OK, so this one is a puzzler.

Corporate World was supposed to be released in Novermber 1989, that is ONE year before GB (the movie).

At this point Prince already had some script for GB that involved The Time, a band yet to constitute since CW was just Morris, Jerome and Prince at this point.

So obviously I guess that the idea was to pick some songs from CW and put 'em in the movie (has anyone read the earlier scripts that have leaked???) but then why in the world release CW one year ahead of GB??? Obviously Pandemonium didn't benefit from the film because it was a flop, but knowing Prince I'm quite sure that by 1989 he still had hope that GB would be a success.

Let's also mention the presence of the "I'm posing by the porsche" dialogue in CW and the "rollerskater" dialogue seem to indicate that Morris was already supposed to own a club, too, so unless the "porsche" thing was later taken from the song for the film, there were obvious links between both project.

That's always been a riddle to me. Any answers anyone?

Corporate World was pretty much finished but Warner Bros made it clear to Prince that they wanted the original Time to reform to make their album. They (WB) *may* have used funding for Graffiti Bridge as leverage to get what they wanted.

This meant that Corporate World was shelved (some songs clearly made it on the GB album and Pandemonium) and The (original) Time reformed and worked on new material with bigger input from Jam & Lewis and Jesse Johnson (than had previously been the case with the other three albums).

Not sure on this but I suspect it also meant a rewrite to the GB script to further include the band.

ROLLING STONE (1990)

PRINCE TALKS

BY NEAL KARLEN

He has also been laboring over his movie musical Graffiti Bridge, which was supposed to be out this past summer and is now set for release in November. Overseeing the dubbing and editing of the film by way of dressing-room VCRs and hotel telephones, Prince said, has given him an idea. "One of these day," he said, "I'm going to work on just one project, and take my time."

.

Prince says he'll survive if Graffiti Bridge is less than a blockbuster. "I can't please everybody," he says. "I didn't want to make Die Hard 4. But I'm also not looking to be Francis Ford Coppola. I see this more like those 1950s rock & roll movies."

.

Originally, Graffiti Bridge was going to be a vehicle for the reborn Time, with Prince staying behind the camera. But Warner Bros. wouldn't go for it, so Prince wrote himself into a new movie. Later, visitors to Paisley Park saw a version of a script that was allegedly obtuse to the point of near gibberish. "That was just a real rough thirty-page treatment I wrote with Kim," Prince says. "Graffiti Bridge is an entirely different movie."

.

As in Purple Rain, the plot features Prince as a musician named the Kid. Willed half-ownership of a Seven Corners club named Glam Slam, the Kid must share control with Morris Day, once again playing a comic satyr combining Superfly smoothness and Buddy Love sincerity. It's a fight of good versus evil, and band versus band, for the soul of Glam Slam.

OldFriends4Sale said:

ROLLING STONE (1990)

---

PRINCE TALKS

BY NEAL KARLEN

He has also been laboring over his movie musical Graffiti Bridge, which was supposed to be out this past summer and is now set for release in November. Overseeing the dubbing and editing of the film by way of dressing-room VCRs and hotel telephones, Prince said, has given him an idea. "One of these day," he said, "I'm going to work on just one project, and take my time."

.

Prince says he'll survive if Graffiti Bridge is less than a blockbuster. "I can't please everybody," he says. "I didn't want to make Die Hard 4. But I'm also not looking to be Francis Ford Coppola. I see this more like those 1950s rock & roll movies."

.

Originally, Graffiti Bridge was going to be a vehicle for the reborn Time, with Prince staying behind the camera. But Warner Bros. wouldn't go for it, so Prince wrote himself into a new movie. Later, visitors to Paisley Park saw a version of a script that was allegedly obtuse to the point of near gibberish. "That was just a real rough thirty-page treatment I wrote with Kim," Prince says. "Graffiti Bridge is an entirely different movie."

.

As in Purple Rain, the plot features Prince as a musician named the Kid. Willed half-ownership of a Seven Corners club named Glam Slam, the Kid must share control with Morris Day, once again playing a comic satyr combining Superfly smoothness and Buddy Love sincerity. It's a fight of good versus evil, and band versus band, for the soul of Glam Slam.

This was the official story at the time but it was BS, I remember the The Time members in innerviews saying that P had sold them the project as a The Time movie and when they read the script it was all about P all of a sudden and they were mad but went along with it anyway.

Thing is the script and album config go back to September 1987 and it clearly wasn't a movie about The Time.

