RainbowAngel
Proud Member
Read along, I found this article to be very witty and logical. I hope I can post this here. I'm really glad the investigation thread is not password locked because it will just be too hard to access. So thanks to the owner/moderators who unlocked it. Share the article around.
www.thecommentfactory.com/michael-j...n-death-aeg-and-dr-death-should-both-pay-2666
By Sandra Sasvari
NOTE: First of all, I would like to make it clear that what is expressed below is my personal reflection and opinion only. I do not claim this to be the truth, I am merely expressing what I believe to be true on a personal level. I have no insight into AEG, nor do I claim to be speaking on behalf of the ”This Is Not It” team – I just happen to agree with what they are saying, and I choose to believe their version of what happened, as opposed to that of AEG. I in no way ignore or fail to see the excitement and love Michael Jackson had for ”This Is It” as a project, and the way he was truly excited to share it with all of us. I have just chosen to focus on the business aspect of the situation, to try and show more clearly who I think is really responsible for things ending the way they did. This was written with the utmost love, respect and concern for Michael Jackson, his family, and those close to him that tried so desperately to intervene. All people involved in the incidents and situations mentioned shall remain nameless.
Michael Jackson needs money. Desperately. Over the past decade, his personal life has been repeatedly tarnished, mocked and examinated up close due to the child molestation accusations, and the music that made him a household name seems to have taken a back seat to the slander and bizarre rumours. The trial, although it cleared him of all charges, left him a broken man, and he spent the most part of the following years living like a nomad. Neverland, that was once his world, had been tarnished and defiled by the L.A.P.D, and did not feel like the safe haven it used to be.
When you are the most famous man in the world, people want things from you. Not only because you have them, but because they feel a sense of entitlement to them, a sense of “we made you who you are, you owe us this”. In the past year, Jackson had been hit with multiple law suits, and his finances were not what they once were. Enter AEG.
AEG is one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment presenters, they own or have considerable control over Toyota Sports Center, The Hartford Civic Center, NOKIA Theatre Times Suare, Staples Centre (more about that later), and numerous other facilities. After discussion, deal is closed for Michael Jackson to perform a series of concerts at their O2 Arena, and tickets sell out within a matter of minutes. So fast, that AEG decide to, allegedly on their own initiative and without Jackson’s consent, extend the run: from the original ten shows, to fifty. Rehearsals begin, and things go well for the first couple of weeks. However, it is soon obvious to everyone around, as well as to Randy Philips, AEG chief executive, that Jackson is rapidly losing weight, is weak, stressed, and drousy under the influence of pain killers and sleeping pills. He realizes that the schedule they’ve created for him may be, shall we say, a little tough. An insurance deal is then signed, and Randy Phillips is quoted as saying:
“We have insured the production costs. In order to get the first part of the insurance in place, [Jackson] had to have a physical, and he passed it with flying colors.”
Although the rumour that the insurance in question was made to cover Michael’s death only if it was drug related has never been confirmed, it is my personal belief that this was the case, simply because they were aware of his relationship with medication and it seemed very likely to them that it may well intensify due to the pressure they had put him under. Finding a physician that will give the all-clear – which, in case of Michael dying, would serve to help them get their investment back – most likely wasn’t very difficult either – after all, money talks. Philips made the additional comment that “the carriers flew in a doctor of their choice from New York and he did an extensive battery of tests.”
Randy Philips spoke openly on repeated occasions about witnessing someone in Michael Jackson’s closest circuits having to cut his food for him and spoon feed him, Jackson being too weak to eat by himself. Nothing is done to help. Others close to him try desperately to get the people in charge to call in professional help, as Jackson is clearly unwell both emotionally and physically. Again, nothing is done. Fans and followers try to intervene, but after having confided in them that he does not feel ready to do the fifty shows that are asked of him, security around Michael Jackson tightens and clasps around him like an iron ring, making it as good as impossible for them to come close to him again. Nothing is done to help him. Instead, AEG push harder. After all, it’s almost opening night.
