Oct 30 2009 10:00 AM ET

Michael Jackson's movie ambitions included 3-D film of 'Thriller,' 'Red Shoes' remake

In a sadly ironic twist, This is It has become the hit movie that Michael Jackson never managed to make while he was alive. Jackson’s most prominent big-screen role was as the Scarecrow in the 1978 flop The Wiz, but he continued to explore his love of movies with projects like the 14-minute “Thriller” video and Captain EO, the short science-fiction film he made with Francis Ford Coppola in the mid-1980s. In an interview for EW’s recent cover story, This Is It director Kenny Ortega revealed that Jackson continued to harbor cinematic ambitions right up to the end of his life. “He told me he wanted to create a partnership with me to do films,” Ortega says. “We were talking about doing Legs Diamond. And we were talking about doing a full-length, 3-D feature of ‘Thriller.’ ”

Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures, which is releasing This is It, says that over the years she and Jackson (who had a brief cameo in Sony’s 2002 sci-fi comedy Men in Black II) had discussed a number of film projects that never came to fruition. Perhaps the biggest was a musical fantasy film called Midknight that Jackson wanted to make with Batman production designer Anton Furst—a project that fell apart when Furst committed suicide in 1991. Says Pascal, “A million years ago, when I worked with [then-Columbia Pictures president] Dawn Steel, she and I tried to convince Michael to do a remake of The Red Shoes”—the classic 1948 British musical drama, based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, about a ballet dancer whose compulsion to dance ultimately destroys any hope she once had of a normal life, leading to her tragic death. The project never happened. “Michael’s life became The Red Shoes, I’m afraid,” says Pascal.

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  • Greg

    Never forget what a king MJ was. King. Humanitarian and all round legend.

  • kelly

    I have seen the movie twice now and I still marvel at the genius that MJ was. Its a stunning movie..

  • Deb

    Oh and he was not interested in killing people, he wanted to save them.

  • SherwinXL

    If I could use a Bret “The Hitman” Hart’s saying to describe him
    Michael Jackson is:

    The Best There Is, The Best There Was & The Best There Every Will Be!

  • SHANTE

    THE MOVIE WAS AWSOME AND HE DID SHOW A PART OF HIM THAT HE NEVA SHOWED BEFORE.HE SHOWED HOW MUSIC CAN COME ALIVE AGAIN I LOVE YOU MJ R.I.P.

  • kIERA

    i nevea seen the movie but all u haters that dnt go c it cuz u dnt like hym fucc you cuz u ant shit. LOVE THE BEST OF THE BEST MJ

    • s.

      kIERA, No offense but don’t let the haters get you to leave a message like this one, I’m not trying to be funny but “WWMD”. People are going to always going to hate something or someone who different. Don’t let them steal your joy of being a Michael Jackson Fan. For every one hater there’s 100 fans that love him and his music. MJJ..4ever more….Finally you can rest in peace!

      • Joe

        WWMD? Are you kidding me? He’d probably invite all these kids posting over to Neverland Ranch to play with him, Macaulay Culkin style.

        Sure, he was a pretty amazing artist, for many years. But he was also a pedophile, and a pitiful excuse for a human being.

        Dying was the best thing that ever happened for MJ.

      • Brandon

        Joe, you are total idiot, calling MJ a peadophile is the bullshit based on your madness and your evident frustration.
        Despite of no evidence, and the full acquittal, you dare call MJ a peadophile???

        What means the law for you?

        Nothing. The American justice is just a shit then. You can be cleared of the crime, but despite of that you have to be guilty…, right? (oh yes, the experts like you DO know the truth, and do know what happened, oh and do have the evidence right?)

        I wish you could be falsely charged of anything and see your appeal for the justice!!!

      • Lan

        Joe, people always believe whatever they want to, there’s why there is a justice system, respect it and shut the fuck up, if you can’t offer anything better.

        What goes around comes around. Riddance of haters will be the best thing to happen to the world.

  • brittany

    i havent seen da movie but alll yall hatas out dere hait n on him f!!! yall. love mj b****** R.I.P.

