Fiction -vs- Facts

[Badding00]

You know, i never saw tempts recording My girl. Or was it really they who sang it... Guess I'll just have to trust what people, who were in the studio, say.

[MikeNYC]

Badding00 said:

You know, i never saw tempts recording My girl. Or was it really they who sang it... Guess I'll just have to trust what people, who were in the studio, say.

If you listen to them. You know ,from years of performing the song that David Ruffin was the lead singer. I was not at the recording session,either...I was too busy on this board. But I heard David's account of the recording. He admitted that he made a mistake during the recording...and that mistake was left in the final cut,it sounded so good. I've seen the REAL Temptations sing My Girl,and I know that they were the only ones who made the song sound like the recording!
Guess I have to trust what my ears tell me.

[Ebony]

MikeNYC said:

The movie trashes itself.
If you see "facts" presented by other members and have the same things to say....then ...that's something to believe. It ain't got nothing to do with this "favorite"crap. I just can't go along with that.
You say that most of it was BS,but you can't prove it. I say you can...if you wanted to. You can say what was BS and what was not..and how you know it to be such...truth,or untruth. There is an avenue that you choose to go down to get you to the point of your observations,just like I did,a level that you stand on to determine what is true or not.
If you didn't know when David,Eddie & Dennis performed together,you wouldn't know if the film put it in the right time frame or not. You don't have to be a patron at Chappy's Lounge to know if what the movie showed is correct or not.
You say your family can't tell us jack about your life on the road.....but your teammates can. I'll bet your family,or anyone that discusses your carreer should at least know that you didn't play for the Toronto Raptures.
Who on this board ever saw Paul drunk? Either onstage,or off?
Ever have a coke & a smile with David? Did he ever tell you that he wanted the group to be called David Ruffin & The Temptations? He talked about the limo with his glasses painted on the door. How many ever knew that the rest of the group could have rode with him if they wanted to? That don't sound like ego trippin to me. Before Street Gold came out,did you know anything about this? I didn't..did you?
How many on this board ever gave Eddie a cigarette?
How many ever borrowed a cigarette from Eddie? I'll bet very few ever actually EVER saw him holding a cigarette in his hand!
But they SWEAR that all of this is "THE TRUTH...THE WHOLE TRUTH...AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH" And we KNOW better!
I didn't even get into the real heavy stuff.
Nobody points out that Paul was a businessman and tried to help youngsters get an education? I got that from somewhere else...SOUL newspapers...with pictures of Paul handind out the checks...should I say this didn't happen because he didn't give me one?
Becauce Otis,nor Hollywood never mentioned it?
Because he didn't give you one? I didn't know much about Tim Bassett and the University Of Georgia. I knew that he went there,but I didn't know what role he played in bringing people of color to the school...Bill Walton never mentioned it,does that mean it was not so?Some say Bill Walton was the greatest clooedge player to ever wear a pair of sneakers.
I don't see how you can say that Otis' voice has nothing to do as to weather the movie is fact,or fiction....where did they get the concept from,Dennis& Woodson?
They didn't even bother to do reasearch. But,you know this. More important..I know that you know this.Even more important than that ...You know that I know that you know this. Heck,I was not there when Otis asked David for a ride in the limo and david gave him a ride.
But, how else would Otis be able to portray what went on in David's limo,if he didn't see firsthand?
Last,I wouldn't take Eddie,David,Dennis,or Paul's word over Otis'...I would,however tale Eddie,David,Dennis & Paul's word over Otis' if David,Eddie,Dennis & Paul said things along the same lines as each other. Wouldn't YOU ?

Mike, you really are the truth, man. :clapping: Keep on keeping it real. temptsinfo.com/smilies/wtg.gif

[ZeldaFScott]

The circumstances of Melvin's death as protrayed in the movie were pure fiction, for example. It has been stated by various sources that he did not die in his mother's kitchen, but in a hospital (to say the least). And it doesn't matter what the motive was behind changing a fact in such a matter that it has become the complete un-truth -- it is not a dramatization but a fictionalization of the actual event.

[Ivory Fair]

Of but it DOES matter ................ you would rather have seen Blu dying in the awful manner that he did? I wouldn't tell you how to handle the death of your best friend Anna and I'm not going to do it to Otis.

