Showing Michael’s home videos
On May 4, a special program titled “Michael Jackson Home Movies” was shown in America. The American Michael Jackson fan club website (MJFC) published a summary report of this program, excerpts of which you can read below:
The world wants to see even more of Michael Jackson. In the United States, we received a rare gift: two hours of images of Michael talking about them himself. The screening hall at Neverland, on the Santa Ynez hills, is part of a paradise built by Michael Jackson. In truth, it fulfills the dream of having a hall where chocolate and ice cream are free, and its plush red velvet seats give the room a special charm, along with special beds for children who can’t sit on chairs and need medical equipment. But tonight there’s no sign of these little guests. Tonight, this hall is prepared for Michael to talk about the selected video images from his life, his artistic activities, and the moments he spent with his friends and family. During these two hours, Michael shows us behind-the-scenes images from his concerts and his music videos; in addition, you see him shopping, meeting his relatives and family, and spending time with his friends. But the best part of the program is Michael’s own talk—hearing what he says about his fans, his first Christmas celebration, Elizabeth Taylor, the kids, the world, and his family. Each segment of the program begins with music and video images that are completely familiar to his fans. With just a few opening moments of the music, you’re immediately taken to the place where that particular song carries you along... Jam, Smooth Criminal, Bad, Remember The Time—music is everywhere throughout the program. Fans will remember scenes of Eddie Murphy being scared by a hawk during the filming of the Remember The Time video, Michael’s jokes with Michael Jordan in Jam, John Landis getting “creamed” with the help of Macauley Culkin, and Chris Tucker’s backstage jokes in You Rock My World. They also recall footage from concerts around the world that clearly introduces the real Michael on stage. But this program includes much more than that. There are scenes of events we’d heard about but had never seen—for example, Elizabeth Taylor getting ready to bring Christmas to Michael’s house, a day she had never celebrated before, or the big elephant he received as a gift from Elizabeth, which excited her greatly. Some of the most captivating scenes were the ones filmed by his family, such as meeting their relatives in Alabama. Many times we easily forget that real celebrities have real lives and real roots. One of the most remarkable parts of this special is the moments when Michael, alongside his family, is truly himself. For the first time in this program, you see a part of Michael that the magazines have tried hardest to keep hidden—and Michael’s fans have known this for years. It seems that Michael really enjoys the moments he spends with his family and friends.
The program begins with Michael’s words: “Many people ask themselves why I show my very, very private family films on television. Well, I thought it was time to do it, because many people have opinions about me without even having seen me—without even having seen me. So I thought I’d clear everything up and show them who I am.” He continues: “Since I can remember, I’ve been in front of the camera—not only the television camera, but also in my family, from when I was very, very small.” Then we see images of Michael’s childhood home and the two-bedroom house where nine children lived, along with Michael himself with his brothers and sisters. Immediately afterward, it moves on to describing life on tour and in concerts in different countries. First, Michael talks about how difficult it is to hold concerts, and how because of time differences between countries, the amount of sleep is reduced—right at the time when, due to more activity, you also need more rest. He says he prefers to have face-to-face contact with his fans. When the program’s director asks Michael to re-record this part to reduce its negative impact, Michael repeats that he really doesn’t like giving tours and that it’s like hell for him, but because of the director’s insistence, he agrees to re-record it. Guess what Michael says this time: “I love giving tours.” And everyone backstage laughs!! But then Michael says that despite all this, there’s another side to holding concerts that is very good. He praises the energy in the crowd and says he enjoys the way people sing along with his songs and the level of connection people have with his music. When the scene of his birthday celebration appears right in the middle of the concert performance, he says: “One of the best moments is right here, right in the middle of the show. It’s my birthday, and I’m thousands of miles away from my family, and they surprise me with a band, and then they bring this beautiful huge cake onto the stage. That’s when I felt that wherever I go in the world, I have a family—because my fans love me, and I love them just as much.” The images of the kids playing and family members, including Janet, are very cute and funny. One of the rules at Neverland is that if you come there, you have to get wet!! Then we see scenes of Michael rehearsing Thriller, which had not been aired before. Other parts of this special include: backstage footage from the 1983 Grammy Awards ceremony, where Michael left behind a world record of eight awards; Michael’s shopping at a supermarket where the customers had been replaced with people who were acting and pretending not to recognize Michael; images of Michael’s mother backstage singing along proudly with her child’s songs during his concert; rehearsals for the Bad video; life at Neverland; a visit by Gregory Peck and his wife to Michael’s home; Michael’s father’s birthday; Michael’s dance rehearsals at home; a version of Smooth Criminal that we haven’t seen; Michael’s relationship with Princess Diana; and a visit by Michael to sick children. In the final part of the program, Michael shows the world images of his children. “In this program, you saw a lot of images from my life, my joys, and my happiness. But what you will see now includes my greatest interest and pride. I think that’s what all of life is.” Along with the playing of the song You Are My Life, we see Prince and Paris playing with their friends, celebrations and parties, and spending time with their father. In one scene, when they ask Paris, “When you grow up, what do you want to do?” she quickly answers, “I want to be like my dad.” There are little Parises, and many others, who want this to happen too...
