Wendy and Lisa [Official Site]

Happy 25th Purple Rain

Source: http://www.wdkx.com/show_article/2009/07/28/Happy+25th+Purple+Rain.html

Twenty-five years ago, Prince was a diminutive soul/pop singer from a land not previously known for its musical contributions. Minneapolis, Minnesota didn't have a "sound" or a global icon to represent it, but that was all about to change. When the film "Purple Rain" hit movie theaters on July 27, 1984, it turned its star into a pop culture phenomenon, anchored by the classic hits on its brilliant soundtrack.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary milestone, here are 25 little-known facts about "Purple Rain" and its making.

1. An early, simpler, version of the unpronounceable symbol that Prince changed his name to during his dispute with Warner Bros. Records is painted on the side of the gas tank on Prince's motorcycle.

2. The film almost got an X rating because of the lone sex scene with Prince and Apollonia. However, after several seconds were cut from it, the film got its R rating. Rumor has it that the more explicit footage still exists.

3. Director Albert Magnoli filmed a second love scene that was not included in the final cut of the film. This scene has special meaning because it contains the actual illusion of purple rain. A snippet of this scene is included in the theatrical trailer for the film, as well as the "When Doves Cry" montage. The scene, as well as the other deleted footage that led up to it, is also outlined in the film's screenplay found on various Web sites.

4. The film's original screenplay contained an extremely sexually explicit scene between Vanity and The Kid during the "ride of rage" sequence. It's unknown if the scene was actually filmed when Apollonia replaced Vanity as the film's leading lady. This adds to the mystery surrounding a long rumored early edit of "Purple Rain" that was given an X rating by the MPAA.

5. Most of the songs in the movie were recorded live.

6. James Foley was offered the job of director by Prince's management after seeing a rough cut of "Reckless." He said he was too busy and declined, but recommended his editor, Albert Magnoli.

7. TV writer and producer William Blinn, who was the executive producer of the "Fame" TV series at the time, wrote the first draft of the script and called it "Dreams." Prince didn't like the story, and wanted the word "purple" in the title.

8. Although Albert Magnoli and William Blinn shared the writing credits, it is not known how much of Blinn's material was used. Magnoli estimates that only two or three of Blinn's scenes are in the final cut of the film.

9. The success of this project benefited just about every division of Warner Bros. The box office grosses helped the film division; the soundtrack sales helped the record division; the home video release helped that division; the promotional videos aired on MTV constantly helped the music video division ... and so on.

10. "Mod Squad's" Clarence Williams III and Olga Kartalos were the only two professional actors with screen credits in the entire cast.

11. Prince's protegee and then-girlfriend Vanity was originally slated to be cast as The Kid's love interest. However she left the film - and Prince - prior to shooting. Therefore, the girl group Vanity 6 became Apollonia 6, and actress Patricia Kotero was cast as Apollonia.

12. Scenes of The Revolution bandmates Wendy and Lisa kissing were deleted from the final version of the movie.

13. Wendy and Lisa were dating throughout their time in The Revolution, something that was hinted at but never fully revealed to the public (although their positioning on the poster that was included in the original "Purple Rain" album certainly suggests so.) The two are now with other partners, but dated for 20 years.

14. Probably due to pacing reasons, when The Revolution is performing "Darling Nikki," the third verse is omitted from the final film. It can still be heard on the movie's soundtrack album.

15. According to the director's commentary, three versions of the love scene were filmed with three different ratings: A G-rated version, PG-rated version and R-rated version, which is what was used in the film.

16. Originally, The Kid's father was to die of his self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. At the last minute, the director and the producers decided to let the father live.

17. Two takes of "The matter with this house ... " sequence were filmed. According to the director's commentary, the film lab lost the camera negative for the scenes and had to use footage from a work print to include in the film. This explains the loss of picture quality during the scene.

18. "Purple Rain" was shopped around to numerous production companies, including Indigo Films, which was owned by Jim Brown and Richard Pryor. Brown expressed his disappointment about not acquiring the project in the Spike Lee 2002 documentary "Jim Brown: All American."

19. When Vanity left the project, her role was first offered to "Flashdance" actress Jennifer Beals, who turned it down to go to college.

20. In "Purple Rain," Appolonia runs out on a $37.75 cab fare from the Greyhound station to the First Avenue nightclub, where the concert numbers were filmed. In reality, the station and the club are right across the street from each other.

21. Prince won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score for "Purple Rain" in 1984. (The category has since been eliminated.) The soundtrack sold 14 million copies in the U.S., but Prince has been quoted as saying no one will ever be able to truly determine how many copies of the album have actually been sold.

22. According to Wendy Melvoin, the title track for the movie was truly a collaborative effort. Prince came in with the melody and the words and an "idea" of what the verses would be like. She played the opening chords, and everyone in The Revolution chipped in from there.

23. The "Purple Rain" soundtrack spent 24 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts.

24. Patty "Apollonia" Kotero told Spin magazine that she never dated Prince and was, in fact, during the filming of "Purple Rain," with rock star David Lee Roth.

25. According to Dr. Fink, Prince's keyboardist in The Revolution, just about every member of The Revolution, including him, has approached Prince at one time or another to work with him again - and he's turned them all down.