Michael Jackson estate thrills to biopic

Michael Jackson estate thrills to biopic
By Jeff Sneider

With Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial now over, John Branca, the executor of the Jackson estate, has approached Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock's Montecito Picture Company about the possibility of producing and financing a Jackson biopic. Project would only cover certain periods of the late singer's life.

Pollack confirmed that the two sides are engaged in early talks but cautioned that there is no deal in place.

A spokesman for Jackson's estate had no comment.

The estate is currently focused on Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour," so there is no rush to get the movie into production. However, the fact that the estate is keen to pay tribute to Michael on the bigscreen should have Hollywood agents salivating, as the plum part would likely do wonders for an actor's career: Past music-themed biopics "Ray" and "Walk the Line" have won Oscars for respective stars Jamie Foxx and Reese Witherspoon.

Should Montecito close a deal to make the movie, a Jackson biopic would offer different material than the company is known for. The shingle launched in 2000 with Todd Phillips' debut feature "Road Trip."

Company went on to produce several successful comedies including Phillips' "Old School" and John Hamburg's "I Love You, Man," though in recent years, Montecito has focused on higher-brow fare such as Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" and Atom Egoyan's "Chloe."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118046177

Hmm... Don't know what to think about it. Is it too soon to even think about a biopic? Oh well... There is no deal yet.

:fear:

Wouldn't it be awesome if Johnny Depp played Michael? :wild:

well I think working on the project if this is true does not neccesarily mean bad timeing.. I mean first goes the idea stages where It seems like they are.. just a simple contact.. then there is planning, then there is casting, then there is filming, then there is editing, then there is real promotion, then release.. considering all even if this is real considering what was said, this wont come out for another couple years.. EARLIEST is q4 2014.. which is pushing it. more likely 2015 for a real time frame..

An average filming project takes 5 months.. 3 months of filming.. and the other 2 of casting and editing.. and for a biopec casting usually takes longer because they are protraying real people, which is harder to cast.. so we aint seeing this any time soon..

I personally would love to have a series film taking each part of MJ's life.. 1 film from beginning through motown.. then cbs to Dangerous.. Then History to 2009.. That to me would be ideally what I would like to see and would take to capture a good amount of MJ's life since it has been filled of soo much starting at an early age..

No one looks like Michael, so I don't like this.

It seems too soon, we all know about Michael's life. Wait another 10 years.

i think it would be really cool but there are too many things that could go wrong. johnny depp would be cool but how will the skin issue ever be done without looking ridiculous..unless they got differnt people to act diff parts?? and there are so many touchy issues about mj's life and if he isnt portrayed in the EXACT way we want him to, all hell will break loose with the fans. how will the dancing be done....hmm...too many risks here i think

This is film needs to be made IMO. There have been too many documentaries about MJ, not to mention the 'Man In The Mirror' film with Flex Alexander, that just make MJ look bad, and the Estate would be justified in telling a different side to the story.
Of course there will be difficulties due to Mj's changing appearance but this could be overcome IMO.
With MJ's complex character and personal issues with fame, surgery, illness, accusations and medication this could be a great opportunity for a good character actor. The person doesn't need to try to impersonate MJ, they just need to get into the character and do a good job. Of course they will need to start off black and change to being 'white', and the way this is handled by the makeup artists will need to be considered so it doesn't look like ridiculous but it can be done.
'Man In The Mirror' showed exactly how MJ should NOT be portrayed in a film. It just looked ridiculous and couldn't be taken seriously.
Another difficulty is how they're going to tell the story in only 2 or 2.5 hours and do it justice. There is so much to tell because MJ was hugely famous from such a young age, and it's so relevant to include the J5 story in an MJ biopic. I think that Mj's life would ideally be suited to a Mini-series or a series of feature length films, rather than a single film but I can't see anybody securing the funds to do that.
There are several major aspects of MJ's life that the fans may want addressed. Firstly, they might want to show the struggle with Vitiligo and how it, along with the media criticism, affected MJ.
Also, I think the fans may want the 1993 allegations explained to show that it started off as bribary and turned into a CIVIL case against MJ for money, and importantly that MJ's advisors told him to settle, and that he was against the idea.
The 2003 accusations should also be covered and shown to be a set up.
Then of course, there is the one big topic which WILL be covered - MJ's death. This will need to highlight the poor advice MJ received from doctors, his desire to put on the best show possible for his fans and his children, and the eventual neglect by Murray that led to his death.
These 4 topics alone would best be covered in separate films, so it's going to be an uphill struggle to include everything at an adequate level of detail in one film.
Personally I don't think it's too soon for a film to be explored. MJ has been gone 2.5 years already and it will be at least another 2 or 3 years before a film would be ready. I'm assuming they don't have a screenplay written yet as it seems like this is very early in the development process. By that point, I'm sure those who think it's too early now will be ready for it.

I agree with Bobmoo, I think it could be a good idea to set a few things straight. However, I dont see any actor playing Michael. None would work for me anyway. I dont think it's too soon though. Crap's been spread around for too long, we're fighting haters and ignorant people every day. I believe this, done right, could be a huge help.

