Fox has just released the very first image from their television redux of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It features a fierce Laverne Cox as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The Dr’s look has been updated but it still looks somewhat reminiscent of Tim Curry’s getup in the original.
Cox will feature alongside Christina Milian (Magenta), Tim Curry (Narrator), Victoria Justice (Janet, Eye Candy), Ryan McCartan (Brad, Heathers: the Musical), Adam Lambert (Eddie, Glee), Reeve Carney (Riff Raff, Penny Dreadful), Annaleigh Ashford (Columbia, Masters of Sex) and Staz Nair (Game of Thrones).
Kenny Ortega (of the High School Musical movies) is directing the ‘special event’ for the network. The project is currently titled The Rocky Horror Picture Show Event and is being described as a reimagining of the 1973 original film which has set the record for the longest ever theatrical engagement (currently over 40 years). The event will be airing on FOX this fall. In the meantime, if you haven’t had the chance to attend out a shadow cast of this off-the-wall production, do yourself a favor and check one out.
The television event was originally planned at Fox back in 2002 with a targeted 2003 premiere as a celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary but it never came to fruition. A reboot was also in development with MTV in 2008 but that fizzled as well. The idea behind the reimagining will be to stay faithful to the source material in terms of scripting and musical numbers but update the visuals.
