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Email From Kenny To Randy Phillips

So sad and I get mad that people around him let it get this far... I know it's hard and that it's also up to the person self but the things Kenny wrote makes me really mad too!!
 
Am I mistaken or didn't Ortega say one word about Michael feeling ill when promoting This is it? It's difficult for me to think Ortega is a good guy when it seems he loved all the TII money he earned when Michael died...
 
Remington Steele said:
Am I mistaken or didn't Ortega say one word about Michael feeling ill when promoting This is it? It's difficult for me to think Ortega is a good guy when it seems he loved all the TII money he earned when Michael died...
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He would had made more money if Michael lived, so what is you point? They also would had made the TII movie with or without Kenny, so once again what is your point exactly?

Kenny also didn't say during the promotion that Michael was 100% all the time, but most of the time. Once again, Kenny only saw Michael really sick for one day and he didn't rehearse on that date, so why tell the public that while promoting the movie?
 
Ramona122003 said:
He would had made more money if Michael lived, so what is you point? They also would had made the TII movie with or without Kenny, so once again what is your point exactly?
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You do realize the movie wouldn't have made 100s of millions of dollars with the tour happening and Michael being alive? Even further, isn't it even more likely the rehearsal footage wouldn't have been released (at least not in such a format)?

I'm not sure I saw every TII interview with Kenny, but from what I saw my memory is him and Payne constantly denying there was something seriously wrong. Also remember the interview he did with Philips about the delay and telling all the world everything is fine with Michael.

I'd rather like Kenny, too. But seeing him and Payne in all those promo TV shows with a smile over their face really made me uncomfortable... even if it was not the case, they were constantly giving the expression to some extent (money?) they were even happy about what happened.
Think about Payne's remark on one of the DVD/BD interviews "I wish he could have done the first show" - with a smile on his face - *shudder*. How about "I wish he had never done this and still be alive?" Duh...
 
Remington Steele said:
You do realize the movie wouldn't have made 100s of millions of dollars with the tour happening and Michael being alive? Even further, isn't it even more likely the rehearsal footage wouldn't have been released (at least not in such a format)?

I'm not sure I saw every TII interview with Kenny, but from what I saw my memory is him and Payne constantly denying there was something seriously wrong. Also remember the interview he did with Philips about the delay and telling all the world everything is fine with Michael.

I'd rather like Kenny, too. But seeing him and Payne in all those promo TV shows with a smile over their face really made me uncomfortable... even if it was not the case, they were constantly giving the expression to some extent (money?) they were even happy about what happened.
Think about Payne's remark on one of the DVD/BD interviews "I wish he could have done the first show" - with a smile on his face - *shudder*. How about "I wish he had never done this and still be alive?" Duh...
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The tour would had made more than a movie based on rehearsal footage. They could has should the rehearsals as a 'making of' after the concerts was over on a blueray DVD along with the finished concerts. So, Kenny and everyone else would had made more money if the concerts happened verse just the movie. The footage may or may not had been release, but you would never know either way.

Michael was fine overall. The context of the letter was one day. Kenny saw something was and sent him home. When Michael returned on the 23rd and 24th he was healthy and fine. Why would they say Michael was unhealthy based on the events of one day that wasn't even recorded because he didn't even rehearsal that day? Kenny also was clear in interviews that Michael did have off days and there were times when he didn't seem to get better. But, it all came together on those last days, which are true. You can't make one sick day negate every other day Michael was on point, especially if he was on point two days before he died.

On your last point, if you read the email fully Kenny says that Michael wants to do these concerts. Payne could had wished that Michael's vision could had come true and everyone could had seen what Michael gave so much time, love, and effort to and it was a tragedy that he died before it could come to pass. If Michael lived to do just one show, it would had shown the world his vision and get his message out. Which, I personally see nothing wrong with that. It is obvious Michael wanted these shows to happened and they respect his wish.
 
I'd like to see how many of us spill their entire guts to every camera and every person they ever speak to. Imagine your boss asking you as a morning ritual "How are you?"
Are you going to go on a rant how you fought with your mother over the phone, were stuck in traffic and that the milk had gone sour in your fridge?
These people work in the ENTERTAINMENT Industry, hello?? It's getting ridiculous to be accusing every TII collaborator of 'lying to the public' while they supposedly stood by Michael with a sly grin and now accused of dancing on his grave in some form of sick enjoyment. Enough with the paranoia.

It's so easy to be telling someone else what they should have done, would have done, "told you so" - hindsight is such a nice thing, right?

Michael is gone, I didn't see anyone of his collaborators celebrating his death in glee, I am getting sick of this know-it-all attitude.

This innuendo that some people are casting is creepy, it is extremely unfair and was the precise thing that Michael himself suffered from incredibly.

