Tim Curry Reveals ‘Fond Memories’ of ‘Rocky Horror’ Set: ‘We Were Frozen’
In 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was unleashed on an unsuspecting world with all its campy chaos, fishnet-clad flamboyance, and tongue-in-cheek celebration of sci-fi, horror, and sexual liberation. Though the world didn’t immediately recognize its genius when it was first released, the charisma of its star Tim Curry as the sexually and sensually charged Dr. Frank-N-Furter, helped cement the wacky sci-fi musical as a fixture of the midnight movie scene.
During the 50th anniversary screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Mr. Curry made a rare public appearance following his 2012 stroke to share anecdotes about the making of the film, of which there are few stories.
Photo: Courtesy of Chelsea Stardust
Apparently, there is a good reason why there are so few stories about the making of the infamous cult favorite: The shooting time was extraordinarily short, with only five weeks to shoot the film. “The filmmaker has said, ‘The reason we don’t have great anecdotes from the shoot is that we didn’t have time for anecdotes,'” said moderator KJ Reith-Miller, director of film programs for the Academy. “I’m curious if you do have any standout memories behind the scenes, memories from certain days on the shoot that you remember fondly?'”
“I remember everybody shivering after the pool scene. We were frozen and the water was cold, and [costume designer] Susan [Blane] actually got pneumonia and wore it as a badge of honor, and would tell anybody who would stand still,” joked Curry.
“So everyone being cold was a fond memory?” asked Reith-Miller incredulously.
“Yeah,” joked Curry.
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Curry explained that, in addition to the challenges of a short shoot, the production was plagued by what felt like a curse as sets he had worked on previously kept catching fire.
“Fire followed me from movie to movie,” said Curry. “[But ]I don’t think there was one on that set.”
“I made a film called Oscar that was filmed on the back lot of Warner Brothers at the New York Street, and that burnt the ground,” the actor told an amusing crowd.
“When we were shooting Legend, we shot in the James Bond Studio, which was very grand, and the set was this enchanted woodland, and there was a winter scene where many hundreds of pounds of styrofoam pellets provided snow,” continued Curry.
“Tom Cruise actually asked to sleep on the set because you wanted to get the feel of his character method acting. Yes, I was very snooty about that. I was a bit of a snoot, anyway. But that burnt to the ground,” Curry told an uproarious crowd.
“There was a crane on the set, and the crane operator saw the conflagration and had to be held back from running onto the set to try and rescue it.”
“But the story made the news in England, and my mother called me and said, ‘Darling, you weren’t smoking. Were you?,'” recalled Curry. “God knows I would have been. I was not guilty.”
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