The punk-rock prom queen is back!
Rachael Leigh Cook surprised “Josie and the Pussycats” fans who gathered in Los Angeles Saturday for Cinespia’s 25th anniversary screening of the 2001 cult film.
Around 4,000 fans crowded the Hollywood Forever Cemetery as the film’s writing and directing duo Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont introduced special guests Cook and Kay Hanley, who played the film’s titular role and her singing voice, respectively.
“I have never felt more pride for being in a film that’s sort of also in excess with unearned ownership of that product, because I am only half of this role,” Cook told the crowd — more than half of whom were wearing the band’s signature leopard-print cat ears — ahead of the screening.
“I want to take this moment to just shout out Kay Hanley for the rest of my days,” she continued. “The only reason I can watch myself in this movie is because [Josie’s] spirit is you. I love your work in this movie so much.”
Cook, 46, concluded her speech by noting, “We live in very complicated times,” and shouting out “every life decision that got you here tonight.”
Hanley, the lead singer of ’90s alt-rock band Letters to Cleo, told the audience that she was “grateful” for the fans of the film, which also stars Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, Parker Posey and Alan Cumming.
The movie “literally changed my life,” she explained ahead of the screening, which is presented by Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video.
“My daughter was 11 months old when we were doing the vocals and she was in a pack-and-play in the studio,” Hanley, 57, said. “Now, she’s 27 and she’s here tonight.”
The film, which is based on the character of Josie McCoy from the Archie Comics, follows the small-town Riverdale band as they skyrocket to global fame, only to discover their music is being used to send subliminal messages to teenagers.
“Josie and the Pussycats” only grossed $14 million worldwide upon its 2001 release, but has since grown a cult following.
Back in 2021, Cook told People, “We all loved the movie we made, but sometimes movies don’t make money. It’s just a business … but it does do my heart good to know a movie that meant so much to me and the other girls when we made it is now resonating with other people.”
