DJ COMMUNITY
MICHAEL jACKSON THIS IS IT PROVES A WINNER
MICHAEL JACKSON’S ‘THIS IS IT’ PROVES A WINNER: King of Pop is the gift that keeps on giving.
By DeBorah B. Pryor
(October 28, 2009)
“When fans go see Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT, they’re going to have Michael back, just for a little while.” – Travis Payne, THIS IS IT choreographer
*Who would have thought it possible that we could be distracted from the gut-wrenching reality that Michael Jackson is, physically, no longer with us? But for one hour and fifty-one minutes, in the shelter of a dark theater, transfixed by the larger-than-life presence on the screen – making all the moves we have come to know so well - delivering the music that remains permanently etched in our psyche, here he is.
The man we so lovingly crowned the “King of Pop” years ago is alive ... well ... and in all his fantastical glory. Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT is a tangible gift the world can hold on to.
The best “All Access Pass” fans could ever expect to obtain, Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT reveals an MJ we could never otherwise have experienced; in a way we will not soon forget.
And this was just the rehearsal.
Crafted with undeniable love and respect by famed director Kenny Ortega, the film shows that, had the concert become a reality, MJ would most likely have accomplished exactly what he set out to do “Give them something they’ve never seen before.”
When asked why it was so important for him to direct this film, Ortega says:
“It became a responsibility for me. Who else was going to do it? I was there, and I felt that I could protect his ideas and the integrity of his last theatrical work. But the real reason it became so important to me is that I heard an outpouring from fans, people who said, ‘I had tickets to the concert, tell me, what was it going to be like?”
Ortega and Jackson have been friends for more than twenty years. The two first met in the 1980’s when Michael called the directors’ home and was greeted by the screams of Ortega’s niece, who answered the phone. They have always wanted to work together.
Sometimes it can take decades for the right “something” to come along. Jackson was sure that
THIS WAS IT.
“We had a heart-to-heart connection,” Ortega says of his relationship with Michael Jackson – and in the film it shows. “We truly loved each other ... We loved theater and film, adventure, sci-fi, even horror films. We loved Broadway and pop music and classical and opera. When you’re with a good friend, you never struggle for conversation.”
THIS IS IT will undoubtedly be a lot of different things to a lot of different people; but to Michael Jackson’s creative partner Kenny Ortega – who upon signing on to direct the film called friends who were knowledgeable about various genres of entertainment for guidance; this film is a mosaic.
“This is the show that no one was ever going to get to see,” Ortega admits. “At the time we didn’t know we were making a film – we were in the process of building our show. So this film is like a backstage pass, a private peek into a world that otherwise no one would have seen, a glimpse into the creative process of Michael’s final theatrical work.”
With this project, Jackson meticulously assembled some of the best in the business; and will executors John McClain and John Branca serve as executive producers on THIS IS IT. Some of the cast and crew include old friends and collaborators from years’ past- people that Jackson obviously felt very comfortable with. Like choreographer Travis Payne, who danced with Jackson for a while prior to choreographing his ‘Dangerous’ number for his American Music Awards appearance in 1992 and the subsequent tour. Payne credits the icon with launching his career; and Randy Phillips, the THIS IS IT film producer and AEG president who has known Jackson for 25 years; and Paul Gongaware, who also works with AEG, and oversaw production and tour direction of Jackson’s last two tours.
But it is director Kenny Ortega that comes across the film throughout as an exceptionally sensitive and simpatico creative collaborator. The exuberant cast clearly devours every opportunity to show their love, gratitude and unabashed devotion to and for their idol. That is, of course, when they’re not busting their asses!
The film opens with the cast and crew giving statements of how Jackson has influenced them; some of them, unable to communicate clearly beyond tears of pure emotion and adrenaline as they recall how Jackson literally changed the direction of their lives. We often get glimpses of the cast and crew standing on the sidelines watching, applauding, laughing and encouraging Jackson as he goes through his various altered states onstage. Sometimes thinking out loud, ‘I’m protecting my voice here’ – and other times intercepting a musician, “No, that’s too soon, it’s got to simmer.’ And yet other times, pointing that long skinny finger as he contorts his body to become one with the music ... ‘tat-da-da-dat-dat-dat!’
At one point in the film Michael is channeling the mood for a particularly intricate scene. In an exquisite use of sheer cinematic genius, he and Kenny Ortega have managed to incorporate their shared passion for Old Hollywood in a segment where Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ from the BAD album is the backdrop for him to co-star with movie greats Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth. At one point we hear Ortega’s voice offstage asking, “But Michael, how will you see when the marquee lights up? After an almost uncomfortable minute of dead silence on the set Jackson, unfettered, responds, “I’ll feel it.”
And no one doubts that he will.
In THIS IS IT Jackson holds nothing back to get what he wants from his cast and crew. While he shows obvious respect for the skill and talent he has assembled, he is clearly the articulate, directing force behind every aspect of this project. Every breath is his. It is his vision that everyone else has to catch up to. Gone is the sweet, soft, tentative and shy voice so many took pleasure in mimicking over the years. In this film, the butterfly has emerged; and its voice has developed into a beautiful full timbre that bellows throughout whatever space it inhabits.
