I don't think that "The Jacksons - An American Dream" was as bad as some make it out to be. Wiley did a decent job. "Man in the Mirror" was absolutely terrible, they made Michael look like a creepy, dumb weirdo who lived in his own fantasy world and definitely needed help. Honestly, he looks loony! Flex Alexander is not an ugly looking bloke but I cringed when I saw him with white makeup, pretending to be soft spoken. He just looked like someone going to a fancy dress party. And he couldn't act. In fact, the actors were all bad! The make up was awful and the story was just horrendous. The dialogues in the film are simply dreadful. They'll make you cry (out of frustration at the sheer idiocy of the writer). In short: this film is atrocious, words can't describe how bad it is. When you look up "terrible" in a dictionary, this movie should be there as a synonym.
I don't think we need a singer or a dancer to portray Michael in a biopic, we need an actor! So Chris Brown is out of the question. No one can sing and dance like Michael, so perhaps for those scenes they could use real MJ footage or an impersonator. Bringing Michael's personality across is more important to me than some incredible dancer/singer. I would want the actor to capture the essence of what MJ was, not necessarily his looks.
Maybe different actors for different time periods?
I think this is a good idea. Or they could just start the film a little later, e.g. after Thriller (with flashbacks of his childhood).
Most might not like my next idea (even for me it's quite painful to think back to those times) but I have always wondered how a film about the trial (only!) would work out. It would be an interesting drama/thriller and could perhaps show Michael in a different light to the public. Of course it would have to be based on hard facts (perhaps T-Mez could work as an advisor of sorts) and could show ppl all the crap MJ had to deal with (including the press etc.).
Another important aspect would be the director and the budget! And the storyline, of course... and hopefully no Jacksons involved. They would just distort the truth to their own advantage.
All in all, I am not against a biopic as long as it's done properly with the right actors, a good director, a big budget and a good storyline. I simply want MJ to be portrayed as the man he really was.
Casting Flex as MJ was mistake number one...but I tend to think it wasn't a mistake. The movie was meant to be a joke.