Brett Ratner interview with Michael transcript - Updated 17 Feb 2012

I wanted to add to this posting Brett's account of how he came to meet Michael and another story I love.

LA Times reporter Patrick Goldstein writes:
"My father loves to brag to his friends that while his son is a big-shot Hollywood reporter, it was his father who actually met Michael Jackson. Until he retired a few years ago, my dad had a store called the 24 Collection on the Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach that specialized in fashion, jewelry, art and one-of-a-kind oddities (I still have a clock set into a Cuban cigar box with a portrait of Fidel Castro on the clock face). One day Brett Ratner, who grew up in Miami and whose mother was a regular customer at the store, called my dad and asked if he could bring his pal Michael Jackson by to look around. As he often did as a courtesy for celebrities who might be annoyed or hounded, my father closed the store that afternoon and put the staff at Jackson’s disposal.

“Michael walked around every inch of the store, feeling things, smelling things,” my father remembers. “He’d ask questions about what this was or that was, where it was from, how we found it. I made sure the staff didn’t intrude on him, although one person did ask for an autograph, which made them an ex-employee right away. But Michael was just off in his own world, curious about everything he saw.”

I think my dad got his hopes up when he saw that Jackson was also accompanied by an aide who had a zippered envelope full of cash. But the King of Pop never bought anything. After spending an hour in the store, he just thanked everyone for letting him look around and left."

I called Ratner this morning to ask him how he became such fast friends with Jackson. It turns out that they met in 1998 when Ratner was finishing his first “Rush Hour” picture. One day, Chris Tucker was doing a scene and broke into a wild, Michael Jackson-style dance. The sequence was so funny that when Ratner had test screenings of the film, it got one of the biggest laughs in the picture. But because it was an obvious Jackson impression, Ratner knew he had to clear it with the pop star before he could put it in the movie.

That presented a problem, since Jackson was so reclusive that even Ratner, one of the great celebrity schmoozers of our time, couldn’t get to him. He even called Jackson’s Neverland ranch but never got anywhere. Then he got lucky. “My editor was talking to the projectionist who ran the final screening and it turned out that he was Michael’s personal projectionist,” Ratner told me today. “So I gave him the print and asked him to play the beginning of the second reel for Michael, which had Chris’ dance in it.”

Two days later Ratner picked up the phone and heard the soft, feathery voice of Michael Jackson. So what did Michael say? 

“Michael said he’d watched the whole movie and loved it, especially the scene Chris did with his dance. He said, ‘You have my permission to use whatever you want.’ ” That was great, but Ratner needed something in writing. When he asked Jackson to sign something on a piece of paper, Jackson simply invited him up to the ranch. “So I drove up there and walked in, with all his giraffes and other animals, all out there to greet me.” Ratner recalls. “I ended up staying at the ranch and we just became great friends. We both had this huge, almost childlike fascination with movies and music and all kinds of entertainment.”

Over the years, Ratner and Jackson spent an enormous amount of time together. They would film each other, with Jackson asking Ratner about how he became a film director and Ratner asking Jackson about how he became an entertainer. “I have hours of footage of us, sitting around in our pajamas, with me asking him about what kind of music he loved as a kid, what kind of books he had on the wall as a kid. When you were with him, you really felt like God was within him. He was an amazing, superhuman kind of person, but he always treated you as an equal. He would be your friend and he never asked for anything in return.”

One of their favorite activities was to have dance-offs in the game room at Jackson’s house. Jackson would put on a record, usually a song by his sister, Janet, and unleash some awesome dance moves. Then Ratner or Chris Tucker, who would sometimes come along, would play Michael’s records and dance along to them. I asked Ratner if that felt a little like a mere mortal playing one-on-one with LeBron James. “Hey, I wasn’t self-conscious. I’m a pretty good dancer. It was just fun to do it together.”

When they weren’t dancing, Ratner and Jackson would watch movies together. He says they must’ve watched the original version of “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” 50 times over the years. 

“I know that people looked at Michael and thought he was strange, but to me, he was fascinating,” Ratner says. “He was the most inspirational person in my life. His one dream was to cure all the sick children in the world. And when I’d say, ‘Isn’t that impossible?’ Michael would just start to cry. He was very emotional about things that moved him. I guess you’d have to say he was a pure innocent in a world that wasn’t so innocent anymore.”

ORIGINAL POST

Recently I came across a transcript of the interview Michael gave to Brett Ratner. Earlier I had tried to find one and couldn't so this is a bonus.

