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"Michael", a biopic about Michael Jackson, is officially happening.

Victorious said:
I apologize, my message was a bit blunt.. It was about using the tapes in the biopic. I feel some people have high hopes that bringing the tapes in the movie clears everything. But to me the tapes are only convincing whith a lot of extra context in a movie, even the full transcript

I am not a so called 'fan' btw Kelley, I was actually one of the few defending MJ on national television during the '93 allegations and can easily say I have read, see and listen everything there is to read on the subject since that time extensively and there is not a bone in my body that believes any of it
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Really??

Do you work in media?
 
What we only see is The Jackson & Off The Wall and Thriller Time...im very sure that the Dangerous and the rest of his life will be only 10-20 minutes in the Film. So we get Jackson An American dream reloaded
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
Without sounding too negative, do we really need red carpet of Motown 25 scenes to be filmed?

This was one of my fears , unnecessary expanding the film to include pointless shots/scenes just to beef out the movie and split it into two.

I could be completely wrong of course ☺️
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Hell the crazy part is....I didnt even think they had a red carpet at m25. We have NEVER seen it irl...it just seems unnecessary af!
 
Harun said:
What we only see is The Jackson & Off The Wall and Thriller Time...im very sure that the Dangerous and the rest of his life will be only 10-20 minutes in the Film. So we get Jackson An American dream reloaded
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Speaking of.... does anybody know if an american dream was shot on tape or film? We need that restored in 4k! But if it's on tape....480p is what I'll die on lol
 
How do we know it’s a red carpet for Motown 25? It wouldn’t make much sense. Could be the Grammys red carpet for all we know.

They might have used the Pasadena Civic Auditorium instead of the Shrine due to some organizational issues.
 
dethorro said:
How do we know it’s a red carpet for Motown 25? It wouldn’t make much sense. Could be the Grammys red carpet for all we know.

They might have used the Pasadena Civic Auditorium instead of the Shrine due to some organizational issues.
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You can see "25 Motown" on the wall, so that's why we assume it's for Motown 25.
 
I love the attention to detail here. I wonder if they're padding out certain scenes that have already been filmed to bulk up the runtime for two films?

Like they've filmed Motown 25 already, so they show Mike and the stars arriving, they've filmed Thriller, maybe they show Branca convincing Mike not to destroy the negatives. Rather than new scenes you're adding to the ones you've already done
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
I love the attention to detail here. I wonder if they're padding out certain scenes that have already been filmed to bulk up the runtime for two films?

Like they've filmed Motown 25 already, so they show Mike and the stars arriving, they've filmed Thriller, maybe they show Branca convincing Mike not to destroy the negatives. Rather than new scenes you're adding to the ones you've already done
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Adding fluff to a movie doesn’t make it better.
Actually directors & editors are striving to cut everything from a movie that doesn’t serve the story well.
You want to have meaningful scenes.
Of course ambience and setup is important.
But padding already shot scenes out, to make a movie longer does not sound like a good idea. If you want to add something, put in something which makes the movie better and adds meaning. Not fluff.

But all the involved personell already knows this. So they will do what they need to do.
The estate may have come of as amateurish more than once.
But those involved in the making of this film are absolute pros. Highly skilled, competent & creative.
 
You're absolutely right, but I think from a production and cost standpoint it depends on the budget for reshoots

I doubt Lionsgate will be giving a massive budget for filming new videos or live staging. I think they'll be pushing to reshape what is already shot rather than starting a new.

That's just my opinion though
 
MJJuniorSinceMW said:
Adding fluff to a movie doesn’t make it better.
Actually directors & editors are striving to cut everything from a movie that doesn’t serve the story well.
You want to have meaningful scenes.
Of course ambience and setup is important.
But padding already shot scenes out, to make a movie longer does not sound like a good idea. If you want to add something, put in something which makes the movie better and adds meaning. Not fluff.

But all the involved personell already knows this. So they will do what they need to do.
The estate may have come of as amateurish more than once.
But those involved in the making of this film are absolute pros. Highly skilled, competent & creative.
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Thank you for explaining it better than I ever could.

