Day 22 of the AEG trial: Michael had no problem with tour scheduling

In today’s session, questioning of Gang Wer by the AEG company’s lawyer, Marvin Pontam, continued.

Pontam asked Gang Wer whether Michael had any issues with the concert dates. Gang Wer replied that he had checked all the days with him. He said that Hagedorn (Bugsy), the tour manager, had put large calendars on the walls. They changed the concert dates four times. In 2009, Michael was performing eight concerts in July, ten concerts in August, and nine concerts in September. There were no concerts in October, November, or December because the venue was already booked for other projects and could not be made available to Michael. The tour then continued with ten shows in January of the following year and ten concerts in February, and ended with three performances in March.

Gang Wer explained that the concerts were not held back-to-back and that there was no pressure on Michael. In the HIStory tour, Michael performed 10 to 12 concerts per month, but at that time the tour was city-to-city, whereas This Is It was based in London. The reason the tour opening was delayed was, according to Gang Wer, that Michael wanted more time to rehearse at the O2 Arena. The shows were to be held at the same venue. The rehearsal schedule was handled by Michael and Kenny Ortega, the tour director.

Gang Wer said Michael did not have to attend every rehearsal because that was not part of the contract. He said that during the HIStory tour Michael did not attend rehearsals, but he still put on the tour in the best way possible. Gang Wer knew that whenever it was showtime, Michael would be there. Gang Wer also referred to an outdoor, humid concert in Bangkok, saying: “He performed brilliantly.”

Gang Wer also discussed the shows. At first, Michael appeared wearing an outfit with an LED screen mounted on it—like a television. On that screen, images related to past show dates and events were displayed. Meanwhile, Michael would descend onto the stage from above. Gang Wer had named this outfit “Moon man” and Kenny Ortega called it “Light man.” Pontam showed images illustrating how the outfit worked. These images were not included in the TII documentary because they were still in the early stages of production.

Gang Wer added that the original idea was for Michael to fly over the audience, but they couldn’t make that idea work, so they decided that Michael would descend onto the stage. Gang Wer said the large monitor installed above the stage was 3D. At the beginning of entry into the arena, the audience was given 3D glasses. The songs performed alongside the 3D image display on the monitor were: “Trailer,” “Earth Song,” and “Smooth Criminal.”

Email from Ortega to Gang Wer: “He (Michael) wanted to put on the biggest and best live show.” Ortega had asked Gang Wer in an email to hire the choreographer Travis Payne.

Gang Wer’s response: “This isn’t AEG money—it’s MJ’s money. So getting his approval takes a long time.”

The company’s lawyer tried to show that Michael was responsible for the costs, including Dr. Conrad Murray’s salary.

Gang Wer said he had suggested that Michael use a London doctor for the tour because it would be easier and cheaper. But Michael had pointed to himself and said: “This is the device—we have to take care of the device. I want Conrad.”

Gang Wer: “I think what he meant was that his mind could create the show, but it’s his body that has to perform it.”

Gang Wer knew that Dr. Murray’s office was in Las Vegas, but this doctor was serving Michael in Los Angeles. Hiring him as a permanent doctor for the tour would be far more expensive than hiring a local doctor in London. Gang Wer did not have Michael’s direct phone number and always called his assistant, Michael Amir Williams, to speak with Michael. Gang Wer then called Dr. Murray on Michael’s behalf to invite him to the tour. In Gang Wer’s view, Murray was waiting for his call and knew Michael was going to take him to London. When Gang Wer asked about the salary Murray requested, Murray asked for five million dollars.

Gang Wer: “His offer was ridiculous. It was a lot of money, and MJ couldn’t afford it.”

Murray had told Gang Wer that to go to London he would have to shut down his offices in Las Vegas, Houston, and San Diego and send his employees on leave. Gang Wer did not agree to Murray’s request, and then Amir Williams, Frank Dileo, and Randy Phillips, the CEO of AEG, were informed about Murray’s demand.

