The Drill la Sanremo

Se pare ca G cand a spus ca majoritatea celor implicati in This Is It, mai ales Travis Payne, Kenny Ortega, si dansatorii, ar binevoi sa participe, daca sunt invitati, la actiuni precum cea de mai jos, a avut foarte mare dreptate. Pe 14 februarie, la Michael Jackson Official European Convention din Milano, Travis Payne nu a putut participa, prin videocam, promitand sa se revanseze cat de curand. Se pare, ca nu a tras mata de coada sperand ca lumea sa uite de promisiune. Asa ca, pe 20 februarie, in timpul celei de-a 60 cea editie a Festivalului de Muzica Pop din Sanremo, Travis Payne si alti doi dansatori din This Is It (si cu Sony in coada) au facut un show formidabil. Bineinteles, ca cei care ne ofera stirea sunt cei de pe MJPortal.com, si iata ce au postat ei:

Yesterday, February 20, 2010, during the final evening of the 60th Sanremo Italian Pop Song Festival, Travis Payne, official MJ coreographer, as previously announced at the first ever Michael Jackson European Convention, and two of the dancers from the "This Is It" tour group, performed a live tribute to the King of Pop..
The day began with a two hour traffic back up on the Italian highway going into Sanremo but it was worth every minute of it because it brought back so many memories of waiting outside for several hours to get a glimpse of Michael.
After numerous e-mails and phone conversations with Travis and the representative of Sony Pictures USA who was accompanying him on his Italian trip, we were finally able to come to an agreement on the how and where of this long awaited meeting.
After our arrival at the barriers blocking the access to the Ariston Theater, Sam, Giovanna, Lara and yours truly asked the security guards information about Travis and if he had already arrived inside the theater. One of the security police said, "Are you Nick?" and I answered in a surprised voice, "Yeah. How do you know?" "Well,", he said, "the dancers asked for you as soon as they got out of the van.". Stunned, I said, "You've got to be kidding!". The policemand answered simply, "No sir."!
We couldn't believe it. The feeling that had been installed with Travis during this last year of long distance conversations had immediately gone above and beyond just a simple feeling... The simplicity and the magic of a person who had worked hand in hand with MJ during the last two decades was an actual reality.
Immediately after, we saw Travis coming out of the theater and walking towards us with a big smile. A strong embrace and the phrase "We did it!" was just the prelude to yesterday's beautiful day-long experience. A couple photographs together, a few words of presentation for the rest of the group and he excused himself because rehearsal for his segment on the live telecast was about to begin. "See you later.", he said as he was being called to return into the theater for the onstage dance rehearsal.. About half an hour later, Travis came out of the theater and returned to exchange a few words with us.
"The "This Is It" dancers are on a world tour. We are promoting the worldwide release of the film. Tomorrow we'll be in London, then Spain and then Australia, etc., etc. In short we'll be going around the world for the next month." He then explained to us how they all felt about Michael's death and the fact that these performances were giving him and the dancers the strength to go forward. "We are still grieving, but it's important that we deliver MJ's message to the world."
The conversation lasted about half an hour while the shouting from the people behind the barriers continued uninterrupted, more photographs and finally, another generous gift: a ticket to see the performance live, inside the theater. I was the lucky recipient. I ran back to the car to get my suit jacket used only for special occasions, stopped off and had a drink to charge up my battery (obviously a Negroni ), a walk down the red carpet into the Teatro Nazionale and finally... THE PERFORMANCE!
Between Antonella Clerici's obvious nervousness, the opening applause from the public and the orchestra inside the theater and my own personal contribution to the screaming and yelling (which is clearly audible on the video above everything else!!!), the "Drill" began accompanied by "They Don't Care About Us". The dancers were really fantastic and Travis was simply great! A memorable exhibition in the middle of a festival, such as this Sanremo (the Italian pop song contest originated in 1951) which has become nothing more than an evening of cabaret and certainly not a song festival worthy of being broadcast all over the world in "mondovision". Even if only for 10 minutes, Travis, Nicholas and Daniel brought us back to the great days of the Sanremo Pop Music Festival then considered an important international event.

Din fericire de data asta avem si video. Ura! Sa urmarim, dar pe site ca nu il putem lua aici...
Mai ramane sa fim atenti la ce se intampla in noaptea asta la Londra, maine poate avem rezultate!

They cage the animals at night

Una dintre cartile preferate ale lui Michael (desi mi se pare greu sa alegi o astfel de carte, si banuiesc ca Michael a avut mai mult), pare a fi They cage the animals at night, scrisa de Jennings Michael Burch. Informatiile de pe Wikipedia sunt foarte putine, dar aflam ca Jennings Michael Burch a avut o copilarie dureroasa, mama sa lasandu-l, din cauza greutatilor la casa de plasament, dar de-a lungul timpului acestea au devenit 32 la numar. Acesta s-a mutat de multe ori si a fost plasat multor familii adoptive, singurul prieten fiindu-i un catel din plus numit Doggie.

