The AEG Contract - good or bad?

08 November 2007

The AEG contract was for a maximum of 31 concerts between July 26 and September 30 2009, and the first leg had to be a minimum of 18 shows. A greater number of shows could be agreed, but the initial contract was as stated above, UNLESS AEG could prove that more shows were needed in order to recoup the advances it paid to Michael.

We now know from the cancellation policy that the Specified Costs, Expenses and Commitments estimated to have been spent by AEG and/or The Michael Jackson Company before the shows began, were $17.5m. After 13 shows (estimated income of $18,643,040) this money would have been recouped, and the concerts would be in profit.

So this means that the minimum of 18 shows in the contract were more than enough to cover the costs estimated to be spent before the shows began.

This Is It had sold out 50 concerts.

Where is the written contract for the additional 19 shows, making it up to 50? I certainly have not seen or heard of one, so to my mind that suggests that either the agreement was verbal, or the contract for the 19 shows is being kept under wraps for now.

The other fact that seems to have gone unnoticed by a lot of fans, is that the cancellation policy covered costs spent by AEG and/or The Michael Jackson Company, which means that both AEG and The Michael Jackson Company benefit from the policy, not just AEG.

The AEG contract ran until 31 December 2011. Yes you read that right December 2011. Which means, if AEG could prove that more shows were needed to recoup advances, they could keep Michael performing for 2 and a half years. And the contract also allowed for AEG to extend beyond 31 December 2011, if there was a World Tour or if the advances had not been paid.

The contract also agreed to pay Dr Tohme Tohme $100,000 per month, under an agreement with Tohme’s company TT international LLC.  Tohme’s salary was part of the advances agreement, that was paid out of Michael’s 90% of the profits. If Tohme had not been looking out for Michael’s best interests when the contract was being discussed, he could have kept other promoters offers from reaching Michael. Leonard Rowe says he knew of other concert offers which were for $10-15m PER PERFORMANCE, and would have solved Michael’s financial problems, and Michael would not have had to sign with AEG at all. So was Tohme working against Michael, and was Michael unknowingly paying for the deception financially? We know that one company, Allgood Entertainment, did manage to get their contract in front of Michael, via Frank DiLeo. The meeting between Frank and Allgood was in November 2008, when Tohme was Michael’s manager, not DiLeo. This suggests to me that Allgood were unable to make the offer to Michael directly, so they tried to go via DiLeo. Michael was negotiating with AEG in earnest from around October 2008, and did not sign until January 2009, so perhaps someone was stopping him seeing other offers, in order to ensure the AEG contract was the one that got signed? The Allgood contract was for a Jackson5 reunion for one night in July 2010 – Michael was to get $12-15m for one night. In my other blog here, I calculated that 50 shows for AEG would net Michael approximately $53m, that’s just over $1m per show NOT $12-15m per show! Michael was talking to Allgood about their contract in May 2009, that’s AFTER he’d signed the AEG contract and when he was in the middle of rehearsals for This Is It. The story goes that he rejected the idea, because Allgood wanted pay-per-view and Michael didn’t like pay-per-view. I think Michael wanted to cancel or postpone some or all of the This Is It concerts, until after the Allgood concert, but he was told ‘No’ by AEG.

Another company, Citadel Limited, were also in negotiations with DiLeo in the first quarter of 2009, for a musical event in Trinidad and Tobago, featuring Michael,  to take place in the last quarter of 2009. The first leg of the This Is It concerts would have finished in September, so this is feasible. DiLeo had signed a Binder Agreement, and Citadel had wired him a total of $300,000 as part of this agreement. After 25 June 2009, Citadel wanted their money back, and filed a lawsuit against DiLeo to recoup it. It is not clear exactly when DiLeo started to work for Michael again, but I would guess maybe March 2009.

So could Michael have gotten himself out of the AEG contract? Leonard Rowe says that even if Michael had filed for bankruptcy, if his liabilities were greater than his assets, he would have lost his entire fortune to AEG. Personally, I don’t think that is true. Michael could have cancelled the concerts, because he was covered by the cancellation policy, under specific terms. But the problem with cancelling was that, after years of attack by the media, Michael’s professional image was already badly damaged, and I believe that cancelling the concerts would have destroyed him. Michael would have walked away with no money to show for months of preparation, or even made a loss.

There is another large flaw in Rowe’s assumptions. He assumes that all Michael’s assets were part of his estate, and therefore AEG could force Michael into bankruptcy in order to get hold of the assets. But I have done some research and found that Michael’s major assets were all in bankruptcy remote trusts, which fall outside of the estate. Once in a trust, the assets no longer belong to Michael Jackson, and Michael cannot be forced to hand them over to creditors. I don’t know if AEG were aware of this, but Michael surely was.

