Alles anzeigenXscape hat Gold in der UK erreicht
BPI Music @BPI_Music · 5 Std.
Congrats to the late @michaeljackson and all the artists featured on 'XScape' - the album has gone Gold #BPIawards
und Platin in Polen
in spanien hat xscape ebenfalls goldstatus erreicht und ist wieder auf platz eins der album charts.
Michael Jackson's Estate Buys in Calabasas for $10.75 Million
The home is where his mother, Katherine Jackson, lives with the late pop star's children
The Black Keys Earn First No. 1 Album, Michael Jackson Debuts At No. 2
Rock duo the Black Keys collect its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with "Turn Blue" debuting at No. 1, while Michael Jackson's "Xscape" starts at No. 2.
"Turn Blue" sold 164,000 copies in the week ending May 18,
according to Nielsen SoundScan, while "Xscape" sold 157,000. Both
albums surpassed their industry forecast, as on Friday, May 16, sources
suggested they would sell around 150,000 to 155,000 each.
"Turn Blue" is the third top 10 album for the Black Keys,
following the No. 2 debut of their last album, 2011's "El Camino" (which
sold 206,000 in its first week). Before that, the act's previous top
10, 2010's "Brothers," debuted and peaked at No. 3.
"Fever,” the first single from "Turn Blue," topped both the Alternative airplay and Rock Airplay charts.
Meanwhile, "Xscape" is Jackson's tenth top 10 effort. He
previously reached the region with "Ben" (No. 5 peak in 1972), "Off the
Wall" (No. 3, 1980), "Thriller" (No. 1, 1982), "Bad" (No. 1, 1987),
"Dangerous" (No. 1, 1992), "History: Past, Present and Future Book 1"
(No. 1, 1995), "Invincible" (No. 1, 2001), and the posthumous releases
"Michael Jackson's This Is It" soundtrack (No. 1, 2009) and "Michael"
(No. 3, 2010).
"Xscape" was led by the single "Love Never Felt So Good," a duet with Justin Timberlake. It became Jackson's 28th top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when it debuted on the May 17 chart at No. 20. The song also saw its official music video, with Timberlake, debut on May 14. Four days later, a virtual Jackson appeared during the Billboard Music Awards, performing the "Xscape" album track "Slave to the Rhythm."
in den niederlanden sind alle lieder des neuen albums in den top 100 single charts vertreten. 
die höchste platzierung geht mit rang 2 an lnfsg.
danach folgt pwnm auf dem 24. platz.
http://dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp?cat=s
zudem befindet sich das album ebenfalls auf platz 2 in den niederländischen album charts.
http://dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp?cat=a
in deutschland hat es für lnfsg dagegen nur für platz 28 gereicht.
Habe am Mittwoch (7. Mai) mittags die Versandbestätigung vom amazon.de bekommen, aber weder gestern noch heute wurde das Paket geliefert. Habe ich bei amazon so noch nie erlebt. Liegt ja aber an der Post. Hoffentlich kommt es morgen.
Angeblich soll ja auch die kostenlose Mp3-Version dabei sein, aber ich habe auch noch keinen Link zum kostenlosen Download erhalten.
Das Geld wurde aber vorgestern schon abgebucht, und natürlich die 16,99 - und nicht die 12,90 vom heutigen Erscheinungstag.
ruf doch da mal an (tel.: 08003638469) und beschwere dich. habe ich auch gemacht.
das album wurde daraufhin umgehend zur amazon-cloud hinzugefügt und der differenzbetrag erstattet. 
Die Bass-Partie ist ja mal seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehr "Leave Me Alone" inspiriert
ich musste sofort an stevie wonders "higher ground" denken.
Paris Jackson Responds to Jackson Family Feud: ‘Too Much Hate Inside Me to Bear’
Last night, we discovered Paris Jackson’s Formspring account. For those of you living in caves, Formspring is a site that allows users to ask questions of each other, anonymously or after they’ve signed up as a user.
Celeb Dirty Laundry also reported Paris Jackson’s response to the (dumb) question, “Who is Michael Jackson?” Well, after going through some of her history, we are finding lots of juicy tidbits about her relationship with her family. And, I have to say, Paris is incredibly mature!
