Dorothy_Marie
Proud Member
UPDATE:
Download AUDIO:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QQBZSHWI
(thanks to megan0788)
mirror: http://rapidshare.com/files/14104264...8-29-2008_.wma
(thanks to sophiemj)
Download VIDEO:
http://rapidshare.com/files/141054488/Mike_turns_50.wmv [10.4 mb, wmv]
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BOLST970 [77 mb, avi]
(thanks to Alteredb)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0FDGGT2H [240.55 mb, VOB]
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Transcript
(thanks to megan0788)
Chris Connelly: How do you plan to celebrate your 50th birthday?
Michael: Oh, I'll just have a little cake with my children and we'll probably watch some cartoons.
Chris Connelly: As you look back on your career Michael, what would you have done differently?
Michael: I am still looking forward to doing a lot of great things, so that's hard--I think the best is yet to come in my true humble opinion.
Michael: I am just watching, you know, a little James Brown show right now.
Chris Connelly: Is that right?
Michael: I love James Brown. Yes.
Chris Connelly: As you look back on 50 years in your career, at what point in your career do you think you were the happiest?
Michael: The happiest? The recording of Thriller and the Off The Wall albums. That meant very much to me and seemed to be received so beautifully by the public and the world. You know, I enjoyed it very much.
(We don't hear Chris Connelly ask this question, but it has something to do with him asking if Michael could still perform and continue to thrill people at the age of 50)
Michael: Yes! Because I am expanding a lot of the avenues. People see some of the things I do and they say why don't you show this to the world. People don't know you do these things! Well, maybe I will.
Michael: Some of the younger, newer artists -- I think Chris Brown is doing wonderful and Timberlake. I really admire what they are doing.
Chris Connelly: Is there anything you sacrificed by having this amazing career, 40 years and counting?
Michael: A lot of hard work-- sacrificing your time and your scheduling. Your childhood-- You know, you're giving up your life for the medium.
Chris Connelly: (about Michael's kids) Would you like them to have the same kind of upbringing you did in terms of getting into show business at an early age? Or do you want to say to them whoa, take a moment, enjoy your childhood?
Michael: I am letting them enjoy their childhood as much as possible. I really do -- I let them go to the arcade and get out and go to the movies and do things. I think that comes naturally. You know, I want them to get to do the things I didn't get to do.
Chris Connelly: It must mean a lot for your kids to be able to do the things that you weren't able to do, huh?
Michael: Yeah, I get pretty emotional when I see them having a wonderful time. When they are on a ride and they are screaming and they are happy and they are running. It makes me emotional.
Chris Connelly: You know, when most people turn 50, the AARP finds them and sends them an AARP card. Have you gotten an AARP card in the mail?
Michael: Not that I know of (laughs)
Chris Connelly: You never know. They can find you wherever you are.
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http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/MichaelJackson/story?id=5680705[/b]
Michael Jackson: 'I Feel Very Young' at 50
Speaks Exclusively to 'GMA' About His Past, His Future, His Dreams for His Children
By CHRIS CONNOLLY and MICHAEL S. JAMES
Aug. 28, 2008
He first became a star as a young boy, then endured superstardom, scandals and a legal prosecution, but as he turns 50, Michael Jackson told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview, he is "having a wonderful time."
(Kiyoshi Ota /Reuters)
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Speaking by phone from his home in California, at times so softly he was barely audible, Jackson said he was listening to a little James Brown and preparing for his 50th birthday Friday, when he will have a little cake and watch cartoons with his children, and then get back to work.
Watch "Good Morning America" Friday at 7 a.m. ET for more on this exclusive interview.
Does turning 50 mean he now has an AARP card?
"Not that I know of!" Jackson said, laughing.
He said he still can do all his famous dance moves and "more."
"I feel very young," he said.
Reflecting back, Jackson said the happiest time in his life was probably when he was recording his hit solo albums "Thriller" and "Off the Wall" –- which propelled him to the height of his stardom.
Asked to pick a single song as his greatest achievement, Jackson went back to the same period.
"Oh boy, that's a hard one," he said, before singling out "We Are the World," and "Billie Jean," adding that there were "so many others."
But Jackson was not content to rest on his laurels, saying, "I am still looking forward to doing more."
He hopes to release new music and tour, though he doesn't have dates set.
"I am writing all the time," he said. "I love it."
He said he hopes to "be myself" in his future work, but also be "inspired by great artists," noting he wished he could have worked with Brown or Fred Astaire.
He sees his influence in some of today's artists, specifically mentioning Chris Brown.
Asked if his kids are good dancers, Jackson said, "I don't push them."
Asked if he'd like them to have the same sort of upbringing as him, he said he'd prefer to let them "enjoy their childhood" as much as possible.
It "means a lot when I see them on a ride," he said, "having a really good time."
If he could go back and give himself some advice at age 9 or 10, he would advise himself to know his craft and be tough, but also to have "rhinoceros skin."
ABC News' Thea Trachtenberg contributed to this report.
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