Leonard says in his book that the AEG contract was despicable, and that it wouldn’t have happened on his watch. He claims the reason he was fired was that Randy Phillips was afraid he would expose the nature of the contract. Leonard has a letter showing that Michael wanted him to oversee the finances of the O2 shows. This was 25^th March 2009, 3 months AFTER the contract was signed. So why did Leonard not get hold of the contract and start addressing his concerns to Michael? If he was overseeing the O2 finances, surely the starting point would be to understand the contract? Without understanding that, how could he understand Michael’s finances? He says he had found out about AEGs ticket scalping and brought it up at a meeting with AEG in May. So why did Leonard do nothing about the contract between being hired in March and May? Well, perhaps Michael didn’t want Leonard to have anything to do with the concert finances. Perhaps the 15 May meeting was about the problems with the concert scheduling? Perhaps Michael realised that Leonard wasn’t able to negotiate effectively with AEG, and so replaced him with Frank DiLeo?

Was the AEG contract good or bad? Financially, I think the AEG contract was good for Michael. AEG don’t seem to be profiting hugely at Michael’s expense.

But I do think Michael had problems with AEG, and I think those problems were to do with mounting the concerts. I have heard rumblings that the costume designer, the choreographer and the producer were planning the show without Michael’s input. Michael didn’t have the control he had had over his other concerts. This must have added to the huge pressure already on Michael, who as a solo artist, was the only person who could oversee the music, the songs and the choreography, and who in addition had to prepare his own performance.  I also believe that some of the people working on This Is It, who had worked with Michael before, knew that he was not well in the last few weeks. I think they are afraid to speak the truth for fear of being landed with a wrongful death lawsuit, or of being blackballed. I think that explains the inconsistencies in the stories these people have told in interviews since June 25 2009, and is why so many people have lied about so many things. I think the Jackson family know, hence the AEG lawsuit.

'This Is It' Rehearsals

Michael rehearsing 'Black or White' June 23 2009

Michael rehearsed at The Forum 30 May – 19 June 2009, and at The Staples Center  22 - 24 June 2009. The Forum has yellow seating and The Staples Center has red seating, so I used this information to determine which venue the sections of ‘This Is It’ with Michael in it were filmed. In addition, a large LED screen was erected behind the stage at The Staples Center, so this is an added visual clue as to where rehearsals were filmed.

The singer Judith Hill said that the rehearsal of ‘I Just Can’t Stop loving you’ was the first time she had performed the duet with Michael. I am guessing then that The Forum was the first time the singers, dancers and musicians were all together for rehearsals with Michael.

At the time of writing, the trial of Conrad Murray is underway, and both the prosecution and defence have requested excerpts of film from ‘This Is It’, and these are listed in a court document Source. So we now know exactly what was filmed on 23-24 June 2009. I do not have definitive dates for The Forum or the other rehearsals at Centerstaging, so I have put the different rehearsals into the order I think they were performed, but please bear in mind that it is guesswork.

The Forum 30 May to 19 June 2009

The Forum Balmain jacket with white lapel and studs, red shirt, black trousers – Human Nature

The Forum Balmain jacket with white lapel and studs, red shirt, black trousers – I Just Can’t Stop Loving You

The Forum red shirt, black trousers – Thriller

The Forum red shirt, black trousers – Beat It

The Forum Blue and silver jacket, black t shirt, black trousers – Billie Jean

The Forum Blue and silver jacket, black t shirt, black trousers – Man In The Mirror

The Forum Military jacket with 3 rows of buttons, gold sparkly trousers, white t-shirt, trilby – Startin’ something correction

The Forum grey jacket, gold sparkly trousers, white t-shirt, trilby – The Drill

The Forum grey jacket, gold sparkly trousers, white t-shirt, trilby – Human Nature

The Forum silver jacket, gold sparkly trousers, white t-shirt, trilby – Smooth Criminal

The Forum silver jacket, gold sparkly trousers, white t-shirt, trilby – The Way You Make Me Feel

The Forum white shirt, gold sparkly trousers, white t-shirt, trilby – I’ll Be There acknowledgements to The Jacksons

The Forum Black and silver jacket, white T shirt – The Drill

The Forum Black and silver jacket, white T shirt – Smooth Criminal

Culver Studios 3 June to 11 June 2009

Culver Studios Black and silver jacket, white T shirt – The Drill

Culver Studios red leather jacket – watching filming of Thriller

Culver Studios – filming Smooth Criminal

The Forum, silver jacket, orange trousers, turquoise t-shirt – Startin’ Something