Yesterday she was asked, “Be honest do you hate your aunt Janet, just be honest because I think you do.And all your uncles I know you hate them to.”
Paris, who is only 14-years-old, gave a mature and diplomatic response. She replied, “i don’t hate them . they are blood and i love them . if i spend my whole life holding grudges and not being forgiving , i will have too much hate inside me to bear . what they have done is wrong and made me very angry but that does not give me a reason to hate . hate is a very strong word.”
It sounds like, despite his early death, her dad managed to instill in her a sense of responsibility and taught her the damage of hate.
Paris also responded to the question, “Is it true that your Aunt Janet slapped you, called you a spoiled little b***h and tried to take your phone? How horrible.”
She answered, “she tried taking my phone but there was no physical violence or foul language involved.”
Well, there you have it folks. Straight from the horses mouth. The worst Janet Jackson did was to try to take Paris’ phone . . . I wonder the circumstances in which she tried and failed . . .
I have to say, Paris and her siblings have been through a lot since their dad’s death. Teenage years are never easy, especially in the spotlight, but Paris seems wise beyond her years, and has an incredible way of separating hateful actions from the people who do them. It will be interesting to see what she does with her life!
Stay strong, girl!
celebdirtylaundry.com
BET Networks Celebrates The 25th Anniversary Of Michael Jackson’s Landmark “BAD” Album Short Films With A Two-Hour Special Tribute Premiering On Tuesday, September 18 At 8:00 P.M. ET*
NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – On Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. ET*, BET Networks will premiere BET PRESENTS: BAD25 – THE SHORT FILMS OF MICHAEL JACKSON, a two-hour tribute to the industry-redefining short films emanating from the landmark Michael Jackson album, BAD, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The TV special airs the same day as the release of BAD25, available in multiple formats, which will include CDs of the original album plus rare and previously unreleased audio as well as the first ever authorized DVD and CD release of a concert from the record breaking BAD World Tour.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO)
Partnering with Sony Music and The Estate of Michael Jackson, BET has created a unique and spectacular televised tribute to the short films from Michael Jackson’s BAD. Through photos, visuals and interviews with celebrity fans, cultural critics and contemporary artists who have been influenced by Michael, the special will take viewers on a fascinating journey celebrating the everlasting influence on the music video artform by one of the most historically significant works of modern music, BAD. The special will include interviews with Ne-Yo, Ashanti, Michael Eric Dyson, A$AP Rocky, Beverly Johnson, Affion Crockett, Al Sharpton, MC Lyte and others.
BAD is not only a multi-platinum album; it is a cultural phenomenon. The album was #1 around the world, made history with five consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard chart, and produced nine chart-topping singles, and nine groundbreaking and iconic short films, including Smooth Criminal, The Way You Make Me Feel and Bad. To date, the BAD album has generated over 45 million units in sales. The BAD World Tour was Michael’s first concert tour as a solo artist, and his only North American tour, and included 123 concerts attended by more than 4.4 million fans over sixteen months. When it concluded, the tour had shattered all previous touring records for attendance and total gross revenue.
BET PRESENTS: BAD25 – THE SHORT FILMS OF MICHAEL JACKSON reminds us, once again, that Jackson was, indeed, BAD.
BET PRESENTS: BAD25 – THE SHORT FILMS OF MICHAEL JACKSON is produced by Ducret Media for BET Networks with executive producer Tony Ducret and producer Amita Patel.