I’ve decided to include it here because I know some of my readers would appreciate the transcript.

Also, it’s a good excuse to share some more of my favorite photos!

There will be no analysis afterwards. This is just a chat between two friends and makes a welcome change from interviews with slanted and biased commentary. 

Speaking of which, I do want to assure my readers that I will conclude the Living with Michael Jackson series shortly.

I took what was only meant to be a short break from it, but its now several months later!

Anyway, please enjoy this transcript in the meantime.

Interview with Michael Jackson, February, 2004 by Brett Ratner

 

 Brett wrote: It ain’t easy being a genius: You do pay the price, not unlike Mozart, who will be remembered far longer than Napoleon. Michael Jackson understands this irony. No one I have ever met in my life has had such passion and love for entertainment. His work, brilliance, and vision will be remembered far longer than any of those who now think of him harshly.

Michael and I have shared many a day, week, and month together. Our relationship is based on our love of films. We have watched many films together, and our personal favorite that we enjoy most is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! A few months before the latest drama, he and I were on a little vacation. In the past he has often put a video camera to my face and asked me questions. This is what Michael does with his friends: He becomes a scientist and dissects them through questions in order to learn. Many times he has asked me how my childhood dreams became a reality, about why I wanted to become a director. So I decided it was time to hear from him about his childhood dreams.

After my interview, I went out and bought all the records he mentioned and listened to them, understanding a little more about Michael. What you are about to read is a very private and personal conversation between two friends.

BRETT RATNER: Do you have a mentor or someone who inspired you?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, I do: Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, James Brown, Jackie Wilson.

BR: And what did you learn from them?

MJ: I learned a lot from them—about how to be a visionary, how to be creative, how to be persistent, how to be determined, how to have a will of iron and to never give up no matter what. You know?

BR: What was your first job in the music industry, and how did you get it?

MJ: First job, probably … Gee, I don’t remember back that far. I was around 6 years old. Maybe it was Mr. Lucky’s. I think it was a club—yeah, Mr. Lucky’s. We performed there.

BR: And how’d you get the job?

MJ: I don’t know; my father would know. I was too little.

BR: What was your first break and the first great thing that ever happened to you?

MJ: The real big break was when Motown signed us. We auditioned in Detroit, and Berry Gordy invited all our favorite stars that we saw as kids to this little town in Indiana: Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Temptations, and Stevie Wonder—everybody was there. And it was next to this indoor pool at this huge mansion, marble everywhere. We performed, and they just went crazy. They loved it. And [Gordy] says, “Boys, you’re signed.”


BR: Really?

MJ: Yeah.

BR: And you remember that day?

MJ: Oh, I remember it.

BR: What elements of your job make you want to go to work every day?

MJ: I want to work every day—just the idea of creating worlds. It’s like taking a canvas, an empty canvas, you know, a clean slate. They give you paint, and we just color and paint and create worlds. I just love that idea. And having people see it and be awe-inspired whenever they see it.

BR: What qualities of yours helped you get where you are today?

MJ: Faith and determination. And practice.

BR: Right. Practice makes perfect. What would you have done differently in your career if you knew then what you know now?

MJ: What would I have done differently? Let me see … Practice more.

BR: Practice more?

MJ: I practiced a lot.

BR: You practiced a hell of a lot! [Jackson laughs] But you would have practiced more? [Jackson nods] What’s your greatest lesson learned?

MJ: Not to trust everybody. Not to trust everybody in the industry. There’re a lot of sharks. And record companies steal. They cheat. You have to audit them. And it’s time for artists to take a stand against them, because they totally take advantage of [artists]. Totally. They forget that it’s the artists who make the company, not the company who makes the artists. Without the talent, the company would be nothing but just hardware. And it takes a real good talent that the public wants to see.

BR: What are some of your favorite albums?

MJ: My favorite albums would be Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Claude Debussy’s greatest hits, which is, you know, “Claire de Lune” and “Arabesque” and The Afternoon of a Faun. I love Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, James Brown’s Live at the Apollo, The Sound of Music [soundtrack]. I love Rodgers and Hammerstein. I love the great show-tune writers very much, and I love Holland-Dozier-Holland from Motown—they were geniuses. So many great writers. So many great ones.

BR: Any other great albums, like contemporary albums?

MJ: Great albums … It’s hard because albums today have one or two great songs and the rest stink.

