Prince Would Have Been 60 Today, So Let's Learn About His 'Purple Rain'

By Jodi Smith | Lists | June 7, 2018 |

By Jodi Smith | Lists | June 7, 2018 |

In honor of the Purple One on what would have been his 60th birthday, I present Mindhole Blowers about his 1984 movie debut: Purple Rain.

1. After the release of the movie, Prince became the first artist to top the box office, the album chart, and the singles chart.

2. Vanity, Prince’s girlfriend of the time, was supposed to play his love interest. She dropped out for a role as Mary Magdalene in Martin Scorcese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. Her part was eventually cut from the final version.

3. After Apollonia clinched the lead love interest role, Prince made her break up with her boyfriend at the time: David Lee Roth.

4. Wendy and Lisa had lesbian scenes that were cut out of the final movie. In reality, the two women had a romantic relationship for 20 years.

5. Warner Bros. wanted John Travolta to play Prince’s role when they were first pitched the movie.

6. Prince and Morris Day fought on set and were reportedly not on speaking terms when filming ended.

7. Apollonia’s purification dip in Lake Minnetonka was so cold that she eventually passed out after the fourth take.

8. Prince provided 100 songs for the director, Gave Magnoli, to choose from for use in the film.

9. The film’s original title was Dreams, but Prince insisted Purple be in the title.

10. Prince rewrote some of the dialogue while filming.

11. Three versions of the Prince and Apollonia sex scene were filmed; one for each available rating at the time.