Interview With the Michael Jackson Foundation
On Sunday night, after the opening of Michael Jackson’s Immortal tour in Montreal, Canada, John Branca and Howard Weitzman from the Michael Jackson Foundation team were guests on Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN via satellite. You can watch this interview on YouTube or download it from the download page.
John Branca, head of the Foundation, and Howard Weitzman, the Foundation’s attorney, spoke on the show about Michael Jackson’s legacy and what remains of him—along with the Cirque du Soleil shows, which you can read below.
John Branca said his working relationship with Michael began in January 1980. He was Michael’s main economic advisor for almost three decades, and during that time a friendship relationship also formed between them.
In 2006, their working relationship ended, but before Michael died, he contacted Branca through his program manager, Frank Dileo.
John said Michael and Frank were very excited about this tour, and they asked him to provide ideas about actions that could be done in parallel with the tour.
John met Frank on several occasions, and then one week before Michael’s death he met him at the tour rehearsal location (Staple Center). He said he was very happy that they were able to see each other for the last time. John says Michael’s mood during that meeting was good.
“I had seen Michael over the years on days when he was withdrawn and quiet, and also when he became more social. In the final days he was busy rehearsing and getting ready to leave for London.”
“I’ll never forget our first meeting. Michael had sunglasses on, and in the middle of the interview he leaned forward and asked, ‘Branca, do I know you?’ I said no, Michael, I don’t think so. This is our first meeting. He said, ‘Are you sure?’ I said, Michael, if I had seen you before, I would definitely remember.”
Michael was Branca’s best man at his first wedding ceremony in the 1980s. At that ceremony, Michael also brought his home chimpanzee Bubbles, dressed in a tuxedo. Branca calls this memory very valuable.
In this interview, Branca called Michael an economic genius who was misunderstood by the public.
“He was a perfectionist and a humanitarian, and he respected the works of other artists.”
“He had a good business sense, especially in advertising and marketing. He always maintained his relationship with his fans, and even today there is a loyal and enduring fan community. ”
In the program, among the important economic decisions of Michael Jackson, they mentioned the creation of a trailer video and the purchase of the Beatles catalog. Michael decided to make the trailer video and went to John Branca, asking him to arrange it.
John said that after the success of the trailer album, Michael made a lot of money and decided to buy the publishing rights to Beatles songs. Since he was friends with Paul McCartney, a member of the Beatles, he didn’t want any resentment to arise between them. For that reason, he asked John to contact Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, and also Paul McCartney’s lawyer, and ask them whether they intended to buy this catalog. Of course, their answer was no.
Yoko Ono had said she would prefer Michael to have the catalog rather than one of the music companies owning it.
Finally, after a year, in 1985, Michael bought this catalog for $47.5 million. The catalog has since expanded and now includes more than 750,000 songs by various artists, including Elvis Presley.
John Branca said buying this catalog wasn’t simple because other competitors were also involved, but Michael truly had a passion for buying it because he wanted to invest in matters he personally cared about.
John Branca said the current value of this catalog, known as Sony/ATV, is around $2 billion, and half of it belongs to Michael.
Alongside this catalog, Michael also holds the publishing rights to his own songs under the Myjake license.
John Branca says the connection between these two companies—Sony/ATV and Myjake—will raise its value even further.
The Foundation intends to keep this wealth in the hands of Michael Jackson’s children.
Branca also mentioned the Foundation’s actions in creating the film This Is It, and said that this film shows the truth of Michael Jackson as an artist and a great human being, and that is also why the film was made and released.
Branca pointed out that although some people and some members of the Jackson family opposed this film and said Michael didn’t want his rehearsal footage to be released, he and John McClain, the other Foundation trustee, realized that this film helps people understand the real Michael, and it also added a new wave of fans to Michael.
In the end, the film became the most successful musical documentary film in cinema history.
John Branca also talked about the new statements by Jermain Jackson, Michael’s brother, saying that unseen scenes from Michael’s rehearsals show his poor physical condition. Branca said he hasn’t seen all the footage, and that it is the film’s director, Kenny Ortega, who extracted scenes from all the recorded footage to make This Is It.
John said all artists have good and bad days, but he believes This Is It shows Michael Jackson exactly as he was.
Howard Weitzman also called Michael an exceptional artist in this interview and spoke about his economic genius:
“Some famous artists want to reach his level. But Michael was exceptional. He had the ability to connect with millions and millions of people around the world. And after his death, just like during his lifetime, this process continued. He was an extraordinary human being.”
“Michael Jackson isn’t only a legendary artist. He was also a very good businessman. He was able to go beyond music into business, and that’s unusual.”
In response to Piers Morgan about Michael’s spending habits, Branca said:
“Michael earned a lot of money, and I think it’s true that he also spent it well. But he also left a lot of money behind. He worked his whole life and got a lot out of it.”
John Branca said Michael was able to manage his assets in a way that had never been seen among artists before.
The interview also discussed Cirque du Soleil shows.
John Branca said that he and Michael went to watch the first Cirque du Soleil shows held in Santa Monica one night in 1989. They arrived at the venue in a freight car that John drove, without any security officers present. He says he was carrying the biggest star of the era in the car, and he was so nervous that they took the wrong route several times.
He says that when the show ended, it was clearly obvious that Michael was impressed, and he insisted that they go backstage to meet the people involved in the show.
“I can’t say which of them was more excited. Michael meeting the Cirque people, or those who were seeing Michael for the first time.”
After that, Michael went to Montreal several times—the headquarters of Cirque du Soleil—and met with its founder, Guy Laliberté.
“Michael was a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil.”
John continues:
“Me and John McClain knew we had to put on live shows. Guy Girardi (founder of the Motan company) called Michael the greatest stage and entertainment artist in history. So to make sure we held the shows properly, I knew we had to do special things. You can’t put someone on stage and then tell them to perform Michael Jackson’s songs. Then we received a call from Guy Laliberté saying he wanted to create shows for Michael Jackson. And if you watch these shows, you’ll understand that they are the biggest shows ever made.”
“If you watch This Is It, you’ll understand how perfectionist Michael was, and Cirque du Soleil applied the same precision and finesse in its performances.”
During this interview, Howard Weitzman also spoke about the Conrad Murray trial, saying he hopes the jury will make the right decision.
He also, in response to Piers Morgan, who said some people believe Michael turned to painkillers as a result of the Pepsi incident in which his head caught fire and also because of the accusations, said that the pressure from the accusations—even if they are incorrect and lies—is very high, but he disagreed with the claim that Michael caused his own death.
Piers Morgan, who is a judge on the Got Talent talent show in America, said he had seen Michael’s live performances on stage several times, and in his view Michael was the greatest showman and entertainer he had ever seen.
John Branca confirmed his words:
“Michael is incomparable with other artists, and it’s very rare to find someone who can create music like him, sing with his voice, design the choreography for his songs, produce the songs, and then go on stage and perform them. If you find someone who can do even just one of these things, they’re a star on their own. He also had his own fashion sense and was a superstar.”
When Piers Morgan asked what Michael’s legacy would be, John Branca answered:
“As Bree Girardi said, the greatest showman who has ever lived.”
Howard Weitzman also responded to the same question:
“If someone asked me who Michael was, I would tell them to press the play button for a song or video, and he will talk to you himself.”
Piers Morgan also said that in his view Michael Jackson is the true king of pop music.
Source: eMJey.com / CNN