Malibu locals Barry Bostwick and Graeme Clifford will be doing the time warp again—along with an estimated audience of about 2,000 people—when they appear at an outdoor screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Exposition Park on June 22. Bostwick played hero Brad Majors in the original film opposite Susan Sarandon, while Clifford did the music and film editing.
An R-rated musical that came out in 1975, “Rocky Horror” is now the longest-running theatrical release in film history. Made for less than a million dollars, the cult classic’s total domestic gross is now more than $113 million, and currently ranks 430th in all-time domestic box office receipts.
The movie’s core of devoted followers watch it over and over again at midnight showings across the country, creating their own interactive film experience by dressing up in costume and acting out the characters, throwing rice during the wedding scene, dancing to the “Time Warp” song, and throwing toast, water, toilet paper and hot dogs at other scenes in the movie.
Bostwick said the most common interview question he’s received over the years has been, “Did you have any idea that the movie would become what it became?”
“Who could have? It became a totally different animal than anyone ever expected,” he said last week in a phone interview. “But, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Every few years I get another 12-year old coming up to me, all excited, because they’ve just seen the movie for the first time.”
Bostwick gives the film’s hardcore fans all the credit for its long-running success over the past 38 years.
“It’s a film I’m very proud of and I dearly love the fans,” he said. “They’ve created this phenomenon. When [“Rocky Horror”] first came out, it was a huge flop.”
It was one of the first films to depict the gay or transgender culture. Bostwick said the gay community made “Rocky Horror” iconic because going to see it gave them a place to go together. “It became safe for them to explore who they were for the first time,” Bostwick said. “It also became a film for people who were different in some way – not just gay, but artistic or in need of a forum to act out and not be criticized. A lot of people have come up to me over the years and said, ‘That movie saved my life.’”
The film also reflects the time in which it was made, Bostwick said. “It was the mid-’70s glitter rock period and a reflection of what was going on in the streets of London and New York.”
Graeme Clifford said in a phone interview that the London stage play version of “Rocky Horror,” which predated the film, had been “Groundbreaking…a major theatrical triumph, it was probably sold out for its entire run. You couldn’t get tickets.” For that reason, Clifford said the biggest challenge in making the movie was, “Getting it from the stage to the screen intact – preserving the magic that was so important to its success.”
Tim Curry had performed in the play as the character Dr. Frank N. Furter, the self-described “transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania” for several years by the time the film was made. “He was so confident; he could make it fun for everyone else,” Bostwick said. “He didn’t have to spend time searching for his character, he knew it inside and out and relished the opportunity.”
Bostwick said the hardest part of filming “Rocky Horror” was staying warm. “We were shooting on little sound stages in England, then at a castle with huge holes in the roof. We were huddling in front of space heaters,” he recalled. “Susan and I were running around naked and wet [to shoot scenes] and she got pneumonia afterward.”
Interestingly, “Rocky Horror” actually owes its existence to yet a third Malibu local. Legendary music producer Lou Adler made his first foray into film with “Rocky Horror,” purchasing the film rights after seeing the London stage performance and producing the movie.
Bostwick, who has appeared on television in shows such as “Spin City,” moved to Malibu eight years ago. He lives with wife Sherri and two teenage children, and makes Japanese-style pottery in his spare time.
“Malibu has been a wonderful place to raise kids. It’s a very family-oriented, concerned community,” Bostwick said.
The screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” presented by the Malibu Film Society as part of Street Food Cinema’s summer series, will be held at Exposition Park in downtown LA on June 22. Gates and food trucks open at 5 p.m., a band at 7 p.m., personal appearances at 8 p.m. and the movie at dusk.
