The Filming Of Purple Rain
For some six hundred extras d forty local crew members, the Minneapolis location filming of Purple Rain was Prince’s Christmas present to his hometown. Rumours flew about  the  seven million dollar project early last summer. Prince headlined a $25-per benefit on August 3 and brought along a cording truck to cut "I Would Die 4 U," Baby I'm A Star" and purple Rain" for the soundtrack, First official notice was a casting call for extras (for a "major movie") that took place in a suburban motel parking Lot. Outrageously attired hopefuls filled out applications and posed for Polaroid's while Prince watched through Venetians blinds from  offices inside. (Extras cleared about $24 plus lunch for a ' eleven-hour day.) Street shooting began downtown November 7 Prince was there, both on camera and off tanked by his immense bodyguard Chuck, he watched Morris Day and Jerome Benton take an onscreen stroll, Throughout production Prince was a constant presence sometimes offering advice to actors/band members, sometimes just keeping eagle eye on events. Security was tight. Extras were warned that speaking to :Prince was cause for dismissal, and Chick kept' vigil far any spectators toting cameras. A public street become a remarkably closed set. The crew, on atypically short prep time, raced  weather, hoping to complete exterior shooting before winter. They didn't make it. Scenes at Apollonia’s. ’ hotel' (a former whorehouse currently awaiting renovation) took place without heat in sub-zero temperatures One crew member's job was to wrap blankets around scantily clad female' between shots Outside shooting – Prince on his bike in the country, lake side with Apollonia pushing film rival Day into a pile of trashy cans lasted a couple of weeks The main action was at First'', Avenue, Minneapolis premier rock club and site of performance scenes over the next month The film shows only small portion of the audience but Prince wanted a full house. So every day at 7 a.m, six hundred extras piled in to react as! the Kid (a struggling musician vying musically with the Time,i and personally with Day for Apollonia s affections) did seven live numbers Prince had told the sound department he wanted a playback level equal to an actual performance. "We  brought in the stacks and let ’em have it," says playback operator Matt Quast, a veteran of Chuck Statler rock video The dB level was so high that the company bought $200 wort ' of sound suppressors tor the crew Five cameras covered the concert numbers. "We’d usuall need only two or three takes of each number," Quast says( One problem was that Prince is such a compelling performer ( that several scenes had tobe reshot the crowd reacted wild where the script called for indifference Prince impressed the film crew as well as the extras We never waited for him he was always there always knew hiØ iines ’ says location manager Kirk Hokanson "He was sd attentive so sharp – he always remembered where his handg were in the prevrous shot What was Prince like as a persong "Basicatly l never talked to him  Prince kept to himself dunng filming seemingly sawng his," energy for his performance Despite hie reclusive nature hei threw several crew parties playing solo and with bandl members throughout the night A few days before Chnstmas' the last shot was made, after an all-night wrap party, people went back to their reguiar lives But there’d been a change. They d taken part in creating a vision They d felt the rain. - Tony Glover