I think the best way to view it is as a play which explores spiritual vs capitlistic themes.

Regarding the sets, firstly as a play sets are largely symbolic. Secondly, you could make the same argument about 1989's Batman which had a very unrealistic staging.

It may well be that everyone was expecting the gritty realistic follow-up to Purple Rain and Prince wanted to make a more profound point about money vs art.

I can almost handle it until they go to 'The Bridge'... it looks like they walked onto the set of The Dark Crystal!

OldFriends4Sale said:

http://www.themortonrepor...-part-two/

An Interview with Jimmy Jam of The Original 7ven, Part Two

Jimmy Jam discusses The Time, Prince, and working with Janet and Michael Jackson.

April 19, 2012

By Chaz Lipp, Contributor

Let’s look back to 1990 and the Graffiti Bridge movie. How did the original seven members of The Time come to be involved with that project?

Let me try to clarify a little bit. There might be a misconception that we got back together to do the Graffiti Bridge movie. That’s absolutely not the case. What happened, Morris [Day] was working on a project with Prince. It was basically going to be more of a solo project. Prince was going to do the bulk of the writing and playing. I think it was going to be calledCorporate World, but there were a few different names floating around at that point. Around that same time period, we had also been working with Morris on different projects and things. We thought, let’s get The Time back together and just make a record. So we got back together and started making an album. This was with Prince’s blessing, by the way. And we had our own idea for a film.

What kind of film did you guys have in mind?

It was basically based on our own true story, rather than a fictional story. Purple Rain was a fictional story based in some truth, the whole backdrop of Minneapolis and the competition of the bands. The way that worked was very true and very well done in that movie. But we really wanted to make a film about our exploits on the road and some of the things that went on, because we had a great time on the road.

How far did you guys get with this project?

We actually brought in someone to write a screenplay. We sat and talked with a couple of screenwriters, telling them the stories we thought were funny, letting them weave a storyline around it. We were in talks with Warner Bros. to do it. The next thing you know, literally out of the blue, Prince called us for a meeting at Paisley Park. And I remember we walked in thinking it was going to be about the movie — the movie we thought we were going to do. All of sudden it turned into Graffiti Bridge, and we were like,“What’s Graffiti Bridge?” Prince was like, “This is my movie.” And it was, you know, this girl and a feather. [laughs] It was like, “No, no, no — we’ve got our own ideas for a movie.”

Thank you so much for including part of my interview with Jimmy Jam in this discussion. I've been a longtime lurker here, but more so in recent weeks in search of solace. That was a great discussion I had with Jimmy Jam and he was extremely nice - especially considering I had laryngitis at the time and could barely croak out a few words at a time.

I also revisited my Graffiti Bridge DVD, a few days after seeing Purple Rain in theaters during the reissue. I found it difficult to access in conventional terms at this point. I remember getting the album in August '90 and finding it so tantalizing with all the guest appearances - I think I dreamed up a more fantastical movie in my mind in the two-plus months waiting for the actual film to come out.

For me, the movie is now kind of priceless. It's not any "better" in terms of narrative, but I'm just so grateful to have it. Yes, I'm romantizing it in light of Prince's passing but I think that's okay as long as a little perspective is maintained. As others have been saying, it works fairly well as a string of music videos all glued together with a vague plot thread. A real screenwriter might've worked wonders with the basic ideas - and made characters like the ones played by Mavis and Tevin more integral. "Melody Cool" is still a knockout sequence. The lapse into "musical" territory in certain spots (like "Love Machine") is jarring, but in a way enhances the slightly surreal atmosphere.

I always thought of "Graffiti Bridge" as something along the lines of McCartney's "Give My Regards to Broad Street" - studio-backed vanity projects created by artists who demanded a lot of creative control. McCartney tried his hands at screenwriting with "Broad Street" too, with similarly anemic results. His film turned into a series of well-shot music videos too. I honestly think Prince exhibited a more creative vision in "Bridge" (he had the benefit of Morris and Jerome and their long-established comedic chemistry). McCartney managaed to waste a supporting cast that had "real" actors, like Tracy Ullman, Bryan Brown, and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Anyway, I liked to watch "Graffiti Bridge" every few years and I'm glad it's around now more than ever. Even though "Under the Cherry Moon" is Prince's true cinematic best - so misunderstood and so, so good. Though I haven't been able to bring myself to revisit that one just yet.