The Forum, silver jacket, orange trousers, turquoise t-shirt – Speechless

The Forum, silver jacket, orange trousers, turquoise t-shirt – Jam

The Forum, silver jacket, orange trousers, turquoise t-shirt – The Drill

The Forum, silver jacket, orange trousers, turquoise t-shirt – Human Nature

The Forum, Smooth Criminal jacket, orange trousers, turquoise t-shirt, black fedora – Smooth Criminal

The Forum, Smooth Criminal jacket, orange trousers, turquoise t-shirt, black fedora – The Way You Make Me Feel

The Staples Center 23 June to 24 June 2009

 23 June Staples Center, green and bronze metallic jacket, black t-shirt, black trouser with silver stripe – I’ll Be There

23 June Staples Center, white shirt, black t-shirt, black trouser with silver stripe – Black or White

23 June Staples Center red shirt with diamante 7s, grey jacket  - The Drill/They Don’t care About Us

23 June Staples Center red shirt with diamante 7s, grey jacket, black t-shirt – Startin’ Something

23 June Staples Center red shirt with diamante 7s, grey jacket, black t-shirt – Jam

23 June Staples Center red shirt with diamante 7s, grey jacket, black t-shirt – Human Nature

23 June Staples Center red shirt with diamante 7s, Smooth Criminal jacket, black t-shirt, white fedora – Smooth Criminal

23 June Staples Center red shirt, blue shirt – The Way You Make Me Feel

23 June Staples Center red shirt, blue pearly shirt, black t-shirt– Jackson 5 medley

23 June Staples Center red shirt, white shirt, black t-shirt– Shake Your Body

23 June Staples Center silver jacket, black trousers, trench coat – Beat It

23 June Staples Center silver jacket, black embellished overcoat, black trousers – Black or White

24 June Staples Center Curls for My Girls Tshirt, white shirt, black jacket, Ed Hardy trousers – Thriller

24 June Staples Center Curls for My Girls Tshirt, white shirt, black jacket, Ed Hardy trousers – Earth Song

‘This Is It’ concerts – $315m the Big Money

So were AEG the ‘good guys’ and helping Michael get out of the financial difficulties imposed on him by corporate bullies, or were they in it for themselves?

Let’s look at the AEG contract itself and see. As a layperson I do not understand all the terms and conditions in the contract, and for that I may have to defer to Leonard Rowe’s explanation in his book. But what I do understand is that the contract was for a maximum of 31 concerts between July 26 and September 30 2009, and the first leg had to be a minimum of 18 shows. A greater number of shows could be agreed, but the initial contract was as above, UNLESS AEG could prove that more shows were needed in order to recoup the advances it paid to Michael.

Leonard Rowe says that normally, production costs are taken from the gross revenue before the balance is split between the artist and promoter.

So for example if the gross revenue was $1 million and the production costs $300,000, the remaining $700,000 would normally be split between the artist and promoter.

In the AEG contract the gross revenue was split 90/10 in Michael’s favour BUT Michael PAID ALL The PRODUCTION COSTS from his 90%. So, using the same figures as above, Michael would get $900,000 minus the $300,000 production costs leaving him $600,000 and AEG would get the other $100,000. This looks OK at first glance, but then Michael also had to pay back other advances as well. So if the productions costs plus advances spiralled upwards, Michael could end up with $0 or even worse, owing AEG money, and AEG would STILL GET their $100,000.

It appears that the AEG contract did not put AEG in any financial risk. All the financial risk seems to be shouldered by Michael, the artist, without whom there would be no revenue in the first place.

Let’s look at the figures, to see if Michael was going to make any money from the concerts:

COSTS for 1 year

Rent of 100 Carolwood Drive for 1 year estimated at $1.2million

Rent of Foxbury Manor in Kent for 1 year – estimated at $1million

Production costs up to $7,500,000

Cancellation insurance premium for 1 year – estimated at $1.3m

Salary for Tohme Tohme at $100,000 per month - $1.2m

Salary for Conrad Murray at $150,000 per month - $1.8m

Producers Fee (5% of Artists Net Tour Income) – estimated at $3,825,000

COST TOTAL approximately $23 million in 1 year

MICHAEL’S INCOME for 50 shows

90% of the revenue for each 5 shows he completes (out of which the costs above are paid) – estimated at $85,000,000

MICHAEL’S INCOME (estimating $113 for each ticket sold) approximately $76.5m in 1 year.

