Ryan Murphy, who’s creating a cross-dressing-free Rocky Horror Picture Show episode of Glee, because seeing a dude play Dr. Frank N. Furter is just too scary so they gave Mercedes the role, is rumored to be meeting around town to remake the 1975 Rocky feature film. First casting decision: Cheyenne Jackson.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Sorry, I love Mercedes but she simply can not fill Tim Curry’s pumps………
REBELComx
Waaaaaaaait. After all the “lets make Kurt a creeper” shit the past two seasons, you’re NOT making him Frank? So does Mercedes as Frank seduce Janet? Again with the lesbians! A woman in a corset and fishnets is not SHOCKING like Frank’s appearance is meant to be! So a woman playing a man dressed like a woman? You already did your Victor/Victoria number, Murphy! Rocky Horror without cross dressing is an American flag without stars, Thanksgiving without turkey and stuffing…Halloween without candy!
And no, NO! You do NOT remake Rocky Horror Picture Show! Do the play, do what you want with it ON STAGE. But the only reason Rocky Horror Picture Show grew into such a cult phenom and is still around at all today is BECAUSE THE MOVIE IS BAAAAAD. Even Richard O’Brien will tell you that. Hence the start of Audience Participation that made it the elaborate experience it is! The original is already cemented as pop culture and will endure forever as timeless and classic. You can’t remake that! You cannot even try to MATCH it! And no matter who says anything about stuff like “REPO! The Genetic Opera” or “Evil Dead: The Musical” (though I love both of them), there will never be a “new Rocky Horror,” not even a NEW Rocky Horror!
JMJ
Some how he’ll make it preachy and obnoxious.
Silver
…Mercedes? You’ve got to be kidding me. Well, count me as pissed off. In all seriousness, Ryan Murphy’s decisions just confuse the hell out of me.
Matthew
RHPS is a very touchy cult classic, to even tarnish it with a female Dr.Frank N Furter is unforgivable. Glee just took a big steaming pile of crap on Rocky Horror Picture Show fanatics. And to even insinuate a remake, might as well light a fire, WE’RE DONE! XO
DR
I’ve heard the songs from the episode in their entirety and most of them are pretty good. Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, Diana Agron, and Jayma Mays did really well. Cory Monteith and Lea Michelle were ok. John Stamos, not so good.
I’ve seen the original film (and participated in the audience) enough times to simply say “it’s Glee, there’s a great gay/lesbian/bisexual presence on the show, let them have fun for Halloween for crying out loud”.
As Phil commented to Alex who wrote the Bilerico piece, perhaps it’s time to take a pill containing a healthy dose of chill. It’s just a movie at the end of the day, and it’s a Halloween special at the end of the day, why can’t we just have fun with it?
Now if he does this to the new movie or show, well, we have a problem. But I’m not getting myself in a twist over a tv show or movie, I have more important things to worry about….
UMB
The best Rocky I ever saw had a female Frank N Furter, I like the whole gender-fu** thing.
REBELComx
@UMB: The shadow cast I was in did that a lot too, mostly because we didn’t have a lot of guys that could pull it off. But the problem is that this isn’t really gender fucking. Sure it’s a woman playing a man’s part. But the shock value of the character is that it’s a man dressed as a woman. This is ultimately a woman dressed as a woman seducing multiple men and a couple girls just isn’t shocking. Mercedes in a corset and fishnets would be shocking though. You don’t make Precious your sex icon.
Dollie
Do the show. Whatever. It might be… cute… Though, I never jumped on this bandwagon and probably will not watch.
But for the love of all things wonderful and trashy and brilliant and offbeat and sacred, don’t touch the movie! If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. Rocky Horror has been playing for 35 years! Clearly, it is not broken.
Henry Holland
I never watch the musical parts of Glee, so it doesn’t matter to me that they do RHPS. Besides, no one is going to be in their underwear with a huge bulge like Barry Bostwick, so I’ll continue to watch the non-musical bits and enjoy the show.
Barry and His Bulge:
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/27475237/Barry+Bostwick+bradJanet.jpg
I don’t know if this attempt at doing a link will work:
Barry’s Bulge.
Devon
I’ll be watching, mostly just to see the blond guy with the mouth running around in those little gold shorts, but this does piss me off. How the hell do you do Rocky Horror without a guy in make-up and fishnets(and horribly sanitized lyrics)? Either do it right or don’t do it at all, Glee.