Join the BET PRESENTS: BAD25 – THE SHORT FILMS OF MICHAEL JACKSON conversation on Twitter by using hashtag: #MJBAD25; and following us @BET.
dailymarkets.com
Alles anzeigenkomm mal runter
was ich mit möglichst wenig aufwand eigentlich sagen wollte ist,
dass der beitrag vielleicht unpassend war,
aber deine beleidigung gegen einen user, der seine meinung postet (auch wenn sie nicht passend für dich ist)
keineswegs besser ist.
das hat nichts mit unterschiedlichen wertevorstellungen zu tun.
zumal das hier nicht das thema ist.
es ging um toys klamotte, und darüber haben sich eben einige auf die eine oder andere weise
an andere zeiten oder andere situationen erinnert gefühlt.
man kann das unpassend finden, was gesagt wurde.
aber man kann darauf auch unpassend reagieren. das war mein punkt.
und nun kehren wir bitte zum thema zurück.
damit war dann aber deine art mir zu sagen, dass ich deiner meinung nach unpassend reagiert habe, aber nicht wirklich besser, als meine art einem user zu sagen, wie daneben ich seinen beitrag fand. 
inhaltlich bleibe ich zwar bei meiner kritik, aber sollte die art und weise verletzend gewesen sein, bitte ich um entschuldigung.
selbst wenn man das so sehen mag, ist dieser beitrag nicht minder dumm und völlig daneben.
aha...es ist also dumm und völlig daneben, wenn man ein vorurteilbehaftetes denken über asylanten verurteilt? und es ist dumm und völlig daneben, dass man sich daran stört, wenn dieses vorurteilbehaftete denken dann auch noch benutzt wird, um zum ausdruck zu bringen, wie scheiße man etwas findet?
da haben wir dann wohl sehr unterschiedliche wertevorstellungen.
ich fand es ohnehin schon seltsam, dass ich scheinbar der einzige war, der sich an diesem spruch gestört hat.
Michael Jackson: AEG’s Lawyers File for Monetary, Evidentiary Sanctions Against Jackson Family
Exclusive: as I told you it would happen AEG Live has filed two motions in Los Angeles Superior Court against the family of Michael Jackson. The motions are a response to the leaking of emails in the Jackson family’s wrongful death suit against AEG to the Los Angeles Times. AEG wants monetary sanctions and they want to make sure everything concerning Michael Jackson’s health and other personal information is sealed.
There had been a protective order prior to this, blocking any release of information that AEG had turned over to the Jackson side during the case. Now that that’s been violated, AEG wants the court to fine the Jacksons at least $50,000 and to investigate how it happened. They also want everything sealed including testimony from Kenny Ortega, producer of the “This Is It” concerts. The court date for hearing both motions is October 24th.
In addition to monetary sanctions, AEG wants evidentiary sanctions, too. They’re asking the court to prevent the Jacksons from using the leaked emails as evidence in the future–that they’re essentially tainted. If the judge rules in AEG’s favor, the Jacksons would essentially have done themselves in.
On Sunday, September 2, 2012, the Los Angeles Times published a misleading and inaccurate article about AEG’s supposed role in Michael Jackson’s life and death. This article was based on an incomplete set of highly confidential documents leaked to the press despite the fact that a court had ordered that they not be disclosed. As such, the documents were taken horrendously out of context and were calculated to be as damaging to AEG and as misleading as possible.
This is from AEG:
“AEG believes the unequivocal evidence shows that Katherine Jackson and her attorneys leaked these documents to the press. The documents released to the press were given to Mrs. Jackson and her attorneys—and to no one else—confidentially in discovery and subject to a court order. Accordingly, AEG has today filed a motion for sanctions against Mrs. Jackson and her counsel for this unlawful leak.
AEG was asked to comment on the article and to provide documents in its defense that would tell a different and more complete story. AEG, however, was unwilling to violate the court’s order in its defense. Many of the documents and other sources that support AEG’s position had also been designated as confidential by third-party witnesses in Katherine Jackson’s lawsuit against AEG. These witnesses trusted that their materials had been provided in confidence, that their confidentiality would be respected, and that only the court could order the materials’ release. AEG could not and would not violate those witnesses’ rights by turning their documents over to the press without their permission.
Even without those documents, however, the story as written shows that Katherine Jackson’s claims against AEG are simply not true. The story acknowledges, for instance, that Dr. Conrad Murray was Michael Jackson’s long-term physician, and that it was Michael Jackson who demanded to bring him on tour. The story also acknowledges that no agreement with Dr. Murray was ever signed, and that Dr. Murray was never paid by AEG.