Therefore, subtracting costs,

MICHAEL’S NET INCOME would be an estimated $53.5m in 1 year.

AEG would be making $8.5m.

This is a conservative estimate, but I think it shows that the AEG contract was going to make Michael a very large amount of money. The production costs would be unlikely to ever rise to $53m. Remember, this is just for the 50 shows.

If he had gone on to do a World Tour, the profits would have been even greater:

MICHAEL’S INCOME for 3 year World Tour

90% of the revenue for each 5 shows he completes (out of which the costs above are paid) – estimated at $255,000,000

MICHAEL’S  INCOME approximately $229.5m in 3 years

Therefore, subtracting costs as above for 3 years,

MICHAEL’S NET INCOME would be an estimated $180m in 3 years.

These figures do not include profits from concert merchandise, which were estimated to be $150m. If the 90/10 split also applied to merchandise, that is another $135m for Michael,

MICHAEL’S GRAND TOTAL $315m

“You Oughta be in Pictures”

Copyright PrincessGlam December 2010

Michael’s “Invincible” album was released in October 2001, and after that Michael did not release another album of new work for the 8 years to June 2009. To a non-Michael fan it would have appeared that Michael’s career was all washed-up, that he was not producing any new work, and that he was no longer ‘relevant’ in today’s music scene. So what was the reason for this seemingly barren period? A couple of fans have floated the idea that Sony had some tricky clauses in the contract that Michael signed in 1991, which was for 15 years, meaning that he could not leave Sony in 2006.

But there was another reason; after “Invincible”, he had wanted to leave the music world behind, and concentrate on a film career.

 So what was Michael doing to realise this ambition? Well, he had been looking at some exciting non-music ventures for a number of years.

Kingdom Entertainment was launched on March 18 1996 by Michael Jackson and HRH Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal (pictured above). Its plan was to develop a total integrated global entertainment complex, and here is part of Michael’s speech from the launch:

“My earliest inspiration to be actively involved in all facets of the global multi-media explosion was derived from decades of travelling throughout the world. During these continuous concert tours, I was made privy to the heartbeats of millions of fans, who willingly shared with me their hopes, loves, fears and most importantly, their desire for a better life. It was during this time that I first began to appreciate that the proper approach to global family entertainment could go a long way in addressing these concerns.” See a full transcript here.

The plans included :

·         Peter Pan’s Neverland park,

·         hotels,

·         feature films,

·         animation,

·         recordings,

·         educational entertainment,

·         character licensing and merchandising.  

Plan dated 24 May 1999. See more about the park here.

Michael also set up a new record label with Sony, MJJ, which was to release CDs by new singers and groups. The Alwaleed-Jackson company acquired 50% ownership of Landmark Entertainment Group, famous for such design projects as the Forum shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and the Terminator II 3-D ride at Universal Studio's park in Orlando, Florida. The Prince already owned 24% of Disneyland Paris, and he awarded 5% of Landmark Entertainment Group to Michael Jackson. Source

Michael released his 1997 “Ghosts” music video CD under Kingdom Entertainment, with Optimum Productions, Michael’s video company. (This company also produced the 2010 “Hold My Hand” video). Optimum Productions Inc is a private company categorized under Music Production Consultants and located in West Hollywood, CA. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of 950,000 and employs a staff of approximately 13.

Unfortunately, there is scant information on the internet about the fate of this venture, but the rumor is that the partnership was dissolved after a few years, and Michael sold his 5% share of Landmark Entertainment Group in the late 90’s.

Majestic Kingdom was announced on 19 July 1998 at a press conference in New York. It was a joint venture with Michael and Detroit millionaire Don Barden.

Michael at the Majestic Kingdom press conference.

The $1 billion plan included :

·         an 800 room hotel and casino
·         botanical gardens
·         restaurants,
·         nightclubs
·         a Michael Jackson Thriller Theme Park with a roller coaster with bubble-enclosed cars for wintertime rides Source

 All this was to be built on the west riverfront in Detroit. Unfortunately, Barden and Michael were denied a casino license by Detroit City Council.  Barden then organized a referendum drive to overturn the council's decision, but that failed.  On August 4, 1998, Detroiters voted against the proposal. Source