Gang Wer said the people who worked for Michael always demanded high salaries because they thought Michael was extremely wealthy.

This AEG executive said he had never thought to check Murray’s financial situation because, in his view, it had nothing to do with medical ethics.

Gang Wer: “A doctor should have ethics. Their financial situation shouldn’t change their medical decisions.”

Dr. Finkelstein, the doctor who had been with Michael on the dangerous tour and who also had a history of friendship with Gang Wer, was also willing to serve on the TII tour for free because he had enjoyed it a lot on the dangerous tour. According to Finkelstein, the average monthly salary for a tour doctor was $10,000.

The second phone conversation about Murray happened when Amir Williams called Gang Wer and said they needed to sign a contract with Murray. Gang Wer heard Michael’s voice on the phone saying, “Offer 150.” Gang Wer interpreted that to mean 150 thousand dollars per month. Gang Wer informed Murray of the offer. Murray did not accept it and said it wasn’t enough. Gang Wer explained that the offer was Michael’s, and then Murray replied that he would accept it. Gang Wer asked Murray to obtain a medical license to work in London. Murray said there was nothing to worry about. When Gang Wer asked him about his accommodation in London, Murray said he would need a three-bedroom house, plus an assistant and some equipment. Murray had asked for 10 days to take care of his affairs and then be fully available to serve Michael and the tour.

After that, on May 6, 2009, Gang Wer emailed Amir Williams with a summary of the conversation. He never received a response from Williams.

Gang Wer said that before Michael’s death, no contract with Murray was signed and no payment was ever made to him.

This executive also stated that Michael was responsible for his own health: “Everyone is responsible for their own health. Michael was an adult and could decide about his health and medical actions.”

Pontam showed part of the TII documentary. In this video, Frank Dileo, Michael’s program director, watches the rehearsal test of volunteer dancers from his seat. This test took place on April 13, 14, and 15, 2009 at the Nokia Theater. Michael attended on the last day and made the final decision about which dancers to choose. Gang Wer said Michael was very busy. Ortega wanted to record the performance test of these people to post it on michaeljacksonlive.com. The cost of filming this test was very high, so Gang Wer bought two cameras and asked his staff to film the rehearsal test.

At the same time, local newspapers in England were exploding with rumors about Michael Jackson.

Gang Wer: “They write lies about everything.”

For example, The Sun claimed that Michael had developed skin cancer in his chest area, and it was also rumored that Michael wanted to cut the number of concerts in half. Employees in the advertising and media department had sent Gang Wer an email containing headlines about Michael. Gang Wer had warned them not to respond to any of the rumors. He wrote that they didn’t need to sell tickets and wanted Michael Jackson’s performance on stage to answer the rumors.

Gang Wer’s response dated May 27, 2009, regarding Michael’s participation in dance rehearsals that referenced the rumors incorrectly, was: “This kid is healthy and practices every day. When I left the location at 9 p.m. last night, he was still working.”

Gang Wer’s response to the rumor from the Sunday Mirror, dated June 5, 2009:

“When it comes to MJ, we don’t have to react to the media. We just keep moving forward with the work. If MJ delivers the best show of his life, then everyone’s questions will be answered. And I’m telling you he will do it—I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Gang Wer continued in this email by discussing a rehearsal session in which Michael performed nine songs:

“Last night he performed nine songs with the entire music group, singers, and dancers. He sang all of them. He was amazing, captivating, and mesmerizing. You couldn’t take your eyes off him. And this is just the beginning. It goes even further. When people realize the media is just talking nonsense, then they’ll go looking for the truth. There’s no skin cancer. He’s just a good, kind father raising his kids. His art and skill speak for themselves. He’s a loving man who cares about people.”

Michael’s rehearsal schedule: from March 28 at the Center Staging— from May 27 at the Forum— from June 23 at the Staples Center and from July 13 at the O2 Arena.