The story also acknowledges, albeit obliquely, that even after Michael Jackson appeared ill on June 19, 2012, both Dr. Murray and Michael Jackson himself repeatedly insisted that Michael Jackson was fine, healthy, and eager to perform the concerts. And again, as the story acknowledges and the film This Is It demonstrated, Michael Jackson backed up that claim by performing brilliantly at the next two rehearsals. AEG could not, and did not, cancel its agreement with Mr. Jackson, a respected performing artist who insisted he was ready and willing to perform, simply because he’d been ill one night.
Given all this, one might wonder why Mrs. Jackson or her counsel would choose to leak these documents. After all, their publication hurts her son’s memory and her grandchildren more than anyone else. Unfortunately, the reason plaintiffs chose this course is transparent—plaintiffs know they cannot win on the law and are losing control over the case. After months of discovery, plaintiffs now know what we have known all along – there is nothing to support their claims. Defendants did not hire Dr. Murray nor were they responsible for the death of Michael Jackson. In the meantime, we’ve all watched the press as the Jackson family has made ever-more-wild accusations against everyone involved in Michael Jackson’s life— except themselves.
We look forward to telling the full, complete and accurate account of what actually happened, when the materials that were unlawfully leaked to the press can be put in context and the full story can legally be told. Until that time, defendants will continue to abide by their ethical obligations and the orders of the court.”
showbiz411.com
Jackson estate, businessman settle copyright case
Michael Jackson’s estate and a businessman working with the singer’s mother have settled a copyright infringement case for $2.5 million.
The settlement was announced Tuesday in a Los Angeles federal courthouse right before a trial on damages was scheduled to begin. The estate had sued Howard Mann and his businesses in January 2011, claiming he had violated Jackson copyrights in a book and other merchandise he sold in collaboration with Katherine Jackson.
Mann is the CEO of Vintage Pop Media, which according to settlement terms announced in court is responsible for paying the judgment.
A judge had already ruled that Mann and Vintage Pop Media violated copyrights by using images from the Jackson film “This Is It” and other works.
A jury trial on how much Mann owes the estate had been scheduled to begin Tuesday, with an expert estimating a license for the works is with between $5 and $12 million.
washingtontimes.com
Michael Jackson urged Queen to release Another One Bites The Dust
QUEEN star ROGER TAYLOR has credited MICHAEL JACKSON with the success of one of the band's biggest U.S. hits - because he urged the band to release it.
The rocker admits he and his bandmates didn't think Another One Bites The Dust was chart ready and Jackson convinced them to reconsider.
Taylor says, "We'd already had one number one from that album, The Game, and then we had another hit and I remember Michael Jackson saying, 'You guys are mad if you don't release Another One Bites the Dust'.
"I remember saying, 'That will never be a hit.' How wrong can you be?'"
The song became one of the band's biggest hits in the U.S. and Brian May credits Queen's black fans for the success.
He adds, "Apparently most of the DJs playing it thought we were a black group and that Freddie was black."
ok.co.uk
Michael Jackson: AEG Lawyers May Ask Court for Sanctions over Leaked Emails
The lawyers for AEGLive, the company being sued by Michael Jackson’s family for his alleged wrongful death, are fuming. I am told they may ask the court for sanctions against the Jackson family and their attorneys as early as Tuesday over emails that were leaked to the Los Angeles Times last week. The emails, which the Times published, were sealed as part of the wrongful death suit as evidence. The court case won’t be heard until next year.
But my sources say that the Jacksons, desperate for money after their failed attempt to snatch Katherine Jackson this summer, are looking for sympathy in the court of public opinion. I’m told they selectively pulled a few emails from hundreds and turned them over to the Los Angeles Times in an effort to make AEGLive look guilty of somehow forcing Michael to perform 50 concerts in London.
The truth when the totality of the emails is uncovered in court will be quite different. Michael Jackson was in deep debt when AEG first proposed he do 10 shows at the O2 Arena. That was in the fall of 2008. Jackson waffled. But eventually he was persuaded to agree simply because he had no choice. In practical terms, he was broke. AEG offered him an easy way to make some decent money and get back on his feet.
