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

Living with Michael Jackson Part 5 of 9 - Transcript and Analysis

Living with Michael Jackson Part 5 of 9

(Opening scene - Michael is sitting in his hotel suite at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas and Mr. Bashir is mid sentence listing the various cosmetic surgeries Michael is rumored to have had.)

BASHIR (off camera): “…made in your chin?”

MICHAEL: “Oh please…please…that’s…please…”

BASHIR (off camera): “You’ve had your lips enlarged?”

MICHAEL: “Oh please, that’s stupid…”

BASHIR (off camera): “You’ve had your eyelash…eyelids reconstructed…eyelids reconstructed?”

MICHAEL: “That’s stupid… (Then more forcefully) It’s stupid! C’mon…none of its true.”

BASHIR (off camera): “None of its true?”

MICHAEL: “None of its true...its B.S…they made it up. They lie! They don’t want to give me credit for anything. One paper said I had each…cause I was growing a little beard…‘He had each little hair transplanted into his face with a laser…lasered in.’ How ignorant is that? I can’t even grow a beard now? 

Michael's 'little beard' - Gorgeous!

Ignorant fool who wrote such a thing! So don’t…don’t believe that stupidity. Don’t waste your money on it.” Cause when you’re buying it…you’re not buying something based on what’s true…it’s not the truth…its garbage!”

♫ Introduction to “Got to Be There” by the Jackson Five starts to play

 (00:00:46. Cuts to Mr. Bashir is in a convertible sports car driving past The Flamingo on the Las Vegas strip.)

♪ “Got to be there (got to be there). Be there in the morning”

BASHIR COMMENTARY: “I wasn’t convinced by Jackson’s explanation and felt that he wasn’t being entirely honest. I knew I’d have to return to the subject of his face before we were through.”

♪ “Got to be there (got to be there). Be there in the morning”

 BASHIR COMMENTARY: “But suddenly Jackson suggested a filming opportunity I couldn’t turn down. The following day I would be going out on the town with the Jackson children.”

(00:01:24. Cuts to still of title credit) I could cut Michael out of the picture so it would be more accurate but why on earth would I want to do that? ~Karen

 

♫ Introduction to “Wanna Be Startin Somethin” from the Thriller album starts to play

(00:01:28. Cut to Michael Jackson and Mr. Bashir walking down the hotel corridor. The camera is behind them.)

BASHIR: “Where do we go to get out of here?”

(We don’t hear Michael but we do see him motioning with his right arm)

BASHIR: “Left? Okay…thank you.”

(00:01:34. Michael Jackson turns around abruptly and back tracks slightly. The camera pans in for a close up of Michael’s two oldest children as they run down the corridor to catch up to their Daddy. Paris immediately heads to her Daddy’s side and is blocked from the camera’s view by Michael while Prince stops just a little short).

BASHIR COMMENTARY: “I was about to meet Michael Jackson’s children: Prince Michael the first and Paris. They’re rarely seen in public.”

BASHIR: “Are you all set? (He addresses this to Prince.) That’s a really great mask!” (He moves over to Prince and crouches down in front of him.)

PRINCE: “It’s a butterfly.”

BASHIR:  “It’s a butterfly! Let me see. Come here! (He touches the bottom edge of Prince’s mask.)What’s it made of?”

PRINCE: “I don’t know. Inside it’s all black.” (Behind Prince you can see a bodyguard hovering protectively)

MICHAEL: (Laughs)

BASHIR: “Wow!”

 (00:01:56. Cut to a shot of a different bodyguard on a cell phone. When the cut is made back to Michael, the camera is now behind him, the children and Mr. Bashir.)

BASHIR: “Oh, sorry.”

PRINCE: “Daddy, can I run?”

MICHAEL: “If you want, sure.”

BASHIR: “Shall we run?”

MICHAEL: (Laughs)

(Paris is behind Mr. Bashir. She steps around him and makes a beeline for her Daddy)

BASHIR: “No…no. He’s wearing nice shoes, he’s ain’t running anywhere.”