Michael a fost invitat la Neverland in, iar Michael Jackson i-a luat un mic interviu.

Se pare ca parte la aceasta intalnire a fost alt Michael adica si Bryan Stoller.
Un alt prieten al lui Michael; cel care a scris scenariul filmului Cast Away, in care apare si Michael, Miss Cast Away, si autorul cartii "Filmmaking for Dummies".

“Miss Castaway” Bryan's comedy feature film in the style of “Airplane” and “Scary Movie” stars Academy Nominee Eric Roberts and Pop-icon Michael Jackson as "Agent M.J., and is currently at Blockbuster Video and Netflix

.

Lasand la o parte filmul si pe domnul Stoller, din pacate lucrurile bune sunt in bucatele mici, asa cum este si interviul de mai sus. Oricat de mult ai purica Google, in lung si-n lat nu gasesti mai mult de atat (iar daca mai exista o continuare a interviului, filmata, de ce a fost aceasta parte cu aceasta intrebare aleasa pentru publicare), iar asta ma face sa ma gandesc ca, discutia a fost mult mai mare, si totodata, si mai interesanta, asta se poate vedea si in secventa forte emotionanta de mai sus, dar cred ca nici unul dintre participanti nu a vrut camere in nas si fire agatate de haine, ci mai degraba o discutie deschisa intre doi oameni care au in comun o copilarie afectata de decizile parintilor, despre greutatile fiecarei copilarii si dorinta de a deveni ceva in viata. Si ambii au demonstrat ca se poate. Pacat, pentru noi, ca nu putem vedea discutia in intregime. Ori este inexistenta inregistrarea video, ori foarte bine ascunsa, si cum nu are nimic din chirurgie plastica, animale salbatice sau alta tema senzationala, nu prea a interesat pe nimeni. Poate daca stam cuminti, va aparea la un moment si alte parti ale interviului.

Revenind la Bryan Michael Stoller, dupa articolul Michael Jackson's Unrealized Dream: Career in the Film Industry, Michael ar fi dorit sa ecranizeze aceasta carte.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that three months before Jackson’s June 25th death, the singer had signed on to put up $8 million and co-direct an indie film about foster kids to be titled They Cage the Animals at Night that was based on a book by Jennings Michael Burch. Writer/director Bryan Michael Stoller tells the Reporter Jackson felt close to the story because his own childhood was tumultuous: “Michael told me often he felt like he grew up as an orphan, like a foster kid, because he never was in one home. To him every hotel was like a different foster home. He said he used to sit in the window and see kids playing outside and cry because he couldn’t be part of that.”
Though Jackson insiders deny the singer had an official agreement to work on the film, Stoller says Jackson brought author Burch to Neverland for an interview, which Stoller filmed and is looking to release now. The writer/director adds he and Jackson watched many movies together at Neverland, and To Kill a Mockingbird was the star’s favorite.

Filmuletul exista, intalnirea dintre cei trei Michael la fel, dar nu stim daca cei doi mai tineri erau asa de buni prieteni sau daca planuiau asa ceva impreuna. Dar, daca luam in considerare Miss Cast Away cine stie...

"I dream of belonging to someone. You know, have them to took me in bed and kiss me goodnight. It's dumb, I know, but I dream about it sometimes."
Jennings Michael Burch, "They cage the animals at night"

Interviu - "The Once and Future King"

Luat de TV Guide, in noiembrie 1999, pe care il gasim pe MJeol.com. Intrebarile sunt destul de pertinente, chiar pot sa zic mai bine puse decat de Oprah in '93 (no offense), iar raspunsurile sunt concise, scurt si la obiect, fara a pretinde mai mult decat poate, si poate, modest ca intotdeauna, exasperat de anumite intrebari care ii sunt puse over and over again, la care parca, fiecare jurnalist, se asteapta la un alt raspuns, poate poate zice ceva deplasat, si astfel sa fie aratat cu degetul. Daca citesti interviul, si nu, nu avem video (o sa avem un corespondent din acelasi an, mai jos), trebuie sa fi batut in cap sa nu iti dai seama ce fel de om era de fapt Miachael Jackson.

November 30, 1999

TV Guide: "Thriller" changed music videos forever. Where did you get the idea?
Michael Jackson: My brother Jackie came to my house and said, "Are you watching this show that's on TV? All they do is play music. It's MTV." I put it on and thought the concept was very interesting. What I didn't like were the videos that were a collage of images; I thought that if I were to do one, I would do something with a beginning, a middle and an ending, like a short film.

