Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 14, 2000, by Mike Weatherford
"'Rocky Horror' reunion"
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Phillip Pierce paid little mind to attendees of the 
neighboring Soldier of Fortune convention as he sashayed 
past them in his Capri pants, white fur stole and blond wig.

'Soldiers of Fortune. Hah! ... Soldiers of fantasy,' he 
harumphed as he made his way into the 'Rocky Horror Picture 
Show' Fan Convention at Cashman Field Center.

But 'soldiers of fantasy' might also describe more than 600 
loyal troupers who gathered in Las Vegas this weekend to 
mark the 25th anniversary of the ultimate cult movie.

Stars of the movie _ including Richard O'Brien, who co-wrote 
the musical and played Riff Raff _ will be at the Hard Rock 
Hotel showroom today for a party and screening open to the 
public. Tickets are $ 25 for the 10:30 p.m. festivities.

The event follows a closed-to-the-public taping in the 
showroom for the VH1 cable network, in which celebrities 
will perform karaoke versions of the movie's songs.

Scheduled performers include Eric McCormack of 'Will & 
Grace,' Ashton Kutcher of 'That '70s Show,' Anthony Stewart 
Head of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' Bijou Phillips, Rashida 
Jones and Tia Carrera.  

'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' foundered in its original 
1975 release, but became a midnight movie phenomenon. It 
still inspires call-and-response rituals from audiences and 
compels fans to dress up as the characters and perform in 
front of the screen.

'There's new blood all the time,' said Pierce, of Long 
Beach, Calif., who dressed as a Warholian Transylvanian 
partygoer.

'We're seeing a lot of daughters and sons of parents (who 
used to dress up),' said longtime fan Stephanie Freeman, who 
flew in from suburban London for the convention.   

'It just never changes,' agreed Megan Tabor, the Las Vegan 
who organized the convention with VH1 and 20th Century Fox. 
The studio's new deluxe DVD edition of the movie includes 
the audience participation rituals.

Though home video largely killed the midnight movie circuit 
that 'Rocky' sprang from in the late '70s, weekly screenings 
at the Paradise 6 Cinema remain 'a place for kids to hang 
around and be weird still,' Tabor said.

But Friday's costume contest was serious business. Seven 
contestants alone dressed as the relatively minor character 
of the criminologist narrator. So many dressed as the tap-
dancing Columbia that contest host Sal Piro slowed them down 
so the judges could inspect the costume details for 
accuracy.

Nell Campbell, who played Columbia in the movie, is expected 
to judge the costume finals at today's party, along with 
Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta.

The celebrities 'may not know the costumes as well as we 
do,' Piro reminded them, 'so my advice is, when you go on 
that stage _ Sell it, baby!'

VH1 will air 'Rocky Horror 25: Anniversary Special' at 10:30 
p.m. on Oct. 28 


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