An oral history of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at 50
Posted: 8/1/25 at 8:20am
Pity they didn’t get Susan in as well. But most of this has been know for years.
Posted: 8/1/25 at 10:52am
rosscoe(au) said: "Pity they didn’t get Susan in as well. But most of this has been know for years."
Susan Sarandon on how she got cast for Janet Weiss:
Well, a friend of mine was in the stage show in L.A., so I knew Tim Curry. And one day, I went by, just to say hi, when they happened to be casting. And they asked me to read, because nobody had made Janet very funny, but they were all much better singers. And so, I said, "No, I can't really sing. Actually, I'm kind of phobic about singing." And they said, "Well, can you sing 'Happy Birthday'?" So I actually went against my better judgement, thinking that maybe I would finally get over this phobia that I had about singing out loud, because I realized it was just all ego. And eventually, I did the recording session and I kind of got somewhat over it. But it was just a fluke that I did get cast.
Posted: 8/1/25 at 12:56pm
All the stories have been told a million times, but then--just as I've watched the movie a million times--I'm still happy hearing it again. I wonder how many people have recognized my profile name is an obscure Rocky Horror reference?
Updated On: 8/1/25 at 12:56 PM
Posted: 8/2/25 at 4:16pm
BrodyFosse123 said: "rosscoe(au) said: "Pity they didn’t get Susan in as well. But most of this has been know for years."
Susan Sarandon on how she got cast for Janet Weiss:
Well, a friend of mine was in the stage show in L.A., so I knew Tim Curry. And one day, I went by, just to say hi, when they happened to be casting. And they asked me to read, because nobody had made Janet very funny, but they were all much better singers. And so, I said, "No, I can't really sing. Actually, I'm kind of phobic about singing." And they said, "Well, can you sing 'Happy Birthday'?" So I actually went against my better judgement, thinking that maybe I would finally get over this phobia that I had about singing out loud, because I realized it was just all ego. And eventually, I did the recording session and I kind of got somewhat over it. But it was just a fluke that I did get cast."
The friend in the cast that Susan is referring to is Jamie Donnelly, who was playing "Magenta" and is better known for playing "Jan" one of the Pink Ladies in the 1978 film, "Grease".
