2003
On February 28, 2003, during a legal dispute, Michael was able to prevent an English TV network from broadcasting additional behind-the-scenes clips from the documentary ‘Living with Michael Jackson’.
Jackson had asked a high-level court in London to, through an order, ban Granada media from airing more clips from this very popular documentary. But the lawyers for both sides said they had reached confidential agreements on the matter.
Geoffrey Hobs, Granada’s lawyer, stated in court that Granada had agreed not to use any copied version of this documentary until after the hearing of this case on March 31.
On March 14, the Santa Maria court issued its ruling regarding Avaram’s complaint against Michael:
”Michael Jackson broke his contract with Marcel Avram and must pay him five million three hundred thousand dollars in damages for canceling two Millennium concerts.“
Both sides felt victorious from this ruling, which had been issued after a week of consultation.
David Medber, Michael’s lawyer, said: ”Five million three hundred thousand dollars, compared to the amount Avram had requested in his complaint, is a success.“
Steve Cochran, Michael’s first lawyer, did not discuss his client’s financial situation, but called the court ruling a financial success... ”Mr. Avram wanted to raise this figure to thirty-four million dollars. He didn’t mind fighting“
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On April 6, Michael attended the Palm Beach International Film Festival together with Robert Evans and Chris Tucker. Robert Evans received an award for a lifetime of artistic achievement at this event.
On April 24, a two-hour documentary made using Michael’s home video footage, titled ‘Private Home Movies,’ was broadcast on the Fox TV network and won second place among the most-watched TV documentaries. Part of this film was also posted on the Fox network’s website.
The producer of this documentary, Brad Lachman, was the same person who had also handled the production of the second part of the documentary ‘Living with Michael Jackson.’
In a part of the film, Michael and Macaulay Culkin are shown throwing cream pies at each other. Elsewhere, Michael’s shopping in stores and his jokes with the salespeople are shown. The film also included footage of Prince and Paris, Michael’s children, at a birthday party. Although their faces were not clear. In one scene, Prince says: ”I am Prince Michael Jackson and I really love Dad.“
In another scene, when Paris is asked what she wants to do when she grows up, she immediately answers: ”I want to be like Dad.“
On April 30, a scarf signed by Michael in May 27, 2000 and thrown from the balcony of his room at the Dorchester Hotel in London to his fans, was sold at an auction in London for seven hundred and thirteen pounds.
Michael had written on this scarf: ”I love this city very much. All my love is for you. Now I have to sleep. I love you. Michael Jackson.“
On May 6, songs ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘ABC’ by the Jackson Five were released in the film ‘Daddy Day Care,’ starring Eddie Murphy.
On May 12, Martin Bashir, the producer of the documentary ‘Living with Michael Jackson,’ was selected by a survey from Channel Four Television in England, among one hundred people, as the fifth most disliked person in England.
At a festival titled ‘Can’t Stop The Musicals,’ held from May 22 to June 1, 2003, musical films from the 1970s and 1980s were shown in the Auditorium at the Ageption Theatre in Hollywood.
The film ‘Wiz,’ starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, was also released on the big screens in Hollywood.
On May 18, it was announced in the news that Michael would spend three days of his vacation in Acapulco, Mexico, with his friends. According to what was said, this was a private trip and no plan had been made for Michael to visit public places.
It was reported that on May 20, Michael would return to the city of Gary to visit his birthplace after years, and during this trip he would also visit the childhood home located at ”2300 Jackson Street“.
For this purpose, Michael entered Indianapolis in the afternoon of May 20 and stayed at the Canterbury Hotel. On his first night of staying there, at nine o’clock, he visited the Circle Centre passage, whose doors were closed to the public. The hotel’s doors open directly into the passage, so Michael did not have to face the crowd outside the hotel.
Michael hugged his fans who had gathered in the passage to see him and gave them autographs. He also met four students from Warren Central High School. They were astonished that Michael had not refused their request to meet him and instead had given them autographs. Michael was surrounded in the marketplace by his guards. But still, he shook hands with some fans.
Michael also bought five pairs of toy glasses for his daughter Paris from the Museum Company store.
A visit to the Godiva Chocolatier store was also on his schedule. In the meantime, Michael met one of the female fans who was sitting in a wheelchair. He kissed her, hugged her, and gave her two autographs. This fan was very shocked. She also said that Michael really smelled good.
At the end, Michael went to the cinema to watch the film ‘Daddy Day Care,’ and after that, at eleven at night, he left the cinema hall and returned to his fans.
The next day, Michael was transferred to California due to illness, and thus his visit to Gary was temporarily canceled.
On May 30, Michael attended a celebration arranged by Brett Ratner, the director of the films ‘Rush Hour’ and ‘Red Dragon,’ for the release of his new book.
At this celebration, Michael said about Ratner: ”He is the best man I have ever seen. He is kind to the point that he makes me cry. He is a realist and at the same time an abstract artist. He has a wide range of work from horror films to comedy. I’m sure he will become one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema.“
On June 4, it was announced that Michael would resume his trip to Gary on June 11, which had previously been cut short due to illness.
The schedule for this trip was announced as follows:
10:45 AM — meeting with fans at City Hall
11:00 AM — the Mayor of Gary, along with some city officials, meets Michael at City Hall and presents him with the key to the city. Michael is scheduled to give a speech there. And it also provides an opportunity for the media to take photos of him.
12:00 PM — Michael goes to the street ”2300 Jackson Street“ where his childhood home is located to spend a few minutes there. After that, he will go to his old school, Roosevelt (Roosvelt High School).
2:00 _ 3:30 PM — Michael attends a session at Roosevelt High School and has lunch there.
6:00 PM — Michael goes to a stadium near City Hall to watch local singers perform some of his songs. Attendance is open to the public and no tickets are required.