The world wants to see even more of Michael Jackson. In the United States, we received a rare gift: two hours of images of Michael talking about them himself. The screening hall at Neverland, on the Santa Ynez hills, is part of a paradise built by Michael Jackson. In truth, it fulfills the dream of having a hall where chocolate and ice cream are free, and its plush red velvet seats give the room a special charm, along with special beds for children who can’t sit on chairs and need medical equipment. But tonight there’s no sign of these little guests. Tonight, this hall is prepared for Michael to talk about the selected video images from his life, his artistic activities, and the moments he spent with his friends and family. During these two hours, Michael shows us behind-the-scenes images from his concerts and his music videos; in addition, you see him shopping, meeting his relatives and family, and spending time with his friends. But the best part of the program is Michael’s own talk—hearing what he says about his fans, his first Christmas celebration, Elizabeth Taylor, the kids, the world, and his family. Each segment of the program begins with music and video images that are completely familiar to his fans. With just a few opening moments of the music, you’re immediately taken to the place where that particular song carries you along... Jam, Smooth Criminal, Bad, Remember The Time—music is everywhere throughout the program. Fans will remember scenes of Eddie Murphy being scared by a hawk during the filming of the Remember The Time video, Michael’s jokes with Michael Jordan in Jam, John Landis getting “creamed” with the help of Macauley Culkin, and Chris Tucker’s backstage jokes in You Rock My World. They also recall footage from concerts around the world that clearly introduces the real Michael on stage. But this program includes much more than that. There are scenes of events we’d heard about but had never seen—for example, Elizabeth Taylor getting ready to bring Christmas to Michael’s house, a day she had never celebrated before, or the big elephant he received as a gift from Elizabeth, which excited her greatly. Some of the most captivating scenes were the ones filmed by his family, such as meeting their relatives in Alabama. Many times we easily forget that real celebrities have real lives and real roots. One of the most remarkable parts of this special is the moments when Michael, alongside his family, is truly himself. For the first time in this program, you see a part of Michael that the magazines have tried hardest to keep hidden—and Michael’s fans have known this for years. It seems that Michael really enjoys the moments he spends with his family and friends.
The program begins with Michael’s words: “Many people ask themselves why I show my very, very private family films on television. Well, I thought it was time to do it, because many people have opinions about me without even having seen me—without even having seen me. So I thought I’d clear everything up and show them who I am.” He continues: “Since I can remember, I’ve been in front of the camera—not only the television camera, but also in my family, from when I was very, very small.” Then we see images of Michael’s childhood home and the two-bedroom house where nine children lived, along with Michael himself with his brothers and sisters. Immediately afterward, it moves on to describing life on tour and in concerts in different countries. First, Michael talks about how difficult it is to hold concerts, and how because of time differences between countries, the amount of sleep is reduced—right at the time when, due to more activity, you also need more rest. He says he prefers to have face-to-face contact with his fans. When the program’s director asks Michael to re-record this part to reduce its negative impact, Michael repeats that he really doesn’t like giving tours and that it’s like hell for him, but because of the director’s insistence, he agrees to re-record it. Guess what Michael says this time: “I love giving tours.” And everyone backstage laughs!! But then Michael says that despite all this, there’s another side to holding concerts that is very good. He praises the energy in the crowd and says he enjoys the way people sing along with his songs and the level of connection people have with his music. When the scene of his birthday celebration appears right in the middle of the concert performance, he says: “One of the best moments is right here, right in the middle of the show. It’s my birthday, and I’m thousands of miles away from my family, and they surprise me with a band, and then they bring this beautiful huge cake onto the stage. That’s when I felt that wherever I go in the world, I have a family—because my fans love me, and I love them just as much.” The images of the kids playing and family members, including Janet, are very cute and funny. One of the rules at Neverland is that if you come there, you have to get wet!! Then we see scenes of Michael rehearsing Thriller, which had not been aired before. Other parts of this special include: backstage footage from the 1983 Grammy Awards ceremony, where Michael left behind a world record of eight awards; Michael’s shopping at a supermarket where the customers had been replaced with people who were acting and pretending not to recognize Michael; images of Michael’s mother backstage singing along proudly with her child’s songs during his concert; rehearsals for the Bad video; life at Neverland; a visit by Gregory Peck and his wife to Michael’s home; Michael’s father’s birthday; Michael’s dance rehearsals at home; a version of Smooth Criminal that we haven’t seen; Michael’s relationship with Princess Diana; and a visit by Michael to sick children. In the final part of the program, Michael shows the world images of his children. “In this program, you saw a lot of images from my life, my joys, and my happiness. But what you will see now includes my greatest interest and pride. I think that’s what all of life is.” Along with the playing of the song You Are My Life, we see Prince and Paris playing with their friends, celebrations and parties, and spending time with their father. In one scene, when they ask Paris, “When you grow up, what do you want to do?” she quickly answers, “I want to be like my dad.” There are little Parises, and many others, who want this to happen too...