Urgh no thanks

I'm still haunted by the memory of that horrible movie "Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror". Apart from the factual inaccuracies, horrible portrayal of Michael and horrible acting and dialogues as well. On the other hand "Jacksons: An American Dream" was pretty good, however that covered Michael's life only between birth and Thriller - that's the easy part. After that it becomes too complex for anyone to really grasp it in a fair and accurate way, I believe. The problem is, like we see from books about him, that noone really has the FULL picture of MJ. So a movie will get inevitably flawed in one or another direction. Therefore I'm not really looking forward to such a biopic. Perhaps in 100 years, when this biased generation dies out and gives way to one that is able to examine MJ's life without the prejudices this generation has, then they can make a fair and good movie about him. But not until then, I'm afraid.

You know, I think if we dont correct lots of stupid ideas about Michael now, when this biased generation dies out, they will have passed on their idiocy to the next. I believe its now or never.

But, a movie... weird to imagine. And again, yes, it would never catch the complexity of the man. No one else than Michael can truly talk about how Michael felt or what he thought.

Ben said:

You know, I think if we dont correct lots of stupid ideas about Michael now, when this biased generation dies out, they will have passed on their idiocy to the next. I believe its now or never.

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I agree. But sometimes it's frustrating that you can put all your efforts in showing people the facts (facts of the allegations, for example) but it's like fighting an uphill battle when people in the media can throw in unfounded claims, appeals to people's prejudices rather than intelligence and ruin it all in a minute by slanderous headlines and soundbites (just like they are doing now by comparing MJ's case to the Penn State scandal). The sad thing is people are too lazy to research and learn but they nevertheless feel the need to form an opinion based on those misleading soundbites. Yes, we have to keep on fighting and never give up educating the public on the facts but it does feel frustrating sometimes when you see the amount of lies people are getting brainwashed with.

@Respect, I know, and I totally agree, especially on the general laziness of the public when it comes to reliable information. It doesnt only apply to Michael. The mainstream media cat be trusted and the vast majority of people dont look further. Hence the use of a movie.
Still, urgh.

Now is the time....otherwise, someone else will make the darn movie and we won't be pleased.

I think it's good to let it be known they are working on an official movie (even if it won't come out for a few years), to discourage others (Latoya? Another GLE type venture) from starting ish.

I think a movie for MJ's 5th anniversary would be a great way to celebrate his life.


Please spare us the J5 years...go straight to Off the Wall. Love the J5 songs, but I like to pretend MJ wasn't related to these bozos that are constantly seeking the spotlight.

I'm very much for a big project that would cover Michael's whole life, but how about they do it as noone has done it before - make a trilogie with three major film releases:
1. from birth untill Thriller
2. from post Thriller untill HIStory, including the allegations
3. from posl HIStory untill 2009.

Michael's life is too large and to complex to only be covered in one film! And all three parts would of course deserve to be shown in cinemas around the world.

And to make it more original, they might include some limited original scenes from his life, e.g. public at concerts, maybe his speech from Neverland in 1993, ... It would definitely add to the dramatic side!

If it's a project initiated by the Estate, and they work closely with the producers and director, I think this has the potential to be something great and do justice to his legacy. It's a way to bring Michael closer to people who are not familiar about his life or doubt his innocence.

Biopics don't often turn out to be box office hits, but can be critically acclaimed. For that, they need to get the casting, script and directing right. Honestly, I don't think any of the known actors out there are cut out to play Michael. Johnny Depp is perhaps a maybe to play the older Michael (I can picture that), but Jamie Foxx? Hell no. An unknown fresh talent(s) would be more believable. Casting has to be spot on, but Michael won't be an easy character to portray.

this could go ether way. if they do this the FACTS must be what they are. FACTS! and i say this as another artists fan who's been there. i have seen the promises and the disappointments.

and i say that they have to adress the accusations. not only that he was accused but actually show what it did to the pore guy!

respect77 said:

I'm still haunted by the memory of that horrible movie "Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror". Apart from the factual inaccuracies, horrible portrayal of Michael and horrible acting and dialogues as well. On the other hand "Jacksons: An American Dream" was pretty good, however that covered Michael's life only between birth and Thriller - that's the easy part. After that it becomes too complex for anyone to really grasp it in a fair and accurate way, I believe. The problem is, like we see from books about him, that noone really has the FULL picture of MJ. So a movie will get inevitably flawed in one or another direction. Therefore I'm not really looking forward to such a biopic. Perhaps in 100 years, when this biased generation dies out and gives way to one that is able to examine MJ's life without the prejudices this generation has, then they can make a fair and good movie about him. But not until then, I'm afraid.

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I agree with the bold part. Although I realize the power of movie, there are just too many hurdles that the filmmakers have to overcome to make a Michael Jackson biopic right. It takes a genius to write the script. It takes an extremley talented actor to portray Michael. Bascially, it takes a visionary to make the film. Michael was so unique and complex. It'll take tons and tons and tons of efforts to get the film right and do Michael Jackson justice. I believe it take times to study Michael Jackson. As of now, I don't think anyone on Earth who truly see the entire picture of the life of Michael Jackson, the artist, the unique human being, the genius, the great ambassador of peace, the tender soul.

