Chattanooga Pulse

Written by Kelly Lockhart
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 20:21

Since 1975, an adolescent rite of passage has been the first trip to a midnight showing of camp classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Armed with squirt guns, confetti, and various items of clothing more generally suited for the privacy of the bedroom, throngs of teenagers and young adults have made group viewings of the science-fiction musical a must-see event.

Which is why the news from MTV Studios of a planned remake of the film has been met with a mixture of disbelief and outrage. Writer and co-star of the original film Richard O’Brien has publicly expressed his obvious displeasure with the news, telling the BBC that he was not involved with the project in any way.

“I have no view on whether it should be remade, but it doesn’t have my blessing,” he sniffed.

What studio executives were thinking is a mystery to most, since in all honesty the original film was a cinematic train wreck. Shot on a shoestring budget of just over $1.2 million dollars, it starred a cast of then-unknowns who spent most of the film dancing around in their underwear in service of a near incomprehensible plot filled with more holes than a miniature golf course.

But the operating force in Hollywood is money. Considering that the original film has grossed more than $140 million in the past 33 years, one could surmise from looking at the balance sheet that this is a cinematic property worth its weight in gold. One would be wrong.