I reckon that it is almost inevitable that there will be a full Prince biopic. At least I hope so – even though he is gone, it gives me comfort to think that his enormous legacy can give us more great art.

And I think that, if it’s done right, a Prince biopic could be great art – it could even be an epic of Citizen Kane proportions! His empire and legacy is probably as astonishing as that of William Randolph Hearst!

Yes I know… Purple Rain was a sort of biopic. But that was just the start of the Prince legend – think of how much happened since then.

I've just seen Don Cheadle's Miles Davis biopic, and it got me thinking about what a Prince film would look like - any ideas here?

As artists, Prince and Miles were cut from the same cloth in many ways. Both men had an iron determination to keep their music careers facing forward and to take charge of their artistic direction. And we know from the fact that they worked with eachother, and various quotes from both sides, that they had the utmost reverence for eachother as musicians. As people? Well, they had in common a contrarian streak that was a mile wide! If there is an afterlife, I bet they are probably looking at eachother warily in the eye right now!

I digress. Like 'Miles Ahead', or even 'Citizen Kane', I reckon that a Prince film based on a flashback/flash forward structure would work really well. Perhaps the narrative could be hung around the 90s and early 2000s, especially his 'slave' battle with WB and the commercial wilderness that followed for the decade hence.

There could be flash backs to the 70's and 80's, with scenes focussing on his long struggle for artistic control. For example, you could have scenes where the teenaged Prince insists on producing his own records, his hard artistic 'left turn' from Purple Rain to Around The World In A Day, his breakup with the Revolution and the rejection of the ‘Crystal Ball’ album, his attempts to remain relevant during the Hip Hop years. The hook, if you like, could be about how he gained freedom and lost much of his audience. As for his personal life, the film would have to feature the demise of some of his closest personal relationships, like with his bandmates, his father, his girlfriends, his wives. A real gut wrenching moment would be the loss of his son.

But of course, we wouldn’t want to end the story on a sour note, with Prince fading away in his fortress like Hearst. Even though the man is gone, his music is going to keep on giving us joy for a long time to come, right? For me, a very nice touch at the end of Miles Ahead was Don Cheadle’s imagining of a present day Miles concert – the message being that the music (‘social music’, as Miles insisted that it be called) is alive and relevant today. My imaginary Prince biopic could conclude with the way he gained acceptance as a bona-fide legend in his last decade, including the RRHOF induction, Super Bowl Halftime Show and other live triumphs. And it would reference how Prince’s battles for ‘Emancipation’ blazed a trail for other parts of the music industry to break away from the major label model.

So, those are my very quick ideas for ‘Prince – The Movie’. Anyone got any others? Who would play Prince, and what could the film be called?

ReddishBrownOne said:

I reckon that it is almost inevitable that there will be a full Prince biopic. At least I hope so – even though he is gone, it gives me comfort to think that his enormous legacy can give us more great art.

And I think that, if it’s done right, a Prince biopic could be great art – it could even be an epic of Citizen Kane proportions! His empire and legacy is probably as astonishing as that of William Randolph Hearst!

Yes I know… Purple Rain was a sort of biopic. But that was just the start of the Prince legend – think of how much happened since then.

I've just seen Don Cheadle's Miles Davis biopic, and it got me thinking about what a Prince film would look like - any ideas here?

As artists, Prince and Miles were cut from the same cloth in many ways. Both men had an iron determination to keep their music careers facing forward and to take charge of their artistic direction. And we know from the fact that they worked with eachother, and various quotes from both sides, that they had the utmost reverence for eachother as musicians. As people? Well, they had in common a contrarian streak that was a mile wide! If there is an afterlife, I bet they are probably looking at eachother warily in the eye right now!

I digress. Like 'Miles Ahead', or even 'Citizen Kane', I reckon that a Prince film based on a flashback/flash forward structure would work really well. Perhaps the narrative could be hung around the 90s and early 2000s, especially his 'slave' battle with WB and the commercial wilderness that followed for the decade hence.

There could be flash backs to the 70's and 80's, with scenes focussing on his long struggle for artistic control. For example, you could have scenes where the teenaged Prince insists on producing his own records, his hard artistic 'left turn' from Purple Rain to Around The World In A Day, his breakup with the Revolution and the rejection of the ‘Crystal Ball’ album, his attempts to remain relevant during the Hip Hop years. The hook, if you like, could be about how he gained freedom and lost much of his audience. As for his personal life, the film would have to feature the demise of some of his closest personal relationships, like with his bandmates, his father, his girlfriends, his wives. A real gut wrenching moment would be the loss of his son.

But of course, we wouldn’t want to end the story on a sour note, with Prince fading away in his fortress like Hearst. Even though the man is gone, his music is going to keep on giving us joy for a long time to come, right? For me, a very nice touch at the end of Miles Ahead was Don Cheadle’s imagining of a present day Miles concert – the message being that the music (‘social music’, as Miles insisted that it be called) is alive and relevant today. My imaginary Prince biopic could conclude with the way he gained acceptance as a bona-fide legend in his last decade, including the RRHOF induction, Super Bowl Halftime Show and other live triumphs. And it would reference how Prince’s battles for ‘Emancipation’ blazed a trail for other parts of the music industry to break away from the major label model.

So, those are my very quick ideas for ‘Prince – The Movie’. Anyone got any others? Who would play Prince, and what could the film be called?

When he was still around, I'd expressed ideas on the org that he should have an *animated* movie about his life. I even still have some ideas about the whole concept and plot. In my mind, animation style should resemble the Disney "Princess and the Frog"/"Paperman" look with a hint of the "Goofy Movie" feel. Any live action film about him and without him would be laughable. He's far too much of a larger than life character to be convincingly and dignifiably played by any other human. For the voice acting, there are so many recordings of his voice that I think something could be put together to carry the movie without someone voice acting as him.

I'd normally be against this, but it's inevitable nowadays.

Prince's life was too complex for a full biopic. It would be best to focus on a few important years. Maybe the breakup of the Revolution to the beginning of the 90's? It would be eye-opening to see him gradually distancing himself, dealing with the fallout from the Black Album and ultimately turning from Prince into .

[Edited 4/24/16 23:53pm]

I'd rather not see a movie materialize

Anything less than a mini-series will not suffice.

CuddlyBear said:

Anything less than a mini-series will not suffice.

There's no one cute enough to play Prince

Shockedelicus said:

I'd normally be against this, but it's inevitable nowadays.

Prince's life was too complex for a full biopic. It would be best to focus on a few years important. Maybe the breakup of the Revolution to the beginning of the 90's? It would be eye-opening to see him gradually distancing himself, dealing with the fallout from the Black Album and ultimately turning from Prince into .

[Edited 4/24/16 10:10am]

I agree, just like James Brown his life was too much for just 1 movie> as already mentioned a mini-series would probably be best

You just know its going to be Jaden Smith as young Prince, with dad producing.

SquirrelMeat said:

You just know its going to be Jaden Smith as young Prince, with dad producing.

No.

It shouldn't be done. But if it is then Spike Lee would be the guy to direct it. For us fans/fams I think it would be hard not to be upset or angered by any portrayal. I think Spike knew him well and they supported each other - I would at least trust his interpretation even if I didn't like it.

.

However, It's too soon - couldn't be made for at least 5 years I wouldn't have thought. How I miss the little guy. Love you guys.

I agree with AnonymousFan. If a movie was ever made they need to find a young unknown. I always wondered who the guy was that supposedly played P in the (unreleased) Vanity 6 biopic.