[Edited 5/18/16 7:07am]

OldFriends4Sale said:

It's absolutely terrble as a movie. Prince's perfect hair and outfit during "Tick Tick Bang" were the only redeeming qualities. Lol As others have said, it works much better as a set of music videos.

Purple Rain > Under the Cherry Moon >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Graffiti Bridge

[Edited 5/18/16 7:10am]

CAL3 said:

CAL3 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

http://www.themortonrepor...-part-two/

An Interview with Jimmy Jam of The Original 7ven, Part Two

Jimmy Jam discusses The Time, Prince, and working with Janet and Michael Jackson.

April 19, 2012

By Chaz Lipp, Contributor

Let’s look back to 1990 and the Graffiti Bridge movie. How did the original seven members of The Time come to be involved with that project?

Let me try to clarify a little bit. There might be a misconception that we got back together to do the Graffiti Bridge movie. That’s absolutely not the case. What happened, Morris [Day] was working on a project with Prince. It was basically going to be more of a solo project. Prince was going to do the bulk of the writing and playing. I think it was going to be calledCorporate World, but there were a few different names floating around at that point. Around that same time period, we had also been working with Morris on different projects and things. We thought, let’s get The Time back together and just make a record. So we got back together and started making an album. This was with Prince’s blessing, by the way. And we had our own idea for a film.

What kind of film did you guys have in mind?

It was basically based on our own true story, rather than a fictional story. Purple Rain was a fictional story based in some truth, the whole backdrop of Minneapolis and the competition of the bands. The way that worked was very true and very well done in that movie. But we really wanted to make a film about our exploits on the road and some of the things that went on, because we had a great time on the road.

How far did you guys get with this project?

We actually brought in someone to write a screenplay. We sat and talked with a couple of screenwriters, telling them the stories we thought were funny, letting them weave a storyline around it. We were in talks with Warner Bros. to do it. The next thing you know, literally out of the blue, Prince called us for a meeting at Paisley Park. And I remember we walked in thinking it was going to be about the movie — the movie we thought we were going to do. All of sudden it turned into Graffiti Bridge, and we were like,“What’s Graffiti Bridge?” Prince was like, “This is my movie.” And it was, you know, this girl and a feather. [laughs] It was like, “No, no, no — we’ve got our own ideas for a movie.”

Thank you so much for including part of my interview with Jimmy Jam in this discussion. I've been a longtime lurker here, but more so in recent weeks in search of solace. That was a great discussion I had with Jimmy Jam and he was extremely nice - especially considering I had laryngitis at the time and could barely croak out a few words at a time.

I also revisited my Graffiti Bridge DVD, a few days after seeing Purple Rain in theaters during the reissue. I found it difficult to access in conventional terms at this point. I remember getting the album in August '90 and finding it so tantalizing with all the guest appearances - I think I dreamed up a more fantastical movie in my mind in the two-plus months waiting for the actual film to come out.

For me, the movie is now kind of priceless. It's not any "better" in terms of narrative, but I'm just so grateful to have it. Yes, I'm romantizing it in light of Prince's passing but I think that's okay as long as a little perspective is maintained. As others have been saying, it works fairly well as a string of music videos all glued together with a vague plot thread. A real screenwriter might've worked wonders with the basic ideas - and made characters like the ones played by Mavis and Tevin more integral. "Melody Cool" is still a knockout sequence. The lapse into "musical" territory in certain spots (like "Love Machine") is jarring, but in a way enhances the slightly surreal atmosphere.

I always thought of "Graffiti Bridge" as something along the lines of McCartney's "Give My Regards to Broad Street" - studio-backed vanity projects created by artists who demanded a lot of creative control. McCartney tried his hands at screenwriting with "Broad Street" too, with similarly anemic results. His film turned into a series of well-shot music videos too. I honestly think Prince exhibited a more creative vision in "Bridge" (he had the benefit of Morris and Jerome and their long-established comedic chemistry). McCartney managaed to waste a supporting cast that had "real" actors, like Tracy Ullman, Bryan Brown, and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Anyway, I liked to watch "Graffiti Bridge" every few years and I'm glad it's around now more than ever. Even though "Under the Cherry Moon" is Prince's true cinematic best - so misunderstood and so, so good. Though I haven't been able to bring myself to revisit that one just yet.