Queer Supremacist
Thanks for reminding me once again why I don’t watch Glee. Because I fucking hate it. Ryan Murphy is a hack.
I’ve never even seen RHPS (I think they already sent me a GayCard revocation notice for not liking Madonna or Will & Grace) but this is just ridiculous. You don’t remake cult movies. You just don’t. What’s next, a big budget Pink Flamingos remake with Kevin James as Divine?
jason
Haven’t I told you guys that Ryan Murphy is a homophobe when it comes to male-male sexuality? During his career, he’s avoided its depiction. All the way from Nip/Tuck to his current Glee. The man seems to have a fetish for lesbians. He could be one of these weirdo gay guys with a fetish for lesbians and a homophobia towards his own gender.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Queer Supremacist:I just checked the list. You Gay card is due to expire unless you send in a ticket stub from a midnite showing of RHPS stat! :p
Seriously (if there is such a thing regarding RHPS) You really should experience it at least once. It is hard to explain the madness that occurs. The movie is great camp fun and the audience participation is just as much of an experience.
And it is an absolute great way to figure out which one of cute your straight friends you have a chance of doing based on their reactions to the experience……(trust me it works! :p)
Jack
I don’t get why it’s such a big deal, Finn wore a dress, and then there was Kurt’s gaga outfit. How is makeup and fishnets such a big deal after that?
Brandon H
I love me some big black diva, BUT NOT AS FRANKFURTER!
I want my Frankenfurter with a creepy lithe guy in fishnets and a disturbingly low voice.
How the fuck can you do Sweet Transvestite without it?!
Fuck you Murphy!
Shaded Spriter
If it was Sue as Frank I could see that. But does anyone else think that Will and Emma would make the perfect brad and Janet replacement in the episode.
alan brickman
it’s a classic..and the only reason you remake something is for the money…Remember the “Sabrina” remake???
FlopsyMopsyCT
I may be wrong about this, but I noticed in the “Time Warp” preview video that underneath the labcoat Mercedes was wearing (part of the RHPS costume) she had on loose-fitting pants. I am wondering if maybe they are keeping the transvestite element, but just switching it from man dressed as woman to woman dressed as man. I am not a huge fan of the movie, but I do think leaving out that element kinda screws things up.
Leslie
All of my gay and trans friends have been trying to get me to watch Glee. They were all excited to hear that RHPS wass going to be done on the program, and they wanted me to watch with them. There was a big party planned for the program. So,just about the time I was willing to try Glee for the first time, I find out that the writers are discriminating against people like me and desecrating a cult classic like Rocky. I guess that decides when I start watching this show, like never! I haven’t spent the last several years in agony coming out of the closet just so I can support a program that doesn’t respect me. And by the way, the party is off.
Marlene
First, you have to realize that this is *broadcast* TV! The standards are *much* different than cable, meaning no male dressed as Frank. This also goes for what I surmise is the deletion of “Touch Me” and “Sweet Transvestite”, too!
The fact that Glee happens in an Ohio high school is also one reason why Frank’s not played by a male, too. If this was set in San Francisco, or LA, or NYC, you might be able to do it, but not Ohio.
granoles
@Marlene: The fact that Glee happens in an Ohio high school is also one reason why Frank’s not played by a male, too. If this was set in San Francisco, or LA, or NYC, you might be able to do it, but not Ohio.
But wasn’t Klinger from M*A*S*H from Ohio?
‘course we did have a different set of television standards back then… funny, isn’t it.
REBELComx
@Marlene: They didn’t delete Touch Me or Sweet Transvestite. They recoded both songs, and the only recorded like 5 songs for the episode, so i highly doubt they won’t include them in the episode. I’m pretty sure Touch me is actually sung by Emma. However, it’s interesting to note that in Sweet Transvestite, they did change a lyric… She is now a “Sweet transvestite from SENSATIONAL Transylvania” Wait, so you can say transvestite but not transsexual? Oh brother.
DR
The recorded songs for the ep are:
Sweet Transvestite
Time Warp
Toucha Toucha Touch Me
Whatever Happened to Saturday Night
There’s a Light
Dammit, Janet
Science Fiction Double Feature
Queer Supremacist
@Leslie: Nice to know I’m not the only gay Glee hater out there.
L.
Why make any remake usually eludes me, but why make a remake of ‘Rocky’ is even more obscure.