Michael Jackson's Iconic 'Thriller' Album to Be Subject of Official Documentary
The new film is currently in production.

To commemorate the 40-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's revolutionary Thriller album, the Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music Entertainment are celebrating the artistic vision that anchored the biggest selling album of all time with a new official documentary.

Directed by acclaimed journalist, music historian, and filmmaker Nelson George, the film which is currently in production takes fans back in time to the making of the record-breaking album and release of revolutionary short films that redefined the music video format and captivated audiences globally.

"Billie Jean" remains the most streamed Michael Jackson song and "Thriller" is the only music video that has been inducted onto the elite National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

Featuring never-before-seen footage and candid interviews, the as yet untitled documentary chronicles the point in Jackson's career that launched the singer into mega-stardom and created a pop culture phenomenon that is woven through the culture and continues to influence the worlds of music, television, dance, fashion and more to this day.

"The release of Thriller redefined Michael Jackson, taking him from teen star to adult superstar, who composed memorable songs, sang beautifully and reached the highest level of on-stage performance," said Nelson George. "The album, and the short films they inspired, created a new template for marrying music and image. It's been a privilege to explore this extraordinary album and revisit its magic."

The music on Thriller is so dynamic and singular that it defied any definition of rock, pop or soul that had gone before. "Beat It" was a new kind of pop-rock hybrid and demolished the longstanding segregation between black and white music with Eddie Van Halen's incendiary guitar. On "The Girl Is Mine," a black man and a white man bantered about the same girl. When a fledgling MTV, which was programming white rock artists almost exclusively, refused to play the video for "Billie Jean" Epic persisted. Once the wall came crashing down, MTV's ratings soared and a door was opened for a generation of African American artists. "He was MTV's Jackie Robinson," said cultural critic Touré

Thriller was the second studio album by Jackson as a solo artist on Epic Records. It went on to capture a record 12 Grammy® nominations and a record-setting eight wins, including Album of the Year. And Michael captured a record eight Grammy Awards that same night, including for "E.T. The Storybook" album. Since its debut, Thriller has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, and was the first album to be certified triple diamond by the RIAA.

The latest Optimum Productions and Sony Music Entertainment documentary, produced by Company Name, joins "Bad 25" and "Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall" as the third documentary film with a focus on a Jackson album. Additional productions celebrating Jackson's unparalleled impact include the 2009 film, This Is It, Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas and MJ The Musical on Broadway.

"Michael opened and explored emotional depths and pushed the boundaries of sonic innovation on Thriller. In the process, he breached destructive barriers in the music industry and literally united the world through his music: there isn't a place on this planet that hasn't been exhilarated by the music of Michael Jackson", stated John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Michael Jackson Estate. "This documentary's exploration of Michael's process and impact is revelatory."

"Michael Jackson's Thriller marked a momentous and pivotal moment in both music and pop culture around the world," said Tom Mackay, President, Premium Content, Sony Music Entertainment. "We're excited to expand the estate's documentary collection with our upcoming film and look forward to sharing it with fans around the world."

Sony Music Entertainment is distributing the film. Colin Hanks and Sean Stuart from Company Name serve as producers. John Branca and John McClain serve as Executive Producers.

Following Michael's death, the Estate of Michael Jackson continues to produce artistically exceptional and enormously successful ventures. Upon release, Michael Jackson's This is It (2009) became the highest grossing music documentary of all time.

There have been two acclaimed documentaries with Spike Lee directing - Bad25 in 2012 followed in 2016 by MICHAEL JACKSON's Journey From Motown To Off The Wall which had its broadcast premiere on SHOWTIME® and became the channel's highest rated music documentary of all time. In 2017, Thriller 3D premiered at the Venice Film Festival and in 2018 was shown in an exclusive IMAX® limited engagement.

The Estate of Michael Jackson has also co-produced live stage events including two shows in partnership with Cirque du Soleil, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour, which remains among the top ten touring shows of all time and Michael Jackson ONE which is a permanent show at Mandalay Bay & Resort in Las Vegas that continues to thrill audiences since its opening in 2013.

The latest endeavor by the Estate is the hit Broadway show, MJ the Musical, produced in partnership with Lia Vollack Productions, which opened on February 1, 2022, and is the winner of four Tony Awards.

Quelle: broadwayworld

“Thriller 40 Documentary” by the end of the year, says Nelson George



During the promotion of “Thriller 40” last year, John Branca confirmed on his TikTok that the “Thriller 40” documentary made by Nelson George will be released by January 2023 on a major platform.

Some lucky fans even saw a production version of the film during the promotion activations the estate put in place throughout the world for “Thriller 40”.

Earlier this week, a communication to a fan from the MJ Online Team leaked on social media:

“We understand you all are excited to see the Thriller 40 documentary. While it was shown as a one-time-only “in production” preview in select cities around the globe on the anniversary of the album release, I would remind you that there has not been an official release date given or distribution partner announced. So, to claim the Estate does not want to or is not able to release Thriller 40 is a flat-out false accusation. I can assure that we have been told there will be a release, but the date is not yet being announced. When it is time, an official announcement will be shared with fans and the media, and of course also posted to Michael’s social media channels.”

But despite the snarky statement from the MJOnline, few days ago, Nelson George was on an YouTube channel “Karen Hunter Show” where he talked about his book about Michael and his documentary: “The Estate had me to do a 40th Anniversary documentary on the making of Thriller. That would be out towards the end of the year.”

You can check the video here (at 15:08):

John Branca confirmed the Thriller40 Documentary will be released this year.



Via his TikTok account, John Branca confirmed that the Thriller 40 Documentary will be released this year.