What makes THIS IS IT so stunning is that we are all right there as Michael Jackson is getting there and his journey is a lesson in itself - the stuff that college curriculums should be made of.
Somehow, from materials never meant to serve quite this purpose, Ortega has artfully weaved together a variety of rehearsal footage to create performances that honor his late, great friend’s legacy. When asked what he thinks made Jackson such a remarkable talent, Ortega recalls all the great, classic artists who inspired a young Michael: James Brown, Bob Fosse, Sammy Davis, Jr., Fred Astaire, Diana Ross and Quincy Jones. He is sure to point out that Jackson never imitated any of them, and was always true to himself, but responds, “...he was inspired, and he learned, and he built and imagined himself into an artist that was like no artist we’d ever seen or perhaps never will. He was an entertainer’s entertainer. I’ve worked with so many greats, but Michael, without a doubt, was the greatest of them all.
On a number of occasions captured in the film, Jackson has to remind himself not to go all-out as a singer or dancer, yet in the end he simply cannot help himself from being great.
Who would have thought there’d be anything more one could do to enhance THRILLER?
But in THIS IS IT, Michael Jackson does just that.
Who would have thought that the man we have glimpsed occasionally riding around town in a wheelchair over the past few years would still have the moves he had when he was in his prime?
But in THIS IS IT, Michael Jackson clearly does.
THIS IS IT producer Randy Phillips, who was also Michael’s concert promoter and the person who brought the idea of Jackson doing a series of concerts at the O2 Arena with his company, AEG Live, says:
“This is a man very much in command of his art and his craft and what he wanted to do. In many ways, everything that was the purpose of his life appears in this movie in some way.”
Phillips says it took two years to convince Jackson to do the concert. At first, he actually turned them down. He recalls the final night they were together, the last rehearsal on the evening prior to Jackson’s death.
“I was transfixed – he was on stage, dancing and singing and I got goose bumps. And when we left to go to our cars, he put his arm around me and said, ‘Thanks for getting me this far. I can take it from here.’”
The world was given the gift of one Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958. That gift, even now, keeps on giving. Thank you, Michael, with THIS IS IT the still-aching hearts of those who love you, can rest a bit easier.
DeBorah B. Pryor has written for numerous publications over the past decades and for four years served as an editor at the former, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE) magazine. She is the founder and president of THE ART OF COMMUNICATION and provides workshops and private consultation for professionals challenged by anxiety, shyness and an inability to be their professional best. Her CD, “Public Speaking for the Private Person” was released in August of 2009. Contact her via the website: www.dpryorpresents.com.
By DeBorah B. Pryor
(October 28, 2009)
“When fans go see Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT, they’re going to have Michael back, just for a little while.” – Travis Payne, THIS IS IT choreographer
*Who would have thought it possible that we could be distracted from the gut-wrenching reality that Michael Jackson is, physically, no longer with us? But for one hour and fifty-one minutes, in the shelter of a dark theater, transfixed by the larger-than-life presence on the screen – making all the moves we have come to know so well - delivering the music that remains permanently etched in our psyche, here he is.
The man we so lovingly crowned the “King of Pop” years ago is alive ... well ... and in all his fantastical glory. Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT is a tangible gift the world can hold on to.
The best “All Access Pass” fans could ever expect to obtain, Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT reveals an MJ we could never otherwise have experienced; in a way we will not soon forget.
And this was just the rehearsal.
Crafted with undeniable love and respect by famed director Kenny Ortega, the film shows that, had the concert become a reality, MJ would most likely have accomplished exactly what he set out to do “Give them something they’ve never seen before.”
When asked why it was so important for him to direct this film, Ortega says:
“It became a responsibility for me. Who else was going to do it? I was there, and I felt that I could protect his ideas and the integrity of his last theatrical work. But the real reason it became so important to me is that I heard an outpouring from fans, people who said, ‘I had tickets to the concert, tell me, what was it going to be like?”
Ortega and Jackson have been friends for more than twenty years. The two first met in the 1980’s when Michael called the directors’ home and was greeted by the screams of Ortega’s niece, who answered the phone. They have always wanted to work together.
Sometimes it can take decades for the right “something” to come along. Jackson was sure that
THIS WAS IT.
“We had a heart-to-heart connection,” Ortega says of his relationship with Michael Jackson – and in the film it shows. “We truly loved each other ... We loved theater and film, adventure, sci-fi, even horror films. We loved Broadway and pop music and classical and opera. When you’re with a good friend, you never struggle for conversation.”
THIS IS IT will undoubtedly be a lot of different things to a lot of different people; but to Michael Jackson’s creative partner Kenny Ortega – who upon signing on to direct the film called friends who were knowledgeable about various genres of entertainment for guidance; this film is a mosaic.
“This is the show that no one was ever going to get to see,” Ortega admits. “At the time we didn’t know we were making a film – we were in the process of building our show. So this film is like a backstage pass, a private peek into a world that otherwise no one would have seen, a glimpse into the creative process of Michael’s final theatrical work.”