Eventually, the crippling pressure becomes too much, and Michael Jackson’s heart stops. As not to waste the huge interest the world is showing, the conversation, over at the AEG office, then, might have gone something like this:
“It’s a bummer Michael had to go and die…so close to tour start and everything. Okay, this is what we’ll do: we broadcast what is more or less his funeral from Staples Centre (which, by the way, we own) on live TV, and to get back the money we lost because he died on us oh-so-inconveniently, we make a movie. Not just any movie, no no – a movie with very carefully selected scenes. Because we can’t show the truth; first of all it wouldn’t sell and secondly, it would be obvious that we were the ones responsible because we pushed him too hard. So we edit very carefully, and choose the very best parts out of the more than 100 hour footage that has been shot to create our own version of the truth. It’s pre-packed, ready-to-sell, and easy to swallow. Perfect.”
The movie becomes one of the most successful and financially gratifying projects in movie history (that it helps us to escape responsibility is just a bonus) and to take things one step further – hey, you gotta strike while the iron is hot – a few months later, we arrange a tribute to this deceased Pop Icon on the Grammy Awards – which we also own. In the arena we own. The same arena where he was spoon fed and basically buried in. Goodie! People love familiarity, they should know that stage by now.
To make everything develop smoother, we decide to take advantage of the celebrities that mourn and want to honour him, and a tribute is made – a tribute that will steal people’s focus away from all of the above. Then, we proceed to get one of these celebrities to introduce the tribute and make sure it’s in his script that he promotes the DVD of earlier mentioned movie, which by the way – it’s all so fantastically well planned! – we released to the public only six days prior.
Then, we let the celebrities in question do their tribute in front of a backdrop of said movie (did we mention it’s out on DVD now?) and while everyone is still emotional, before their tears have dried, (quickly, people are changing the channel!), we get Michael Jackson’s children – that he tried so hard to protect from media exposure – on stage so that they can accept his Lifetime Achievement Award (again; he died so inconveniently, that Michael) so that our ratings will soar even more. Jackson’s siblings or parents aren’t wanted (they just mean trouble, and besides, they’re on to us), and why settle with his siblings when you can have his kids? Katherine Jackson is welcome, she is the legal guardian after all, and if we want the kids, we’re going to have to put up with having the legal guardian around for a little while. It’s a give and take kinda thing.
The kids give their speeches to their deceased father in shaky, scared voices (make sure to zoom in on their faces, too — this is the good part!) who was in a casket on that same stage seven months ago, people get touched by it, rush to buy even more copies of our DVD, and all is well with the world and our bank accounts. Suckers…they’ll never know.”
__
With the impending trial against Dr. Conrad Murray, there are many of us that hope so desperately for some retribution for Michael, and that just want someone to take responsibility so that we can at least try to have some closure. However, even if Dr. Murray is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which are the charges being pressed against him, he will most likely only be lightly reprimanded. Meanwhile, millions of fans are still mourning the loss of their hero, and they may never stop. It is true that had it not been for Dr. Conrad Murray giving Michael the heavy amount of medication that he did (apart from the ”usual” doses of Lorazepam and Midazolam, he was given an additional 4 mgs of each, plus 10 mg Valium and 25 mg Propofol mixed with Lidocaine), his heart would not have stopped that morning. Dr. Murray was directly responsible and he should be in jail, paying forthe crime he committed. However, it was the inhumane an crippling pressure caused by AEG executives that caused Michael to need those medications in the first place, and they are walking free with absolutely no accountability. Dr. Murray getting all the blame must fit them perfectly.
The movie ”This Is It” should not exist. We should not be sitting here with a rehearsal footage DVD and our crumpled, tear-stained tissues, we should be sitting here knowing that Michael is somewhere on the other side of the world laughing, reading, or having a conversation, ALIVE. The movie was not created for the fans, AEG doesn’t care about you, me, or any of the others that are mourning. What they care about is what’s in our wallets. and how much they can get out of it – that is the only reason the movie was ever made, and that completely mocks everything that Michael ever stood for. Randy Phillips himself said it better than anyone ever could shortly after Michael died:
“People have speculated that this is going to bankrupt our company. The truth is it isn’t.”