09 June 1999

In 1999 it was reported that Michael was to star in an upcoming film called "The Nightmare Of Edgar Allan Poe." The film was scheduled to start shooting in Montreal in the Fall of 2000. The film's producer, Gary Pudney, told the "Post" that "Michael has always been fascinated by the writings of Poe and by his bizarre death at age 40." He also says that Michael's next album may be his last, as the singer "quite rightly" feels that he's done all that there is to be done music, and that after the album is out, Michael plans to devote his time to the movie business. Source
"Michael says by the time he’s done preparing for this, the audience isn’t even going to know it’s him, with the major makeup,” co-executive producer Gary Pudney told USA Today’s Jeannie Williams in 2000. “The new Michael is Michael Jackson, the movie actor. That is what he wants to devote his energies to.” Michael pronounced the script as “very scary”, and although the movie was not a musical, he planned to sing a song with lyrics based on Poe’s poetry over the closing credits. Producer Pudney said Michael had talked to Steven Spielberg about the project, who was enthusiastic and suggested several potential directors, including Tim Burton. Pudney also boasted that the movie, in which characters from Poe’s work came back to haunt the author during the last week of his life, would give Michael a “great death scene.” Source

Gary Pudney spoke to “The Columbus Dispatch” in 2000: “Michael Jackson will move to Montreal with his two children in early 2001 to prepare for the shooting of his long-planned movie.” Production was to begin in March and Michael would be acting in the leading role and also was to be executive producer, with Gary Pudney and Jim Green. Gary Pudney told columnist Marilyn Beck: “Michael’s not going to look exactly like Poe, but you won’t be able to tell the difference between them 10 minutes into the picture, it’s going to be absolutely spectacular, full of gruesome goodies – and concluding with all the ghosts Poe wrote about coming back to haunt him at the end of his life. We’ll also be hiring six to eight other incredible actors to help bring Michael up to snuff, he’ll have an acting coach prior to production and during shooting.” Michael is currently writing the theme song, which he will sing. Gary Pudney: “He wants to concentrate on films, we’re already planning on more Poe films, and there are one or two other pictures we are also talking about doing. Michael is wired into the hierarchy of Hollywood – people like Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he wants to work – and vice versa.” Source
In August 2002, it was reported that Michael and Gary Pudney were looking for a producer for the film, and that Michael was taking acting lessons from Marlon Brando, but the film never materialised.

Neverland Entertainment Company was formed by Michael Jackson and Indian producer Raju Sharad Patel on 23 February 2002. Neverland Entertainment also signed an agreement with Mark Damon's MDP Worldwide Entertainment Inc to enter into an investment and partnership for all of MDP's film production.

The agreement provided for a capital infusion of approximately $ 15 to 20 million in MDP by Neverland, which made them a major shareholder in MDP, which has
traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. With the investment by Neverland, that plan was for MDP to operate a new division called Neverland Pictures which was to be the production arm of MDP, which had distributed films like Never Say Never Again, Das Boot, 9 1/2 Weeks, Short Circuit, Prizzi's Honor and the recent The Musketeer.

Michael was quoted as saying "Both Raju and I love the way classic stories can be reinvented for the screen. My favourite movies such as Raju's Jungle Book and Pinnocchio were re-imagined as major features and produced outside the traditional studio system. Films have always been a passion for me as a fan and as an artiste and there is nothing in the world like the magic captured forever in a time capsule like motion picture images."

At the launch Michael said “I dream great dreams," Michael Jackson said. "Everything I've achieved started with a dream, and of all the dreams, this is the one I am most passionate about. The painter paints, the sculptor sculpts, but they just capture a glimpse of life -- of the subject. And film, this medium, you live with the protagonist, you suffer with the protagonist, you laugh with the protagonist, you despair with the protagonist. It's the most artistic, influential medium of all. I am very proud of what we're doing, and I promise you wonderful and fantastical things to come."

After his onstage appearance, the notoriously shy King of Pop elaborated in an interview about his plans for Neverland Pictures. He said he will be involved in all aspects of the company, such as reading scripts, plucking talent and directing.

"I have a lot to express in film," Michael Jackson said, revealing that his favorite movie is "To Kill a Mockingbird." "I'll be doing the whole thing, behind and in front (of the camera). I love it." Source

The first films under the Neverland banner were to be “The United States of Leland” helmed by Mathew Ryan Hoge, “The Extremists” directed by Christian Duguay and “Fearcom” directed by William Malone."We are also making another film with Arnold Schwarznegger," said Patel. Source