Have some decency and consider that those who did work with Michael might perhaps grieve him no less than the most passionate person on this board. There's no monopoly on love here and casting hurtful innuendos on anyone with solid proof of wrongdoing is just sick- and hypocritical at best. Particularly for MJ fans.

Loving and honoring Michael Jackson is not the carte blanche to accuse everyone and everything of just about anything under the sun. Loving Michael Jackson does not equal or justify engaging in the very same behavior that hurt Michael Jackson. That's not being naive or 'uneducated', it just means exercising some self-control in order not to hurt others.
 
@Ramona, you actually do have a point (Michael not always being sick and him really wanting the concerts himself).

Still the promotion really made me sick. In one Payne & Kenny promo TV appearance, they were even joking around and giving "5-hands" right at the beginning of the interview. How tasteful.

Also, the man who gave hundreds of millions of $ to charity his whole life died... and they have nothing better to do than get as much profit out of it as they can. I would have felt much more comfortable with the TII movie had they given at least part of it to charity.

I found it crazy AEG offered the tickets after his death for the complete ticket price and fans were even buying and even worse, selling it on ebay for profit. I had many tickets, too, but I think I would have died out of feeling of guilt towards Michael had I made money out of it...
 
Remington Steele said:
@Ramona, you actually do have point (Michael not always being sick and him really wanting the concerts himself).

Still the promotion really made me sick. In one Payne & Kenny promo TV appearance, they were even joking around and giving "5-hands" right at the beginning of the interview. How tasteful.

Also, the man who gave hundreds of millions of $ to charity his whole life died... and they have nothing better to do than get as much profit out of it as they can. I would have felt much more comfortable with the TII movie had they given at least part of it to charity.

I found it crazy AEG offered the tickets after his death for the complete ticket price and fans were even buying and even worse, selling it on ebay for profit. I had many tickets, too, but I think I would have died out of feeling of guilt towards Michael had I made money out of it...
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So, would you felt better if they cried and mourned on camera? Maybe the people at the memorial who told humorous stories instead of crying didn't care about Michael. How about his kids who crewed gum during the service?

The promoted TII around October and Michael died in June. Are you trying to tell me that they had to be crying months after their friend's death. The last time I check, there is no text book or guideline that tells you how long you should or shouldn't mourn. Life goes on and they have the right to go on with their lives and celebrate their friend's life in the way they see fit without people casting judgments on them questioning their love and loyalty. You wouldn't want people doing that to you, wouldn't you?

Also, it's Kenny and Payne's money and they can do with it as they please. Just because their friends with Michael doesn't mean they have to do everything he does. You don't know what they did with their money. They could had given some away to charity and simply didn't tell anyone because it's none of our business. They earned their paycheck and it isn't about what makes you comfortable.
 
Well I accept it's your opinion. And yes I would have felt more comfortable with them crying in interviews instead of having dollar signs in their eyes and having the time of their life...
 
Do you remember the note Michael wrote about making huge money?
He had other projects than TII but I believe most of the money would come from TII.
I think I read Michael would get 1 million for every concert, but I guess they would sell merchandise for much more.

Michael said he wanted people to see him as the greatest performer when he was doing TII but even if he had done 100 concerts there were more people who wanted to see him.
He could have sold out 100 concerts in London but I think many millions worldwide wanted to see him.
Maybe 1000 concerts could have sold out.
I think he was going to release a dvd from the tour.
His last show in London was going to be something special and I think some tvchannel would pay a lot of money to get the right to send it.
I believe Michael was right, he was going to make huge money alive, and I think those others involved would get a lot of money too.
 
TII had the potential of making a LOT of money, assuming Michael could have completed the concerts, and maybe taken it on the road. A "making of" film wouldn't have been likely to have made nearly the amount of money TII did, given that the world's greatest entertainer had died, and even non-fans wanted to see him. So it's really not certain which would have made the most. The email from Ortega is clear that he's very concerned about Michael (and not just about ONE day), and concerned that they might have to "pull the plug" on the show, and that would "shatter" Michael. I see it as a letter of CONCERN.

Of course the public face of Ortega was positive. It's "show business." From that letter, we know that behind the scenes there WAS concern. I don't doubt at all Ortega's sincerity and caring for Michael.

Now that we've heard the testimony of the EMTs on the scene, we know that Michael was very thin. One EMT said, "his ribs were sticking out." He was so thin that the EMTs thought he had an underlying medical condition (which he didn't, other than what Murray had been doing to him, for two MONTHS!) To me that testimony verified that Ortega's concern was valid. I also really DO think Ortega cared about Michael, and his well-being. The letter was to try to get HELP for Michael. That's totally clear.
 
