The Thriller Trailer Will Be Re-Released

John Landis, the director of the legendary film Thriller, says the trailer will be re-released. The Michael Jackson Foundation announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with John Landis, the director of the short film Thriller. In January 2009, John Landis and George Falsy Jr., the producer of Thriller, filed a lawsuit against the Michael Jackson company, claiming their share of the revenue from the film’s sales had not been paid. Landis’ lawsuit was raised after it was announced that the Nerderlander company intended to produce a theatrical production based on the Thriller film for Broadway. Seeing that his new project was not moving forward, Landis filed his case and stated that he had a vested interest in Thriller, and therefore any decision in this matter also had to be approved by him. However, the Nerderlander project never materialized, and after Michael’s death, his foundation decided to invest in Cirque du Soleil instead of Broadway. Nerderlander sued the Michael Foundation, but they said that with Michael’s death, their theater contract was automatically void. After Michael’s passing, Landis and Falsy repeated their lawsuit and stated the amount owed as $2.3 million. With this dispute now settled, Landis is now seeking the re-release of Thriller. Yesterday, the Michael Foundation, in a statement, announced that it had reached an agreement with John Landis and George Falsy regarding the Thriller film and the behind-the-scenes film. They called the terms of the agreement confidential. After this announcement, John Landis said that he would work closely with the Michael Jackson Foundation for the future release of the Thriller film—though not right away: "At the moment, the Foundation’s entire focus is on promoting and distributing the Bad 25 collection, and I personally am waiting to see the Spike Lee film that recently premiered at the Venice Festival. Michael Jackson was an outstanding choreographer and an incredible star. I was lucky to have worked with him. I’m excited to collaborate with his Foundation and carry out a project that honors his life and his art." Source: eMJey.com / The Hollywood Reporter