With this project, Jackson meticulously assembled some of the best in the business; and will executors John McClain and John Branca serve as executive producers on THIS IS IT. Some of the cast and crew include old friends and collaborators from years’ past- people that Jackson obviously felt very comfortable with. Like choreographer Travis Payne, who danced with Jackson for a while prior to choreographing his ‘Dangerous’ number for his American Music Awards appearance in 1992 and the subsequent tour. Payne credits the icon with launching his career; and Randy Phillips, the THIS IS IT film producer and AEG president who has known Jackson for 25 years; and Paul Gongaware, who also works with AEG, and oversaw production and tour direction of Jackson’s last two tours.
But it is director Kenny Ortega that comes across the film throughout as an exceptionally sensitive and simpatico creative collaborator. The exuberant cast clearly devours every opportunity to show their love, gratitude and unabashed devotion to and for their idol. That is, of course, when they’re not busting their asses!
The film opens with the cast and crew giving statements of how Jackson has influenced them; some of them, unable to communicate clearly beyond tears of pure emotion and adrenaline as they recall how Jackson literally changed the direction of their lives. We often get glimpses of the cast and crew standing on the sidelines watching, applauding, laughing and encouraging Jackson as he goes through his various altered states onstage. Sometimes thinking out loud, ‘I’m protecting my voice here’ – and other times intercepting a musician, “No, that’s too soon, it’s got to simmer.’ And yet other times, pointing that long skinny finger as he contorts his body to become one with the music ... ‘tat-da-da-dat-dat-dat!’
At one point in the film Michael is channeling the mood for a particularly intricate scene. In an exquisite use of sheer cinematic genius, he and Kenny Ortega have managed to incorporate their shared passion for Old Hollywood in a segment where Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ from the BAD album is the backdrop for him to co-star with movie greats Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth. At one point we hear Ortega’s voice offstage asking, “But Michael, how will you see when the marquee lights up? After an almost uncomfortable minute of dead silence on the set Jackson, unfettered, responds, “I’ll feel it.”
And no one doubts that he will.
In THIS IS IT Jackson holds nothing back to get what he wants from his cast and crew. While he shows obvious respect for the skill and talent he has assembled, he is clearly the articulate, directing force behind every aspect of this project. Every breath is his. It is his vision that everyone else has to catch up to. Gone is the sweet, soft, tentative and shy voice so many took pleasure in mimicking over the years. In this film, the butterfly has emerged; and its voice has developed into a beautiful full timbre that bellows throughout whatever space it inhabits.
What makes THIS IS IT so stunning is that we are all right there as Michael Jackson is getting there and his journey is a lesson in itself - the stuff that college curriculums should be made of.
Somehow, from materials never meant to serve quite this purpose, Ortega has artfully weaved together a variety of rehearsal footage to create performances that honor his late, great friend’s legacy. When asked what he thinks made Jackson such a remarkable talent, Ortega recalls all the great, classic artists who inspired a young Michael: James Brown, Bob Fosse, Sammy Davis, Jr., Fred Astaire, Diana Ross and Quincy Jones. He is sure to point out that Jackson never imitated any of them, and was always true to himself, but responds, “...he was inspired, and he learned, and he built and imagined himself into an artist that was like no artist we’d ever seen or perhaps never will. He was an entertainer’s entertainer. I’ve worked with so many greats, but Michael, without a doubt, was the greatest of them all.
On a number of occasions captured in the film, Jackson has to remind himself not to go all-out as a singer or dancer, yet in the end he simply cannot help himself from being great.
Who would have thought there’d be anything more one could do to enhance THRILLER?
But in THIS IS IT, Michael Jackson does just that.
Who would have thought that the man we have glimpsed occasionally riding around town in a wheelchair over the past few years would still have the moves he had when he was in his prime?
But in THIS IS IT, Michael Jackson clearly does.
THIS IS IT producer Randy Phillips, who was also Michael’s concert promoter and the person who brought the idea of Jackson doing a series of concerts at the O2 Arena with his company, AEG Live, says:
“This is a man very much in command of his art and his craft and what he wanted to do. In many ways, everything that was the purpose of his life appears in this movie in some way.”
Phillips says it took two years to convince Jackson to do the concert. At first, he actually turned them down. He recalls the final night they were together, the last rehearsal on the evening prior to Jackson’s death.
“I was transfixed – he was on stage, dancing and singing and I got goose bumps. And when we left to go to our cars, he put his arm around me and said, ‘Thanks for getting me this far. I can take it from here.’”
The world was given the gift of one Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958. That gift, even now, keeps on giving. Thank you, Michael, with THIS IS IT the still-aching hearts of those who love you, can rest a bit easier.
DeBorah B. Pryor has written for numerous publications over the past decades and for four years served as an editor at the former, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE) magazine. She is the founder and president of THE ART OF COMMUNICATION and provides workshops and private consultation for professionals challenged by anxiety, shyness and an inability to be their professional best. Her CD, “Public Speaking for the Private Person” was released in August of 2009. Contact her via the website: www.dpryorpresents.com.
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