"I actually quite enjoyed MSG and do to this day. Did Michael seem a bit under the weather or whatever during it yes...but he still had it then. He was also dealing with certain people at SONY and TM's corrupt ass. He was fighting even then...had been for years...
I love Darren and his words were very nice. I'm a big fan of his.
However, I must say that (and I do believe Darren himself pointed this out) people truly did underestimate him. Michael may have been kicked and hurt by so many during the trial but he was not a broken man. Michael was not "half the man" he used to be etc...but he had been hurt BADLY! So he needed to "get away", which he did. Michael needed the time he took off to rest and to gather himself together again. To strengthen himself. And at that press conference...and in the movie...Michael was back! He had come out of the depths of hell and despair and he was in fighting form. Just thinking of how he looked at the PC makes me smile. He was so excited and was feeding off the fans energy. He was ready to show the world, "Hey they tried to break me, but here I am standing tall." Michael imho was not "finding" himself in the film or rediscovering his genius or whatever...he was driven, he knew EXACTLY what he wanted and he was going all out.
And this is what I love so much about this man...There always seemed to be this atmosphere in the media and the like, that Michael Jackson HAS to "prove" himself...again...and again...BUT he knew he didn't have too. He knew what he could do and he was going to do it. He took the lead and was fully ready to get it out there again. He was showing the "newbies" in the film what a master at work was like...What genius looked like.
And even after saying that, I still appreciate Darren's kind words, and I always have.
Michael was Michael and he with THIS IS IT again showed to those who underestimated him that even if he hadn't been on stage in a decade all he had to do was step on it and it all came rushing back."
