Susan Sarandon Details ‘Very Tough’ ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Shoot, Including Multiple Fires and Pnemonia
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is now a beloved cult classic film, with millions around the world rewatching and singing along with the soundtrack every year. However, star Susan Sarandon recently revealed that making the movie was not as fun as it looked.
Why Susan Sarandon didn’t want to play Janet in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
In a video breaking down some of her biggest roles for Vanity Fair, Sarandon shared, “My agents definitely felt I was insane to want to do The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I had another film, which I left to do The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Sarandon credits co-star Tim Curry for being the reason why she joined the cast. After seeing Curry perform his role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the original stage show, The Rocky Horror Show, the actor was impressed by Curry’s talent.
“And when they came back in to cast the movie, I went by just to say hi,” Sarandon explained. “And [Curry] said, ‘Oh my God, would you read for Janet?'”
While most actors would jump at the chance to audition for the lead in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sarandon balked — and for a very good reason!
“I said, ‘Oh my God, I can’t sing and I’m really phobic about it,'” the actor laughed. However, the casting directors convinced her to give it a try, and Sarandon got the part.
“I thought, ‘You know what? When I get there, they’ll give me alcohol or drugs or something and that’ll help me get through,'” Sarandon laughed. “Of course, they didn’t.”
Even though Sarandon wasn’t the strongest singer, she explained that she made up for it with her comedic chops, and the casting directors “loved it.”
Susan Sarandon calls ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ shoot ‘very, very tough’
Sarandon remembers her co-stars fondly, but did call the making of The Rocky Horror Picture Show “a very, very tough shoot.”
“It was freezing, and then there was no heat in the studio, and we were obviously half-dressed and wet a lot of the time, so I got pneumonia,” the actor recalled. Efforts to warm the actors up with heaters backfired when a screen near the heater caught fire. That wasn’t the only thing that went up in flames during the making of the movie.
“My trailer also caught fire, [so] I didn’t have anywhere to live,” Sarandon said. “They kept moving me every few weeks. But anyway, it looked like we had fun, right?”
The success of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
The Rocky Horror Picture tells the story of two travelers, Brad and Janet (Sarandon’s character), who must shelter from a storm in a spooky old mansion. They soon discover the home’s owner, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, is a mad scientist who is building a perfect man in his laboratory.
The movie was initially a box-office bomb, but it became popular when theaters started showing it at late shows. Audiences started participating in the movie, speaking dialogue along with the actors onscreen and singing and dancing during the musical numbers.
The enthusiasm caught on, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show became a cult classic. It still plays on big screens today, 47 years after its release, making it the longest-running theatrical release in film history.
