I relate movie makers to those who invest in new businesses. There's no guarantee of success, and if they have a hit, then they deserve to reap the rewards.
Rocky Horror was more than dumb.
Rocky's over-the-top dopeyness -- Dr. Frank N. Furter, a vampire drag queen from outer space, is the protagonist -- masks its thorough depravity. Only God knows how many children were lured into who-knows what kind of different "scenes" through the wacky fun of the live Rocky shows, and their message of sexual liberation and promiscuity ("Give yourself over to absolute pleasure. "Swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh. "Erotic nightmares beyond any measure.... "Don't dream it. Be it. Don't dream it. Be it....").
Still, Sarandon manages to be dumber. Were the actors not paid according to their contracts? Did the cameramen get stiffed?
Sarandon said:
Truth be told, Rocky Horror's weekend midnight cult status during the '80s and '90s only translated into a profit for the studio some twenty years later (to the best of my memory), as the phenomenon was finally winding down.
They [the studio] should have shared some of the wealth from Rocky Horror. For me, it's the principle of the thing. There are other people involved with that movie who need some money, and they should spread it out a little bit. It's been a golden egg for the longest time, and it's the least they could do.
This is similar to what happened with Harold & Maude, another weirdo cult flick that played weekend midnight shows for years until the studio's investment bore fruit. From a story on Harold star Bud Cort:
Cort spent all of his savings on medical bills [resulting from a nearly deadly auto accident] and went on to lose a $10 million suit he had brought against the driver of the other car. He found himself broke and without work. While he receives annual residual checks from Paramount for "Harold and Maude," (the last one was for $28.77 ), he doesn't get any profit from video distribution. "I get no participation from video sales -- I'd be a millionaire if I did," Cort has said. "I made next to nothing from that movie."
Studios are notorious for lying about the profits they make from hit movies. Sarandon may have a point, but that's a big "may."