Remington Steele said:
Am I mistaken or didn't Ortega say one word about Michael feeling ill when promoting This is it? It's difficult for me to think Ortega is a good guy when it seems he loved all the TII money he earned when Michael died...
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I remember that a lot of people associated with TII, kncluding Ortega, were claiming that Michael looked great, he was healthy, etc. Karen and the follower fans said that Michael had lost a lot of weight and was having some issues. The conflicting statements definitely created a lot of confusion for fans who were trying to figure out what was really going on.

I do think that AEG and probably Sony asked people to keep their stories positive during the release of the movie. Who would have wanted to see the movie if the director said that Michael had been losing weight, missing rehearsals, and needed a therapist? So, even though I understand why it happened, I lost a lot of respect for Ortega. He knew the truth, and if hiding the truth was a requirement for being involved in the movie, maybe he should have just declined to be involved in it. I also wonder if Ortega would have ever told the truth if he wasn't forced to in the trial.
 
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diana79 said:
I do think that AEG and probably Sony asked people to keep their stories positive during the release of the movie. Who would have wanted to see the movie if the director said that Michael had been losing weight, missing rehearsals, and needed a therapist? So, even though I understand why it happened, I lost a lot of respect for Ortega. He knew the truth, and if hiding the truth was a requirement for being involved in the movie, maybe he should have just declined to be involved in it. I also wonder if Ortega would have ever told the truth if he wasn't forced to in the trial.
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I need to quote this in bold. Thank you, Diana...
 
The conflicting statements definitely created a lot of confusion for fans who were trying to figure out what was really going on.
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Im still confused
 
i'm putting kenny in the tmez category. if it was up to him mj would still be alive. mj would have gotten some sort of help and none of this would exist..i'm so greatful to him for trying. If this letter wasnt the most obvious screaming opportunity to save mj i dont know what is
 
I totally understood why Kenny lied..... but it did cause a big divide in the fan community and people didn't know who or what to believe. I also wonder what else they are lying about
 
Kenny Ortega was told if he didn´t do the movie they would get someone else to do it.
He could refuse but he knew how important the environment message was for Michael.
It could have been an amazing song and dance movie without Ortega but now millions have got the message about the environment and seen Michael the genius at work.
People have seen a man who cares, and learned how to let it simmer and bathe in the moonlight
 
I think it's a tough decision for KO to make. They will do TII anyway and he knew he can made it good because he is the show director. I am angry before that he lied because it's obvious that MJ really didn't look so good in the film like they claimed (of course he also didn't look so bad like KF or TINI claimed). However, now after reading the letter I can see he really cares MJ and he really wanted everything work out good. I can understand why he choose to conceal some truth. In that kind of circumstance, maybe he thought it's the better that people can remember the best image of MJ and show the best condition of MJ. He might think it's a better way to keep MJ's legacy alive not the drugged sick falling superstar the media so wanted to portrayed. If I was Kenny, I might not know what I would say is better at that time.
 
Do you think he noticed problems the last few weeks of Michael's life? It seemed in June that Michael missed a week of rehearsals and that day he wasn't well where kenny rubbed his feet to keep him warm and giving him food. Maybe to Kenny for April and May Michael seemed fine but then June hits and there is the problem. I am glad he did direct the movie because he did care and I wouldn't want someone who didn't really know Michael or what he wanted to direct it. Even on the stand he described the reasons for Michael wanting to do the tour. He wanted to do it for his kids, the fans and for his messages about the environment and healing the world. He said Michael really wanted this and that was true. I bet he wishes he knew what Murray was doing to Michael and have helped him. He and many others didn't know.
 
missred07 said:
I can understand why he choose to conceal some truth. In that kind of circumstance, maybe he thought it's the better that people can remember the best image of MJ and show the best condition of MJ. He might think it's a better way to keep MJ's legacy alive not the drugged sick falling superstar the media so wanted to portrayed.
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Wow... granted, I never considered this. Though I'm not sure about that... but I would say let's hope the positive-promo of Kenny indeed was more for Michael than the things I thought... gosh I wish all this never happened.
 
MIST;3499264 said:
Kenny Ortega was told if he didn´t do the movie they would get someone else to do it.
He could refuse but he knew how important the environment message was for Michael.
It could have been an amazing song and dance movie without Ortega but now millions have got the message about the environment and seen Michael the genius at work.
People have seen a man who cares, and learned how to let it simmer and bathe in the moonlight
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This seems like a logical and fair statement. Kenny clearly was concerned in that letter, but had no reason to make those concerns public at that time.
 
What does he mean in the letter "now that we brought the doctor in the fold" and the "tough love" part. I didn't see his testimony so maybe that was explained in court, but that part of the email seems a little odd to me. Does anyone know what he meant?
 
"Re-living June 2009" is exactly what this is. Heartbreaking. :(
 
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