|
''The Temptations'' is a four-hour television miniseries broadcast in two-hour halves on NBC, based upon the history of one of Motown's longest-lived acts, The Temptations. Executive produced by former Motown executive Suzanne de Passe, produced by Otis Williams and Temptations manager Shelley Berger, and based upon Williams’ ''Temptations'' autobiography, the miniseries was originally broadcast on November 1 and November 2, 1998. It was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, PA in the spring of 1998. Allan Arkush was the miniseries’ director. ==Overview== The miniseries starred Charles Malik Whitfield as Otis Williams, Leon as David Ruffin, D. B. Woodside as Melvin Franklin, Terron Brooks as Eddie Kendricks, and Christian Payton as Paul Williams. Also featured were Charles Ley as Dennis Edwards, J. August Richards as Richard Street, Obba Babatundé as Berry Gordy, Vanessa Bell Calloway as Johnnie Mae Matthews, and Mel Jackson as Norman Whitfield. As the miniseries was based upon Otis Williams’ book, it came from his perspective: the focus of the story tended to be on Williams and Melvin Franklin, with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks seen as antagonists for much of the second half (although Kendricks was still given a more sympathetic portrayal than Ruffin). Dennis Edwards was not heavily focused upon, nor was much said of the problems he later had with Otis Williams. Nevertheless, the miniseries gave a general overview of both the history of the group and that of Motown, and, thanks to de Passe's connection, the film was able to use authentic props and locations. A number of liberties were taken with factual events for dramatization purposes. For example, in the film, Melvin Franklin apparently dies outside of the kitchen in his mother's house. In reality, he died from heart failure at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after being admitted following a series of seizures. As Franklin's death was still fresh in the minds of the miniseries' creators (he died in 1995), it was decided that the miniseries would not present Franklin's death as it actually occurred. Also, David Ruffin was not found dead near a hospital, and then taken to a morgue where he was properly identified. Instead, he had suffered a drug overdose, and was taken to the hospital by his chauffeur where he died there. Another inaccuracy is the depiction of Ruffin, Kendricks and Edwards performing together before the 1982 reunion tour, when in reality Ruffin and Kendricks did not start performing together until 1985, with Edwards joining them in 1989 after the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.〔"(Drama vs. Reality )." ''Temptsinfo.com''〕 Although the movie is set mostly in Detroit Michigan and Los Angeles, the producers chose to shoot the film in Pittsburgh, presumably to take advantage of the many different architectural and geographical looks that Pittsburgh offers. de Passe Entertainment had, some six years earlier, shot ''The Jacksons: An American Dream'' in Pittsburgh as well. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Temptations (miniseries)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|