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MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questions

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ivy

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MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questions

As you remember Jackson family's "Michael Forever" tribute in Cardiff had raised a lot of interest and anger among the fans back in 2011. On August 10, Andy Picheta has released a book called "How I Paid Tribute to Michael Jackson : The story of Michael Forever The Tribute Concert" detailing what went behind the scenes of the tribute concert.

The book which starts with "For the fans of Michael: You were right" has been an instant hit among the fans. We started discussing the book ( see here: http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/threads/123835-The-story-behind-quot-Michael-Forever-quot-Tribute) and Andy Picheta's book is currently the best selling book on Amazon about Michael Jackson. Believe me when I say the summaries does not make justice to the all the details and humor included in the book.

So we approached Andy Picheta for a Q&A and he has agreed to it. You know how it works: for the next few days we'll collect your questions (you can also email or tweet your questions), select the best and get them to Andy Picheta to answer them. So what are you waiting for?

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Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

From twitter - I'd like to ask why he decided to partake in this scheme and why the book now. Thanks!
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Since I can't get the book online, I don't know if my answer is in the book, but let' go..

So what happened to that 100 000$ that was given as a fund for MJ's kids, who signed this check, who's money was it, and is Katherine in charge of it or did Chris Hunt took it back and ran away with it?
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Yeah I would like to know what happened to the 100K, did it actually go through to katherine since they had all those money problems???

I would so also very much like to know if they advertised the fact that the children were coming DELIBERATELY to garner atttention, as in, were they specifically using them as a marketing ploy
since they were mentioned in the terms and conditions or were they genuinely unaware that is what it looked like?

Also, whose idea was it for the children to give a speech onstage, was that solely down to the children asking, or did someone e.g. the parojim, ask them if they would? And who got that info into the media?

Lastly, was has become of Chris Hunt now, has he paid any of what he must as per the court judgement?
 
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Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Not finished with the book yet, but I would ask if he's worried about potential backlash from co-workers (Jeffre, Chris Hunt, ect) due to writing this book. :ph34r: Also if he were to do it all over again, what would he do differently?

Thanks
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

My question would be how his key partners in this project (Chris, Jeffre, Parojim) really felt about MJ. Would anyone call himself a hardcore fan? (judging by the KISS failure the answer is no). A casual fan maybe? Was it amyone's motivation to actually really pay a tribute, or was it all just business?
 
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Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

from twitter - mr pincheta is their gonna be a dvd of the concert?

I just wanna know,if at anytime, did someone say, this ain't right & question what's why can't we try to do it the right way if so, what was the response, from those in charge. Because it sounds like they were hell bent on deception and assuming the fans didn't care or expect them to hold the same standard Michael would

from LSA

I want to know more about the kids involvement and who really pushed to have them there. What was up with Stevie and Katherine? What other Motown artist ran, what the reasons were/what they said about the family.
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

ivy said:
from twitter - mr pincheta is their gonna be a dvd of the concert?

I just wanna know,if at anytime, did someone say, this ain't right & question what's why can't we try to do it the right way if so, what was the response, from those in charge. Because it sounds like they were hell bent on deception and assuming the fans didn't care or expect them to hold the same standard Michael would

from LSA

I want to know more about the kids involvement and who really pushed to have them there. What was up with Stevie and Katherine? What other Motown artist ran, what the reasons were/what they said about the family.
Click to expand...
Sorry for an off topic but I somehow missed this one - Was Stevie Wonder asked to perform and he declined??
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Stevie was approach...by parojim i think but said he would hold out because 'there was some history there' and he wanted katherine to ask him spevifically then he wud do it but she refused...
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Why does latoya's boyfriend Jeffre own Michael's home videos?
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

I would also like to know if he had any dealings with Howard Mann, was he sniffing around this concert since he likes to profit from anything katherine does.

Also, is the story of the americans getting out their passports for the train to wales, is that really true? if so :laugh: :smilerolleyes:
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

I really enjoyed your book and I loved your dry sense of humour throughout.

1. Would you ever consider writing another book on anecdotes of being a hotelier in Scotland? I found the couple you included in this book to be hilarious.

2. Clearly there were even issues prior to the announcement. What stopped you from throwing in the towel at any stage?

3. I got the impression from your book that you do perhaps feel a little resentment towards Michael's estate, that there was perhaps some underhand shenanigans to sabotage the concert. Given what you know now do you feel any kind of resentment?

4. Did you really believe Katherine Jackson was being made to live like a church mouse?

5. You seemed quite passionate about how unfair you felt the fans were being in accepting the timing of Immortal during the trial and yet being incensed at the timing of the concert. I was one of the fans who was against the timing of the concert, although no excessive exclamation marks were used (ok maybe one or two). For me there was a huge difference in a touring tribute act to a family taking the stage and singing, dancing and smiling (apart from blanket who was crying) during the trial. Do you, upon reflection, have any better understanding of our point of view?

6. Why did Stevie Wonder require an invitation direct from katherine Jackson?

7. Did you realise how 'slippery' Jeffre was from the onset or was this something you learnt along the way?

8. Do you think that Hunt, Jeffre & co thought that anything 'Michael' would just send the fans flocking?

And I have to add that I loved your account of the shooting of You Are Not Alone, the way you wrote it gave me goosebumps.
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Do you know why Blanket seemed upset when he was on stage?
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Thank you sir for taking the time.