MICHAEL: “Oh, I can run…(The camera zooms in on Paris. She is now positioned between the two men, holding her Daddy’s hand.) Paris, do you want to run?”

PARIS: “I want to hold your hand.”

MICHAEL: “Okay.” 

PARIS - A real Daddy's Girl!

BASHIR COMMENTARY: “Jackson told me he had never allowed his children out without masks to conceal their identities.”

(00:02:16. The camera angle has switched and now we see Michael, Paris & Mr. Bashir from the front. They are having a conversation which we hear snippets of MICHAEL: “Yeah!  And later: “No.” and later still “…they do great work…” Behind them are a bodyguard and Nanny Grace Rwaramba.)

BASHIR COMMENTARY: “The children were the result of Jackson’s brief marriage to his dermatology nurse, Debbie Rowe. Paris is now 4, (00:02:29. Cut to a shot of Prince running down the hotel corridor) Prince is almost 6.”

MICHAEL (off camera in response to Mr. Bashir asking something about St. Peter’s Basilica): “Uhm…I don’t…think so…”

(00:02:34. Cut to a shot taken behind Michael, with Prince on his left & Paris on his right, each holding one of his hands. They are just about to enter into an elevator.)

PRINCE: “Excuse me Daddy, who’s going to check on (some inaudible)”

(00:02:38. Cut to a close up of Michael’s face in the elevator)

BASHIR (off camera addressing Prince):

PRINCE: (off camera):  “Not Part 2.”

(Michael nods in agreement and the camera pans down to Prince.)

BASHIR (off camera): “Not Part 2?”

PRINCE: “Na-uh! Daddy got this for me.”

BASHIR (off camera): “Oh right… Okay.”

PRINCE: “He got me Spiderman shoes too.”

BASHIR (off camera): “What’s he been telling you about…not Part 2? Why don’t you like not…why don’t you like Star Wars Part 2?”

PRINCE: “It’s because it’s boring and slow.”

MICHAEL: (Laughs – Camera pans up quickly to catch this reaction.)

BASHIR (off camera): “Right.” (Laughs) “And what makes you think you’re (Camera pans back to Prince) qualified to make such a strong judgment?”

(Prince doesn’t answer straight away so Michael helps his young son better understand the question)

MICHAEL: “What makes you think you’re right about that? You sure you’re right?” (Prince nods in the affirmative) “I think he has a point…”

BASHIR (off camera): “He has a good point.”

(00:03:12. Cut to outside the hotel. Michael has an umbrella in one hand, Paris is holding the other. In the foreground Prince is on the right with Mr. Bashir on the left. In the background are Nanny Grace and three staff/security team members.)

MICHAEL (singing acapella):  ♪ “Smile though your heart is aching. Smile even though its breaking…”

BASHIR: “I think there are some people here that just might want to have a word with you…”

MICHAEL: ♪ “Although a tear may be ever so near…”

(00:03:26. Cut to 2 female fans, one blonde and one brunette, waiting for Michael outside the hotel.)

FAN GIRLS: “Hi! Good morning!” (The camera pans back to Michael who is now holding the artwork the fans have given him)

MICHAEL: “Hi! You don’t know how happy those pictures make me! And those banners you guys make…”(The camera cuts to a close up of Michael’s face and the fan girls are reflected in Michael’s mirrored sunglasses.)

FAN GIRLS (off camera): “Thank you.  You know we’re actually running out of…uh…baby pictures that we brought from Spain.”

MICHAEL: “You can never run out of baby pictures…”

(Cut to the fan girls) BASHIR (off camera): “You’re from Spain?”

FAN GIRLS: “Yeah.”

MICHAEL: “Sunny Spain.”

BASHIR (off camera): “And you’re big fans of Michael’s?”

FAN GIRLS: “Sunny Spain! It’s been a long, long time that (inaudible)...”

MICHAEL: “I know… Spain is so sweet. They’re beautiful people. Woo!