In May 2002 Michael announced at the Cannes film festival that he will produce a £20m movie - titled Wolfed - as well as being the star. “In the first movie being made under his Neverland Pictures banner, Michael Jackson will play a werewolf in a project he will also produce called Wolfed. Rick Baker, Oscar-winning makeup expert who created the werewolf effects for An American Werewolf In London and Thriller, is already on board. Neverland's financing and sales partner Mark Damon and his MDP Worldwide is introducing the $30m project to buyers in Cannes.
The film will be a Gothic thriller faithfully adapted from the little-known Alexandre Dumas novel The Wolf Leader. It tells the story of Thibault, the son of a shoemaker in 17th Century France, who is nearly beaten to death by a group of aristocrats and is saved only by making a pact with the devil which appears as a large black wolf. The devil offers Thibault the power to harm or kill anyone he wishes, but the more evil acts he commits, the more he starts turning into a wolf and becoming one of a pack of killer wolves .No director is yet attached to Wolfed, although a screenwriter is currently in negotiations to begin work on the adaptation. Jackson's partner in Neverland Raju Patel is co-producing with Jackson, who, said Damon, will supervise all script development and casting decisions. Sammy Lee, Damon, Lawrence Mortorff and Ron Moler are executive producers. Source

 

“The United States of Leland” was made in 2003, but I have not been able to confirm if Neverland Pictures was the production company.

In October 2003 MDP Worldwide Entertainment Inc changed its name to Media 8 Entertainment, and interestingly, in the 2004 annual report, Brett Ratner (a friend of Michael’s) was listed as a production affiliate.

Sadly, in 2005 Raju Sharad Patel died of bowel cancer. At the time he was working with Michael on a film called “Hanuman”, and in 2007 Raju’s brother Uru vowed to complete the film for his late brother. But again I have been unable to determine if Neverland Pictures was still an active company after 2005.

In May 2002 it was reported that Michael was teaming up with writer-director Bryan Michael Stoller on a big-screen adaptation of a book called They Cage the Animals at Night by Jennings Michael Burch. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the book is the true story of the author's account of being left at an orphanage and moving around from one foster home to another. Michael and Stoller met in 1997 when Stoller introduced him to child actor Brandon Adams, who went on to appear in Michael's Moonwalker. Their friendship rekindled when Michael invited Stoller to screen his 1999 film "Undercover Angel," which starred Yasmine Bleeth and Dean Winters, at Neverland Ranch.The British newspaper The Guardian reported in 2009 about the progress of Cage the Animals at Night: “the movie had been canned because of Michael’s trial, but Michael and Bryan Stoller met up later, watching dozens of films at the Neverland cinema including Jackson's favourite, To Kill a Mockingbird. Stoller said they discussed filming a remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
Billboard carried an article in 2009 that said “Stoller optioned the book for $1 -- initially without telling Burch about Michael’s involvement. When he did tell him, Stoller said the author was excited to work with the singer. Michael, meanwhile, was concerned that Burch, then 67 and suffering from cancer, might not survive to see the movie made. So Stoller suggested bringing Burch to Neverland in 2003, where Michael turned the tables and interviewed him for what was to be a TV special and for the eventual DVD. During their highly charged conversation he asked the author if he had ever considered suicide. Burch said he had, and Michael said he too had considered it during his darkest days. Stoller recorded their meeting, which added to a collection of videos he made with Michael over the years, and to hours of audio recordings from their meetings.
In 2003 the producer arranged a three-hour meeting in a Universal City hotel between Michael and Mel Gibson, who is a producer and partner in Icon Prods. "They got along great," Stoller said. "It was kind of funny. Mel was a little nervous. He was hugging a pillow the whole time, kind of playing with it. Michael was kind of shy."

Icon signed a deal to develop the project with a budget of $12 million-$20 million, according to Stoller, who was paid by Icon to write the screenplay. A spokesman for Icon said the company briefly was involved in developing it in 1995 but had lost interest by 1997. Stoller has a copy of his contract with Icon dated 2002.

"When Jackson called in 2007, he still had movies on his mind," Stoller said. "He had begun to purchase movie production equipment. He was always asking how things work, but I never saw him really work things. But he wanted all the toys. He bought a dolly and wanted me to show the kids how to use it because they were using it as a play toy, riding around on it."

Michael wasn't interested in making a blockbuster. "He wanted to do movies the Academy would like," Stoller recalled.Three months before his death, Stoller said he and Michael had "a pretty serious meeting" about reviving "They Cage the Animals" as an indie feature."Michael was going to put up $8 million and not have to deal with any studios or producers and then take it to the studios afterward," Stoller said. "He was very passionate about being a director. He was determined to make this movie."”
Below is a link to a clip of Michael with Michael Burch.
http://video.hollywoodreporter.com/services/player/bcpid769343686?bctid=30221875001

01 June 2003

MJ Universe is the title of a project that Dieter Weisner and Ronald Konitzer were working on for Michael in 2003. This project was in all intents and purposes a Michael Jackson comeback project, or at the very least a Michael Jackson rebranding project.

