Online Reporter
LOS ANGELES. − The maker of Michael Jackson’s documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’, says the King of Pop’s forthcoming biopic, simply titled ‘Michael’, is a ‘complete whitewash.’
Dan Reed, whose 2019 film featured claims by Wade Robson and James Safechuck that Jackson had abused them as children, told The Times of London he had seen a draft script of the biopic, and is concerned.
“It’s an out-and-out attempt to completely rewrite the allegations and dismiss them out of hand, and contains complete lies.
“You never even see him alone with any boys, when it is a matter of fact that he shared his bed with small children for many years.”
The biopic has drawn a pedigree team in director Antoine Fuqua, who made Training Day, and writer John Logan, Oscar-nominated for Gladiator, The Aviator and Hugo.
Oscar-nominated Colman Domingo is playing Jackson’s abusive father, Joe, while Miles Teller (Whiplash, Top Gun: Maverick) will play John Branca, Jackson’s manager.
The music sales data suggests that Jackson’s appeal is growing again after his star waned prior to his death in 2009. It cites Sony’s confirmation that it will acquire half of Jackson’s catalog in a deal that valued his assets at US$1.2 billion − the largest transaction for a single musician’s work.
Billboard reports that consumption of Jackson’s music worldwide grew last year by more than 38 per cent to 6.5 billion on-demand streams.
The musical MJ, telling the story of the star’s life and using his music, has had success on Broadway.
The musical makes no mention of the abuse allegations that Jackson faced.
Leaving Neverland 2 was released in March this year. It’s been six years since Leaving Neverland left an indelible impression on Michael Jackson’s legacy.
The King of Pop was cleared of child abuse charges during his lifetime, but something about the Emmy-winning testimony of Wade Robson and James Safechuck stuck in the collective consciousness, despite consistent denials from Jackson’s family and those who manage his business empire.
Leaving Neverland 2 picks up the story where the first film left off in 2019, chronicling Robson and Safechuck’s legal battle with the Jackson estate as they seek to hold the singer’s enablers accountable for the abuse they claim to have suffered.
“I want my day in court,” Robson says intensely.
In this sense, the Leaving Neverland sequel feels like a prelude to the main event: a trial next year in which their allegations will be tested in front of a jury.
Director Dan Reed calls it a “stepping stone” documentary. “The intention is to follow the stories until the end,” he told Deadline.
Leaving Neverland 2 sticks with the theme of Robson and Safechuck wrestling with their past, made all the more intimate by Reed filming in their homes.
There are moments of resonance as Safechuck talks vulnerably about what he would have told his younger self, cut closely alongside images of him cradling his own child.
The documentary also captures the passing of time in their protracted efforts to secure a trial, from mask-wearing in court during the pandemic, to child sexual abuse attorney Vince W. Finaldi declaring his plans to retire.
For Reed, the past six years strengthened his belief in Robson and Safechuck’s version of events.
The BAFTA-winning director never doubted the duo were victims of Jackson, but he says the grind of the legal battle underlines the authenticity of their story.
The charge against Robson and Safechuck has always been that they want to make a buck out of their trauma. Reed thinks the lengthy legal action shows the opposite is true.
“I wanted to show how difficult and unrewarding and exhausting it is to try and get justice in the court system,” he explains.
“To people who say, ‘They’re just after money,’ I say: five more victims came out after Leaving Neverland and got paid US$16-US17M for their life rights.
If James and Wade had wanted to make a quick buck, why didn’t they just go to the estate?” − Deadline/Agencies