I am not asking that people boycott ”This Is It”, I understand that it makes some of those that are mourning feel closer to him, and I respect that. Some will continue to feel comfortable watching it, and some will not. All I ask is that we choose to see things as they really were, painful and uncomfortable as they may be, so that we can form our own, personal opinions and watch the movie with no illusions as to what was really going on. For Michael’s sake.
www.thecommentfactory.com/michael-j...n-death-aeg-and-dr-death-should-both-pay-2666
By Sandra Sasvari
NOTE: First of all, I would like to make it clear that what is expressed below is my personal reflection and opinion only. I do not claim this to be the truth, I am merely expressing what I believe to be true on a personal level. I have no insight into AEG, nor do I claim to be speaking on behalf of the ”This Is Not It” team – I just happen to agree with what they are saying, and I choose to believe their version of what happened, as opposed to that of AEG. I in no way ignore or fail to see the excitement and love Michael Jackson had for ”This Is It” as a project, and the way he was truly excited to share it with all of us. I have just chosen to focus on the business aspect of the situation, to try and show more clearly who I think is really responsible for things ending the way they did. This was written with the utmost love, respect and concern for Michael Jackson, his family, and those close to him that tried so desperately to intervene. All people involved in the incidents and situations mentioned shall remain nameless.
Michael Jackson needs money. Desperately. Over the past decade, his personal life has been repeatedly tarnished, mocked and examinated up close due to the child molestation accusations, and the music that made him a household name seems to have taken a back seat to the slander and bizarre rumours. The trial, although it cleared him of all charges, left him a broken man, and he spent the most part of the following years living like a nomad. Neverland, that was once his world, had been tarnished and defiled by the L.A.P.D, and did not feel like the safe haven it used to be.
When you are the most famous man in the world, people want things from you. Not only because you have them, but because they feel a sense of entitlement to them, a sense of “we made you who you are, you owe us this”. In the past year, Jackson had been hit with multiple law suits, and his finances were not what they once were. Enter AEG.
AEG is one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment presenters, they own or have considerable control over Toyota Sports Center, The Hartford Civic Center, NOKIA Theatre Times Suare, Staples Centre (more about that later), and numerous other facilities. After discussion, deal is closed for Michael Jackson to perform a series of concerts at their O2 Arena, and tickets sell out within a matter of minutes. So fast, that AEG decide to, allegedly on their own initiative and without Jackson’s consent, extend the run: from the original ten shows, to fifty. Rehearsals begin, and things go well for the first couple of weeks. However, it is soon obvious to everyone around, as well as to Randy Philips, AEG chief executive, that Jackson is rapidly losing weight, is weak, stressed, and drousy under the influence of pain killers and sleeping pills. He realizes that the schedule they’ve created for him may be, shall we say, a little tough. An insurance deal is then signed, and Randy Phillips is quoted as saying:
“We have insured the production costs. In order to get the first part of the insurance in place, [Jackson] had to have a physical, and he passed it with flying colors.”
Although the rumour that the insurance in question was made to cover Michael’s death only if it was drug related has never been confirmed, it is my personal belief that this was the case, simply because they were aware of his relationship with medication and it seemed very likely to them that it may well intensify due to the pressure they had put him under. Finding a physician that will give the all-clear – which, in case of Michael dying, would serve to help them get their investment back – most likely wasn’t very difficult either – after all, money talks. Philips made the additional comment that “the carriers flew in a doctor of their choice from New York and he did an extensive battery of tests.”
Randy Philips spoke openly on repeated occasions about witnessing someone in Michael Jackson’s closest circuits having to cut his food for him and spoon feed him, Jackson being too weak to eat by himself. Nothing is done to help. Others close to him try desperately to get the people in charge to call in professional help, as Jackson is clearly unwell both emotionally and physically. Again, nothing is done. Fans and followers try to intervene, but after having confided in them that he does not feel ready to do the fifty shows that are asked of him, security around Michael Jackson tightens and clasps around him like an iron ring, making it as good as impossible for them to come close to him again. Nothing is done to help him. Instead, AEG push harder. After all, it’s almost opening night.
