The long lasting connection between Michael Jackson and movie directors were listed in a previous post. Here are more Michael Jackson music videos that were directed by film industry professionals, which may have given the star a technical, social and creative advantage over other singers and pop stars in the record industry. One music video in particular eventually stirred up some trouble for Jackson behind the scenes and might make some celebrities want to draft elaborate and detailed production contracts in the future.
Bob Giraldi directed the "Beat It" music video for Michael Jackson and "Say, Say, Say", a collaboration with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. Giraldi has won numerous awards for his short films, which have played at the Sundance film festival and other notable film fests around the world.
Filmmaker John Landis, who directed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video and "Making of" documentary filed a lawsuit against the musician earlier this year to claim unpaid royalties. Prior to a Tribeca Film Festival screening of the "Thriller" documentary, Landis told audiences at AFI that he landed the Thriller directing job based on his film, An American Werewolf in London, according to MSNBC . Some rights to "Thriller" were apparently sold to producers on Broadway who planned a stage adaptation of this music video. John Landis also directed the music video for Michael Jackson's "Black or White" song on the Dangerous album.
John Singleton directed Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" music video which starred comedian-actor Eddie Murphy, NBA star, Magic Johnson and supermodel, Iman. Spike Lee directed "They Don't Care About Us". Singleton is well known for directing the films Boyz N the Hood (starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice Cube), Higher Learning and 2 Fast 2 Furious. He became the youngest and only African-American to be nominated for Best Director at the 64th annual Academy Awards for his work on Boyz N the Hood.
Closing in at nearly 10 minutes, Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” video has to be one of the longest music videos ever made. While locating the director, I found out that there are four different versions of the “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson. This was an interesting realization and now I’m glad that I have Moonwalker with the original, unedited version of “Smooth Criminal”. It seems Jackson took his film industry collaborations on step further when Colin Chilvers was hired to direct “Smooth Criminal”. Chilvers is a special effects coordinator who has worked on numerous films including X-Men, Superman, Bride of Chucky and The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel.
Spike Lee directed "They Don't Care About Us", which is one of few Michael Jackson music videos that has sparked a different type of controversy than Jackson’s “Thriller” video. There are two versions of “They Don’t Care About Us” because the first one was considered too violent. The first version was set in a prison and includes additional footage of police beatings, wars and riots. The second version of “They Don’t Care About Us” has a more laid back setting with an international theme. Spike Lee, who directed both versions of this music video has lead TV commercials as well and a long list lot of movies including as She’s Gotta Have It, Malcolm X, Clockers, 25th Hour and Inside Man starring Denzel Washington.
“Ghosts” is considered to be the longest music video ever made in The Guinness Book of World Records. It can also be classified as a short film since the running time for “Ghosts” is about 40 minutes in length. The entire “film” includes three different Michael Jackson songs from his “History” and “Blood on the Dance Floor: History in the Mix” albums. “Ghosts” was directed by Stan Winston, a film professional who specializes in makeup artistry and effects. Winston has also worked as a special effects supervisor on popular movies including Terminator Salvation, Iron Man, The Relic, Predator, Aliens and Jurassic Park III.
The “Jam” music video was directed by David Kellogg, who seems to have a role in film, music videos and television. Kellogg has directed over one dozen TV commercials and movies including Inspector Gadget and Cool as Ice. His TV work seems to be more prominent than movie jobs completed since the 80s.
At a $7 million budget, "Scream" by Michael Jackson was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive video ever made. This collaboration between Michael Jackson and his sister Janet Jackson was directed by Mark Romanek. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Romanek mentioned that he "was particularly struck by how this legendary megastar became just another affectionate, playful, protective big brother whenever Janet was around" while directing the "Scream" music video. Romanek specialized in music videos and made the transition to film when he directed Static. While the film did not appear to have a wide release, Static won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Mark Romanek also directed One Hour Photo starring famed actor, Robin Williams.
Stay tuned, as the Michael Jackson movie connection is wrapped up later this week!
What aspects of these Michael Jackson music video collaborations surprised you most? Leave your comments below!
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