I’m getting behind this movie because it’s an official MJ product , just like an album release or broadway musical.
You mean like the
Michael album from 2010 with fake tracks? Or the Wembley DVD that looks worse than a 3rd generation VHS? Or the offensive remixes and overcompressed sound of Thriller 25?
Being "official" has never been any guarantee of quality. Unofficial live recordings are actually better because they haven't been overdubbed like some of the official ones were.
Basically, Michael Jackson is dead, so the word "official" doesn't actually mean anything. In this case, all it means is that Branca gets paid a cut.
And specifically for this movie, being official
guarantees it's worse, because it means they can't talk about the allegations.
If you can’t differentiate between this and the upcoming film then we’re all doomed.
My question was "Are you saying there's a MJ biopic you don't think is good, and that you don't care if it's successful?"
Did you say yes?
Would people be happy if we got a soundtrack that featured the songs in the film plus Hot Street and Dreams Away?
They would seem out of place. Plus I won't buy a whole album with another copy of Beat It and MITM, just to get 2 new tracks.
At this point they need to save the good stuff for Xscape volume 2, a full album of new stuff.
Don't you think it would be great if the Biopic was successful considering the possibility that could lead to more/new fans, especially younger generations?
I think they are gonna ask about the elephant in the room. "There's the trial at?" They're going to think it's a fluff piece and that Michael had something to hide. "Why is it swept under the carpet?" etc.
Let's be honest with each other. The allegations are the only reason Michael isn't
still the biggest star in the world. It destroyed his musical career in a way that it never recovered. Dealing with that issue head on would do more for record sales than anything else ever could. Leaving it out will impact both the success of the movie and the success of the music.
You can talk about his humanitarian efforts all you like, but his success is over unless you can convince younger people that the allegations are just allegations. If you can do that, then the music and ideologies speak for themselves.
I never claimed that liking an artist means liking every work about them, nor that anyone is obligated to care about popularity or success.
I agree we're getting way off topic. That's kinda my point - wouldn't it be a good idea to separate
the movie from predictions about the
success of the movie? Like, move all that into a separate thread? It would be good for the conversation if it wasn't cluttered up with unfounded talk of "billions" all the time.
Can we at least agree it's silly to be obsessed with trying to find things to claim as new records? With views of a
trailer, of all things? Not everything has to be a competition where MJ "beats" Elvis and Queen.
And we certainly don't need "you have to care about this otherwise you must be a hater and should go elsewhere". Yawn.
The point was much simpler: cultural projects influence how historical figures are understood by the broader public, and many fans find that meaningful while others don’t. Both positions are fine.
Yeah, I get that. I think this is just gonna be seen as a musical light entertainment piece, rather than a serious historical document. It's too incomplete and one-sided for that.
To get back on topic: I hope you enjoy the film for the reasons you may watch it, and the same goes for others who hope large success for the film.
While "die hard" fans will have to deal with creative liberty decisions that have inaccuracies - I believe outside of that.. And the obvious waiting for what is to come after part 1, people will be happy.
Yeah, I could probably live with minor inaccuracies and some artistic liberties. That's to be expected. I'm sure the concert scenes will be well-made. But it gets a major black mark from me for not being brave enough to tackle both sides of the story. And I definitely will not tolerate it merely being used as a vehicle to sell some demo recording of an unknown song from the 80s as though it's the new Billie Jean.
I'm open to changing my mind, but at this point, I'm 80-90% sure I will not watch the film.