If they have to do it right, this biopic will definately take years and years of planning, or may be the future generation may be able to do a better job since they will be able to see things with a clearer lens from an unbiased angle.

Whatever they plan to do, I hope they take all the efforts and time necessary.

To many people, the memory of Michael Jackson is still raw and fresh. I know that he's a historical figure. But, unlike other great figures, such as Ghandi or JFK, Michael is so closed to me. He's always in my heart. I don't think I'll be able to accept an actor portrayal in the coming years. It's just me...

SimplyMagic said:

Wouldn't it be awesome if Johnny Depp played Michael? :wild:

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I think he'll be a good choice for the later years and he's a wonderful character actor - he lives the parts.

but I'm not sure if everyone will be happy with a white guy playing Michael.

that's something I'm just not interested in

I have been thinking about this every now and again since Michael died, so I'm glad the Estate are planning a film. I've seen Ray and Walk The Line and they are both very good films. ..However I have also seen Man In The Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story and as you all know that didn't turn out so well. (Although Ray is maybe a bad example because Ray Charles reviewed the script and changed parts shortly before his death.)

Walk the Line was released just over 2 years after Johnny Cash's death so I don't think it is too soon for an MJ biopic. The problems they face would be casting and the plot from 1988 - 2009. (I assume they will base 1958 - 1988 on Moonwalk).

An official movie would be OK i Guess.
Then they could use MJ's original songs, footage from different tours etc.

My only problem would be - NOONE can play MJ!

Some said Johnny Depp, maybe he could, but it should not be a funny character - it should do MJ justice, and I think it is impossiple for anyone else to really do that!

If they could make it something like The Jacksons An American Dream - with original music, footage etc. - that would be cool!

It has to be like 3 hours long IMO! - At least! :lol:

ivy said:

I think he'll be a good choice for the later years and he's a wonderful character actor - he lives the parts.

but I'm not sure if everyone will be happy with a white guy playing Michael.

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It's way better than having a black guy portray him in his later years wearing large quantities of white make-up. It might look more natural.

Actually, they might want to chose someone weho looks the most like him, regardless of colour of his skin.

I think if i had to chose someone to play Michael I would pick (of course depending on acting skills)

E Casanova 1985-2009... From 1999 to 2009 E Cas could put wear prostetics to semi ulter his appearance.. and/or lose 20lbs for his face to resemble MJ's older look..


Danny Tidwell for 1977-1984

Dont really know the guy, but it would have to be a dancer for sure. I think it'd be better if it was not someone famous. I love Depp, who's a fantastic actor, but it would be weird to me.

I read posts from some fans just days after Michael died, saying how much they would love to see a movie about Michael's life. I have personally always found biopics on major cultural icons (specifically actors and pop stars) quite inaccurate, with a very one dimensional view of that person. I wouldn't even entertain watching an actor playing Michael Jackson in a movie, because no actor could accurately capture Michael's character on screen. Even fans who wish to have the 48yr Johnny Depp (who I think is very overrated actor) play Michael, makes it look to me like they'd enjoy seeing him acting as Michael more so than great movie about Michael.

Why on earth would any one want to watch 2hrs or movie of someone acting as Michael, when we still have so much archive film footage of Michael that his Estate own. I am really fed up of ideas of a movie of Michael's life or documentaries like Life of An Icon that wish to pack all of Michael's life in to a 2hr film. If any "official" movie of Michael's life is to be made, then my wish is for it to be a documentary movie with rare Estate owned archive footage of Michael, told by Michael audio recording of his voice. And no pop heads of family or friends, just Michael's voice tell us how he experienced his life.

I agree with the comment one member posted here, that a movie about Michael's life shouldn't be made for another 100yrs. Michael's still a very recent cultural icon, and a movie with an actor playing Michael in my view wouldn't be convincing considering how big a persona Michael is. I've noticed that with this Circ De Sole Immortal World Tour, and no this idea for a movie, that too many "tributes" where people are trying to fill the huge void Michael left by basically doing his dancing routines (well just the iconic movies, people forget about a lot a other dance moves Michael did, that made his kicks, spins, robot and moonwalk amazing), and now the idea of acting as Michael. It's a nice tribute pay homage to Michael in performance, but what fans and and everyone should be doing and expecting as a tribute to Michael is getting his art/creations out in public. His music, concerts, homemade interviews, photographs etc is paying tribute to Michael and keeping his memory alive. Having people do his dancing, or acting as Michael obscures the memory and the man Michael Jackson was, and a person many of us wish to learn more about.

I know the Michael Jackson life story, and I followed it from as it happened from early 1983 right through till 25 June 2009. A movie means nothing to me, when the reality of what I already know from Michael's own words to seeing old Jackson family photos and Super 8 home movies beats a movie hands down for me.

I can't see anyone playing Michael besides Michael himself. It would be like watching an impersonator IMO, but I'd be interested to see what the Estate could dish out. If they did something like a sequel to Jacksons: American Dream from OTW to This Is It, then it could be good. I also think if they went over how Michael was extorted in 1993 and 2003, then it could be vindicating.