A couple of photos...the Q and A at the end (with Kevin Hughes)
for UK fans: it was mentioned that this doc may be screened on UK TV before Christmas. However the screened doc won't be the whole thing as per the DVD. Also, the DVD is supposed to contain an extra hour of footage.
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and the posters in the cinema
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Personal opinion: I was really impressed by this documentary. Having read reviews about it being 'all interview' I was pleasantly surprised, because the whole thing has been cut together so seamlessly...a great job by Spike and team. As one interviewee ends a commment, the next one continues the same converstion, as if they were all sitting round a table and just chatting ..they're not of course! I was just so impressed with the whole thing...although having it at cinema screen size and concert footage at g*d knows what decibels obv. helped!
The 'Man in the mirror' concert footage is obviously last, and I thought the quality was excellent...though Michael blows you away at cinema screen size /volume anyway. I expect experts might tell me the quality could have been better, but to my eyes it looked fabulous!
We saw Siedah singing MITM to Michael as a live demo....with Michael apparently filming ( but you couldn't see him
(). It was originally written for a higher key.
We saw Michael and Stevie recording Just Good friends...just a short clip.
In the Smooth Criminal section, they mentioned MJ wanting to pay homage to Fred Astaire and the doc includes a clip from 'The Band Wagon'. I was struck (!) that in the Bandwagon footage there was a dance move that reminded me of Michaels penguin/ smacking movement in TII!!!
There were a number of scenes in Westlake studio (now), showing how it had been set up, eg with drums on a wooden stage, and Bruce talking about Michael then singing from the wooden stage too, to get the best sound effects. They mentioned recording Michaels finger snaps, and I was also interested to see what they used to create the 'claps' for MITM' (large round wooden clappers that they recorded several times, one time behind the beat to get a 'wide ' sound'
They also went to Hayvenhurst, as there was a 'B' studio there, and an element of competition between Hayvenhurst and Westlake in doing the best tracks.
The doc footage included some writing and drawing by Michael. The drawing was Michael's design for the Smooth Criminal Jacket (plain white with a black armband).
In the Q and A's John Branca said that they would like to release a History tour concert in 3D...but this will take time to convert.
Also in the Q and A's J Branca was asked about there being a permanent location for Michael fans to visit eg in Gary, Encino or Neverland. JB sounded very dubious about Neverland because of the restrictions due to access...and 2300 Jackson St does not belong to the Estate. However, 'it will be important to provide a Michael experience and this is something we are thinking very carefully about and something we want to do.'
Spike was asked how he came to make TDCAU. He said Michael went to visit him in Brooklyn and played him 10-11 tracks, and said he could choose any one to film. Spike chose Stranger in Moscow. Michael said oh no, you can't choose that one, I want you to do TDCAU......
Hard to say what the highlights are, as there were so many. An early one was seeing Michael being set up to 'drop' into the Bad set from the ceiling. (he was holding on to and supported by some scaffolding...it looked quite a drop!)
Also interesting seeing the cameraman in Bad almost crushed against the ceiling (not painful, just awkwardly) , to get the shots looking down on the dancing.
Another highlight was seeing MJ recording part of IJCSLY in Spanish..he was really nervous about getting the pronunciation right, but the lyrics translator (who was with him at the recording) said he was excellent.
I also enjoyed watching the Smooth Criminal dance rehearsals ...apparently they rehearsed late at night / early morning in a hotel...wish I could've been next door...would've tried to watch them.
The move where they all do little jumps forward together is inspired by a Bugs Bunny cartoon!
There were LOTs of funny moments, but towards the end the mood changes dramatically, after footage of Jermaine speaking in LA, when Spike had asked all of the 'witnesses' as he credits them 'where were you when you heard'... it packs a big emotional punch after the celebratory feeling of the earlier parts, and all of the interviewees are visibly upset, perhaps Seth most of all.
Thank you so much MJJC and Qbee for this wonderful opportunity to see a young MJ on the big screen..I never saw him 'live' in concert , so this is the next best thing......
Congratulations to Spike and the Estate for a great job really well done...I thought this was a wonderful 'legacy' production. (and thank you for the very nice poster!)
The two hours plus went immensely quickly! (
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