If there’s one thing Prince always knew how to do, it was to set the tone. And on Tuesday night in Playa Vista, California, that tone was pure magic — bold, funky, and dripping in purple. IMAX®, Mercury Studios, FilmRise, and Paisley Park Enterprises threw an invite-only advance screening of the newly remastered Prince: Sign o’ the Times at IMAX Headquarters. It was LA’s only special screening before the film’s global one-week run begins August 29, and let me tell you — the City of Angels was glowing.
A Pre-Party with Sunshine and Style
The evening kicked off with a pre-show celebration, the kind of vibe that felt straight out of Play in the Sunshine. Violet lights drenched the room while tastemakers clinked glasses to Prince’s enduring influence. From Billboard’s Gail Mitchell to Charles Spicer Jr. of the Prince Estate — who spoke from the heart as a childhood friend of Prince — the room was charged with love and reverence.
It wasn’t just fans — it was family, it was community. And when you’ve got Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Elle Baez, Lu Kala, Dizzy Fae, skater-entrepreneur Salman Agah, lighting legend LeRoy Bennett, and even Anna Fantastic (muse of “Pink Cashmere” and “Lemon Crush”) in the mix, you know it’s going to be more than a screening. This was LA’s own Housequake.
The Film: Then and Now
Let’s rewind for a second. Sign o’ the Times (the album) dropped March 31, 1987, Prince’s first true solo project after disbanding The Revolution. It was born from three scrapped projects (Dream Factory, Camille, Crystal Ball) before he landed on this double LP masterpiece. Songs like The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, Starfish and Coffee, and Slow Love proved Prince wasn’t bound by genre or convention. This was an artist reshaping sound on his own terms.
That fall, on October 29, 1987, the film premiered in Detroit, hitting over 200 theatres nationwide. Critics raved, but U.S. audiences didn’t fully get it at the time. Still, when it hit VHS, the UK and global audiences embraced it hard — because the artistry couldn’t be denied.
Fast-forward to 2025, and here we are — finally giving Sign o’ the Times the cinematic respect it deserves. Remastered with IMAX’s jaw-dropping visuals and surround sound, the performance feels brand-new. When the title track Sign o’ the Times played, the room sat spellbound. By the time U Got the Look flashed across the screen, folks were nodding and mouthing the words like it was their first crush all over again. And If I Was Your Girlfriend? Still devastating. Still intimate. Still timeless.
Faces in the Purple Crowd
This wasn’t your average Tuesday in LA. The guest list was as eclectic as Prince himself: Questlove holding court, DJ Chris Holmes keeping the energy high, choreographer Tevyn Cole vibing out, and artists like Kii Arens and Michelle Kath Sinclair soaking in the spectacle. Hollywood stars Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kelvin Brown, and Anika Poitier brought the silver-screen shine, while influencers like Simply SashaAnne and Ashamad Heard reminded us that Prince still speaks to new generations.
It was a true Strange Relationship of people — old-school fans shoulder-to-shoulder with first-timers, all brought together under Prince’s unshakable groove.
Forever in Our Lives
Walking out of IMAX HQ that night, it hit me: Prince may have left this plane in 2016, but his music hasn’t lost a drop of power. Songs like Forever in My Life and It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night feel prophetic now — reminders that legacies don’t fade, they grow. And when The Cross closed out the film, the room sat in silence, united in that spiritual current only Prince could channel.
This wasn’t just a screening, it was a revival. For the long-time fam who danced to Hot Thing back in ’87, and the new fans who just discovered Starfish and Coffee on TikTok, Sign o’ the Times in IMAX is proof that Prince didn’t just create music — he created worlds. And now, thanks to IMAX, those worlds are bigger, brighter, and louder than ever.
So whether you’re a diehard or a newcomer, here’s the truth: you gotta see this. Because as Prince reminded us — Adore is eternal.