Since it was initially announced back in April, we haven't heard much about Fox's reboot of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. That silence was broken today, though, when Fox announced that Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black, The Mindy Project) will play Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the reimagining of the midnight movie, stepping into the heels of the role immortalized by Tim Curry over 40 years ago.
Set to debut next fall on Fox, the two-hour reboot of The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be directed, executive produced, and choreographed by Kenny Ortega (Hocus Pocus, High School Musical). Laverne Cox is the first casting announcement made for the project, which is also executive produced by Lou Adler, who backed the original film. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates. We have the official press release with full details, below:
Press Release: Emmy Award-nominated actress Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”) has been cast as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, which is set to air Fall 2016 on FOX. The two-hour event is a reimagining of the cult classic, which is celebrating 40 years of theatrical distribution – longer than any other film in history. One of the most popular films of all time, it still plays in movie theaters around the world.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW follows sweethearts Janet Weiss and Brad Majors, who stumble upon Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s bizarre abode. Frank-N-Furter, a sexually ambiguous flirtatious alien mad-scientist, is holding an annual, Transylvanian science convention to showcase the birth of “Rocky Horror” – a fit, attractive man created solely to fulfill Frank's desires.
Laverne Cox is an Emmy Award-nominated actress who is best known for portraying the groundbreaking role of transgender inmate “Sophia Burset” on the hit series “Orange is The New Black.” She is the first trans woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show. Cox recently added another drama to her resume as the lead of the CBS pilot “Doubt.” Additional TV credits include “The Mindy Project,” “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce” and “Faking It.” She also appeared opposite Lily Tomlin in the feature comedy “Grandma,” from acclaimed writer and director Paul Weitz. Her groundbreaking documentary, “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” won a Daytime Emmy Award and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. Her next trans-themed documentary, “Free CeCe,” is scheduled for release in 2016.
Lou Adler (Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee) executive-produced “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for Twentieth Century Fox, which premiered on September 26, 1975, and is the longest-running movie in motion picture history. Adler met Gail Berman (TV, film and Broadway producer) in 2004. Berman shared his passion and vision for the reimagined version of the 40-year-old cult-classic and, in 2014, they partnered to begin development.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW is from Fox 21 Television Studios and The Jackal Group. Adler and Berman will serve as executive producers. Emmy Award winner Kenny Ortega (“High School Musical” franchise, “This Is It,” “Descendants,” “Hocus Pocus,” “Newsies”) will direct, choreograph and executive-produce.
Laverne Cox on The Mindy Project:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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