TVG: Did you ever imagine that Thriller and the videos from the album would catapult your career into the stratosphere?
MJ: I didn't really think about how the album would do; I just wanted to create what I would enjoy seeing. And my main goal for the video "Thriller" was to do something that would be scary, fun and exciting.

TVG: How do you look back on that whole era now?
MJ: I see it as a happy time and a sad time. And an exciting time. Because it made a lot of my dreams come true. The notoriety was wonderful.

TVG: You also said it was a sad time.
MJ: Yeah. If I don't get exactly what I'm looking for, I get very depressed.

TVG: You mean the album still didn't live up to what you had envisioned?
MJ: Not completely.

TVG: Which songs disappointed you?
MJ: "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Songwriting is a very frustrating art form. You have to get on tape exactly what's playing in your head. When I hear it up here [points to his head], it's wonderful. I have to transcribe that onto tape. "The Girl is Mine" wasn't completely what I wanted, but it's very nice. But "Billie Jean" is there. I worked so hard on that. I worked for three weeks on the bass lick alone.

TVG: The glove, the white socks, the red leather jacket –who came up with those things?
MJ: The glove was just –I thought one was cooler than two. I love to accent movement. The eye goes to where the white is –you know, the glove. And the feet, if you're dancing, you can put an exclamation point on your movement if it has a bit of light on it. So I wore the white socks. And for the design of the jacket, I would sit with the people who made the clothes and tell them where I wanted a button or a buckle or a design. But I don't wear that look anymore. It's sad to get caught up in the past. That's why I don't put awards in my house. No gold records, no Grammys. They are in storage. I don't like to be puffed up with pride, 'cause i'd feel like I don't have anymore things to reach for. And that's not true.

TVG: Do you feel like your most creative period is yet to come?
MJ: I think the best work is coming, but I would like to go into other areas, not keep doing album after pop album.

TVG: Are there artists that are doing interesting things musically?
MJ: There's some wonderful creative ideas, but I don't think anybody's being innovative. They're mostly grabbing the old and trying to integrate it with the new.

TVG: Is there anyone you'd like to work with?
MJ: There are a lot of artists I admire, but no.

TVG: What is your favorite music?
MJ: You would be shocked. This morning I was singing Rodgers and Hammerstein. That's the stuff I sing around the house –"My Favorite Things" from the "Sound of Music" and "Absent Minded Me" that Streisand song. I'm also a fan of the great old MGM musicals. I love show tunes. I'm a big fan of melody.

TVG: What's your favorite song to perform?
MJ: "Billie Jean" but only when I don't have to do it the same way. The audience wants a certain thing. I have to do the moonwalk in that spot. [laughs] I'd like to do a different version.

TVG: Who's your audience today?
MJ: I don't know. I just try to write wonderful music; and if they love it, they love it. I don't think about any demographic. The record company tries to get me to think that way, but I just do what I would enjoy hearing.

TVG: Is there a new Michael for the new millennium?
MJ: Yeah. I have a couple of things planned. I think it's going to be totally different than what I did before. There's a song on the new album called "I Have This Dream". It's a millennium song about the world and the environment that I co-wrote with Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster.

TVG: Do you think you will tour again?
MJ: I don't think so. It takes a lot out of me.

TVG: You rarely travel in public without a disguise. Why?
MJ: I don't see any other way. I have tried everything [laughs] Fat suits. Nuns. Clowns. Trick or treat is the best for me. And Mardi Gras.

TVG: Do you think you will ever be able to walk around freely just as yourself?
MJ: I do disguises for different reasons. I like to study people –be like the fly on the wall. Even if it's two old ladies sitting on a bench or some kids on a swing. Because I don't know what it's like to fit in an everyday life situation. One time I was in a record store, completely disguised, and these girls were pulling out my album, talking all about me. I was literally next to them. It was wonderful. I loved it. But if I go out as myself, I can't have fun. People always say, "Why don't we just go to a party?" Soon as I step in, the party's over –for me. It's a party for them, but they are all putting their cards on my face, saying, "Remember me? I met you four years ago at…" and I say, "I don't remember." So I can't enjoy the experience. They play all my songs. I didn't come to hear my music. And everybody starts chanting "Dance!" "Well, I want to see YOU dance for a change."

TVG: Do you think, given all the negative press that you have had, the people will judge you solely on your music?
MJ: I don't think so. 'cause the press has made me out to be this monster, this crazy person who's bizarre and weird. I'm nothing like that.

TVG: Is there anything you can do to change that impression?
MJ: Well, all I can do is be myself and create from my soul. But they take that and manipulate it.

TVG: But what will make you seem OK to people who think "He's weird, he has exotic animals in his house, or…
MJ: God created animals and they are loving, they are beautiful. I feel the way anthropologist Jane Goodall does, or any of those naturalists. I don't find my interest in animal weird or strange at all.