I got laughed at with my previous comments but you’ve nailed it!
 
i havent been caught up on the biopic in a while, have there been any news on it recently ??
 
MJJuniorSinceMW said:
Adding fluff to a movie doesn’t make it better.
Actually directors & editors are striving to cut everything from a movie that doesn’t serve the story well.
You want to have meaningful scenes.
Of course ambience and setup is important.
But padding already shot scenes out, to make a movie longer does not sound like a good idea. If you want to add something, put in something which makes the movie better and adds meaning. Not fluff.

But all the involved personell already knows this. So they will do what they need to do.
The estate may have come of as amateurish more than once.
But those involved in the making of this film are absolute pros. Highly skilled, competent & creative.
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Agree.
 
thiron said:
Mini update: Brad Sundberg said he was invited once to do some minor consulting. He obviously was not allowed to tell us more. He does not think there will be a Sundberg in the movie.
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he is only allowed to tell us when we book his Ultra VIP High Unrealased Material Tickets
 
I believe only a small part of the film should focus on MJ's childhood.

We should be in the Off the Wall era 30 minutes into the movie. An hour in, we should be in the Bad era. The final hour and half of the movie should deal with the controversies. The film should probably end at the History era. I'd say the ending should be MJ performing during the History tour, showing that no matter the controversy or scandal, MJ's fans always stuck with him.
 
Spaceship said:
I believe only a small part of the film should focus on MJ's childhood.

We should be in the Off the Wall era 30 minutes into the movie. An hour in, we should be in the Bad era. The final hour and half of the movie should deal with the controversies. The film should probably end at the History era. I'd say the ending should be MJ performing during the History tour, showing that no matter the controversy or scandal, MJ's fans always stuck with him.
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1964-2009.
 
Could not open up the full the tweet posted by SG so am posting the relevant excerpt from that Dion Beebe interview. The interview is dated 7 July 2025 but ends with this statement ... "Michael screens in cinemas from October 2." 🤷🏽‍♀️

Also, no offence to SG ... it was interesting to read but it's also kinda weird, imo. Some of his statements are a bit strange ...


"Beebe’s big upcoming film is Michael, the story of mega music star Michael Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua. The UK-US production has some Screen Australia funding.

“Michael has been a fascinating journey,” he says. “We’ve been shooting already (at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles and various California locations) and we’re about to restart shooting. The story has expanded and grown. Graham King, who’s producing, has wanted to address that.

“When we shot the first time we found that Michael’s catalogue is so huge, there are so many incredible songs, and we did a lot of performance. I think we were at an hour-and-a-half of just performance, without anyone saying a word of dialogue. So that’s what has led to us to try to expand the narrative.

“I will say that Jaafar Jackson, Jermaine’s son, has been an absolute revelation,” Beebe says. “It’s like the 28-year-old was born to play his uncle. He has Michael’s physicality and looks like Michael at a certain stage of Michael’s life. He can dance like Michael, which I never thought I’d ever say anyone could do, but this kid can. Truly, the closest you’ll ever get to seeing Michael perform again is watching Jaafar."

Fuqua, known for Training Day and The Equalizer, is an action director, while Beebe is a kinetic cinematographer, so the movie is bound to be full of thrills.

“I hadn’t worked with Antoine before, but I’ve been a big fan of his movies,” Beebe says. “I think it’s an exciting combination for us to find ways to tell Michael’s story which, as you know, is hugely complicated.

“We are really looking more to the movie as a celebration of Michael, rather than some sort of expose. That’s not the goal of the movie.”

While he can’t give too much away, he concedes they have reproduced a couple of the King of Pop’s famous videos.

“I can’t say which ones, but that was amazing to do because that imagery, those moments, were so iconic.”


www.indailyqld.com.au

Australian Cinematographer Dion Beebe’s Cannes Honor - InReview | InDaily, Inside Queensland

Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe wins award at Cannes, celebrating his remarkable contributions to the film industry.
www.indailyqld.com.au www.indailyqld.com.au
 
zinniabooklover said:
Could not open up the full the tweet posted by SG so am posting the relevant excerpt from that Dion Beebe interview. The interview is dated 7 July 2025 but ends with this statement ... "Michael screens in cinemas from October 2." 🤷🏽‍♀️

Also, no offence to SG ... it was interesting to read but it's also kinda weird, imo. Some of his statements are a bit strange ...