 (Laughs and puts an arm around Prince as his son races up to him calling Daddy, Daddy, Daddy...) Stunning to look at…” (They head to the car)

BASHIR (off camera): “Take care.”

PRINCE: “Bye! Love you!”

(The party has arrived at the vehicle and they proceed to get into the car)

BASHIR (voiceover): “Did you cry when Prince was born?”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Yes…”

(00:04:05. Cut to footage of Michael in the hotel suite at The Four Seasons)

BASHIR (off camera): “Can you just tell me what happened? Can you remember how…?”

MICHAEL: “Of course! He came out with this (cut to footage taken of Prince in the limo) really big head and as soon as I saw his head I thought of my grandfather and my brother Randy, cause his head was shaped just like theirs. 

And I said Oh My God! And then uh…uhm…the rest they let me pull…pull him out and I cut the umbilical cord…with scissors that were shaped like a stork. (Laughs) And uh…and they cleaned him off and everything and uh...I was ready to take him home. And they said “No! Can’t take him home.” And I go “Why?” “I think there’s some serious problem” I go “What?” “We gotta take him to intensive care; he’s not breathing correctly” I go “Oh, no!” I said “Please God, don’t let me have a sick child, please!” So I waited; an hour, two hours, three hours, four hours…I was so scared. After about five hours, this nurse comes in; she goes “Okay, you can go home now.” I was so happy!”

(00:05:08. Cut to footage of Michael alighting from his vehicle. You hear a voice say “Okay, Mike.” Then Michael helps first Paris and then Prince out of the car also. Mr. Bashir can be heard saying “Let’s go straight there.”)

BASHIR (voiceover): “Paris was born soon after…”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Yes…”

BASHIR (voiceover): “Your daughter…”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Yes…”

BASHIR (voiceover): “How was that? Were you there for her birth?”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Of course!” 

(Michael now has his children on either side of him; they are holding his hand. We hear “C’mon, C’mon”, “Let’s go!” and Mr. Bashir say “Let’s go straight to that museum.” With his free hand Prince grabs hold of Mr. Bashir’s hand and all of them are walking swiftly towards the entrance of the building they have arrived at.)

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Of course!  It was just…uh…magic. She came out… the wrong way…her face was faced the wrong way and she was being kind of (Cut back to Michael) choked by the umbilical cord, so I was kinda worried…and it took her longer and…uh…and I was so anxious to get her home that I…after cutting the cord…I hate to say this…I snatched her and just went home…with all the placenta all over her.” (Laughs)

BASHIR (off camera): “You…you are kidding!”

MICHAEL: “Yeah…I am not kidding. Got her in a towel and ran. They said it was fine. They said everything’s okay with that…and I cleaned…I got her home and washed her all off…”

BASHIR (off camera): “She was just born!”

MICHAEL: “I know.”

BASHIR (off camera): “Why did you want to do that?”

MICHAEL: “Because…I felt that it was okay…they told me it was okay…Debbie said it was okay and…uh…I got the permission of the doctor. I think I was so frightened that they would give me some bad news…I was so scared…but there was no bad news to be gotten, so…uh…I started re-living…and I was afraid…I said I just don’t want to hear anything bad, I’m just go, go, go, go…” 

Michael - grateful to Debbie for helping him bring Prince & Paris into this world

BASHIR (off camera): “Presumably, Debbie…had to stay in the hospital… because she had just given birth?”

MICHAEL: “Of course. Yeah.”

BASHIR (off camera): “Was she okay about losing the baby, as it were, in the first few minutes?”

MICHAEL: “Oh, she told me to.”

BASHIR (off camera): “She told you to take the baby?”

MICHAEL: “Yeah. She said ‘Go right ahead. I know that’s what you want.’ She said: ‘I’m totally fine with it’. I said ‘You’re fine with it?’ and she said ‘Yes, of course…”

BASHIR (off camera): “How long was it before she was…united with her baby? How long?”

