He'd devoted two years to bringing Prince's dream, "Purple Rain," to the silver screen. But following the premiere and after-party July 26, 1984, Prince's manager was pessimistic about this maverick rock movie with a first-time ngôi sao (Prince), first-time director (Albert Magnoli) and first-time producers (Fargnoli and his partners), made in Minneapolis of all places.
I tried to be encouraging, mentioning a few early glowing reviews and the cavalcade of A-list celebs who reacted enthusiastically at the Grauman's Chinese Theater premiere -- Eddie Murphy, Pee Wee Herman, Christopher Reeve, morgan Fairchild, Kevin thịt ba rọi, thịt xông khói and the king of Hollywood himself, Steven Spielberg, as well as âm nhạc stars John Mellencamp, Kiss, Lionel Richie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, the Talking Heads, Rickie Lee Jones and Little Richard.
Fargnoli fretted until he saw the box office báo cáo four days later: "Purple Rain" topped "Ghostbusters" as the nation's highest-grossing film.
The movie would go on to earn thêm than $65 million (cost: $7 million) and its Oscar- and Grammy-winning soundtrack would sell thêm than 10 million copies and yield four smash singles. Before bạn could say "Let's go crazy," a quirky cult figure from Minneapolis was transformed into an international rock star.
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bởi the time "1999" became a hit in 1982, Prince was thinking about making a quasi-autobiographical movie (tentatively titled "Dreams") featuring lots of music. It was up to Fargnoli to pull it together. That was extra challenging because Prince, always a mystery to những người hâm mộ and the media, wasn't very communicative with his potential collaborators.
Screenwriter William Blinn, who had worked on the TV series "Roots" and "Fame," đã đưa ý kiến in 1984 that Prince told him he wanted "a picture that people would think of as 'weird' but couldn't get away from. He's got something he wants to communicate. I don't know if it's something bạn could write down. It's an attitude thêm than anything else."
For musicians in the Time, Vanity 6 and Prince & the Revolution, there were diễn xuất and dance classes beginning in April 1983, not to mention âm nhạc rehearsals at a warehouse in St. Louis Park.
In August there was a benefit buổi hòa nhạc at First Avenue for Minnesota Dance Theatre, whose staff helped train the musicians. The crowd was surprised because Prince & the Revolution were playing songs no one had ever heard, and there was a new member, Wendy Melvoin on guitar. Little did the increasingly disinterested crowd know that Prince was recording the buổi hòa nhạc for the movie and its soundtrack album.
"I had no idea what the movie was going to be," Melvoin told me in 2004. "Al [Magnoli] and Prince were nghề viết văn it as they were going. During that whole summer, people were called in and asked, 'What is your relationship with Prince? How would bạn see a situation arise?' Blah, blah, blah. Then 10 days later, there would be some pages [of script]."
A tháng before filming, the leading lady, Vanity of Vanity 6, dropped out, supposedly to work with Martin Scorsese. In Los Angeles, Magnoli then chose unknown Patricia Kotero. When she met Prince in Minneapolis, he asked: "Do bạn believe in God?" They went for a ride in his purple limousine, she sang along to a cassette tape and they danced at First Avenue. She got the part.
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"Purple Rain" was shot in November and December 1983, mostly at First Avenue, with $35-per-12-hour-day extras, who, per usual with Prince, were barred from speaking to the media.
I had a sense that this movie was going to change Prince's stature, so I began researching an in-depth ngôi sao Tribune series, talking to his mother, teachers and childhood acquaintances, and acquiring a copy of his birth certificate that showed he was two years older than he claimed. Since Prince hadn't really blown up yet, most of the interviewees were just talking Minnesota Nice about a local guy who might make good.
The series was scheduled to run the week "Purple Rain" opened. In the meantime, the first single, "When Doves Cry," had soared to No. 1 on the pop charts and spent five weeks there. Suddenly, Minnesotans were curious about Prince, and my four-part series set a record for quầy báo, tạp chí, gian hàng bán báo sales.
In July, the "Purple Rain" soundtrack landed at No. 1 and remained there for an astonishing 24 weeks. bởi the beginning of the Purple Rain Tour in November, Prince was as hot as Bruce Springsteen, who'd released "Born in the U.S.A." that summer. The Boss kicked off his tour with three shows in St. Paul; Prince launched his with seven shows in Detroit and did five in St. Paul in December.
Purple no longer stood only for the Minnesota Vikings. The Purple One had put Minneapolis on the musical map -- and had được trao manager Fargnoli thêm and thêm things to worry about.
Jon Bream • 612-673-1719
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