"Beebe’s big upcoming film is Michael, the story of mega music star Michael Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua. The UK-US production has some Screen Australia funding.

“Michael has been a fascinating journey,” he says. “We’ve been shooting already (at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles and various California locations) and we’re about to restart shooting. The story has expanded and grown. Graham King, who’s producing, has wanted to address that.

“When we shot the first time we found that Michael’s catalogue is so huge, there are so many incredible songs, and we did a lot of performance. I think we were at an hour-and-a-half of just performance, without anyone saying a word of dialogue. So that’s what has led to us to try to expand the narrative.

“I will say that Jaafar Jackson, Jermaine’s son, has been an absolute revelation,” Beebe says. “It’s like the 28-year-old was born to play his uncle. He has Michael’s physicality and looks like Michael at a certain stage of Michael’s life. He can dance like Michael, which I never thought I’d ever say anyone could do, but this kid can. Truly, the closest you’ll ever get to seeing Michael perform again is watching Jaafar."

Fuqua, known for Training Day and The Equalizer, is an action director, while Beebe is a kinetic cinematographer, so the movie is bound to be full of thrills.

“I hadn’t worked with Antoine before, but I’ve been a big fan of his movies,” Beebe says. “I think it’s an exciting combination for us to find ways to tell Michael’s story which, as you know, is hugely complicated.

“We are really looking more to the movie as a celebration of Michael, rather than some sort of expose. That’s not the goal of the movie.”

While he can’t give too much away, he concedes they have reproduced a couple of the King of Pop’s famous videos.

“I can’t say which ones, but that was amazing to do because that imagery, those moments, were so iconic.”


www.indailyqld.com.au

Australian Cinematographer Dion Beebe’s Cannes Honor - InReview | InDaily, Inside Queensland

Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe wins award at Cannes, celebrating his remarkable contributions to the film industry.
www.indailyqld.com.au www.indailyqld.com.au
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Thanks for sharing.
The only consistent thing I hear about this biopic is how great JJ is, so that's reassuring.
The stories around the reason for additional shooting seems to lack any such consistency. I do find this alarming.
 
jasmine.uddin said:
Thanks for sharing.
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(y)

It's great that @SmoothGangsta found the tweet about the interview but I like to do a bit of copy-and-paste. Links / tweets do disappear sometimes! :)


jasmine.uddin said:
The only consistent thing I hear about this biopic is how great JJ is, so that's reassuring.
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(y)

jasmine.uddin said:
The stories around the reason for additional shooting seems to lack any such consistency. I do find this alarming.
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Agreed. I'm patiently waiting for the promised announcement from Lionsgate, really any kind of fuller explanation that helps to make sense of what's happening. Doesn't feel like we're going to hear anything anytime soon.
 
I mentioned months ago to expect a delay from the October release date. With the script changes and new filming, there is still work to be done. I don't say this to be a 'bummer', more so trying to prevent the level of disappointment later. The production quality is good, Jaafar is doing a strangely great job, I have my personal opinions about the changes but what this film will do most is give the general public a look into who Michael was that largely gets overlooked.
 
KOPV said:
I mentioned months ago to expect a delay from the October release date. With the script changes and new filming, there is still work to be done. I don't say this to be a 'bummer', more so trying to prevent the level of disappointment later. The production quality is good, Jaafar is doing a strangely great job, I have my personal opinions about the changes but what this film will do most is give the general public a look into who Michael was that largely gets overlooked.
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Thanks for sharing.
You appear to be talking from an insiders perspective, can I ask whether you have had any access to footage/confidential information?
 
Didn't we know for a while it was delayed from October? I've lost interest at this point until something concrete is announced but I'm sure we knew.. maybe I was just telling myself this lol
 
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