zinniabooklover
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I adore this thread. I only wish we could all find more stuff for it. I found an advert from 1984 based around Thriller (Michael wasn't in the ad) but, bc it's 1984, I wasn't sure about posting it here, it's really only of peripheral interest. Anyway, my point is, I love the thread.@zinniabooklover thank you so much for sharing this, and for contributing to this thread in general
I was beyond excited to see them.these are very rare indeed.
I don't think I even knew that about Jennifer Beals. Bc I did notice that the woman in the storyboard was clearly Caucasian and not Black. Which is fine, not making an issue of it, just noticed it as an interesting - if unexpected - detail.it’s interesting to see how little has changed in comparison with the final outcome. though I do wonder if the girlfriend portrayed here was jennifer beals as originally conceived, and not ola
Gotta make sure Michael's dancing is the star of the show, lol.I think it’s funny that they deliberately planned for her to start running only after she watched the dance routine
I really hope so. You'd be wanting to see them in a museum or as part of an exhibition. I'm interested in how large they are. I'd love to see more of them. It's great that we can see these four but there must be others, obviously. I'd love to see those, also.I hope these storyboards and items like these are preserved.
it’s so nice that you enjoy this threadI adore this thread. I only wish we could all find more stuff for it. I found an advert from 1984 based around Thriller (Michael wasn't in the ad) but, bc it's 1984, I wasn't sure about posting it here, it's really only of peripheral interest. Anyway, my point is, I love the thread.
I was beyond excited to see them.
I don't think I even knew that about Jennifer Beals. Bc I did notice that the woman in the storyboard was clearly Caucasian and not Black. Which is fine, not making an issue of it, just noticed it as an interesting - if unexpected - detail.
Gotta make sure Michael's dancing is the star of the show, lol.![]()
I really hope so. You'd be wanting to see them in a museum or as part of an exhibition. I'm interested in how large they are. I'd love to see more of them. It's great that we can see these four but there must be others, obviously. I'd love to see those, also.
it’s so nice that you enjoy this threadit’s a special interest of mine. I’m inspired to keep going. I welcome all contributions
I just popped back on to correct my earlier comment. Film is not really my thing and I've never paid any interest in Jennifer Beals (I know she was in a dance film). I checked her on Wiki. Turns out she is mixed race. Her father is African American, her mother is Irish American. So, my bad.apparently jennifer beals turned down the role.
I'm intrigued. Was she working on another project? Was she too busy or was the project not interesting to her? I'm not criticising her and I'm sure she had a good reason but I'm curious to know more.I wonder why that was, and whose idea it was in the first place?
oh god, LaToya! Just, no!I can imagine it would have caused some controversy back then. especially since it it would have been michael’s first onscreen love interest, besides latoya in ‘say say say’, who also claimed that she was up for the role of brother michael’s girlfriend
I would say he was too generous but perhaps that would be mean so I'm absolutely not saying that.I’m so glad mother katherine (allegedly) put a stop to that.. michael was generous to give latoya acting opportunities in his short films.
It is everything. The dance routines from Beat It and Thriller are rubies and diamonds and pearls, for me.the dancing in ‘thriller’ for me is the centrepiece.
Absolutely. Couldn't even say when was the last time I watched the long version. Short version, every time!I wouldn’t enjoy it as much if it wasn’t there. in fact, I mainly watch the shortened version which focuses on that.
People don't understand dance. They underestimate dancers all the time. Drives me nuts. The genius of a dancer like Michael - or any gifted dancer, tbf - is that they make it all look so easy. They make you think, 'oh I could do that! No disrespect to the MJ impersonators, I'm talking in general terms.it’s my favourite routine. people claim it’s simple, but that’s only because they’re doing the modified flash mob version.
Beat It, Thriller. I would add SC but that's for a different thread, lol.I’ve never seen anyone move the way that michael did in that video.
Agreed. I think what happened there is, Michael might not have been familiar with whatever comic work Dave Stevens had done at that point. Or it wasn't to his taste. Afaik, he liked the classic stuff, Superman etc. He didn't necessarily read every comic that was out there. And it definitely makes sense that he would be more interested in the animation style drawings that Dave had in his portfolio.That very funny interview from Dave Stevens because Michael liked comics too.
oh, I wondered why the French text was there.You can see some french words in some pictures, that because that from a french documentary, La Story de Michael Jackson:
Jennifer Beals would have been good in the short film. It's a very simple role, nothing difficult. And no dancing! Jennifer didn't do her own dancing in Flashdance, that was someone else. But Ola Ray was great so it all worked out just fine. Michael and Ola look great together.I really love Ola Ray, but that would have been fun to see Jennifer Beal, I really like Flashdance.
that’s a great perspective on Michael’s character shift during the ‘thriller’ dance. I never looked at it that way before. the moves are more of a traditional broadway style when he starts singing.The Thriller dance routine is my favorite because it looks creepy and otherworldly. The idea was dancing zombies and the dancers move accordingly. It is a great choreography . Especially the opening with the shoulder nods looks fantastic in combination with that tudu sound. Michael only starts to dance as himself once he stops being a zombie.
Fun fact my sister performed it as a teenager in full zombie make up at a fashion show with other amateurs. I remember it vaguely as I was only a kid but I believe it was in 1990. 6 years after the video debuted it was still very much being talked about.
My uncle had bought the making of video and we all went over to watch it together, it was an event that brought people and families together. I still vaguely remember the laughs and shrieks of the adults watching it while I probably became a fan right there on that day. It also scared the hell out of me and it took me many years to not get shivers anymore hearing Vincent Price’s diabolical laughing or the werewolf howling and transformation scenes.
Also the video doesn’t make any sense but it is exactly that unpredictability that makes it successful. Forget about the plot, just make it exciting and surprising. All the dancers involved clearly loved what they were doing. The idea of a song being accompanied by an almost 15 minutes video was outlandish but it worked and till this day it remains a rarity. Michael took the risk and I’m glad he did.
He was so persistent and confident in the 80s. He wanted to make Thriller, he was the only performer allowed to do a new song at Motown 25 and he wanted Thriller to be the greatest album of all time and he succeeded with all his goals. Legendary artists like McCartney, Jagger and Mercury couldn’t wait to be in the studio with him.
PS I forgot to add that he practically effortlessly upstaged his idol James Brown on stage in 1984, talk about being cool And confident yet humble!
oh this is interesting. We should find out the exact date of that show!the james brown concert was actually in ‘83. it may have even taken place a couple of days before motown 25 was broadcast in the states. which means that the people in that audience were seeing him moonwalk for the first time - even though he did it months prior.
According to Far Out magazine it was 20 August 1983.oh this is interesting. We should find out the exact date of that show!
For me, he didn't upstage James but, oh my! ... Michael's vocals![...] I’m not sure about upstaging james brown (I didn’t see the rest of his show), but he certainly upstaged the person who followed him.. [...]
what a great date to be born onAll I know is Motown 25 aired on May 16 (which is my birthday). I was born exactly 25 years later.