The cult classic could have looked very different with the iconic rocker at the helm.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show earned the attention of many big names in Hollywood, including Mick Jagger, who initially wanted to buy the production's film rights.

Creator Richard O'Brien was insistent on keeping the big names in Hollywood out of any film adaptation. Instead, the original cast made appearances in the film, lending to its ultimately cult classic status.

In a new documentary, Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, director Linus O'Brien looks back with his father, creator Richard O'Brien, on what it was like when the stage show became a hit. Things were taken to the next level when Lou Adler became involved with the production.

"From the beginning, I had the feeling it was an event and something very, very special by the cast and the music, immediately. Enough so that I wanted to make a deal that night," Adler recalled.

His vision was to bring the show to the US and stage it at the Roxy in Los Angeles.

"The Roxy was perfect for it. Sort of like cabaret, that you could go beyond sitting in a theater but you could enjoy the whole experience of it. And in the back of my mind, I just envisioned it as a film pretty much from the beginning," he shared.

To make that happen, they'd need to cast the show. Not everyone from the London production would continue their run stateside.

"The casting for the Roxy, we had some very, very talented people, most of who were local actors. I thought pretty much I couldn’t duplicate Tim Curry. That was somebody we had to bring over, and that went for Richard also. But not only the fact that you’re getting the actor that was in it, you’re getting the creator."

When the show opened, the night was "something really special," Adler recalls.

"We had a turn out of the rock and roll celebrities, the John Lennons and everyone wanted to be there for it."

Of that night, Curry shared, "You had to put on a show. He had searchlights outside of the theater into the sky. It was a big deal."

After the move, O'Brien recalls hearing from Mick Jagger and his team, inquiring about buying the film rights. Director Jim Sharman advised not to go for the deal. With Adler on their side, they had the leverage to get a film made without a big name attached.

"One of the great things about this is that we were a fringe theater event, and we were allowed to make a movie. Not only that, but Jim was allowed to direct it. Not only that, but Brian Thompson was allowed to be the artistic director. Not only that, but Tim was allowed to play the lead role. That’s very rare, especially when it’s America and a Hollywood matter," O'Brien shares.

Adler and Michael White presented the studio with a deal they couldn't turn away. The two guaranteed the studio $1 million, prepared to present their own funds if the film didn't make that amount, so that the studio wouldn't have to take a loss.

"When he was told what the budget was, how low it was, Jim said at that moment he realized he wasn’t going to be making a Hollywood film. He would be making an underground film, more in the line of Warhol and Derek Jarman," said Nell Campbell, who played Columbia in the production.

Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta, recalled, "[There were] three people who wanted to play [Dr. Frank-N-Furter] — Mick Jagger, Lou Reed, and of course, David Bowie. [They said] no Mick Jaggers, no Bowies, I’m having the original cast."

Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror premiered at SXSW in March and will premiere in the U.K. later this year.

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