  • brittany

    YEA MICHAEL JACKSON REST IN PEACE BABE WE LUV YOU TO BAD YOU GONE CUZ YOU MADE A HUGE IMPACT ON MANY PEOPLES LIFE

  • kiera

    NEVER 4 GET ABOUT THE BEST MJ ALIVE CUZ HE DID THE THANG ALL THE TYME.I ALWAYZ LOVE LISTING TO HYS SONGS CUZ I NO ALL HADE A TRUE MEANING. R.I.P. LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT

    • Go Back to School

      Brittany and Kiera, Please for the love of God spend less time watching****ty Michael Jackson movies and get an education. Reading your posts is an exercise in futility. Learn some basic grammar and spelling.

      • s.

        Go bk 2 skool, I hope you understand that there’s reason why they write like this and you just prove it. Who wants to take the time to read something like that unless you want to know what they wrote. It’s a style of this new generation, I don’t agree with it because it does create bad habits, mispelling but don’t be fool because some of these kids are honor students. I guess you meant TV and not TY…..There’s old saying to: “check your own background before you talk about someone’s elses.”

      • Deborah Ffrench

        There is no need to be rude, and by the way, knowing how to spell – you master of pomposity – is no indication that what one writes is worth reading. Why don’t you take in the heart of what they are saying rather than trying to put people down. It’s not big,it’s not necessary and it’s also unevolved.

  • Shaquata

    ima see da movie soon as i get dem new sneakas cuz i saw dem on da tv ya’lz hatazzz f*ck yall MJ 4eva

    • James

      Your English is flawless.

    • i guess the “S” stands for stupid

      Hey “S”, thought Brittany and Keira’s posts were the dumbest things I’ve read so far, until I came across your posting. HA, honor students, yeah right, GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!

    • tornado

      Wow you sound intelligent….tell us more.

  • William

    No, .s, he meant “ty” because he was ***ing out the word sh!tty.

    And if those kids are honor students, I’d hate to see how the kids at the bottom of the class write.

  • rhoda

    rest in peace mj thank u for the best years of my life watching u as a superstar.God bless u and r kids and family.

  • lisa rayside

    the movie was a bomb ALL musicians AND dancers need to see this to see what PERFECTION IS. rest in peace m.j we will love you forever. OH by the way THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU, IN THIS WORLD OR THE NEXT. PEACE OUT.

  • NM

    Saew the movie tonight and it is incredible, even for devotee like myself. It was so good that someone who came with me and had been sure Michael Jackson would not be singing live, came out raving about how fantastic he was, how exceptional a dancer and singer for someone half his age, and ate their words about him lip syncing as it was obvious he sang and danced without any sign of difficulty or loss of quality in performance. The saddest part is he is not here to enjoy the moment where those who have criticised him and claimed he was past it had to acknowledge his genius and talent.

  • Samantha

    Thats sad that pop star Michael Jackson isnt Alive anymore thanks to Dr murray.If Michael Jackson was Alive.He couldve make more movies.I Remember Back in 1978 movie The Wiz.He played the scarecrow.But I didnt see back then.Dr murray is sick in the Head.He should be proscuted for what he did that day.June 25th 2009.He overdosed pop star Michael Jackson.Thats why his Heart stopped pumping.That day.Also Thats why June 25th 2009.Pop star Michael Jackson was Pronounced dead.from Dr murray.Sick in the Head.Dr murray should be put in prison without parole.Make him pay for what he did that day.June 25th 2009.Pop star Michael Jackson was 50 years old.Still young.Dr murray is a very bad Doctor.I liked watching Pop star Michael Jacksons videos Bad back in 1987.Dirty Diana Back in 1988.The way you make me feel back in 1988.They were great videos back then.

    • im right

      nope sorry MJ killed himself, it wasn’t dr. murray. MJ insisted on pumping himself full of DRUGS and indeed killed himself!!!

  • Stevex

    I’m living proof that fans of MJ’s music can indeed write coherent sentences. I loved the movie, and now I can go back to worrying about the state of American education.

  • maizey

    Excellent movie. Better the 2nd time I saw it but feel very sad what happened to him. His voice was great and if the tour would have happened it would have been a tremendous success. RIP Michael. Miss you.

  • BJohnson

    From the 3D there were adding in the segment of Thriller alone was sooo awesome. I just came back from seeing it. Though it’s bittersweet there is a satisfaction of seeing this musical genius at work. Pefecting a tour that looked like it would have been incredible. I miss MJ. Long live his music.