Pontam also asked Gang Wer about an incident that Karen Faye, Michael’s makeup artist, had testified about. Karen had heard that Gang Wer was pulling on MJ’s assistant’s arm. Gang Wer was upset that Michael arrived late to rehearsal and was yelling at his assistant on the phone to bring Michael to the Forum.

Karen Faye’s testimony: “Gang Wer, in an angry and desperate manner, instructed Michael’s assistant to pull Michael out—who had locked the bathroom door of his house on himself—and bring him to the rehearsal session at the Forum. He said, ‘Don’t you have an extra key? Do whatever you can!’ Gang Wer and Kenny Ortega were the only people who insisted on Michael being present at rehearsals.”

Gang Wer responded while shaking his head: “No, no, that never happened.”

He said he had never ordered anyone to bring Michael to rehearsals.

Gang Wer about the tour: “This show was going to be spectacular!”

Pontam and showed a video of Michael in front of a green screen alongside eleven other dancers. Using computer techniques, those eleven would become a 11,000-strong army. Gang Wer described Michael as fantastic during those days.

Parts of the 3D trailer video that had been recorded for the tour were shown. In this video, Michael is wearing a red leather jacket. In an email, Randy Phillips had instructed Gang Wer to remove parts of the TII documentary that portrayed Michael as extremely thin and wearing a red leather jacket. Gang Wer said that such a change was never made in the documentary. He also said that Michael’s images were not edited.

To perform “Earth Song” (a song about caring for the environment), a bulldozer would come onto the stage from a sloped surface.

Pontam: “A real bulldozer?”

Gang Wer: “I wish it were real—it would have been cheaper, but the bad part was that it would destroy our sloped surface.”

They had to build a bulldozer model. This bulldozer was brought onto the stage at the end of the song.

“I think it held the audience’s breath in their chests.” Gang Wer said this while referring to a scene where a little girl runs after the only plant left on the ground.

The concert ended with a 3D animation. A plane moved along the runway. The doors opened, and Michael boarded the plane. The doors closed, and the plane flew over the audience’s heads. But in reality, Michael had gone down from the stage into a hidden elevator and exited the building.

Gang Wer said he didn’t know whether anyone had been assigned to handle Michael’s meals and food. The tour would have been very tiring and exhausting.

Gang Wer had seen Dr. Murray once at Michael’s home in Carolwood and once at the Forum. Pontam asked whether, at a meeting at Michael’s home, anyone had told Murray how to take care of Michael. Gang Wer’s answer was no. He said Dr. Murray participated in that day’s meeting and seemed like a very intelligent man who cared a lot about taking care of Michael, and there was no sign of any mistreatment of Michael. Michael also participated in the discussion, paid attention to matters, and was happy that the meeting was taking place.

He also talked about Michael’s delays and his habit of not arriving on time for meetings, saying that Michael did things according to his own planning and method.

Gang Wer said Michael had hired a fitness trainer named Louis (Lo) Frigino.

Gang Wer: “I signed a contract with him. He was supposed to receive a fixed amount per session as his fee.”

Pontam presented an email from Travis Payne, the tour choreographer, in court. In that email, Payne suggested placing a massage chair in Michael’s dressing room.

Gang Wer discussed an email from Bugsy in which he wrote that Michael needed cheeseburgers, sausages, and beer. Gang Wer said Bugsy was joking. According to him, Bugsy cared a great deal about Michael.

This witness emphasized that Michael was willing to go on tour and that the company had not threatened to cancel the tour.

Gang Wer also explained that in an email where he wrote that Conrad Murray’s salary would be paid by the company, he had made a mistake when writing the email. He said the doctor’s salary was being paid as a loan on Michael’s behalf to Murray.

Today’s session ended like this:

On June 20, 2009, five days before Michael’s death, Gang Wer had no concerns about Michael’s health or his use of medication. But he did care about his health.

Source: eMJey.com / AP & LA Times & ABC NEWS