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Niagara man who worked with Michael Jackson disturbed by recent HBO series
NEWS Mar 13, 2019 by Kris Dubé The Welland Tribune
A Niagara man who worked closely with Michael Jackson for two years is shaking his head in disgust at the latest allegations made against the pop icon in HBO's recent documentary series Leaving Neverland.
Colin Chilvers, an Academy Award winner in 1979 for his special effects work on the first Superman movie, also directed the 42-minute short film and music video for Smooth Criminal, part of Jackson's 1988 motion picture Moonwalker.
In an interview at his home in the Crystal Beach area of Fort Erie, the 73-year-old who also worked on Rocky Horror Picture Show, the two other Superman films, X-Men, and countless other movies, TV shows, and commercials, finds it odd that the two accusers the two-part series focuses on waited so many years to come forward with such graphic claims.
Leaving Neverland is a documentary directed by British filmmaker Dan Reed, focusing on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, both of whom became acquainted with Jackson in their childhood years.
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They allege in the series that they were sexually abused by Jackson at his Neverland ranch and in hotel rooms for several years.
Robson testified in court in support of Jackson in 2005 when sexual molestation charges were laid against the singer, of which he was acquitted.
Jackson died in June 2009.
Chilvers finds it strange that Robson, aged 35 in the documentary, gave a completely opposite story in front of a California jury than what he claims in the recent HBO special. "Why would he suddenly change his testimony?" he asked.
Chilvers said he never saw Jackson behave suspiciously when he worked with him from 1986 to 1988 in Los Angeles.
There were three children on set during production of the short film and music video he worked on — one of them Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Lennon was included in the video after his mother reached out to Jackson as a family friend, which led to Chilvers flying from Los Angeles to New York City to meet with them.
Another young girl was hired to be in the production through a standard casting session, said Chilvers.
The third child, a young boy, was brought in after Jackson noticed him at the gate of the Hollywood film studio where the portion of the movie was being shot, mimicking Jackson's dance moves and stage attire.
"He was so good at impersonating Michael, we put him in the video," said Chilvers.
He said he never witnessed anything that would lead him to believe Jackson hand-picked the young boy due to a sexual attraction, which Robson, as well as the second accuser James Safechuck, claim in the documentary happened during their experiences with the King of Pop.
"There was no ulterior motive," said Chilvers.
Through much of Jackson's career, he was known to be close with many young boys, but this doesn't mean he had other intentions, said Chilvers, based on what he knows of the deceased entertainer.
"I don't have any occasion to think there was ever anything going on," he added.
The director said Jackson "loved the innocence of youth" as a result of him never having much of a normal childhood, and that he faced allegations in his career because of his star power.
"People in his position are very susceptible to that kind of allegation, especially Michael, because he was a big kid," said Chilvers.
"He felt comfortable around kids because he didn't feel like they were trying to make something out of it, or use him for some reason or another," added Chilvers.
The Fort Erie resident, who moved to the area in the early 1980s from England, was hired for his role in the Moonwalker movie after being introduced to Jackson by Kevin Pike, a friend of Chilvers' who was the special effects coordinator on Back to the Future.
He got the job after their first meeting, and Chilvers said Jackson stood by him even after some of his people advised the singer to consider bringing in a bigger name in show business.
"Michael liked that I'd done a lot of kids' stuff," said Chilvers, who also directed dozens of TV commercials for several Barbie toys, Jordache, Micro Machines, and much more.
He knew Jackson before he moved into his Neverland Ranch, but was invited many times for dinner at his home in the Hayvenhurst area where he lived with his mother, according to Chilvers.
They often made trips together to a popular art book store in the Los Angeles area. Chilvers said he took care of phoning the business ahead of time to let them know Jackson would be coming by for a shopping spree, allowing the store to close so they could browse the shelves in privacy since it was "impossible to do anything in public" during the height of Jackson's fame.
He also became acquainted with 'Bubbles,' Jackson's pet chimpanzee.
Chilvers recalls watching Robocop for the first time at the family home in a 30-seat theatre on the property, as well as introducing Jackson to the film 'The Third Man,' which was a large inspiration for the cinematography in the Smooth Criminal short.
Jackson was "a perfectionist, as well as a creative genius," Chilvers said in his recent interview.
"It was a privilege and an honour to work with somebody like that," he also said, noting that the video took 18 weeks of shooting before it was edited into a finished product.
Communication with the megastar ended shortly after their professional relationship came to a close. They spoke with or saw one another at least twice a week during the two years they worked together, said Chilvers.
"If he tried to keep in contact with all the people he met, he would have no time for anything else," he said.
Chilvers explained that not watching the series is a choice he has made, and that he has no plans to check it out.
"It would annoy me. I've got better things to do than watch something I don't think is truthful," he said.
Chilvers has also co-authored a soon-to-be-released book called Believing a Man Can Fly, about his career in show business.
His work with Jackson also earned him a Brit Award in 1989 for best music video.