From The Vault:

"22 September 1987

Prince recurns to Minneapolis with a first draft of the Graffiti Bridge script. He wanted Madonna to play one of the leading roles, so she was sent a script with an invitation to come to Minneapolis to discuss the project. Prince intended to star in Graffiti Bridge as Camille Blue, while Madonna was going to be Ruehie Washington and Cat a character named Vienna. Other parts were planned for band members: Angel (Sheila E.), Almost(Dr. Fink), Big Sister (Boni Boyer), Joshua (Atlanta Bliss),Sax (Eric Leeds), Gruff (Gregory Brooks), Puff (Wally Safford),and the Brothers (Miko Weaver and Levi Seacer Jr.). The script would undergo several revisions and dramatic changes before afinal shooting script was finished in February 1990. The September 22nd script mentioned 12 songs: "Ruthie Washington Jet Blues" / "Graffiti Bridge" / "Camille" / "Everything Could Be So Fine" I "The Question Of U" I "XYZ" I"Crucial" / "Power Fantastic" / "Beat Town" / "Melody Cool" /"Big Tall Wall" I "The Grand Progression."

Also in September 1987, there was a reunion show of The Time (sans Monte Moir and without P being involved in any manner) and the band considered a reunion and an album, but the project was put on hold due to tensions between bandmembers.

About Corporate World:

"June 1989 (at this point GB already had been rewritten once)

Back in Minneapolis, Prince begins work on a new Time album, Corporate World, the first since Ice Cream Castle io 1984. The project started out as a Prince/Morris Day collaboration,with some input by Jerome Benton. The other members, Jesse Johnson, Monte Moir, Terry Lewis, and Jimmy Jam, weren't involved from the outset. The sessions were held at Paisley Park and lasted most of the summer. Work on the album was completed in early September 1989."

"September 1989

Corporate World was set for release on November 14th 1989. with "9 Lives" planned as the first single release from the album. However, the project was put on hold when Warner Bros. wanted to involve the original Time members. After a meeting with Prince, it was decided that Jesse Johnson, Monte Moir, Terry Lewis, and Jimmy Jam would participate and take an active pan by writing and recording new tracks for a revised album, which became Pandemonium. Thus, another batch of songs was recorded later in 1989, this time without Prince." (the The Time members also decided which songs to keep from CW and that they wanted Chocolate and Jerk out from the vault)

That's all we got. No mention on the CW/GB relationship. Still, since the rivalry between Prince and another band was there almost from the start if I'm not mistaken (the idea -PR left apart- goes back to a musical called The Dawn Prince worked on in September 86, with "The Coco Boys" being the bad guys). I'm very surprised this question hasn't been documented in any way (AFAIK): I'm quite convinced that The Time was already supposed to be in the movie when work started on CW, it could even be what motivated Morris and P to work together again in the first place since they parted ways in a very sour manner in 84.

Ppenguin said:

Ppenguin said:

GB had a script?

Ppenguin said:

GB had a script?

OldFriends4Sale said:

Originally, Graffiti Bridge was going to be a vehicle for the reborn Time, with Prince staying behind the camera. But Warner Bros. wouldn't go for it, so Prince wrote himself into a new movie. Later, visitors to Paisley Park saw a version of a script that was allegedly obtuse to the point of near gibberish. "That was just a real rough thirty-page treatment I wrote with Kim," Prince says. "Graffiti Bridge is an entirely different movie."

An insider who saw that script described it this way: "It's about a man who goes on a search for God.God looks alot like Kim Basinger"

Prince, Madonna and I were the original lineup for Graffiti Bridge. That movie was strictly written for Prince, Madonna and myself. Period. Exclamation point.
That movie was actually written on the Lovesexy Tour. Everyone in that movie replaced us. Prince actually wrote the movie and most of it was what we experienced on the Lovesexy Tour. Madonna pulled out of the movie and I left Prince; I quit. So, he had to revamp the script.
That's when he got Ingrid Chavez and everyone else. But, Mavis Staples was one person that was originally supposed to be in the movie. She was always part of the movie. Sheila E. was part of the movie. Everyone else was a replacement. I don't mean to say it that way, it sounds kind of harsh and mean, but, I know the original script.
I was in the studio with Madonna and Prince when they were discussing the script. The story was totally different. I remember they were arguing over the script, bragging on each other, talking about each other's shoes and I was laughing. Madonna said to Prince "Cat and I should have a dance battle" and Prince said (speaking in a low raspy voice) "I don't think so. I don't think you want to do that. I don't think you want to dance against Cat." That's just how he said it. I'll never forget it.
That was two powerful people, together, in the same space—and me. I was more like a bystander listening and watching.
But, the whole movie changed.

http://beautifulnightschi...lks-2.html

databank said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

ROLLING STONE (1990)

---

PRINCE TALKS

BY NEAL KARLEN

He has also been laboring over his movie musical Graffiti Bridge, which was supposed to be out this past summer and is now set for release in November. Overseeing the dubbing and editing of the film by way of dressing-room VCRs and hotel telephones, Prince said, has given him an idea. "One of these day," he said, "I'm going to work on just one project, and take my time."

.

Prince says he'll survive if Graffiti Bridge is less than a blockbuster. "I can't please everybody," he says. "I didn't want to make Die Hard 4. But I'm also not looking to be Francis Ford Coppola. I see this more like those 1950s rock & roll movies."