[Edited 5/18/16 7:07am]

I am so glad to see someone else appreciate UTCM as much as I do! Of course, "Purple Rain" is amazing, but UTCM just blows me away! I always viewed it as a deliberately campy comedy; I never believed it was intended as drama. (Taking a note from what RiotPaisley said above, yes, film noir...but more so a parody of that, in my opinion.) It really showed how silly and self-aware Prince was. He liked confusing people, and with that movie, that's exactly what he did. He was in on the joke. It's one of my favorite movies, honestly.

[Edited 5/18/16 7:21am]

UTCM's problem was people in general wanted another PR movie. I thought UTCM was a great movie. Cheeky at times, but funny and entertaining.

GB could have been better. From what I have heard, WB had edited the original. I think if the outtakes were put in, the film would have been better, not the best.

In my opinion, GB was a vicitim of heavy editing and oversight.

By the way, Jill was smoking hot in this movie. (Sorry had to get that off my chest).

[Edited 5/18/16 8:04am]

I remember seeing "G.B" when it premiered. Myself and about 4 other people filled the the theater..it felt like a private screening. I think Albert Magnoli should have been brought back to assist. When the sequel rumours started to surface, I was really hoping for the long awaited "The Dawn" film. SoulAlive had a really good plot that could have made a great sequel....I didn't hate "G.B", but it seemed too "fairy tale-ish". I'm glad the idea of "The Kid" finding God (Kim Basinger) was scrapped...I think the soundtrack was better.

To quote a the former Org mod know as Anxiety:

Last time I saw something that bad, I had to spray Tinactin on it.

nelcp777 said:

UTCM's problem was people in general wanted another PR movie. I thought UTCM was a great movie. Cheeky at times, but funny and entertaining.

GB could have been better. From what I have heard, WB had edited the original. I think if the outtakes were put in, the film would have been better, not the best.

In my opinion, GB was a vicitim of heavy editing and oversight.

By the way, Jill was smoking hot in this movie. (Sorry had to get that off my chest).

[Edited 5/18/16 8:04am]

I don't know if we wanted another PR movie. I LOVE UTCM, but I can also tell the parts where Prince took over. For me the majority of the movie was good. BUT it should have had band scenes. Not like in Purple Rain. But at Mary Sharon's birthday party (Day & Night) Jill Jones w/the Revolution should have been playing Mia Bocca. Prince & the Revolution should have been doing New Position / I Wonder U. Since he was a hired musician, that would have been a perfect reason to be at her party. It made no real sense for CHristopher & Tricky to show up at this millionairess house/party, out of the blue.

the musicians could have been his band of gypies. The Family doing High Fashion or Desire. The Girls & Boys video could have easily fit that scene where Girls & Boys was performed. Sheila E A Love Bizarre

All the album songs did not have to be performed but key songs featuring the band and the proteges, background musical performance scenes etc

keykutney said:

CAL3 said:

Thank you so much for including part of my interview with Jimmy Jam in this discussion. I've been a longtime lurker here, but more so in recent weeks in search of solace. That was a great discussion I had with Jimmy Jam and he was extremely nice - especially considering I had laryngitis at the time and could barely croak out a few words at a time.

I also revisited my Graffiti Bridge DVD, a few days after seeing Purple Rain in theaters during the reissue. I found it difficult to access in conventional terms at this point. I remember getting the album in August '90 and finding it so tantalizing with all the guest appearances - I think I dreamed up a more fantastical movie in my mind in the two-plus months waiting for the actual film to come out.

For me, the movie is now kind of priceless. It's not any "better" in terms of narrative, but I'm just so grateful to have it. Yes, I'm romantizing it in light of Prince's passing but I think that's okay as long as a little perspective is maintained. As others have been saying, it works fairly well as a string of music videos all glued together with a vague plot thread. A real screenwriter might've worked wonders with the basic ideas - and made characters like the ones played by Mavis and Tevin more integral. "Melody Cool" is still a knockout sequence. The lapse into "musical" territory in certain spots (like "Love Machine") is jarring, but in a way enhances the slightly surreal atmosphere.