Eventually, the crippling pressure becomes too much, and Michael Jackson’s heart stops. As not to waste the huge interest the world is showing, the conversation, over at the AEG office, then, might have gone something like this:
“It’s a bummer Michael had to go and die…so close to tour start and everything. Okay, this is what we’ll do: we broadcast what is more or less his funeral from Staples Centre (which, by the way, we own) on live TV, and to get back the money we lost because he died on us oh-so-inconveniently, we make a movie. Not just any movie, no no – a movie with very carefully selected scenes. Because we can’t show the truth; first of all it wouldn’t sell and secondly, it would be obvious that we were the ones responsible because we pushed him too hard. So we edit very carefully, and choose the very best parts out of the more than 100 hour footage that has been shot to create our own version of the truth. It’s pre-packed, ready-to-sell, and easy to swallow. Perfect.”
The movie becomes one of the most successful and financially gratifying projects in movie history (that it helps us to escape responsibility is just a bonus) and to take things one step further – hey, you gotta strike while the iron is hot – a few months later, we arrange a tribute to this deceased Pop Icon on the Grammy Awards – which we also own. In the arena we own. The same arena where he was spoon fed and basically buried in. Goodie! People love familiarity, they should know that stage by now.
To make everything develop smoother, we decide to take advantage of the celebrities that mourn and want to honour him, and a tribute is made – a tribute that will steal people’s focus away from all of the above. Then, we proceed to get one of these celebrities to introduce the tribute and make sure it’s in his script that he promotes the DVD of earlier mentioned movie, which by the way – it’s all so fantastically well planned! – we released to the public only six days prior.
Then, we let the celebrities in question do their tribute in front of a backdrop of said movie (did we mention it’s out on DVD now?) and while everyone is still emotional, before their tears have dried, (quickly, people are changing the channel!), we get Michael Jackson’s children – that he tried so hard to protect from media exposure – on stage so that they can accept his Lifetime Achievement Award (again; he died so inconveniently, that Michael) so that our ratings will soar even more. Jackson’s siblings or parents aren’t wanted (they just mean trouble, and besides, they’re on to us), and why settle with his siblings when you can have his kids? Katherine Jackson is welcome, she is the legal guardian after all, and if we want the kids, we’re going to have to put up with having the legal guardian around for a little while. It’s a give and take kinda thing.
The kids give their speeches to their deceased father in shaky, scared voices (make sure to zoom in on their faces, too — this is the good part!) who was in a casket on that same stage seven months ago, people get touched by it, rush to buy even more copies of our DVD, and all is well with the world and our bank accounts. Suckers…they’ll never know.”
__
With the impending trial against Dr. Conrad Murray, there are many of us that hope so desperately for some retribution for Michael, and that just want someone to take responsibility so that we can at least try to have some closure. However, even if Dr. Murray is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which are the charges being pressed against him, he will most likely only be lightly reprimanded. Meanwhile, millions of fans are still mourning the loss of their hero, and they may never stop. It is true that had it not been for Dr. Conrad Murray giving Michael the heavy amount of medication that he did (apart from the ”usual” doses of Lorazepam and Midazolam, he was given an additional 4 mgs of each, plus 10 mg Valium and 25 mg Propofol mixed with Lidocaine), his heart would not have stopped that morning. Dr. Murray was directly responsible and he should be in jail, paying forthe crime he committed. However, it was the inhumane an crippling pressure caused by AEG executives that caused Michael to need those medications in the first place, and they are walking free with absolutely no accountability. Dr. Murray getting all the blame must fit them perfectly.
The movie ”This Is It” should not exist. We should not be sitting here with a rehearsal footage DVD and our crumpled, tear-stained tissues, we should be sitting here knowing that Michael is somewhere on the other side of the world laughing, reading, or having a conversation, ALIVE. The movie was not created for the fans, AEG doesn’t care about you, me, or any of the others that are mourning. What they care about is what’s in our wallets. and how much they can get out of it – that is the only reason the movie was ever made, and that completely mocks everything that Michael ever stood for. Randy Phillips himself said it better than anyone ever could shortly after Michael died:
“People have speculated that this is going to bankrupt our company. The truth is it isn’t.”
I am not asking that people boycott ”This Is It”, I understand that it makes some of those that are mourning feel closer to him, and I respect that. Some will continue to feel comfortable watching it, and some will not. All I ask is that we choose to see things as they really were, painful and uncomfortable as they may be, so that we can form our own, personal opinions and watch the movie with no illusions as to what was really going on. For Michael’s sake.
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