It was to be a huge entertainment platform, which would consist of many small companies, and these companies were set-up by Michael and his team. Here are some of the plans which have been reported online:

·         The Internet was to be used as a platform for the plan. A web design company called Blast Radius was secretly working on a brand new official Michael Jackson website, because his old one was owned by Sony (whom Michael was in dispute with at the time). Michael registered a new company on 4^th March 2003 called Neverland Productions LLC. Their website is www.neverlandentertainment.net

·         Neverland ranch was to be opened to the public as a resort for short breaks.

·         A Michael Jackson clothing line (subsequently there were rumours in 2007 of a collaboration with Roberto Cavalli, and in 2008 with Christian Audigier for clothing lines).

·         A theme park

·         The purchase of Cinegroupe, a Canadian animated features company from Montreal.

·         A book full of photographs, to be called “Michael Jackson – King Of Pop – The Legend”.

·         The occasional concert, at famous landmarks e.g. the pyramids at Giza, over two or three years.

In 2003 Michael had thought that the single “One More Chance” would be his last contractual obligation to Sony, and that afterwards he would be able to move forward into his new career. But after one day of filming the video  “One More Chance”, Neverland was raided by sheriffs from the Santa Barbara Police Department, and the plans for MJ Universe were eventually mothballed. Michael’s arrest and trial followed, and after his acquittal of all 14 charges Michael needed time and space to recuperate. Source

08 March 2009

It is likely, therefore, that Michael saw the 10 date This Is It concerts in 2009 as a way to get back on track with his entertainment plans. It would raise his profile as well as generate some cash flow. He went to great lengths at the O2 press conference to stress that these would be his final performances in London, his final curtain call, and although some have speculated this was just a ruse to whip up interest in ticket sales, I’m thinking that Michael really meant it. Maybe his management at the time had different ideas, but it’s pretty clear to me that Michael saw this as the beginning of the end of his performing career.

Here’s what Randy Phillips about the AEG deal in March 2009:

“I gave them the plan I had been working on - a four-year period of him playing live, releasing new music and a whole other bunch of commercial tie-ins including a new version of Thriller in 3D that would open on Halloween."
If we include the deals that Michael allegedly discussed with John Branca on 17^th June, the list we have so far for the 2009 plans are:

·         Maximum 31 concerts
·         Coffee table book ( realised as “Michael Jackson Opus”)
·         Merchandise (realised as the “Michael Jackson Official Store” managed by Bravado with designs approved by Michael)
·         Concert movie (realised as “This is it”)
·         Broadway musical
·         Major charity event involving First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey
·         3D Thriller
·         New music
·         Completion of the film “Ghosts”

So were any of Michael’s other ideas realised? Well in 2008 Michael entered into a joint venture with Colony Capital , to retain the deeds of Neverland. Tom Barrack of Colony Capital has since been holding private functions at Neverland (not opening it for short breaks as proposed in MJ Universe), and he has said that the plan for Neverland is that it will either be sold to an individual, or will be used for philanthropic purposes. Now I don’t know much about real estate, but I do know that anyone who purchases property as an investment wants to make as much profit from it as possible. Typically, they would build as many dwellings as permitted. But Tom Barrack was talking about philanthropic purposes, which sounds like something Michael’s would say, so this tells me that possibly Michael still had a say in what happened to Neverland, and possibly had clauses to this effect written into the joint venture.

Then I read about Meadowlands Xanadu, New Jersey. This isn’t a theme park exactly, but it will combine entertainment, shopping and attractions aimed at the friends and family market, at a cost of $2.3 billion. Could it be the realisation of another idea from MJ Universe and Kingdom Entertainment? The project started in 2003 (there is that date again) with concerts to be provided by AEG Live. (Hmm AEG again!). But the project has been hit by the worldwide financial crisis and the collapse in 2008 of Lehman Brothers, who were providing the financing. But guess who were leading the project since 2006; Colony Capital LLC (the company that is  joint owner of Neverland).  However, they are  longer leading the project, following the collapse of Lehman brothers, and have turned it over to their lenders as of August 2010. The five lenders include Credit Suisse Group AG, Capmark Financial Group, and an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC. Fortress is the company that refinanced Michael’s Neverland loan in 2005 and then sold it to Colony Capital. Come on now, I know Michael moved with the big business guns, but this is starting to look a little incestuous. Three companies that have had dealings with Michael in the last 5 years are working together on Meadowlands Xanadu!

