because we saw him on stage at the Roxy.
01:53You just ate that theater up, and it was, how could I not want to be, you know, in a musical
01:59with you?
02:00It was an extraordinary experience for me, and I learned so much about how to walk in high
02:06heels.
02:06I bumped into Richard O'Brien, who I knew from the touring company of Hair.
02:15I said, what are you doing on my street?
02:17And he said, I've written a musical, and you should...
02:21Audition?
02:23Yeah.
02:23I sang Tutti Frutti from Little Richard.
02:27Yeah.
02:28Which was pretty fruity, really.
02:32Susan come...
02:33To the audition, and that's why he cast...
02:36But you and Susan were an item at the time.
02:39Oh, well, we're not going to talk about that.
02:41That is!
02:41I am Rocky!
02:42I knew her a little...
02:44You suggested her for it.
02:46I think I maybe did.
02:47Yeah.
02:52It was the birth of Rocky, which was pretty...
02:54You only had one take with doing all those colors, remember?
02:59Yes.
02:59Pouring that, because that was a big deal.
03:02And Jim Sharman said that was the only day he went overtime.
03:06He'd put a half day aside to film it.
03:09That was the only day.
03:10And, of course, you were perfection.
03:12We were all perfection.
03:14But it took ages because of all the water.
03:16And then he said he drove back to the city with the producers,
03:19and they just said to Jim, hurry up.
03:22Jumping into the pool, I had a feeling it was a little cold, wasn't it?
03:27I hated that.
03:28Yeah.
03:29It was cold.
03:30But it was worth it, Mr. Titanic.
03:33It was bloody cold, and we had to have an orgy.
03:36And as I tell folk, a wet orgy is the same as a dry orgy.
03:41You all gravitate toward the star.
03:46We have very lovely memories, except we're damn cold.
03:54Yeah.
03:55And Susan got pneumonia.
03:57I've never heard of that.
03:58Oh, yes, she tells everybody.
04:05The floor show.
04:07We had to do that dance routine, sopping wet, very cold,
04:13in five-inch heels, and next to nothing.
04:16But you look very sexy, Poodle.
04:19All of you.
04:20Oh, thank you, darling.
04:22I wasn't in that scene.
04:23Everyone who was looked sexy, but you always looked sexy.
04:28Exactly.
04:34Well, the thing is, when we were doing the show upstairs at the Royal Court,
04:38it was only partly written the show.
04:40Richard O'Brien was asked to bring songs in,
04:43and Jim Sharman said to him,
04:44I need a song that maybe you could do a dance to,
04:47and I need a song for you three.
04:50He came back the next morning with something called The Time Walk.
04:53And I thought, oh, God, do we have to learn all that?
05:00If I'm right, it was just improvised.
05:03There was no choreographer or anything.
05:06It tells you how to do it, Tim.
05:08It's just a jump to the left and a step to the right,
05:12because we couldn't afford choreographers,
05:13so he had to tell us how to do it.
05:15And I thought it was ingenious to actually write down how to do the dance.
05:23It wasn't particularly fun.
05:27The corset, I had Sue Blaine,
05:31who was the brilliant costume designer.
05:34She went to the local market,
05:36which was called the Barras.
05:39Americans call it a swap meet, I think.
05:42Oh, God, talk about taking the fun out of it.
05:45But it, yeah, but she bought this corset,
05:48a Victorian corset, for three pounds,
05:53and I wore it backwards.
05:55I told you it was innovative.
05:57Ah!
05:58I think one of the reasons that this film,
06:02well, there's many reasons I feel that this film
06:04has survived 50 years.
06:06Tim's portrayal of Dr. Frankenfurter,
06:09and when he sings, you know,
06:11On the Day I Went Away,
06:13it's very moving.
06:15And I realise
06:16I'm going home
06:22We were exhausted.
06:32We worked from dawn till dusk.
06:34We had no money to make this film.
06:38It was done in a matter of how many weeks?
06:39Five weeks.
06:40Unheard of to do a musical in that time
06:44because the budget didn't exist.
06:46Only $900,000.
06:49And dawn till dusk and nothing.
06:51So there was no time for friendships
06:53or chats or anything, unfortunately.
06:55Yeah.
06:56Well, most of us were friends
06:58because it was, you know,
06:59very much the original cast
07:01except for Susan and Barry
07:03because 20th Century Fox had insisted
07:05we, Jim, hire Americans
07:07to play Brad and Janet.
07:08And of course, we were like,
07:10Americans? Really?
07:12Really?
07:13I'm that much of a disappointment to you.
07:15I tell you what,
07:16you've been an absolutely fantastic Brad
07:20ever since.
07:20I'm glad there is a new generation.
07:28I do a lot of comic cons and things
07:30and I have magentas this size as me
07:32and Grandmama was first
07:35and Mummy was second
07:36so I kind of know the generations
07:38and it's wonderful.
07:39It's really exciting.
07:41All these children dancing
07:43in front of the telly screens
07:44to the time walk.
07:45There isn't a kid
07:46who doesn't know how to time walk,
07:47it seems to me.
07:48It's rather lovely.
07:54The most moving aspect
07:55of the success for 50 years and counting.
08:00It's helped so many people
08:02accept their sexuality
08:03and they find these communities
08:05within the shadow cast.
08:08I've met lots of people
08:09that have married,
08:10had children
08:11and that is magical
08:13because we recognise how in general
08:16conservative particularly America is
08:18and it is still hard for some people
08:21to come out about their sexuality
08:23and this film is a celebration
08:26of bisexuality,
08:29heterosexuality,
08:31homosexuality,
08:32transsexuality
08:33and cross-dressing.
08:35It's like
08:35don't dream it,
08:37be it.
08:38Don't dream it.
08:40The motto
08:45don't dream it,
08:46be it
08:47is not necessarily
08:48limited to your sexuality.
08:51I think it
08:52I think it applies
08:55to whatever you dream
08:57to be
08:59and that's a good thing.
09:01Yeah, yeah.
09:02Absolutely.
09:03If it gives people permission
09:06to behave
09:07in a sexual way
09:09that they secretly want to,
09:11that's a good thing
09:12as long as it doesn't hurt them.
09:14Our characters
09:15were all quite real
09:17and I think
09:18that's one of the reasons
09:19people responded to them
09:20so well originally
09:22and with the film.
09:24Thank you so much for watching.
09:26Thank you, thank you, thank you.
09:29This is the way it is, is it?
09:31Okay.
09:32Yes.
09:34Who are you?
09:35I have no idea.
09:36No, really?
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