As the Michael Jackson biopic undergoes potential reshoots amidst some alleged legal issues, a new report suggests the film could perhaps be split into two films.
According to a new report from Jeff Sneider’s The InSneider, the planned biopic was “an absolute dumpster fire” that underwent various stoppages throughout its development stage. The report mentions that he did hear that Jaafar Jackson — Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew and star of the movie — delivers an “absolutely killer” performance, but the film still went over budget by “tens of millions” of dollars.
The report also mentions that Lionsgate may be considering cutting the movie into two parts, due in part to how much money the studio has devoted to the project. Sneider reports that a recent cut of the movie clocked in at around four hours “and still felt incomplete,” and with reshoots looming, Lionsgate could split the movie to try and recoup some of their money, although Sneider doubts the project will eventually be a two-parter.
Sneider’s report also briefly touches on the vibes of the set during production. According to Sneider, the Jackson family and estate were often there and “difficult to deal with,” which resulted in director Antoine Fuqua often directing the project remotely from his van.
As far as the plot goes, Sneider’s report also mentions that originally, the script for the film ended with Michael’s infamous Neverland estate being raided by the FBI, and that the plan to address any allegations against him were simply to not mention them. That seemingly changed somewhere along the way due to the film’s previously reported legal issues, however, so it’s unclear where the project stands as of now.
What do we know about the Michael Jackson biopics reshoots?
According to a recent report from Matthew Belloni’s Puck newsletter, years before the Michael movie was in production, Jackson’s estate agreed to never include the Chandler family in any movie or project about the star. Belloni notes that a signed agreement between the families prohibits the Chandlers — who were at the center of the infamous trial against Jackson for child molestation — from being used in any dramatization.
The issue with the Michael Jackson movie, the newsletter notes, is that a large portion of the third act of the planned biopic of the music legend involves the infamous lawsuit against Jackson by Jordan Chandler, a then-13-year-old who alleged that Jackson molested him.
The report mentions that the film paints Jackson as innocent throughout this process and a scene in the movie includes Jackson meeting his lawyers and hearing audio of Chandler’s father threatening to “destroy” Jackson’s career.
The studio may be forced to completely reshoot scenes for the movie due to key parts being unusable.
The report goes on to mention that this came to light after the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, specifically after a September story in the Financial Times revealed that John Branca, one of Jackson’s executors, paid out $16.5 million to the accusers in the Leaving Neverland documentary, with one deciding to seek an additional $213 million, leading to litigation from Jackson’s estate.
The move as a whole, according to Puck’s newsletter, shocked those behind the film, as they were unaware any such payments had been made. Branca reportedly let the team know of the legal issues surrounding the scenes in the movie only after filming had already wrapped on the project.
The report notes that the creative team behind the movie is left trying to figure out how to best go about fixing the issue. A rewrite of the script, as well as reshoots, will have to be approved by Lionsgate, with Jackson’s estate reportedly funding any reshoots and additional photography needed.