  • MALENA

    SEEN THE MOVIE ITS WAS GREAT HE WAS SO POLITE TO EVERYONE FULL OF LAUGHTER SO KIND AND CARING SO CONCERN ABOUT US MICHAEL MADE OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE ILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU MICHAEL

  • lindy

    m.j.movie was just great. i cried and laughed while watching m.j. singing and dancing and also directing his cast in a lovely manner. he was a true showman and entertainer and most of all a loving and caring person who we, all his fans, will miss forever. we were extremely lucky to have had him in our lives thru his music and videos. r.i.p. m.j.

  • sam

    It is a shame that Michael did not spend more time developing the great ideas that he had and less time on plastic surgery and other things that were even worse for his reputation. He may have been as great as you all say, but he threw away all of the potential that he had for more than twenty years and now he is gone. That is the great tragedy here–what might have been.

    • Lin

      People never left him alone to “spend more time developing the great ideas”.
      He tried to pull himself together and to keep recording and touring. Just after he finished his album in 2001 (which had to be his last), in 2002 he had to sit through a full trial for the crime he never committed.
      He worked hard – since age six – to get there. If no woman managed to get in the man’s pants for money, those money grubbing parents of the children he tried to help did.

  • Holly

    See it in IMAX, MJ fans. I’ve seen both, and IMAX blows the regular version away. That said, I believe “This Is It” led to the death of him in a big way. Yes, he wanted to do this concert, but he also knew that he desperately needed rest/sleep and these two things threw him over the edge to seek out and obtain this hideous Dr. who gave him without pause the most deadly combo of medication I have ever heard of. Tragic and horrible – MJ was the coolest of cool – I love watching him dance/sing.

  • hi

    HI PIE PIE PIE PIE PIE PIE PIE PIE PI PIE PIE PIE

  • mj1fan

    If you dont like Michael and his music and think or believe the horrible things you do, why did you take the time to pull this article up and write such awful comments? I dont get it. You actually pulled this up and some “google” his videos and then place cruel and rude comments thare..I think you think its “cool” to hate on him…Its actually shows how much of a small mind and how idiotic you actually are. Use your time wisely. Dont WASTE your time, your life. If you dont like him, move on to someone you do. Your comments dont change the mind of us true, loyal fans of his. It never will. Some of you are only old enough to hear his music from Dangerous or Bad…His gift goes back way farther than that. You dont even know his legacy. You know nothing about him and wont take the initiative to learn. You just eat up whatever a tabloid writes or the media puts out there, trying to sell their stories and their papers. How small minded is that? People say they are glad he died?! How can you say that about ANYONE? Please dont deem yourselves holier than thou. Do we know your life? I am sure there are things in our life you dont want the world to know and they are TRUE. You’re believing made up lies about him. Doesnt matter. His true fans will always love him and as stated before, for every 1 person that speaks negatively about him, there are 1000s of us more that love him dearly. He is the greatest entertainer ever..

  • Kat

    The movie was a great example of the talent that Michael had in all areas of entertainment. But what are we as a human race doing to do of what MJ said about us destroying the planet? Are we going to sit back and do nothing or try to help the planet?

  • Ab

    I just watched the movie here in Mumbai india. It was mind blowing. And such an unique opportunity to see the genius arcwork which we have never seen. Sans the pyrotech sans the audience. Just him his crew and the stage. One of the most hard working superstars. A genius with a mind for detail and perfection. Michael thank you for the music and so many memories. As for back to school and other idiots here is what I say – when u manage to dance and sing like him, when you manage to get Grammies, when you manage to sell a billion records, and when people respect you then you gave the right to post your comments bevoz till then u r just a piece of yellow a lser who has not achieved anything in life but sits fm behind the comp and feels like a king. Hahaha.

  • Moviegoer

    So true: “Michael’s life became The Red Shoes”.

    And himself became “Blood on the dance floor”.

  • nrayjd

    Why don’t we all let this perverted SOB RIchaos!!! Money is the root of all evil and MJ, or the milk toast John Wayne Gayce with money, used his to lure young children into performing lewd and lascivious acts with him. He used the rest of his money to pay a doctor to drug his sorry ass up. Good riddance to a wasted talent and one sick SOB, good riddance. Maybe it’s God’s way of starting the death penalty for pedophiles. Those who thought he was a great talent were Cher and Diana Ross, oooooh, what great talents they were. Please complain all you want to about my comment. It’s a shame that money can buy you the ability to ruin childrens life but it’s also good that one can use it to kill himself with drugs.