I always thought of "Graffiti Bridge" as something along the lines of McCartney's "Give My Regards to Broad Street" - studio-backed vanity projects created by artists who demanded a lot of creative control. McCartney tried his hands at screenwriting with "Broad Street" too, with similarly anemic results. His film turned into a series of well-shot music videos too. I honestly think Prince exhibited a more creative vision in "Bridge" (he had the benefit of Morris and Jerome and their long-established comedic chemistry). McCartney managaed to waste a supporting cast that had "real" actors, like Tracy Ullman, Bryan Brown, and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Anyway, I liked to watch "Graffiti Bridge" every few years and I'm glad it's around now more than ever. Even though "Under the Cherry Moon" is Prince's true cinematic best - so misunderstood and so, so good. Though I haven't been able to bring myself to revisit that one just yet.

[Edited 5/18/16 7:07am]

I am so glad to see someone else appreciate UTCM as much as I do! Of course, "Purple Rain" is amazing, but UTCM just blows me away! I always viewed it as a deliberately campy comedy; I never believed it was intended as drama. (Taking a note from what RiotPaisley said above, yes, film noir...but more so a parody of that, in my opinion.) It really showed how silly and self-aware Prince was. He liked confusing people, and with that movie, that's exactly what he did. He was in on the joke. It's one of my favorite movies, honestly.

[Edited 5/18/16 7:21am]

I love UTCM too, I watch Purple Rain & Under the Cherry Moon all the time

jayspud said:

I think the best way to view it is as a play which explores spiritual vs capitlistic themes.

Regarding the sets, firstly as a play sets are largely symbolic. Secondly, you could make the same argument about 1989's Batman which had a very unrealistic staging.

It may well be that everyone was expecting the gritty realistic follow-up to Purple Rain and Prince wanted to make a more profound point about money vs art.

You get it. It was a surreal format - not the stark realism of Purple Rain. An understanding of that gives the viewer the latitude to appreciate it as intended.

CAL3 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

http://www.themortonrepor...-part-two/

An Interview with Jimmy Jam of The Original 7ven, Part Two

Jimmy Jam discusses The Time, Prince, and working with Janet and Michael Jackson.

April 19, 2012

By Chaz Lipp, Contributor

Let’s look back to 1990 and the Graffiti Bridge movie. How did the original seven members of The Time come to be involved with that project?

Let me try to clarify a little bit. There might be a misconception that we got back together to do the Graffiti Bridge movie. That’s absolutely not the case. What happened, Morris [Day] was working on a project with Prince. It was basically going to be more of a solo project. Prince was going to do the bulk of the writing and playing. I think it was going to be calledCorporate World, but there were a few different names floating around at that point. Around that same time period, we had also been working with Morris on different projects and things. We thought, let’s get The Time back together and just make a record. So we got back together and started making an album. This was with Prince’s blessing, by the way. And we had our own idea for a film.

What kind of film did you guys have in mind?

It was basically based on our own true story, rather than a fictional story. Purple Rain was a fictional story based in some truth, the whole backdrop of Minneapolis and the competition of the bands. The way that worked was very true and very well done in that movie. But we really wanted to make a film about our exploits on the road and some of the things that went on, because we had a great time on the road.

How far did you guys get with this project?

We actually brought in someone to write a screenplay. We sat and talked with a couple of screenwriters, telling them the stories we thought were funny, letting them weave a storyline around it. We were in talks with Warner Bros. to do it. The next thing you know, literally out of the blue, Prince called us for a meeting at Paisley Park. And I remember we walked in thinking it was going to be about the movie — the movie we thought we were going to do. All of sudden it turned into Graffiti Bridge, and we were like,“What’s Graffiti Bridge?” Prince was like, “This is my movie.” And it was, you know, this girl and a feather. [laughs] It was like, “No, no, no — we’ve got our own ideas for a movie.”

Thank you so much for including part of my interview with Jimmy Jam in this discussion. I've been a longtime lurker here, but more so in recent weeks in search of solace. That was a great discussion I had with Jimmy Jam and he was extremely nice - especially considering I had laryngitis at the time and could barely croak out a few words at a time.

I also revisited my Graffiti Bridge DVD, a few days after seeing Purple Rain in theaters during the reissue. I found it difficult to access in conventional terms at this point. I remember getting the album in August '90 and finding it so tantalizing with all the guest appearances - I think I dreamed up a more fantastical movie in my mind in the two-plus months waiting for the actual film to come out.

