“A number of years in the past, I stumbled upon the YouTube web page for the music I’m Going House, one of many highlights from The Rocky Horror Image Present. As I learn by means of the feedback, I used to be overcome with emotion—every particular person shared their private story and the deep place the music held of their coronary heart. Whereas Rocky Horror had at all times been a serious a part of my life and I used to be effectively conscious of its societal influence, this was the primary time I actually grasped the enormity of its affect on particular person lives. That realisation turned the genesis of this movie. I understood what a significant and layered story this was—Rocky’s rise, fall, and rise once more; its affect on music, cinema, and popular culture; the distinctive cult phenomenon it fostered and the protected area it created for every kind of individuals; and the unlucky actuality that, in immediately’s political local weather, Rocky is as related as ever. To high it off, my very own father, Richard O’Brien, was the one who created Rocky, taking part in an element in so many individuals’s lives. I knew this story wanted to be advised—and that it had by no means been explored in depth as a documentary characteristic.
Initially, I didn’t intend to direct the movie myself. My plan was to search out the proper companions and assist deliver it to life. Nevertheless, once I introduced the mission to my previous good friend Avner Shiloah, who then launched me to Garret Worth and Adam Gibbs of Margot Station, all of us started to understand this was additionally a father/son story. Rocky was created across the time I used to be born, and I grew up in its world—even changing into the youngest particular person to see the unique stage manufacturing in London on the age of 4. The three of them made the case that I used to be the proper particular person to inform this story, and collectively, we launched into the journey of constructing this documentary.
I needed to persuade my dad that my companions and I might inform Rocky’s story in a means that did it justice. Our first step was flying to New Zealand to conduct our fundamental interview with him. Regardless that Rocky is in my blood and I’d heard so many tales over time, this was a special expertise—I used to be in a position to spend a number of days digging deeper with him and referring to topics he hadn’t at all times been snug discussing. From there, we performed interviews in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Australia. Reconnecting with the solid and crew I had grown up round was extremely rewarding. Assembly up with Nell, Barry, Susan, Tim, Pat, Jim, and Lou was particularly significant—they knew me as a child, and for many of them, the final time they noticed me, I used to be most likely eight years previous.
Talking with followers and other people whose lives have been deeply affected by the movie was each eye-opening and humbling. Rocky Horror is exclusive in the way in which it created communities and areas for folks to precise themselves with out judgment—to really feel liberated in each means they select and to discover a house amongst others like them. This documentary is as a lot a celebration of them as it’s of Rocky Horror itself. The followers have taken this piece of artwork and made it their very own, giving it a life past what my dad or any of its unique creators may have imagined. Whereas it’s unabashedly queer, what makes Rocky particular is that it stays an inclusive and shared area for folks of all genders and orientations—a spot the place so many have discovered who they’re and who they need to be.
As Trixie Mattel says within the movie, you’d hope we lived in a world the place Rocky Horror was a relic, however sadly, that’s not the case, which is why this documentary, and tales prefer it, are extra necessary than ever.
I’m grateful to all those that participated, in addition to the unimaginable crews who labored on the movie, and I’m honoured to have been entrusted with telling this story. We hope the viewers enjoys this joyful and life-affirming celebration of a exceptional cultural touchstone—stuffed with wonderful music, campy insanity, tears, and laughter.”
-Director, Linus O’Brien