One thing is true: on the way to the O2 Arena announcement in March 2009, Jackson freaked out. He got ripping drunk. The result can be seen in the video of the announcement. Michael is grinning from ear to ear, laughing, and has no idea what to say other than “This is it.” On the way to the announcement from London, he was petrified. He was very late arriving at the Arena, as well, making everyone wait.
What the LA Times has discounted is the documentary, “This Is It.” For as much as Michael was petulant, stubborn, lazy, scared, etc, he was also a perfectionist with certain specific abilities. The latter are seen in the film at the rehearsals that he did show up for. And no one at AEG Live was trying to kill him, or overwork him to the point of exhaustion. AEG wanted Michael to succeed. They let him handpick everyone from Dr. Conrad Murray to his chef to trainers etc.
Let’s not forget: on May 5th, 2009 Kevin Spacey’s former manager Joanne Horowitz ran into Michael at Dr. Arnold Klein’s office. Michael was in great shape and looking forward to the tour. (Link follows.) Jackson’s mental and physical status changed on a daily basis as the London shows loomed. Like any performer, there were days when he was excited and others when he was apprehensive.
showbiz411.com
Paris Jackson Tweets She’ll ‘Move To Africa’ If Romney Wins
Paris Jackson has thrown in her two cents about the presidential election, tweeting that if Mitt Romney wins, she’s “moving to Africa.”
Jackson, the 14-year-old daughter of the late Michael Jackson, is an avid Twitter user, with more than 900,000 followers. Sunday, she tweeted her thoughts on President Obama, and his challenger, Republican Mitt Romney.
“k i hate politics , but at least i care about this country…if Obama wasn’t president , America would be flushed down the toilet#voteobama” Jackson tweeted Sunday morning.
The outspoken teenager urged her followers to vote for Obama, blaming former president George W. Bush for the problems facing the country.
Shortly after tweeting that she would move to Africa should Romney win the election, she tweeted that she’s not sorry for airing her political opinions.
“spoke my mind , said my opinions.. don’t reeeallyy care if you disagree with me… #sorrynotsorry #voteobama”
Jackson’s Twitter account got a lot of attention earlier this summer, when she lashed out at her famous family members on the website for not letting her and her siblings see their grandmother.
abcnews.go.com
Will ja nichts sagen, aber der Hosenanzug von LaToya erinnert mich an das Bild wenn die Asylanten bei uns Freitagmorgens bei Aldi einkaufen gehen.
glückwunsch zum dümmsten spruch des tages. 
BREAKING: “Thriller” Resurrected! John Landis Collaborating With Michael Jackson’s Estate!
While most of you were packing up for the holiday weekend, some monster entertainment news broke over at The Hollywood Reporter. The site reported that the estate of Michael Jackson has put the finishing touches on a deal with director John Landis and producer George Folsey Jr. that resolves litigation concerning net profits on the late singer’s “Thriller” video as well as a fight over a previously planned musical theater production of the hit song/video.
On Friday, the estate released a statement to THR indicating that the settlement had become firm: “The Estate of Michael Jackson, John Landis and George Folsey Jr. have reached an amicable settlement of the actions that were pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court relating to the legendary short motion picture Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the documentary “The Making of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”" The settlement terms are confidential.”
Being that “Thriller” is my all-time favorite music video, and maybe even earliest horror inspiration, after reading this news I was completely scaled in goosebumps. I immediately obsessed over one thought: “Does this mean we’ll finally get a proper “Thriller” release?“ The answer? Read on for the scoop…
Upon reading the big news I immediately contacted Mr. Landis, who has always been gracious and forthcoming with Bloody Disgusting. He reveals exclusively to Bloody that he’ll now be working directly with Jackson’s estate on future “Thriller” releases!! Blu-ray anyone?!
“The Estate of Michael Jackson has been dealing with all of Michael’s debts and legal obligations and our complaint has finally been addressed,” Landis stated. “So now all is good and there will be exciting things happening with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” that I will be doing in collaboration with the Estate in the future.“
While I’m out of my mind excited, Landis does imply it’s not going to happen immediately: “Right now all of their [the Jackson Estate] energy and focus is on promoting and celebrating the 25th anniversary of the “Bad” album and I am looking forward to Spike Lee’s documentary that just premiered at the Venice Film Festival about the making of “Bad.”