BR: Or older style—-it could be like Marvin Gaye or Sly.

MJ: Sly & the Family Stone—I like everything they do. Stevie Wonder is a genius.

BR: Which album?

MJ: Every one. Talking Book. I love when he did “Living for the City.” I forget the name of it [the album]. Fantastic. I think that was ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ —fantastic. Hearing this music made me say to myself, “I can do this, and I think I can do this on an international level.”

BR: Really?

MJ: Really, and then when the Bee Gees came out in the ’70s, that did it for me. I cried. I cried listening to their music. I knew every note, every instrument.

BR: [sings] “This broken heart …”

MJ: [sings] “How can you mend …”

BR: [sings] “This broken heart …”

MJ: And [sings] “How can you stop the rain from falling down?” I love that. [sings with Ratner] “How can you stop the sun from shining? What makes the world go ‘round.” I love that stuff. And when they did ‘Saturday Night Fever’ that did it for me. I said, “I gotta do this. I know I can do this.” And we hit with Thriller. And I just started writing songs. I wrote “Billie Jean.” I wrote “Beat It,” “Startin’ Somethin’.” Just writing, writing. It was fun.

BR: Any posters up in your room when you were a kid?

MJ: Yeah. Brooke Shields, everywhere. My sisters would get jealous and tear them off the wall.

BR: What are the great shows that you’ve seen, concerts?

MJ: James Brown. Jackie Wilson. The real entertainers, the real ones, make you get goose bumps.

BR: It was James Brown? Where’d you see him?

MJ: We used to have to go onstage after him because he would come on and then we would come on amateur hour. So I’d be in the wings studying every step, every move—

BR: —On TV?

MJ: No, at the Apollo [Theater].

BR: Amateur Hour at the Apollo. And you saw him perform?

MJ: Yeah, and Jackie Wilson. All of them—the Delphonics, the Temptations.

BR: But do you remember one show? You saw the Temptations, too?

MJ: Yeah. 


BR: But was there a show when you said like, “Oh, my God”?

MJ: James Brown, Jackie Wilson.

BR: At the Apollo?

MJ: Yeah, they made me cry. I’ve never seen nothing like that. That kind of emotion, that kind of fever, feeling—it was like another higher, spiritual plane they were on. They were, like, in a trance, and they had the audience in the palms of their hands. I just loved how they could control them like that, that kind of power. When they’d sing they’d have tears running down their faces. They’d get so into it.

BR: What are some of your favorite songs?


MJ: Favorite songs of all time? I love Burt Bacharach very much. Any Motown. The Beatles, like “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yesterday.” Any of the Supremes’. All that stuff is great. I think the ’60s had some of the best melodies of all time between Peter, Paul, and Mary, and you know, all those people. The Mamas and the Papas were wonderful. And the Drifters go a little further back, but I love that song “On Broadway”—it’s genius. The simple ones are the best, I think. I love “Alfie”—so beautiful. There are so many. Like movies, there are so many great movies.

BR: So list a few things that could be helpful to someone breaking into the music business.

MJ: Believe in yourself. Study the greats and become greater. And be a scientist. Dissect. Dissect.

BR: You said something else before: Don’t give up.


MJ: No matter what. I don’t care if the whole world is against you or teasing you or saying you’re not gonna make it. Believe in yourself. No matter what. Some of the greatest men who have made their mark on this world were treated like that—you know, “You’re not gonna do it, you’re not gonna get anywhere.” They laughed at the Wright brothers. They laughed at Thomas Edison. They laughed at Walt Disney. They made jokes about Henry Ford. They said he was ignorant. Disney dropped out of school. That’s how far they went. These men shaped and changed our culture, our customs, the way we live, the way we do things.

And I think God plants those seeds through people on the earth. And I think you’re one, I’m one to bring some bliss and escapism, some joy, some magic. Because without entertainment, what would the world be like? You know? What would it really be like? It would be a totally different world for me. I love entertainment. And my favorite of all is film. The power and magic of movies. It’s the greatest, it’s the most expressive of all the art forms. I think it touches the soul. Music and movies are the most expressive. It’s almost like religion: You get so involved, so caught up. You go in the theater a different person than you come out. It affects you that way. That’s powerful. I think that’s strong. I love that.

(The above video is of Michael visiting Brett on the set of "Red Dragon")

BR: When you can make an audience feel.

MJ: Yeah, yeah.

BR: They relate to it.