1) In your book, you unfairly compared fans' reaction to Cirque du Soleil Immortal (which began on October 2nd 2012 during the Murray trial) and Michael Forever. You complained that it wasn't fair, that fans seem to not have a problem with the timing of the Cirque show ...Did you know Cirque du Soleil Immortal was announced back in November 2010? The premiere date was selected/known almost a year BEFORE a trial date was known. Contrary to Chris Hunt who chose the date, knowing in advance the trial had been set for October. Do you now understand why fans weren't as harsh towards Cirque as GLE?

2) Are you still friends with Chris Hunt?

3) As someone who was strongly against the Tribute, toward the end of the book, I have to admit I felt a bit unease because the people we thought we were targeting (GLE admins & The Jacksons) still managed to make some money off this farce, while the little guys never received a penny for their hard work. Is there any way for the employees to sue Chris Hunt & Jeffre to get what they are owed?

4) What's the biggest lesson you have learned from this saga?

5) You were a bit harsh in your views about MJ fans. It is not true that we believe the estate is the soul of MJ...but I personally believe they are far more reliable in protecting & enhancing MJ's legacy (the way he would have wanted) than his own family who have a history of going in business with shady characters for a quick buck. Since you started your book with " For the fans of Michael Jackson: You were right" ...have your views of the fans softened a bit?

6) Chris Hunt claimed Katherine Jackson & The children needed money. Have you had a chance to review estate legal documents, where they list expenses paid & loans given to Katherine in the range $8,000,000.00 in a single year. Did you really believe the estate wasn't properly providing for the beneficiaries?

7) You insinuated that the estate was behind Warner Chappell's injection on live to air of the show. But they had every right to intervene to protect MJ's copyright. What prevented Chris Hunt & Jeffre, from getting proper authorization to use MJ's songs? Why couldn't they formally request permission to use the songs (like most smart business people would) instead of taking the chance and getting shut down?

8) WAs it ever explained to you how Jeffre Phillips came into possession of Michael Jackson's personal home videos? In light of the estate's recent copyright victory against Howard Mann and his various shady companies, was Jeffre's copyright Ownership ever discussed or at the very least QUESTIONED? Toward the end, Chris Hunt wanted to include clips of these home videos in his concert DVD to sell, hard to imagine the estate allowing this to happen

9) how involved was La Toya in the back room dealings with Jeffre ? Were ALL the Jacksons paid to pay tribute to their brother or uncle? Did any of them (3T, the 3 brothers, Latoya) ever come back and offer to help the employees who were never paid?

10) As 80% owner of GLE, why wasn't Jeffre included in the lawsuit or called to testify in the trial?

11) Knowing everything you know now, do you think, from its inception, this tribute was a labor of love...or greed?

12) Sad for the employees who were not paid, but in the end I think the failure of Michael Forever ended up being a very good thing for the estate & MJ's fans. Had it succeed, one can only imagine what other schemes, Jeffre, Chris Hunt & Michael Henry would have come up with next. Your thought?

13) What do you hope your book will accomplish? Do you have any intention of promoting it in the media?


14) Who's idea was it to use Michael Jackson's minor children to sale tickets ?


Thank you for writing the book, I (and I am sure many other fans) feel vindicated, after reading this. We knew this was a scam, even though many like yourself, the performers & the unpaid employees came on board with sincere desire to take part in something decent, the instigators were not. They all were in for all the wrong reasons.
 
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Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

Thank you, Mr. Pincheta, for your book. I found it very interesting, educational and quite humerous at times. Also appreciate your honesty and blunt appraisal of the various characters involved. I'd like to know:

How long did it take for organizers to realize that MJ fans are not, in many cases, Jackson family fans?

In your experience, was Michael Forever an exception in regards to the focus on money, manipulation and deception? Or is this endemic to concert organization and promotion?

Did the family have any input into who was asked to perform?

Personally, I support the Estate in their promotion of Michael's legacy through their very successful projects. What are your
own feelings towards them now and why?

Michael's fans are quite a diverse group who are frequently dismissed as rabid and 'crazy'. While that element exists in any large
number of people, there are many more who are quite intelligent, thoughtful and protective of Michael's memory. How has your
attitude toward this fan base changed, if at all, after your experience with Michael Forever?
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

I don't know if this was answered in the book, I haven't read it yet, but part of the money was supposed to go to charity, did they receive any?

How much LaToya was involved with this concert?
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

My question to Mr. Picheta would be wheter he knows since when was Leonard Rowe works for Jatail.

Thank you so much for the answer!
 
Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

I am still reading the book but will avoid questions which are most likely answered in the book, it's only $2.99 on Amazon. There's so much to absorb, found myself re-reading many passages, especially concerning the backgrounds of some of the key characters, like the "Health and Safety Guy". But I do have one half-serious question:

Was Mr. Picheta serious when he said we could call him to find out the identity of the "One Who Shall Not Be Named"?
 
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Re: MJJC Exclusive Q&A with Andy Picheta (producer of Michael Forever Tribute) - Submit your questio

LOL, there are some serious questions in this thread. I hope they are answered properly.
 
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