TVG: What about the plastic surgery?
MJ: All of Hollywood has plastic surgery! I don't know why they point me out. The press exagerated it. It's just to my nose. They want it to be everything. Just the nose isn't enough. Elvis had his nose done –Lisa Marie told me. They don't talk about that. They singled me out. It's not fair.

TVG: OK, well, now that you bring up Lisa Marie, I read that she said she regrets not having had your son and that she may still want to have a child with you. Is that true?
MJ: I remember that's how she felt at the time [laughs]. No matter what I say, I'm in trouble with this question. The next issue of TV Guide will probably say "Well, Lisa said she doesn't ever want to see him again!"

TVG: Are you two friends now?
MJ: Lisa's sweet. I like her very much and we are friends. And who knows what tomorrow brings? I have no idea how she feels today. I'll just say that. She comes to my house and sees the children, and we talk on the phone, that sort of thing.

TVG: Do you think you will marry again?
MJ: That would be nice.

TVG: What would make the third time the charm?
MJ: It just has to hit me. You have to see that person and go, "This is it. This is the one."

TVG: Did you feel that way with both of your marriages?
MJ: Yeah. Of course.

TVG: Do you wish you were still married?
MJ: Yeah. I do. But you have to do what's best. What happens happens. You have to respect that.

TVG: Who are your closest friends?
MJ: Elizabeth. We go to the movies every Thursdays.

TVG: You go to a regular movie theatre?
MJ: I want to go to the Warner Bros studio and she refuses. She says "No, I'm getting you out." So we go right into this area –which I can say- and walk right in. And it's usually empty, because most people are working at the time. The theatre employees go "Wow, come on in" and we never really pay. And we're the ones that can afford it. [laughs]

TVG: Let's talk about your kids. I have to ask about this business in the papers recently about you and Debbie not being the biological parents of your children, about her being implanted with another woman's egg and then impregnanted by artificial insemination.
MJ: That's total garbage. It's just trash and not true.

TVG: Do the kids live with you at Neverland?
MJ: They were at Neverland two weeks ago. I think they realized for the first time that it's their home. They used to always think it was some hotel resort. We stay in hotels everywhere. They didn't realize that the train and the train station is for them, and those rides are for them. Now they go "We want to go to Neverland!"

TVG: What are their personnalities like?
MJ: Prince tells me all day that he has to make movies. So I bought him this video camera. I say, "What are we doing this time?" He goes, "Star Wars." So we put some figures on the table, make them move. And Paris is just now starting to talk and walk. She's very sweet. And I'm surprised she loves dolls. My sister Janet didn't like that sort of thing. She was a tomboy. I thought she was going to be like that but she isn't.

TVG: And you're changing diapers and feeding them?
MJ: Yeah, I love it. It's a lot of work. I thought I was prepared 'cause I read everything about child rearing, but it's so much more exciting than I ever imagined it to be. The only regret I have is that I wish I had done it earlier.

TVG: Do you sing and dance for them?
MJ: That's how I keep them quiet if they're crying. If I just start dancing, they shut down.

TVG: Do you want to have more kids?
MJ: Definitely. I told my father I'm going to match his record. He had 10.

TVG: What is your relationship with your father like now? You were estranged from him for a while?
MJ: I have the best relationship now that I've ever had with him. I think with age and time, he is really mellowed out to become a nice person. He'll simply say to me "How are you doing? Are you eating? That's all I wanted to know." Not, "Did you sign that contract?" He just wants to know if I'm OK. I think that's really nice… And my mother is like the perfect Angel.

TVG: At 41, are you happy?
MJ: Well, I usually am happy. I don't let anything get me down, no matter what. I like to hear the sound of water and birds chirping and laughter, you know. I love all the real natural, innocent things. I would never go to a party or a club. I did that when I was a kid, and I don't care to do it anymore.

TVG: I found it jarring to read a recent quote in which you said that if it weren't for your desire to help the children of the world, you would throw in the towell and kill yourself. Do you really feel that way?
MJ: I always have, 'cause I would feel I have nothing to live for.

TVG: Not even for yourself and your own creativity?
MJ: I wouldn't care. Everything I create is inspired by that kind of innocence. And nature, it's eveything. It has to be. I mean, that's it.

Included in the article accompanying the interview is a quote from Michael about his forthcoming album which he describes as being "happy, dance music, relationship stuff." The interview was done this November in New York.

Din pacate, am capiat, cautand pe site-ul celor de la TV Guide interviul din '99 si ce spun un pic mai sus... Se pare ca nu au putut pune si altceva decat stirile de vara trecuta...
Avem din aceeasi perioada un interviu filmat, a MTV.