MJ: Yeah, they live it. They’re a part of it. They forget they’re sitting in a seat.

BR: The experience of watching a movie affects their life.

MJ: Their whole life. It could change your life.

BR: Yes, I remember seeing Star Wars in the theater when I was 7 years old. It’s a different experience for Paris or Prince [Jackson’s children] seeing it today on DVD, 27 years later. I saw it when it first came out, with all the shock and awe of the time. No one had ever seen anything like it. There were lines for blocks, and I didn’t even get in the first time. I had to go back the next day to try again. The memory of being so desperate, at 7 years old, to see that movie makes it an even more unforgettable experience. The first time you see something like that, it permanently affects your life. It’s like listening to a song or seeing an artist perform for the first time. Getting to see James Brown, and that moment of tears coming out of your eyes, is different than listening to it on the radio 20 years later.


 MJ: I can’t tell you how incredible it was. I just love the great entertainers, the great performers, the great showmen, the great storytellers. Just watching them, you’re just mesmerized. You’re caught up in it. I love it. One spotlight, baby.

BR: Frank Sinatra.

MJ: Yeah. Those guys are cool. And Sammy Davis. I just love it, the whole thing. It’s magic, it’s real magic

"As long as its NOT a journalist!"

A few months ago I did a post (it appears below) that included this quote from Michael:

“My friends, with 2 children of my own, I know what it means to have to balance the demand of family and career -- let's not even talk about finding a date for myself, even though... Even though Rabbi Shmuley keeps telling me he's going to find me the perfect woman, my response is: As long as it's not a journalist!”

Michael Jackson, Heal the Kids, Carnegie Hall Address

February 14^th, 2001

By chance, I recently came across a video showing snippets from that speech. 

The fan that put the video together assembled coverage from three programs: Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and eXtra. 

Interestingly, out of the three reports, only one - Access Hollywood (00:02:16) – included the best line:

“As long as it’s NOT a journalist!”

Media protecting their own from ridicule?

 Friday, March 11, 2011

So we are supposed to care about the media? Who lie and deceive us?

One of the things I’ve struggled with since Michael’s death is remaining positive in light of the dawning evidence that I had been somewhat brainwashed by the media. I’m a MJ fan, have been since 1991 and yet some of their crap did permeate my perception of Michael. Not all of it, but more than I would have thought possible. 

As a result, now that I know better I am incredibly cynical about the veracity of any news report I see or read. It infuriated me recently when all the various media outlets seemed to be insisting that I fear for the safety of several US journalists covering the unrest in Egypt. Most notably to me were Katie Couric and Anderson Cooper. Firstly, they knew what they were getting themselves into; after all that is why they were there – to cover the newsworthy event.

After the election of President Obama in September 2008, I began watching a lot of CNN to learn more about the charismatic new US leader – and in particular I watched Anderson Cooper 360. I picked his show because he had become known to me as doing exceptionally good work covering Hurricane Katrina. The impression I got was that he was one of the few remaining authentic newsmen; an honorable journalist committed to using his reporting skills to make a positive change in the world.

I distinctly remember they covered the ‘This Is It’ announcement in March 2009. They implied that Michael was a rambling, incoherent mess. Now, they are not members of the tabloid media so I assumed (incorrectly) that it must be true. I felt bad for Michael; I did not want to see him humiliated so I fast-forwarded the rest of the segment featuring the O2 Press Conference. 

Imagine my surprise when a year later, I came across a transcript of his O2 announcement. It was so brief, how could anyone possibly label it as rambling?


2009-03-06jacksonaction.com "I love you so much. Thank you all. (Fans begin chanting ‘This Is It’ and Michael responds to this by chanting along with them) This is it. I just want to say these…these will be my final show performances in London. This is it, this is it and when I say “this is it” it really means this is it because erm…I’ll be, I’ll be performing the songs my fans want to hear. This is it, I mean, this is, this is the final curtain call okay? And, erm…I’ll see you in July and (Fans chat “We love you Michael!”) I love you. I really do. You have to know that, I love you so much, really, from the bottom of my heart. This is it and see you in July!”

To characterize it like that, when it could be so easily verified…it shows you how audacious the media has become. And it also shows how stupid they think we are! I suppose they’re right because I didn’t question them…not enough.