MICHAEL:  “Oh, I don’t know technically…after getting out? I just don’t know exactly…I kind of forget…”

(00:07:06. Cut to interior shot of Egyptian style museum)

MICHAEL (voiceover): “See this…how beautiful this is…”

BASHIR (voiceover): “It’s amazing…”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “You been in here?”

BASHIR (voiceover): “No, I haven’t.”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Look at this!”

BASHIR (voiceover): “It’s extraordinary!”

(Cut to a close up of Prince, sandwiched between his father and Mr. Bashir. The camera widens to show Michael’s party which is walking towards the camera. The four of them are holding hands. It’s Paris, Michael, Prince and Mr. Bashir. But Paris is walking behind her Daddy and therefore is not seen on camera. Nanny Grace is behind Paris.)

BASHIR: “Is this the store you were talking about?”

MICHAEL: “I think its coming up…We’ll be there real soon.”

(00:07:21. Camera goes in for another close up of Prince. The camera pans over to catch a glimpse of Paris but she is still obscured by her father, so the camera pans back to Prince. Two photographer’s flashes are visible before a cut to the reverse view is done and we see a third flash – most likely the below shot.)

BASHIR: “And this is actually the tomb you’re talking about? The tomb that you bought? Oh, this must be it.”

MICHAEL: “Yes. Isn’t it gorgeous?”

BASHIR: “Let’s have a look…Let’s go in and have a look. Is this it?”

MICHAEL: “That’s it!”

BASHIR: “Wow!”

MICHAEL: “Isn’t it gorgeous? Look at the face! C’mon…that’s beautiful!”

BASHIR: “This is the actual coffin?”

MICHAEL: “Yeah.”

BASHIR: “A replica of the...”

MICHAEL: “A sarcophagus.”

BASHIR: “Anthropologic coffin of Tutankhamen.”

MICHAEL: “Yeah…like in gold…this one’s gold.”

BASHIR: “And you’ve bought it? Why have you bought it?”

MICHAEL: “Cause I love it! Look at the art – it’s phenomenal! It’s a work of art.” 

BASHIR: “You did…What about…would you liked to be buried in something like this?”

MICHAEL: (Laughs) “No. I don’t…I…I wouldn’t…I don’t ever want to be buried.” (Laughs)

BASHIR: “Really?”

MICHAEL: “No.”

BASHIR: “What would you like to happen to you?”

MICHAEL: “I…would like to live forever.”

(00:08:08. Cut to a shot taken behind Prince in the store, where the camera moves from Prince up to window where a crowd has gathered, to observe the proceedings.)

00:08:08. BASHIR (voiceover): “Do you try to give your children a normal upbringing?”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Yes, of course!”

 

(00:08:13. Cut to Michael seated in the Four Seasons hotel suite answering the questions).

BASHIR (Off camera): “What about things like schooling…and education? Do they go to school?”

MICHAEL: “Yes, they have school.”

BASHIR (Off camera): “And…do they go to a normal school?”

MICHAEL: “Never!”

BASHIR (Off camera): “Why not?”

MICHAEL: “It wouldn’t work.”

BASHIR (Off camera): “Why?”

MICHAEL: “Cause we get chased by paparazzi everywhere we go. I don’t want press all over them at school. In the bushes…in the trees and in the... I saw what happened to me, you know…they are doing the same and worse to them. And…uh...I don’t feel like the jealousy and the teachers saying “Just because you’re Michael Jackson’s children, don’t think I’m going to treat you any different from anyone else around here!” Well, they don’t want to be treated differently, you know, it’s just that... I don’t want them to have to go through all that.”

BASHIR (Off camera): “So the truth is…they can’t really have a very normal life, can they?”

MICHAEL: “No, no.”

(00:09:03. Cut to Michael and Mr. Bashir in a noisy and crowded shopping mall with camera flashes going off. Michael is saying “Hello” and “Hi.” As the camera angle widens we see the children again).

BASHIR (addressing Prince):  “You hold my hand. You hold Daddy’s hand and my hand…Thank you.”