In October 2010 it was announced that Michael’s musical “Sisterella” would be remounted, and start playing at a theatre in Los Angeles from 2011. Michael’s manager, Frank DiLeo, is producing the musical, and it is rumored that Michael’s nephew, TJ will take the lead male role, which was written for Michael. Shows rarely open on Broadway without doing the rounds of provincial first , so this could be another of Michael’s MJ Universe plans becoming reality.

With regards to the Michael Jackson clothing line, the last update was that Christian Audigier would start selling his range of 100 designs approved by Michael at L.A. boutique Kitson, pending authorisation from the Estate. A quick search of the Kitson online store tells me that this has not yet materialised, but I did find that they stock a ‘Babies Go Michael Jackson’ CD, which Michael would adore.

There have also been rumors on fan sites and forums that Michael was a major shareholder in the Palace of the Lost City, part of Sun City in South Africa. The source of the rumor seems to be a sentence in Frommer’s online guide to South Africa, which said “The theme (that of a "lost city" that has been rediscovered and restored) is sometimes carried to ridiculous extremes, but the craftsmanship is world-class; the fantasy landscape is quite overwhelming. With Michael Jackson a majority shareholder, things can only get weirder”. The page has now been removed entirely, but it was there as of 27 November 2010. I have not been able to substantiate this rumor with online research, but Michael definitely has visited Sun City – here is a photo dated 12 October 1997.

UPDATE 31 December 2010

In the British documentary ‘Michael Jackson’s Secret Hollywood’ Dieter Wiesner showed his plan for MJ Universe to the camera. The plan was in the form of a bubble diagram, and some of the writing was too small to be legible, so I have used a question mark in those instances, and I have converted the plan to text for ease of including on the blog:

MJ Center located at Neverland II                →Philanthropy

→Mentor Program

→MJ Museum

MJ Content Galaxy                                            →Film Projects

                                                                               →Misc Content                →Peter Pan

                                                                                                                           →Biography

                                                                               →Game Projects

                                                                               →Music Projects              →?

                                                                                                                           →Production

MJ Marketing Galaxy                                     →Licensing/Franchising   →?

                                                                                                                            →?

                                                                              →Publishing                        →Biography

                                                                              →Films?

                                                                              →’Mega Star Marketing’

                                                                              →’Short Films’                     →?

                                                                              →Internet

                                                                              →Merchandising

                                                                              →Strategic Partnerships     →?

                                                                                                                                →?

                                                                                →Public Relations/CI         →?

                                                                                                                                →?

MJ Developments                                              →Culver

                                                                                →Schools for America

                                                                                →’Family Cities’

                                                                                →Neverland II                  →Museum

                                                                                                                               →Theme Park

                                                                                                                               →?

MJ Strategic Investment                                  →MJM

                                                                                →Apple

                                                                                →New Technologies

                                                                                →Other

MJ New Technology Galaxy                            →ECG Streaming Videos

                                                                                →MDC

                                                                                →New Virtual Technologies          →3D

                                                                                                                                              →Hologram

                                                                                                                                              →?

Of these, the elements which caught my eye were firstly, that there was to be a Neverland II, and this was back in 2003 BEFORE the trial and before Michael left Neverland I. He wanted a museum at Neverland II and he wanted a mentor program there. When the contents of Neverland were rescued from the Juliens auction in April 2009, it was reported that they would be going into a museum. Subsequently, some of the items have formed part of an exhibition which started in London in 2009, and moved to Tokyo in 2010. So the museum element has become reality. Then just a few weeks ago, we heard a rumor that Neverland I was going to be turned into a music school to mentor teenagers. Could this be the mentor program being realised?

Next, I noticed that Michael was planning to move into new technologies, including 3D and holograms. Michael’s This Is It concerts were to have 3D elements, and holograms of Michael have been touted for tribute concerts, since 25 June 2009. There were to be game projects, and we already have ‘The Michael Jackson Experience’ on Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP in shops.

Then I noticed the word ‘Culver’. In the documentary, Dieter hid this word with his hand (was that deliberate on his part?), but Michael clearly was looking at developments involving Culver. I am assuming this is Culver Studios, and we know that the Dome Project was filmed as Culver Studios from 1 to 11 June 2009. This is where the 3D footage to be included in the TII concerts was shot. But what else did he want to do at Culver, and was there anything else filmed there we have yet to see?