With Katie Couric, I have been a fan of hers for years. I would even tape ‘NBC Today’ everyday (it is on at 4am in Australia) because I loved her and Matt Lauer. I still watched it even after she left for CBS – until Congressman…the former Congressman (hee hee!)…Peter King appeared on it. One day, I came across a YouTube video of Katie on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ discussing Michael Jackson. 

Now, my situation is a bit different, I do not have the internet at home (ironic isn’t it? I cancel my home internet and then a week later I start a blog!) So after I finish work I use www.keepvid.com at my office to save any videos. I don’t watch them at work – instead I use a USB device to transfer files between my home and the office. Anyway, the point is: when I got the Katie Couric ‘Late Show’ appearance home it wouldn’t open.  I didn’t give it another thought other than perhaps I was better off if the story Katie told was mean spirited. 


So I wasn’t inclined to feel instantaneous concern for either Anderson Cooper or Katie Couric. Even that angered me, because I would have prior to Michael’s death. It is the loss of trust I have in the media, my increasing levels of scepticism that I struggle with daily. I’ve found that most of us are Michael Jackson fans not because of his undeniable and unquestionable talent, but because of his heart. He was a genuinely good person. He was an angel on earth, here to make the world a better place.

I want to be like him not like them…I want to see the world through his eyes not theirs.

Months passed, I became more adept at using the new system I’d implemented for YouTube videos so I re-tried and finally got to see the Katie Couric MJ discussion for myself a few days ago. Here it is:


I was so relieved that she wasn’t nasty about him! The video also served to inspire me to group the following items together, with Michael, as he always should, getting the last word. 

“My friends, with 2 children of my own, I know what it means to have to balance the demand of family and career -- let's not even talk about finding a date for myself, even though... Even though Rabbi Shmuley keeps telling me he's going to find me the perfect woman, my response is: As long as it's not a journalist!”

Michael Jackson, Heal the Kids, Carnegie Hall Address

February 14^th, 2001

When I think of these ladies...

I love the TV game show Jeopardy and watch it everyday. It’s on twice a day here in Australia but the episodes are old; from 2009 & 2010.

The carry over champion was a lady named Liz, and there seemed something familiar to me about her. By the time she became a 3 day winner I was starting to think might be Seven Bowie of mj-777.com (because she sounded an awful lot like her) – that is, until she failed to answer this question:

 

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK TV HOST & LEGAL ANALYST LISA BLOOM IS PICTURED HERE WITH THIS LAWYER – HER MOM

NO ONE GUESSED IT. JUST GOES TO SHOW INTELLIGENT PEOPLE DON’T PAY ANY ATTENTION WHATSOEVER TO GLORIA ALLRED!

I never thought I would happily be putting a photo of this woman in my blog, especially as Michael is not even in the photo with her (that's the only way Bashir got his mug in my blog). But this really made me smile. All too often, us fans can get overwhelmed by those who have hurt Michael and give them far greater importance than what they deserve. Perhaps we forget that if not for the tie (however brief) to Michael Jackson, they are of little consequence.

Gloria Allred caused Michael trouble, first when she initially represented the Chandler family and later when she went on TV suggesting Michael's children should be taken away from him. It was the latter that prompted this rare outburst from Michael - when asked how he would respond to her, first he asks:

“Who’s that?”

 As I said, intelligent people don’t pay any attention to Gloria Allred!

Like most people, Michael did not know who she was. I certainly had never heard of her before. But he does answer the question – he says:

"Ah….tell her to go to hell!"

(I wish this wasn't a TMZ video...I'll try to replace it )

Even though it is the incredible kindness and inherent goodness of Michael that is the main reason I (and many, many others) are so devoted to him, I adore these rare flashes of anger/annoyance. They are so rare (I can only think of two or three other instances), and considering all that he went through that is surprising.

So I'll add the Jeopardy answer to the above video and that is what I'll conjure up whenever I hear or see the name Gloria Allredwrong.

For Ms Diane Deadmind, I use her own words. In this appearance on The View, (at the 00:04:00) she recounts how during the trial when Michael notices her, he growls at her and makes a gesture like slit your throat. In that case, not only do I love that he let her know exactly how he felt about her, I have to laugh when you see her surprise. If she was the Michael Jackson expert she claimed to be, she would know that she must be really bad to illicit this response from Michael.

This is the man that could forgive the British teenagers who bashed and killed the 3 year old toddler. He was able to forgive his father, even the accusers who made those horrible false allegations, he was able to excuse them, saying that their parents made them do it.

Happy 4th of July!