“Michael Jackson was a brilliant performer and extraordinary star and I feel lucky to have worked with him,” he added. “And I am excited about working with his Estate to celebrate his life and art in the days to come.”
This is major news as Landis reveals that, after all of these years, there will finally be some serious attention given to the greatest video of all time on the greatest album of all time. I expect big things!
I always wonder, and hope that our younger readers love “Thriller” as much as I do. The video was revolutionary, and featured the great Vincent Price. It was the first time a song had been converted into a short film. In the 13-minute-and-43-second “Thriller,” released on December 2, 1983, a night at the movies turns into a nightmare when Michael and his date are attacked by a hoard of bloody-thirsty zombies – only “Thriller” can save them now.
“Thriller” is the best-selling album of all time, and it is estimated to have sold from between 65 to 110 million copies worldwide.
bloody-disgusting.com
Bad 25: Venice Review
Spike Lee captures a specific pinnacle in Michael Jackson's career and a precise period in American popular music culture with his comprehensive recap of the making, marketing and legacy of the 1987 album "Bad."
VENICE -- Michael Jackson continues to be bigger dead than alive. It might have seemed that Kenny Ortega had his legacy covered with the 2009 documentary This Is It, but Spike Lee goes one better with Bad 25, an obsessively detailed quarter-century anniversary tribute to the 1987 album that capped the three-prong commercial tsunami Jackson began with Off the Wall and Thriller.
The film is a sensational snapshot of the peak of the music video as art form, as well as the intricately layered process by which superior pop is crafted. More poignantly, it serves to remove the veil of late-period craziness and allegations and restore the reputation of Jackson as a multihyphenate musician of peerless discipline, professionalism and perfectionism -- not to mention a pioneering influence in dance and fashion. Following its Venice and Toronto bows, Bad 25 is scheduled to air on ABC at Thanksgiving.
Lee directed Jackson’s 1996 music video for “They Don’t Care About Us.” Despite conducting the interviews personally, he keeps himself out of the picture here aside from one or two audio snippets. But it’s clear that his connection to this material runs deep, revealing itself, for example, in his exhaustive attention to the making of Martin Scorsese’s short film for the album’s title track. No less fascinating is his recap of the multiple choreographic influences that went into the video for “Smooth Criminal,” ranging from Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon to Soul Train to Bugs Bunny to Buster Keaton. The wealth of primo talking-heads fodder makes this of interest far beyond Jackson fans to anyone curious about the production and marketing of popular music.
The director’s appetite for trivia is contagious. Who remembered that one of Wesley Snipes' earliest roles was in the “Bad” video? Or that the arcane refrain “Shamone!” was Jackson’s homage to Mavis Staples? Or that the line “Annie, are you OK?” was inspired by the standard name given to CPR demonstration dummies?
It’s obvious that Lee is having as much fun as the audience sitting in with Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker as they look back over their work on the Bad short 25 years on. Writer Richard Price, who scripted the film for Scorsese, is -- forgive me -- priceless, discussing how an asthmatic Italian and an asthmatic Jew were enlisted by Jackson to make a video “to show the brothers that he’s down with them.” But Lee also gives serious consideration to the ways in which Jackson reaffirmed his connection to the black community.
Despite acknowledging the album’s flaws -- everyone, including Stevie Wonder, agrees that his duet with Jackson, “Just Good Friends,” was a dud -- the film is not guiltless of hagiography. But the fandom of interviewees including Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Cee Lo Green, Chris Brown and Sheryl Crow -- who performed as a big-haired backup singer on the Bad tour -- is generally disarming. (Perhaps the exception is Kanye West, who seems too self-regarding to really serve someone else’s tribute.)