For me, the movie is now kind of priceless. It's not any "better" in terms of narrative, but I'm just so grateful to have it. Yes, I'm romantizing it in light of Prince's passing but I think that's okay as long as a little perspective is maintained. As others have been saying, it works fairly well as a string of music videos all glued together with a vague plot thread. A real screenwriter might've worked wonders with the basic ideas - and made characters like the ones played by Mavis and Tevin more integral. "Melody Cool" is still a knockout sequence. The lapse into "musical" territory in certain spots (like "Love Machine") is jarring, but in a way enhances the slightly surreal atmosphere.

I always thought of "Graffiti Bridge" as something along the lines of McCartney's "Give My Regards to Broad Street" - studio-backed vanity projects created by artists who demanded a lot of creative control. McCartney tried his hands at screenwriting with "Broad Street" too, with similarly anemic results. His film turned into a series of well-shot music videos too. I honestly think Prince exhibited a more creative vision in "Bridge" (he had the benefit of Morris and Jerome and their long-established comedic chemistry). McCartney managaed to waste a supporting cast that had "real" actors, like Tracy Ullman, Bryan Brown, and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Anyway, I liked to watch "Graffiti Bridge" every few years and I'm glad it's around now more than ever. Even though "Under the Cherry Moon" is Prince's true cinematic best - so misunderstood and so, so good. Though I haven't been able to bring myself to revisit that one just yet.

[Edited 5/18/16 7:07am]

Thank U 4 doing this interview. It shed a lot of light on that period and what was actually happening.

1989-1990 was a mysterious period.

Susan Moonsie & Brenda Bennett who were in communication with the Time & Prince at that time were talking about reforming too. But Vanity had some issues affecting her that it didn't happen.

Old Friends..I think you may need to use your magic towards a "UTCM" thread.

Graffiti Bridge... the album..... is amazing...


- a brilliant album if you cut the weak songs in between...

What a fine album... my iTunes list...




[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/ecnirp2004/Graffiti%20Bridge%20iTunes%20maj%202016_zps84bpahtw.jpg[/img:$uid]

The worst movie of all-time.

I always enjoyed the movie ... a guilty pleasure.

I think I saw it 4 or 5 times when it first came into the theatres, even though I knew it was really badly made. Glutton for punishment, I guess.

I always think of it as a long music video.
I love the music in it, especially the solo Prince songs.
He looked amazing during this period. It was such a fertile time for him musically.

That being said, it's not something that I would ever suggest my friends watch. Hahaha
I still like it though.

[Edited 5/18/16 9:09am]

It was sold out at the Best Buy Prince display.

suomynona said:

The worst movie of all-time.

When people say "X" is the worst movie of all time, I say "Have you seen Graffiti Bridge"?

I mean, I love that Prince is in it, I'll probably watch it again soon, and I love his other films - even the segues in SOTT - but Graffiti Bridge is just really really terrible in a hundred different ways.

suomynona said:

The worst movie of all-time.

I don't know if I'd go thaaaaaat far. Given the option of watching Graffiti Bridge 100 more times or watching The Love Guru one more time, I'd definitely choose option 1.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Old Friends..I think you may need to use your magic towards a "UTCM" thread.

lol yeah, I'm going to do one, getting all my gifs and black & white/color images, articles stories etc ready

nelcp777 said:

One day it will be heralded as a masterpiece, roughly 500 years from now.

I was working at a video store in a small town when Graffiti Bridge came out on home video. We would get screeners so the buyer could decide how many copies the store would get. My boss never watched the screener (I'm sure he ordered the normal amount of copies). He gave me the screener for my birthday. I was so excited to get off work and go home and watch the sequel to Purple Rain. After all, Spike Lee had called it a masterpiece or something along those lines on Friday Night Videos or in an Entertainment Tonight segment.

.

Anyways, I got home, and before doing anything else, I put the VHS in my VCR and began watching. Even at 21 -- I knew that I was watching the worst movie that I will ever see. And 14 years later in 2004 when the DVD came out -- I figured I'd put myself through watching it again -- just to give the movie one more chance.

Yep.

.

Sadly, I have never cringed that much during a movie. Because we all knew how funny Prince could be. I felt that if he wasn't already a music superstar, he could have been a good comedic actor. Instead, we're left with a huge pile of dog turds.

Identity said:

One day it will be heralded as a masterpiece, roughly 500 years from now.

.

LOL you think the planet will still be here in 500 years. We'll be lucky to be here after Tronald Dump's first term.