Michael Jackson biopic announced which promises to deal with ‘all aspects’ of singer’s life
A biopic on the life of Michael Jackson has been announced.
The acclaimed musician, whose decades-long career earned him the title of King of Pop, died in 2009 at the age of 50.
Throughout his career, the late singer went down in music history with timeless songs including Beat It, Thriller, Billie Jean and Man in the Mirror, having first grown to prominence as a child in his family group The Jackson 5.
However as well as being one of the most successful music acts in history, with 10 UK number one albums, record-breaking sales and West End musicals, Jackson’s life was filled with controversies.
The new biopic promises to explore ‘all aspects’ of the singer’s life, although it is unclear how it will look at some of the darker sides including sexual abuse allegations.
His estate has continued to defend him against allegations of sexually abusing children, as he did during his lifetime, and two co-executors of his estate are working on the project.
The new film has seen Emancipation director Antoine Fuqua tapped to direct the project, titled simply Michael.
Meanwhile, acclaimed producer Graham King, who worked on Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody about the life of Freddie Mercury, will produce, along with John Branca and John McClain – who are co-executors of Jackson’s estate.
The script will be penned by writer John Logan, who previously wrote the scripts for Oscar-winning Gladiator and The Aviator.
In a statement seen by PA, director Fuqua said: ‘The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am.
‘For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work – the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV.
‘His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
It comes after the massive success of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler, which has just been nominated for nine Baftas.
Jackson still holds the title of King of Pop, as proved by his son Prince swiftly stepping in after some pointed to Harry Styles as having taken that crown.
Prince responded on Good Morning Britain by saying that ‘we’ve come in the situation before’, before praising Harry, 28, as an ‘incredible artist’.
‘He’s got his own genre and he’s definitely an amazing artist. But, the “King of Pop” was a moniker that really my dad earned,’ he said.
Prince outlined how the ‘access to information’ and ‘the access to popularity and fame wasn’t as easily accessible as it is today’.
‘With so many other social factors that you have to take into consideration at that time, I do feel that my father is the King of Pop, will always be the King of Pop, and it’s not something that you can ever take away, because we’ve just evolved so much as a society that those same factors will never be the same.’
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