This is following Nelson George´s comment few weeks ago. However, Branca told the fans that the documentary was delayed due to some “Technical reasons”. Those reasons were not specified.

He also confirmed that no new music will be released any time soon as the Estate is concentrating their efforts towards the MJ Musical in Broadway, on Tour in the US and in the West End in London, UK as well as the Biopic coming next year.

TIK TOK John Branca Video

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Documentary To Be Released On Halloween.

Finally. After months of waiting, the documentary about the album 'Thriller' will be released during Halloween, said Taj Jackson, nephew of the 'King of Pop', in a recent interview with the cast of 'MJ The Musical'.

Directed by music historian and filmmaker Nelson George, the making-of documentary will chronicle the meteoric success of the 'King of Pop's sixth album and promises images unseen during the 'Thriller Era' (1982-84).

Tentatively titled 'Thriller 40', it joins 'Bad 25' and 'Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall' as the third documentary to focus on a Jackson album. Other productions celebrating Jackson's unparalleled impact include the 2009 film 'This Is It', Cirque du Soleil's 'Michael Jackson ONE' in Las Vegas and 'MJ The Musical' on Broadway."

Quelle: Billie Jean

Wichtige Fernsehtermine:

Die deutsche Free-TV-Premiere der Musikdokumentation "Thriller 40" ist auf MTV am 2. Dezember 2023 um 20.15 Uhr. Die Musikdokumentation endet um 22.00 Uhr. Weitere Sendetermine bei MTV sind:

So, 03.12.2023 08:15 h
Mo, 04.12.2023 17:15 h
Fr, 08.12.2023 20:15 h

Quelle: Michael Jackson - Parties & Events (Germany/Europe)/Facebook

Das ist prima, wir sind vom 1. - 3.12. nicht da, aber dann können wir das gemütlich am 4. oder 5.12. anschauen!

Japan will get “Thriller 40” documentary on WOWOW



To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of this iconic album, “Thriller 40,” will be broadcast and distributed exclusively in Japan for the first time on WOWOW.

The documentary will be aired on WOWOW Prime on December 9 at 9pm and will be also available on WOWOW On Demand.

Just before the premiere of “Thriller 40”, the channel will also air “This Is It” at 7pm on the same day.

Source: WOWOW Prime

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Germany to premiere “Thriller 40” documentary



MTV Germany just announced that they will be premiering the “Thriller 40” documentary on Saturday 2 December at 8:15pm.

After Showtime and Paramount+ in the US and WOWOW in Japan, Germany is the 3rd country to announce the release of the documentary.

Hopefully more countries will announce the documentary soon and we will keep you updated.

However, fans have been taking on social media to give their disapproval of some people involved in the documentary such as Nelson George, John Landis or Brooke Shields who some have been criticizing Michael recently or in the past.

Other fans have been questioning why others have been involved such as Myles Frost, Usher, Will.I.Am or Maxwell as they were not involved in the making of “Thriller”.

Having seen the draft documentary in London, the latest people are talking about the legacy of “Thriller” and the impact it had/has on the music industry. While some have been well-known to love and being inspired by Michael, some are clearly there to push the Estate’s projects in the general public’s throat (aka Myles Frost).



It is unknown why the Estate is still employing people who have openly and publicly disgraced Michael such as Lynn Nottage for MJ The Musical or Nelson George for this documentary. What we know is that Michael would have never put them on the payroll and the clear example is Eminen. The pair’s beef all started with Eminem’s 2004 single ‘Just Lose It’, which generated a lot of controversy at the time due to its apparent parodying of Michael. After Michael tried and failed to stop the video, he was so upset Eminem dissed him he bought rights to rapper’s music.

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Michael Jackson fans mobilising to watch “Thriller 40” documentary



Fans around the world have been mobilising to make sure everyone is watching the upcoming “Thriller 40” Documentary which will be aired in most countries on December 2, 2023.

From pushing to watch it live on the different networks such as Showtime, Sky or MTV around the world, to watch it on streaming platform like Paramount+, fans’ goal here is to make sure the documentary has high number of views and get picked up by general public and media.



Last year, few fans were able to watch an unfinished version of the documentary and you can read our review HERE.

We also do not know if this documentary will then be available on DVD/Blu-ray after, like the Spike Lee’s “BAD25” and “Off The Wall” documentaries.

Check the trailer of “Thriller 40” here:

Am Samstag steht die Thriller Premiere ab 20.15 Uhr bei MTV an! Danach sendet der Musiksender die ganze Nacht weiteres von Michael Jackson.

Falls du MTV nicht via TV empfängst, hier der Live-Stream:

MTV

Quelle: jackson.ch

Kann ich mir doch am Samstag anschauen, weil wir jetzt doch nicht wegfahren

Ich habe es mir natürlich angeschaut, es war wirklich sehr interessant und informativ, viele Aufnahmen von Michael im Studio, pur und ungeschminkt, interessante Hintergrundinfos, die Musiker haben erzählt, wie Michael und sie zusammengearbeitet haben, die Kostümbilder und Maskenbildner haben gesprochen! Es hat mir sehr gefallen, hat sich wirklich gelohnt, es anzuschauen!

Michael Jackson fans review “Thriller 40” Documentary



MJVibe pre-viewed a rough version of the Thriller 40 Documentary last year and as the documentary did not change much, we stand by the review we wrote a year ago.

Many fans and fan groups have now seen the documentary and the reviews are flooding internet. So why not giving you their opinions on the Estate’s “Thriller 40”!

So here a selection of reviews done by fans you might know like Hector Barjot, MJ Fan Girl, Salut Les Fans!, Richard Lecocq, Greg Popculture, Moonwalking Kingdom and many more: