Weird headline. It makes it seem as if the story of Rocky Horror being a failure is some sort of secret. Everyone involved has been acknowledging that it was a flop for years. It’s one of the most...
Weird headline. It makes it seem as if the story of Rocky Horror being a failure is some sort of secret. Everyone involved has been acknowledging that it was a flop for years. It’s one of the most famous cinematic redemption stories. Basically everyone involved has been open about how it was a failure that (relatively quickly) became a huge success. I mean, they were doing callout performances mere months after it was released. It found its audience relatively quickly.
Not necessarily. It could have just been a movie that didn’t get a wide release when it came out but was a success on home video. Not a flop, just that maybe it was released by a smaller company...
Not necessarily. It could have just been a movie that didn’t get a wide release when it came out but was a success on home video. Not a flop, just that maybe it was released by a smaller company that couldn’t afford a wide release. Up until the late 1980s, everything was shot on film so making new copies for theaters was an extremely expensive process. Striking a single print can cost thousands of dollars. So it wasn’t discovered until years later when home video made it much cheaper to make copies.
I think a cult classic is just a film that’s popular enough to have a fan base but not necessarily be known to a wider audience. The meaning of “wider” has definitely…widened…over the years with new technology like the internet.
One of the greatest films ever made, and in all seriousness, I think did more for the gay/trans community and acceptance than any other social moment since.
One of the greatest films ever made, and in all seriousness, I think did more for the gay/trans community and acceptance than any other social moment since.
I’m sure that it’s cracked quite a few eggs over the years. For people living now, it’s hard to understand just how impactful and emotionally uplifting to see people that look like you (or what...
I’m sure that it’s cracked quite a few eggs over the years.
For people living now, it’s hard to understand just how impactful and emotionally uplifting to see people that look like you (or what you want to look like) on the big screen in 1975. Don’t forget that this was released by a major studio (Fox). But it also undoubtedly exposed plenty of straight people to queer culture for the first time. Culture was very different back then and queer people didn’t have the same spaces they have now.
I love Tim Curry, and I love Rocky Horror, but this article feels pretty low-quality to me- given the length, failure to add anything new to the conversation, and what appear to be mistakes in...
I love Tim Curry, and I love Rocky Horror, but this article feels pretty low-quality to me- given the length, failure to add anything new to the conversation, and what appear to be mistakes in quotes; "stay the stuff they've always wanted to say"?
Maybe I'm used to an interview consisting of a dialogue of reasonable length, but this is just a couple of repeating quotes with an embedded prompt to follow the people newsletter.
Addendum: I have just realised that this article is really just quoting excerpts from a CBS interview by Tracy Smith- it's probably worth just watching the original interview.
Found it: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/this-week-on-sunday-morning-sept-7-2025/ The bit about Rocky Horror Picture Show starts at 42:43, the Tim Curry interview starts at 44:44.
Weird headline. It makes it seem as if the story of Rocky Horror being a failure is some sort of secret. Everyone involved has been acknowledging that it was a flop for years. It’s one of the most famous cinematic redemption stories. Basically everyone involved has been open about how it was a failure that (relatively quickly) became a huge success. I mean, they were doing callout performances mere months after it was released. It found its audience relatively quickly.
Aren't most cult classics, or films with a large cult following also commercial flops?
That what makes them a cult classic instead of just a classic.
Not necessarily. It could have just been a movie that didn’t get a wide release when it came out but was a success on home video. Not a flop, just that maybe it was released by a smaller company that couldn’t afford a wide release. Up until the late 1980s, everything was shot on film so making new copies for theaters was an extremely expensive process. Striking a single print can cost thousands of dollars. So it wasn’t discovered until years later when home video made it much cheaper to make copies.
I think a cult classic is just a film that’s popular enough to have a fan base but not necessarily be known to a wider audience. The meaning of “wider” has definitely…widened…over the years with new technology like the internet.
One of the greatest films ever made, and in all seriousness, I think did more for the gay/trans community and acceptance than any other social moment since.
I’m sure that it’s cracked quite a few eggs over the years.
For people living now, it’s hard to understand just how impactful and emotionally uplifting to see people that look like you (or what you want to look like) on the big screen in 1975. Don’t forget that this was released by a major studio (Fox). But it also undoubtedly exposed plenty of straight people to queer culture for the first time. Culture was very different back then and queer people didn’t have the same spaces they have now.
I love Tim Curry, and I love Rocky Horror, but this article feels pretty low-quality to me- given the length, failure to add anything new to the conversation, and what appear to be mistakes in quotes; "stay the stuff they've always wanted to say"?
Maybe I'm used to an interview consisting of a dialogue of reasonable length, but this is just a couple of repeating quotes with an embedded prompt to follow the people newsletter.
Addendum: I have just realised that this article is really just quoting excerpts from a CBS interview by Tracy Smith- it's probably worth just watching the original interview.
Found it: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/this-week-on-sunday-morning-sept-7-2025/
The bit about Rocky Horror Picture Show starts at 42:43, the Tim Curry interview starts at 44:44.