[kalisa2]

I was strolling to imdb, and hadn't seen this review of our favorite "love" or "Love to hate" movie...its just WEIRD (the reviewer should have quit while they were ahead, they had enough WRONG stuff in there to make the whole review worthless )

imdb.com/title/tt0164292/

I'm just wondering exactly how Jimmy Ruffin was protrayed as a drug dealer, and which brother of Otis's helped him found the group? And when did "Deliver us from Temptation" become a better story about THE TEMPTATIONS? As we know, the body of THAT book didn't start until the 80's and was about Tony's experiences with David, Eddie (and Dennis) AFTER they left the group holding the name The Temptations.

[Ivory Fair]

And when did " Deliver us from Temptation" become a better story about THE TEMPTATIONS?

Did Mikey write THAT review? (ha ha)

[MikeNYC]

kalisa2 said:

And when did "Deliver us from Temptation" become a better story about THE TEMPTATIONS? As we know, the body of THAT book didn't start until the 80's and was about Tony's experiences with David, Eddie (and Dennis) AFTER they left the group holding the name The Temptations.

Different strokes for different folks.
I ve seen worse reviews than this done on Otis' book. People think that book is gospel.
This person liked Tony's book better than otis'.
You gotta read it all.

[ZeldaFScott]

I don't mean to say, I could have done it better than the movie did, Ivory. But it was simply not factual to portray Melvin's as this. That's fiction. As I said in another post 100 years ago, maybe it would have sufficed to state that Melvin Franklin died and only give the date and place of his death.

[MikeNYC]

AnnaKonda said:

I don't mean to say, I could have done it better than the movie did, Ivory. But it was simply not factual to portray Melvin's as this. That's fiction. As I said in another post 100 years ago, maybe it would have sufficed to state that Melvin Franklin died and only give the date and place of his death.

I think you could,Anna.I think I could.
I think that anybody that has TRUE love for the Temptations could have done a better job than the movie. You would have made sure that the story was told right.

[ZeldaFScott]

Yes, I definitely would have wanted the story to be as close to the truth as it could possibly be. While I agree with Ivory that it is difficult to depict a slow and agonizing death as Melvin's must have been, I also find it objectionable to show less concern for David's dignity in death. I feel that showing him thrown out in the streets -- ending up in the gutters, so to speak -- is tactless at the best. I dare not imagine how his family must have felt seeing that scene.

[Aba21]

At the time of the movie, not many knew the real circumstances of Melvin's death. In David's case it was reported in the paper that a limo driver dropped him at the Hospital and wouldn't give any information. This ultimately proved to be false but it was out there. It does not make it right the way it was portrayed but *I* think that and probably Otis did not want deal with MElvin's death at that time. That was his best friend for many years. Seeing that not many knew about Melvin's death, I saw no disservice to Melvin by showing him dying at home. I knew immediately that Melvin didn't die there but I wasn't upset when I saw...I figured it had to be a reason for it.

[ZeldaFScott]

I don't think either that it hurt Melvin or his family. All I wanted to say is that the way his demise was portrayed must be viewed as a fictionalized account of the real event. (Since the thread is about Fiction vs. Facts.) The scene in the movie does not even come close to the truth, therefore, it cannot be called a dramatization of the fact. Does that make any sense?

[kalisa2]

MikeNYC said:

Different strokes for different folks.
I ve seen worse reviews than this done on Otis' book. People think that book is gospel.
This person liked Tony's book better than otis'.
You gotta read it all.

I agree up to a point Mike. I was in agreement with a lot of what the reviewer had to say, until it became evident that they were blowing hot air (i.e. saying that the movie protrayed Jimmy as a drug dealer, saying that Otis AND HIS BROTHER founded the group). Then adding that 'Deliver us from Temptation" is a better book ABOUT THE TEMPTATIONS is also fallacious and just absurd . Whether it's a better book in someone's opinion is of course a matter of personal taste...but it is not about "The Temptations", period.

With me at least, when one part of what someone says is completely erroneous, it brings into question everything else they have said.

[kalisa2]

AnnaKonda said:

I don't think either that it hurt Melvin or his family.

I believe his mother found objection with the portrayal of Melvin's death being in her kitchen, for whatever reason. Whether that was included in her lawsuit I'm not sure, but I've seen mention of it coming from her.

I thought it was handled tactfully and tastefully given what we know of the real circumstances.