 

MICHAEL: “Hello. Hi. ” (Then to Nanny Grace) “Tell her [Paris] when I let go to let go. She’s doing pull…pull… (Michael demonstrates on Nanny Grace’s hand what Paris is doing) Pull…pull…that’s what she does. Tell her I gotta sign autographs sometime!”

(00:09:25.The camera zooms in on Paris who looks a little confused by the goings on)

00:09:25. BASHIR (voiceover): “Do you worry about the effect of…your life on them…the fact that you’re the star you are and therefore they…by default have to be part of that? They don’t have a choice…”

MICHAEL (voiceover):  “That’s the way it is. (Cut to Michael in his hotel suite) And uh…it’s worked successfully in the past, many times. It’s all in how you shape and sculpt and mold their world, you know. Many people have been very successful at it.”

 (00:09:52. Cut to outside the mall, heading back to the car. Forming a human chain, from left to right: Nanny Grace, Paris, Michael, Prince & Mr. Bashir)

BASHIR COMMENTARY: “Jackson obviously liked being a father. And he had a surprise for me. Prince and Paris had...”

END OF PART 5 – Now for some analysis/commentary

1. BASHIR (off camera): “You’ve had your lips enlarged?”

This is not a rumour I’d heard before and it strikes me as odd. Most media tended to imply Michael ‘wanted to be white’ so I would have thought a lip enlargement would have been contrary to that!

2. ♫ Introduction to “Got to Be There” by the Jackson Five starts to play

Those of you that have read Parts 1 through to 4 probably know what I’m going to say here. Again, the song used is an old one.

Maybe some people will think it’s because Michael’s later albums were less successful but that is not true. ‘Dangerous’ (1991) was as big a hit as ‘Bad’ (1987) if not more so. And whilst it may be truer of the US, in Europe and the rest of the world ‘HIStory’ (1995) was a massive hit.

3. (00:00:46. Cuts to Mr. Bashir is in a convertible sports car driving past The Flamingo on the Las Vegas strip.)

This is yet another example of Mr. Bashir’s ego running amok. A sports car with the top down is so not necessary to the story line; it merely serves to boost his ego.

4. BASHIR COMMENTARY: “But suddenly Jackson suggested a filming opportunity I couldn’t turn down. The following day I would be going out on the town with the Jackson children.”

This is so misleading. One of the conditions Michael had insisted upon was that his children would not appear in the finished film. And yet here is Mr. Bashir saying that it was Michael’s idea!

Another problem I have with it is that Mr. Bashir implies this is the first time he sees the children. But in Part 4, when they arrive at the Venetian shopping mall, Nanny Grace is seen getting out of the car. Admittedly you don’t see the children but Michael, Mr. Bashir and Nanny Grace all seem to be wearing the exact same clothing that they are wearing ‘the following day’!

It is not the first, nor the last, time that the scenes are shown out of chronological order. And it is further proof that this film should never, ever be referred to as a documentary.

I must confess that for me the children and their interaction with their Daddy is the highlight of this section of the film. I’m afraid that when it comes to them, I love seeing them, even though I know it is not what their father would have wanted.

5. (00:01:34. Michael Jackson turns around abruptly and back tracks slightly. The camera (A) pans in for a close up of Michael’s two oldest children as they run down the corridor to catch up to their Daddy. Paris immediately heads to her Daddy’s side and is (B) blocked from the camera’s view by Michael while Prince stops just a little short).

BASHIR COMMENTARY: “I was about to meet Michael Jackson’s children: Prince Michael the first and Paris. They’re (C) rarely seen in public.”

(A) Further to the above point, the camera man clearly had instructions from Mr. Bashir that contradicted Michael’s wishes. He repeatedly panned in for close ups of the children, and these feature prominently in this section of the film.

(B) If you have seen Janet Jackson’s interview with Robyn Roberts, she did say Paris had an uncanny knack of always knowing where the camera is. And certainly, in Part 5 she demonstrates an ability to use her Daddy to shield her from the camera!