    • @nrayjd

      There is nothing to complain about your comment.

      It speaks for itself: you won’t get any closer to God than the person you complained about could.

    • Deborah Ffrench

      Michael Jackson was one of the finest human beings to walk the planet. I wonder any of us would fare if we were accused of something we did not do, and even when resoundingly acquitted were hunted and villified by a corrupt media for years. In time, all will know of the integrity and innocence of Michael Jackson. For all those that know and believe as I do – Hold That Vision – in your minds and in your hearts.

      The truth is coming.

  • Rachel

    He was not guilty..let it go..if you can’t appreciate him don’t comment ok..
    what an enormous loss..RIP MJ

  • Deborah Ffrench

    A respectful message to those who still doubt Michael jackson’s innocence: There is a reason why a depth charge of anger and grief has ignited in the hearts of millions of people. I do not mean to offend who believes the opposite in any way, but I just have to speak up. Does anyone really believe that the millions talking about the miscarriage of justice Michael Jackson suffered would be prepared to overlook peodophilia just because he was talented? Because I certainly wouldn’t. The American people need to know they were effectively brainwashed by the relentless onslaught of media coverage and endless rotation of hearsay and outright lies that so-called journalists like Diane Dimond, Nancy Grace, Maureen Orth and the Smoking Gun online tabloid – amongst others – inflated into a storm of such unprecedented hostility it would convince Mr Jackson’s legal team that it would be better to settle than fight in court in 1993. In hindsight, that decision was a huge mistake. In the 2005 trial, the prosecution introduced the 1993 allegations into the trial evidence to bolster their case, this enabled Meseareau to revisit the circumstances of those allegations. Mesereau was able to satisfy a conservative jury that there was no validity to them whatsoever. Of course, little or no coverage was given to this fact, just as no attention was paid to the facts or motives of Evan Chandler or Janet Arviso. While it is understandable due to the sheer level of misinformation and non-investigation of Michael’s accusers: (Can anyone think of a single article apart from Mary Fischer’s ‘Was Michael Jackson Framed?’ that asked any serious questions about the credibilty of Michael’s accusers?); – that the myth of sexual deviancy still persists about Michael Jackson – it’s just not acceptable for this lie to stand any longer. It has caused so much pain to so many people, including Michael, and it undoubtedly precipitated his dependency on tranquillizers and ended his life earlier than the norm. There is information out there, information, I might add, that has more weight and substance than the nonsense that has been peddled for years by the majority, if not all the American media. I am asking people to please go their local bookstore, order Aphrodite Jones’s book ‘The Michael Jackson Conspiracy,’ read Mary A Fischer’s article, go to the silencedtruth website,read Cory Rooney’s comments in the
    ‘Remember’ section, read Brian Oxman’s statements about Michael Jackson in The Huffington Post,and see the legal criticism of Tom Sneddon’s years-long vendetta to prosecute Michael Jackson that is detailed in the archive section of the New York Times and many other publications. Millions of dollars of American taxpayers money were spent by Sneddon in an attempt to find corroborating witnesses to the so-called alleged crimes of Michael Jackson;– an extraordinary amount, considering Sneddon found none. Out of the thousands of children Michael Jackson helped, two alleged molestation and one man linked both investigations. For most normal people, a huge alarm bell should surely be ringing. Janet Arviso and her son Gavin both admitted on the stand in 2005 that Janet Arviso had made her son lie to support her false claims that she had been sexually assaulted by staff in a J C Penny store, after she and her children had been caught shoplifting. Unlucky? Or just a family with a unnatural propensity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time? The Arviso v J.C Penny case I mentioned, by the way, can be found by googling it and in American law journals. I could go on, my point is this; people need to be asking questions right now – that is, if they want to know the truth. The movement for Michael’s vindication is about enabling truth to come to bear on something that has needed exposing for a very long time, not about excusing serious crimes because of how well somebody sang. What was done to Michael Jackson must never be forgotten – and all those who talk about him being a child molester know not of what they speak.

    • Who Cares

      Yawn

      • Bryan

        Who cares? Obviously you do or you wouldn’t post. Rest in peace king and angel.

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