This summer marks the 40th anniversary of when Jim Sharman's The Rocky Horror Picture Show first hit theaters. To honor 40 years of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, perhaps you're looking to attend a midnight screening of the film, or maybe you plan on hosting your own Rocky Horror Show party. As it turns out, the folks at Fox are celebrating the occasion with a two-hour TV special remake of the seminal horror comedy musical.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox is developing The Rocky Horror Picture Show Event (title not finalized), a two-hour TV special remake of 1975's The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which in turn is based on The Rocky Horror Show stage musical by Richard O'Brien. Kenneth Ortega (1993's beloved Hocus Pocus, High School Musical) is set to direct, executive produce, and choreograph the project. It looks like O'Brien's original script from his 1973 play could be used for the TV special, perhaps making it more of a reimagined replay than a remake, though small changes and tiny tweaks could still be implemented.
The exact air date of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Event is not yet known, but Fox is looking to premiere it somewhere in the ballpark of the mid-August anniversary. This will not be a live event like NBC's recent musical specials, but rather a filmed-ahead-of-time production.
No casting announcements have been made at this time. Gail Berman and Lou Adler—the producers of the original film that became a beloved midnight movie favorite—will also produce the TV remake. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more updates on The Rocky Horror Picture Show Event. For those unfamiliar with the original cult classic, here's the synopsis and trailer:
"When bland engaged couple Brad and Janet seek shelter after their car breaks down in a storm, they find themselves made welcome in the very weird home of mad scientist Dr Frank N. Furter, an alien transvestite who is building a monster called Rocky."
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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