(C) A-ha! The truth – finally…Mr. Bashir admitting that the children are rarely seen in public. A decision made by their father – to protect them.

6. BASHIR: “Are you all set? (He addresses this to Prince.) That’s a really great mask!” (He moves over to Prince and crouches down in front of him.)

PRINCE: “It’s a butterfly.”

BASHIR:  “It’s a butterfly! Let me see. Come here! (He touches the bottom edge of Prince’s mask.)What’s it made of?”

PRINCE: “I don’t know. Inside it’s all black.” (Behind Prince you can see a bodyguard hovering protectively)

My dear readers, you should have been a fly on my wall as I watched this portion! It’s pointless I know, but I was yelling at my screen “Bashir, get your hands off Prince!” and later “What are you doing Mr. Bodyguard? Remove that creep Bashir immediately!”

7. PRINCE: “Daddy, can I run?”

MICHAEL: “If you want, sure.”

This is a testament to what a great father Michael was. Five year old Prince asks permission before running down the corridor. That is a very well behaved child!

8. (Paris is behind Mr. Bashir. She steps around him and makes a beeline for her Daddy)

BASHIR: “No…no. He’s wearing nice shoes, he’s ain’t running anywhere.”

MICHAEL: “Oh, I can run…(The camera zooms in on Paris. She is now positioned between the two men, holding her Daddy’s hand.) Paris, do you want to run?”

PARIS: “I want to hold your hand.”

Paris is such a Daddy’s girl!

9. BASHIR COMMENTARY: “Jackson told me he had never allowed his children out without masks to conceal their identities.”

We learnt from Prince on the Oprah show, that the children only wore their masks when they were out with their father. And that it had proved to be very beneficial because it allowed them to retain their privacy when they went out on outings without him.

Here's part of the transcript from that show: 

OPRAH: Did you know at the time why you were putting on the mask?
PRINCE JACKSON: Yeah.
OPRAH: Why?
PRINCE: Because then when we did go out without our dad, then nobody would really recognize us.
PARIS: He tried to raise us without knowing who he was, but that didn’t really go so well.
OPRAH: It didn’t really go so well. Did you appreciate or like being behind the veil or mask at the time?
PARIS JACKSON: I appreciated it.

I love this tongue in cheek humor! Like I said earlier, I love seeing the MJ3, even when I shouldn’t…

10. BASHIR COMMENTARY: “The children were the result of Jackson’s brief marriage to his dermatology nurse, Debbie Rowe. Paris is now 4,

This is another very common practice of the media when referring to Michael’s marriages. They never fail to include the terms “brief” or ‘short lived’. And yet, as David Edwards from vindicatemj once pointed out, Lisa Marie Presley’s marriage to Nicholas Cage was far shorter than her one to Michael and yet no-one mentions that!

11. (00:02:34. Cut to a shot taken behind Michael, with Prince on his left & Paris on his right, each holding one of his hands. They are just about to enter into an elevator.) 

 PRINCE: “Excuse me Daddy, who’s going to check on (some inaudible)”

I had a lot of trouble deciphering this exchange – I would welcome any reader’s input on what they think Prince said here.

12. MICHAEL (singing acapella):  ♪ “Smile though your heart is aching. Smile even though it’s breaking…”

BASHIR: “I think there are some people here that just might want to have a word with you…”

This was another segment that had me screaming at my computer screen. Michael Jackson – the greatest entertainer ever – is singing acapella and you, Mr Bashir, can’t shut up and let the man sing!

Hooray! We have a song from 1995 at last. “Smile” was included on the HIStory album. 

13. MICHAEL: “I know… Spain is so sweet. They’re beautiful people. Woo! (Laughs and puts an arm around Prince as his son races up to him calling Daddy, Daddy, Daddy...) Stunning to look at…” (They head to the car)

It was lovely seeing Michael flirt with his Spanish fan girls.  I know there are a few people in the media that try to insinuate that ‘his type’ was 13 year old Latino boys - citing a so called similarity in the way Jordie Chandler and Gavin Arviso looked. The main similarity comes from the fact that they both betrayed Michael's friendship and accused him of unspeakable acts - none of which either of them was able to substantiate. In any event, nothing Michael ever said ever indicated a sexual attraction to a 13 year old boy or any other child for that matter.