Arguably, Lee’s one significant misstep is to lurch abruptly -- at the end of a meticulous track-by-track reconstruction of the album’s recording and the shooting of its many music videos -- to footage of Jermaine Jackson announcing his brother’s death. Lee then strings together a series of “Where were you when you heard he’d died?” responses, holding the camera on the subjects as they tear up. This feels manipulative and heavy-handed compared with the stimulating social context and illuminating insights that distinguish the doc and pinpoint it at a key moment in Jackson’s career.
But that’s just nitpicking. As forcibly inserted as they are, the memorials do serve to usher in a stirring assessment of “The Man in the Mirror” as a master class in how to build the perfect anthemic pop song. Input here comes from co-writers Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett, as well as producer Quincy Jones and choirmaster Andrae Crouch, among others. The knockout closing footage of Jackson performing the song in a 1988 Wembley Stadium concert, accompanied by 72,000 screaming fans, is the film’s emotional high point.
It’s to Lee’s credit that he doesn’t just go for the famous faces. Instead he digs into every aspect of the music by talking with engineers, arrangers, session musicians, vocal coaches, video actors, dancer-choreographers, recording industry execs, managers, lawyers, biographers and music journalists. Particularly humorous is plain-speaking Joe Pytka, who directed the “Dirty Diana” and “The Way You Make Me Feel” videos. But invaluable contributions come from a wide variety of sources.
The film doesn’t shy away from the negatives. It covers the inescapable hype that accompanied the album release, the “***** *****” stigma, the specter of racism, the animosity toward Jackson in some circles for his stratospheric success and the perceived encroachment on sacred terrain when he purchased the Beatles catalog. Significant time is spent on the goldfish-bowl vulnerability of being in the spotlight since childhood, reflected in the song “Leave Me Alone,” with its “Gulliver’s Travels”-style, tabloid-nightmare photo-animation video.
Mostly, however, Lee keeps the focus on the extraordinary professional achievement that the album still represents, capturing Jackson at the apex of his quest for full creative independence. Beyond its value as a deep-probe portrait of the artist, this is a superb account of the music business and an indispensable pop-cultural time capsule.
Venue: Venice Film Festival (Out of Competition)
Production companies: Optimum Productions, Forty Acres & a Mule Filmworks, Optimum Productions
With: Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, Antonio L.A. Reid, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Walter Yetnikoff, Larry Stessel, John Robinson, Ollie Brown, Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker, Cee Lo Green, Joe Pytka, ?uestlove, John Branca, Joe Vogel, Richard Price, Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard, Ruben Blades, Steve Stevens, Tatiana Thumbtzen, Will Vinton, Jeffrey Daniel
Director-producer: Spike Lee
Executive producers: John Branca, John McClain, Antonio L.A. Reid
Director of photography: Kerwin DeVonish
Editor: Barry Brown
No rating, 129 minutes
hollywoodreporter.com
Afrojack: 'I didn't want to remix Michael Jackson's Bad'
Afrojack has confessed that he was originally apprehensive about remixing a Michael Jackson classic.
The DJ re-worked the iconic singer's hit 'Bad' for a special edition repackage of Bad 25, which is out on September 17.
"You sit down and you first take a good, deep breath and realise what the f**k you're doing," Afrojack told MTV News.
"Then you just do it. It's scary s**t. He's passed away, he's the biggest legend of pop music ever. People will say it's disrespectful, it sucks or you can never touch anything Michael did."
Afrojack continued: "I accepted it and started on it and tried to make a 2012 version of the song for a new generation.
"A lot of people like it and the family is happy with it and they're pushing it as one of the main singles, so I'm quite honoured."
However, Afrojack insisted that he originally declined to work on the track as he insisted it shouldn't be messed with.
"The first time I heard about it, I was like, 'I'm not sure if I even want to do this because it's f**king Michael Jackson'," he said.
"It's an honour, but I was like, 'Are you sure?' I talked about the schedules not working and they tried everything to get me to do the remix.
"They even got a plane to fly me to the original studio where it was recorded in LA to make it happen."
Afrojack's version of 'Bad' includes a guest feature from rapper Pitbull. A deluxe version of Bad 25 will contain three CDs and a live DVD.
digitalspy.co.uk
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entertainmentwise.com