.

Originally, Graffiti Bridge was going to be a vehicle for the reborn Time, with Prince staying behind the camera. But Warner Bros. wouldn't go for it, so Prince wrote himself into a new movie. Later, visitors to Paisley Park saw a version of a script that was allegedly obtuse to the point of near gibberish. "That was just a real rough thirty-page treatment I wrote with Kim," Prince says. "Graffiti Bridge is an entirely different movie."

.

As in Purple Rain, the plot features Prince as a musician named the Kid. Willed half-ownership of a Seven Corners club named Glam Slam, the Kid must share control with Morris Day, once again playing a comic satyr combining Superfly smoothness and Buddy Love sincerity. It's a fight of good versus evil, and band versus band, for the soul of Glam Slam.

This was the official story at the time but it was BS, I remember the The Time members in innerviews saying that P had sold them the project as a The Time movie and when they read the script it was all about P all of a sudden and they were mad but went along with it anyway.

Thing is the script and album config go back to September 1987 and it clearly wasn't a movie about The Time.

From The Vault:

"22 September 1987

Prince recurns to Minneapolis with a first draft of the Graffiti Bridge script. He wanted Madonna to play one of the leading roles, so she was sent a script with an invitation to come to Minneapolis to discuss the project. Prince intended to star in Graffiti Bridge as Camille Blue, while Madonna was going to be Ruehie Washington and Cat a character named Vienna. Other parts were planned for band members: Angel (Sheila E.), Almost(Dr. Fink), Big Sister (Boni Boyer), Joshua (Atlanta Bliss),Sax (Eric Leeds), Gruff (Gregory Brooks), Puff (Wally Safford),and the Brothers (Miko Weaver and Levi Seacer Jr.). The script would undergo several revisions and dramatic changes before afinal shooting script was finished in February 1990. The September 22nd script mentioned 12 songs: "Ruthie Washington Jet Blues" / "Graffiti Bridge" / "Camille" / "Everything Could Be So Fine" I "The Question Of U" I "XYZ" I"Crucial" / "Power Fantastic" / "Beat Town" / "Melody Cool" /"Big Tall Wall" I "The Grand Progression."

Also in September 1987, there was a reunion show of The Time (sans Monte Moir and without P being involved in any manner) and the band considered a reunion and an album, but the project was put on hold due to tensions between bandmembers.

About Corporate World:

"June 1989 (at this point GB already had been rewritten once)

Back in Minneapolis, Prince begins work on a new Time album, Corporate World, the first since Ice Cream Castle io 1984. The project started out as a Prince/Morris Day collaboration,with some input by Jerome Benton. The other members, Jesse Johnson, Monte Moir, Terry Lewis, and Jimmy Jam, weren't involved from the outset. The sessions were held at Paisley Park and lasted most of the summer. Work on the album was completed in early September 1989."

"September 1989

Corporate World was set for release on November 14th 1989. with "9 Lives" planned as the first single release from the album. However, the project was put on hold when Warner Bros. wanted to involve the original Time members. After a meeting with Prince, it was decided that Jesse Johnson, Monte Moir, Terry Lewis, and Jimmy Jam would participate and take an active pan by writing and recording new tracks for a revised album, which became Pandemonium. Thus, another batch of songs was recorded later in 1989, this time without Prince." (the The Time members also decided which songs to keep from CW and that they wanted Chocolate and Jerk out from the vault)

That's all we got. No mention on the CW/GB relationship. Still, since the rivalry between Prince and another band was there almost from the start if I'm not mistaken (the idea -PR left apart- goes back to a musical called The Dawn Prince worked on in September 86, with "The Coco Boys" being the bad guys). I'm very surprised this question hasn't been documented in any way (AFAIK): I'm quite convinced that The Time was already supposed to be in the movie when work started on CW, it could even be what motivated Morris and P to work together again in the first place since they parted ways in a very sour manner in 84.

Thanks 4 sharing that. As much as I'm not a fan of GB at all. What was happening in the background is interesting.

I thought the GB concept was as far back as 1985

ROLLING STONE (1985)

BY NEAL KARLEN

When you talk abut God, which God are you talking about? The Christian God? Jewish? Buddhist? Is there any God in particular you have in mind?

Yes, very much so. A while back, I had an experience that changed me and made me feel differently about how and what and how I acted toward people. I'm going to make a film about it -- not the next one, but the one after that. I've wanted to make it for three years now. Don't get me wrong -- I'm still as wild as I was. I'm just funneling it in a different direction. And now I analyze things so much that sometimes I can't shut off my brain and it hurts. That's what the movie will be about.

I remember in late 1986,there were all these rumors about the Time getting back together for a movie of their own,which would co-star Janet Jackson.Jam and Lewis were writing songs for the soundtrack and according to Jesse,deals had been signed.Anyone remember hearing about all this?