But there is some evidence that it was Latino women that he was attracted to.

In the Rabbi Shmuley tapes (Page 274) Michael comments that he thought “Jennifer Lopez looked awfully good the other day” This was said in 1999 or 2000.

And in this trip to Gary in 2003, is it just me or do you think he found this young lady attractive? 

14. (Michael now has his children on either side of him; they are holding his hand. We hear “C’mon, C’mon”, “Let’s go!” and Mr. Bashir say “Let’s go straight to that museum.” With his free hand Prince grabs hold of Mr. Bashir’s hand and all of them are walking swiftly towards the entrance of the building they have arrived at.)

It makes me even angrier at Mr. Bashir to see the trust not only Michael, but Prince too, places in the man, knowing full well the betrayal that is to come.

Earlier, I mentioned how Janet Jackson revealed that Paris is adept at always knowing exactly where the camera is. I’ve also read on a couple of occasions that she is supposed to be a very good judge of character. So I thought it interesting that we don’t see any interactions between her and Mr. Bashir. Of course, there may have been some and the film makers chose not to show it or else it could be that she is simply too much of a Daddy’s girl to pay attention to anyone else.

15. (00:07:21. Camera goes in for another close up of Prince. The camera pans over to catch a glimpse of Paris but she is still obscured by her father, so the camera pans back to Prince. Two photographer’s flashes are visible before a cut to the reverse view is done and we see a third flash – most likely the below shot.)

This is yet another example of the film makers ignoring Michael’s instructions and focusing on his children. We don’t see much of Paris – but not for a lack trying on the camera man’s part, that’s for sure!

The close up shots of Prince when the camera flashes go off is the first of several such scenes where the editing shows the child’s perspective. The film maker’s intention I will discuss in more depth in later points.

16. MICHAEL: “I…would like to live forever.”

You will, Michael!  I was reading the comments section of another blog recently and the MJ fans were struggling with the tenses...using ‘is’ instead of ‘was’. That’s because Michael Jackson is a legend, and legends are always described in the present tense!

17. (00:08:08. Cut to a shot taken behind Prince in the store, where the camera moves from Prince up to window where a crowd has gathered, to observe the proceedings.)

Again, this scene appears to be from the five and a half year old Prince’s perspective. Given that the next conversation tackled is Michael’s parental decisions, the film makers are pre-empting that with their own visual commentary. Earlier they closed in on Prince as the camera flashes went off; here they show him standing before a crowded window of curious onlookers. Later they finally get their Paris close ups after Michael releases her hand to sign some autographs.

In isolation, each of these scenes does show the children looking a little lost perhaps. However, that’s only if you apply your own sensibilities to it. Put into the proper context (which the film makers don’t do) and you realize this is normal for those children. The children seem quite used to the attention their Daddy gets and they certainly were more relaxed about it than Mr. Bashir was! I think for Mr. Bashir it was a nerve-wracking experience being around Michael in a crowded public place for he appears to be very anxious the whole time. I believe he and his team then try to project this onto Prince and Paris, selecting camera angles that show these small children in what appears to be an overwhelming situation.

18. 00:08:08. BASHIR (voiceover): “Do you try to give your children a normal upbringing?”

MICHAEL (voiceover): “Yes, of course!”

This question was asked at the exact time they showed the scene discussed in the last point. Their intention is clear, to make Michael’s answer appear less than truthful. It is a loaded, hypothetical question anyway. It is difficult for any famous person to give their offspring what is termed a ‘normal’ childhood. Yet if we consider what we know of the MJ3 from their limited public appearances, it would appear that Michael was very successful in raising three ostensibly well adjusted children!