@SrananKing
- The Jacksons tours: Money plays an issue, but I believe some of the Jackson brothers have had quarries over how the Estate have handled some of Michael's affairs, not letting them have say in various releases etc.
- Short films in HD: Lmao my comments are not invalid, if anything your comments are invalid. Go re-read my last post.
Movie studios can crank out classic movie after classic movie because it's a DIFFERENT process for a number of reasons, their entire production process was done utilising the original film negatives. Casablanca was shot on 35mm and the 35mm negatives were directly cut and assembled. Warner Brothers have the entire reel of the film sitting in pristine condition. It's relatively straight forward to dig it up, re-scan the film and remaster it (well, I mean it is a complicated process but you know). Similarly that's why Moonwalker was so quick to be released onto Blu-ray, because Warner Brothers had a reel of the final cut in 35mm. From what I understand, and from what most evidence points to, most of Michael Jackson's short films were shot on film, but once they hit post-production they transferred working on the film to tape format. Tape is only standard definition, which was perfect for where the films were going to end up (on MTV), as well as home video formats at the time (VHS and later DVD).
This means the masters of the final cuts of the films only exist in tape format. If they want to create new masters in high definition, they literally have to reassemble the films from scratch, from the original 35mm film negatives (which could be anywhere). Of course, like I said earlier, this is assuming they have all the relevant documentation such as EDL's to indicate which takes where used and when, and that they have these exact takes on film, otherwise it will take a lot longer.
If they had access to the short films in 35mm, we would've seen the Bad short films represented in HD in Bad 25, but no! There is a reason why whenever they showed snippets from the final product they switched to tape-grade footage! You honestly don't think the Estate discussed with Mr. Scorsese, Mr. Lee and the like in regards to what material they might have that's relevant to Bad 25?
Additionally, Michael was known to be sporadic with his archiving habits. Movie studios, on the other hand, are far more rigorous in their archiving habits.
- BTS footage: The Bad tours were shot in professional format (often 35mm) that is correct, but it's just a question of where all these negatives actually are and to what concerts they correspond to. I would've loved to see more BTS footage in the OTW documentary but I can't imagine at the time they were shooting a lot of BTS footage anyway, so it sucks but I don't think there's much anything can be done about that.
- New songs: I mean, once again, that's the fans fault for listening to leaked material if it's 'spoiled' for them when it's finally released. Just because material's leaked doesn't mean the Estate shouldn't release it. I hold that view as someone who also heard most of Xscape's material before it was released, but it's actually by far the release I've enjoyed the most by the Estate. I think the contemporary mixes made it feel like new songs to me, ya know?
- Thriller/Ghosts HD: As mainstream standalone releases? No? The standard for mainstream releases these days tends to be about a minimum of 90 minutes of footage. As standalone releases, there is far too little content to make it worthwhile. You really think they're going to dedicate a Blu-ray to a 20 minute short film? Ghosts could be released in it's own set, but it'd need to have a nice amount of extra material to make it worth the standard Blu-ray price. I'd like a Thriller/Ghosts boxset tbh. Both are horror themed, Thriller can help draw in the more casual going public, and if you have Thriller + Making of Thriller + Ghosts + Making of Ghosts, you get a nice few hours of content.
As for Moonwalker, well that's a feature length film so of course that can be released in it's own right. As for Captain EO, they could produce a nice little boxset I reckon too. I think it'd go best in a Bad orientated boxset, but that's me.
-Thriller 3D: Did the Estate actually confirm this was happening? I have a feeling they did but I genuinely can't remember. John Landis has been talking it up but he doesn't speak for the Estate.
- Neverland: A little Michael Jackson store all the way out at Neverland would be impractical given it's location. I would love to see them improve the online store though... but then again I probably wouldn't buy anything from there hahaha.
There's a whole wealth of ideas that can still be done with Michael Jackson's works, but I'm quite satisfied with what we've received already and you know, it's only been 8 years. There's plenty of time for Michael Jackson releases to come (and I'm very young so I'm biased in the long-term thing, but if I were to be hit by a car tomorrow, the potential Michael Jackson releases I am about to miss out on wouldn't be remotely near the top of my list of things I'd miss or whatever). The way I see it, the best Michael Jackson material is all out there and released anyways. What's left to come is really just the icing on top I suppose.
The Michael Jackson Estate is a business at the end of the day. Successful businesses HAVE to think about the longterm and that's what Branca and McCain are doing, regardless of whether they'll be around to see it or not.
