Into The Time Warp The Rocky Horror Picture Show As An Enduring Pop E

Into The ?Time Warp?: The Rocky Horror Picture Show As An Enduring Pop Cult Classic For years, with its phenomenal success as a midnight movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has made ?don't dream it, be it? the motto for its ever-growing cult audience. The film continues to be regarded by critics and audiences as the only no-holds-barred, ultimate theatre experience, which has seemingly drawn a repeat audience of cult film followers year after year. More than just a movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) has become a community, a loud, profane, exuberant collection of cult film freaks freaks: the beautiful, the creative, the lovers and the lost. Despite its first success as a play and then initial failure when produced as a mainstream film, RHPS has become a successful paradigmatic cult classic due to its strange and unusual theatrical exhibition and the film's blend of thematic, visual and verbal elements, which parody accepted societal conventions. According to the RHPS Anniversary Commentary, a young actor by the name of Richard O'Brien originally wrote RHPS's musical predecessor, The Rocky Horror Show. After performing small roles in the films Carry On Cowboy and Casino Royale, O'Brien landed roles in the musicals Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, and made one disastrous yet fateful performance in each. Although he did not succeed in either of the shows, O'Brien had the opportunity to present his rock musical entitled ?They Came From Denton High? to Jesus Christ Superstar's director Jim Sharman. Through Sharman, a solo acoustic tape of O'Brien singing the future RHPS opener ?Science Fiction, Double Feature,? came across the desk of independent theater producer Michael White. White became fascinated with the tape and story concept, and agreed to sponsor the production as a small experimental stage production at London's Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. O'Brien spent countless hours in movie houses watching the tasteless thrillers which would later inspire him to write The Rocky Horror Show. The play was based on a combination of ?grade B Horror movies, Steve Reeves muscle flicks and fifties rock 'n' roll. It starred O'Brien as a maniacal handyman named Riff-Raff, and another Hair alumnus, Tim Curry, in the leading role as Dr. Frank N. Furter, the kinky scientist who creates ?Rocky Horror', his personal Adonis? (The Rocky Horror Picture Show Anniversary Commentary). The play ran for many months and was warmly received by both critics and audiences. However, the RHPS Anniversary Commentary adds, when American producer and entrepreneur Lou Adler was brought to a performance, the show ?took a dramatic leap as a production.? Adler was immediately impressed with The Rocky Horror Show. Within two days, Adler had arranged with Michael White to obtain the rights to the show. On March 24th, 1974 (only nine months after opening in London), The Rocky Horror Show made its American debut at Adler's Roxy Theater on the infamous Sunset Strip in Hollywood. The show played to sold-out audiences for the duration of its nine-month run, with Tim Curry reprising his astounding leading performance. As a result of the show's theatrical success at the Roxy Theater, 20th Century Fox posed a deal to create a film based on the play, thus renaming it The Rocky Horror Picture Show (The Rocky Horror Picture Show Anniversary Commentary). The entire film was shot over the course of eight weeks in England and cost a little less than one million dollars to make. However, with the exception of a little business in Los Angeles, the reaction to the release of RHPS in 1975 was extremely unresponsive. According to the RHPS Anniversary Commentary, the film's flop was attributed to being poorly distributed and unenthusiastically promoted, and it received very few reviews outside of film publications. It was not until a few years later that RHPS hit the midnight circuit scene and once again became popular, but this time as an enduring cult classic. ?Shown every Friday and Saturday night in some 200 theaters ever since, it has been seen by more people each year? (Siegel 305). The film has become a weekly staple for avid Rocky Horror devotees and has joined the ranks as a spirited cult celebration and long-term cinematic attachment, an achievement that it never set out to accomplish. According to critics,