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THIS IS IT: What You Didn't See

this-is-it-jackson-movieThis Is It Movie

Three Close Associates Reveal More About Michael Jackson

Audiences got a straight-forward account of Michael Jackson during his last days of rehearsals for his upcoming O2 London concert in THIS IS IT. The Michael Jackson documentary proved a hit at the box office and with critics and audiences.

Hours of footage and emotional moments were left out of the film because of time constraints but more importantly in a conscious effort to present Michael Jackson as the ultimate performer and not as a tragic figure. CineMovie sat down with the people behind the scenes who give us insight into what we didn't see in THIS IS IT.

VIDEO: Users review This Is It and movie clip

At no point in the film is the death of Michael Jackson's death mentioned and any emotional moments after the news of his death were left on the cutting room floor. Kenny Ortega, director of THIS IS IT and the High School Musical franchise explains he made sure "nothing was fabricated and stayed away from creating emotion." While there is footage of the crew's tearful reaction to his death, Ortega left out the footage to avoid the claims the film was an attempt to cash in on his death or manipulate the audience.

Ortega reveals the day of Michael Jackson's death was the day Michael was most looking forward to. "We were blocking for Dirty Diana. It was going to be one of his favorite days."

Ortega promises the emotional clips from the dancers and crew when the news of Jackson's death broke will be included in the DVD along with 3 to 4 hours of extra footage.

In addition to keeping it real, Ortega did not add or lay over any of Jackson's music to the film. "The music in the film was actually being played by the band and not a recording. We kept that for the film." He does admit to bringing up the volume up in some clips since they were not always wearing a microphone when the cameras were rolling.

Michael Jackson rehearses for THIS IS IT concert

Michael Bearden, the musical director of THIS IS IT and previous Jackson concerts, said the singer would have wanted it that way. According to Bearden, Jackson insisted on playing live in the rehearsals and the concert with a full band. However, Bearden insisted the singer play to vocal tracks, "Imagine dancing and singing at the same time. It would be too much. But he resisted." Bearden says Jackson wanted to give his fans the full performance. Bearden kept insisting that everyone uses backup vocal tracks and he specifically told Jackson, "Well, MJ. Everyone knows you can sing." Eventually Bearden lost the argument.
In THIS IS IT, the audiences briefly see Bearden and Jackson disagreeing but behind the scenes, Bearden said their "creative jousting" was part of their relationship as collaborators and Jackson was far from being a dictator-like boss.

"He was not a perfectionist in a dictatorial way. He was collaborative. Mchael had a mystique so thought he was not approachable but he was kind. Everyday, he would say God bless you and I love you. Now how many bosses tell you they love you?"

Bearden does admit that sometimes he felt frustrated with rehearsals because he needed more time with Jackson but Jackson spent a lot of time with Kenny Ortega or the choreographer Travis Payne or both. Specifically, Bearden needed Jackson to determine a set list for the shows. A month before the London concerts, no set list had been established but was "in the process of chiseling." The set list was an "angst-ridden" area for Bearden but mostly for Jackson who loved his songs equally.

"If MJ did every hit he ever had he would be on stage for 24 hours or at least a week."

Choreographer of THIS IS IT Travis Payne, who got his start with Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation, once asked Jackson which song was his favorite and he couldn't choose. " I can't choose -- they're like children. They're all my favorites. Some are older than others but you don't love them any less."

According to Payne, he would get calls from Jackson at 3am which wasn't unusual for the performer who got his ideas at night because they "were coming from a higher power. He was always crafting. Picking and choosing a song list in the this-is-it-director-dancer

middle of night after a performance and thinking about it."

Prince Michael, Michael's first-born, even got involved in the process by helping his father go online and having fans choose their favorite songs, according to Bearden. Bearden also assisted Michael in the process by blowing up a song list and posting it on his dressing room for him to cross out songs off the list but Michael couldn't bring himself to marking any of them off and left it up to Bearden.

"Michael wanted to do his message pieces of heal the world and we are the world. That was a big thing for him--to rescue the planet and heal. He wanted to keep those songs."

Other things we didn't see on film was Michael Jackson's signature move--the moonwalk. Payne explained the rehearsals were more for the crew and dancers. "Michael's iconic moves were innate. He didn't rehearse his moves because he was busy rehearsing and teaching others the moves."

The film THIS IS IT portrays Michael Jackson as the perfectionist and mentor but his long-time collaborators say he had a collaborative spirit and open to changes. Bearden claims Michael Jackson was the most approachable talent he had ever worked for and "wasn't afraid of change if you made it better." Travis Payne also added that Jackson didn't think he had to top himself but add to the experience.

"He wanted to add to his legacy. He wasn't trying to re-invent the wheel. He would always say if it's working we don't have to change it. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. If you can add to it and make it better -- great. But if you can't -- don't touch it. There were some things that were very sacred like Billy Jean and Thriller. You don't want to change those - just add to them."

Michael Jackson's This Is It movie poster

Michael Jackson's This Is It movie poster

Jackson involved himself in every aspect and was very "hands-on" as Bearden put it. Jackson even designed the concert ticket, he adds. However, in the spirit of collaboration, it was Kenny Ortega who gave Michael the idea to name the concert tour THIS IS IT from a early conversation with the singer. "When Michael first called me about the concert, he kept saying, "this is it, Kenny". Ortega adds that Jackson kept repeating "this is it" throughout the conversation so he suggested to him he name his tour by that name. Jackson agreed.

Since Michael Jackson's death on June 25, tv specials and news reports have painted the Thriller singer as a troubled restless soul who desperately wanted to be back on top of his profession and earn money but the film paints a different portrait. For Michael Jackson's three friends and THIS IS IT associates, Kenny Ortega, Michael Bearden, and Travis Payne are thrilled the public have embraced the film and put many of the negative aspects of his life to rest during the two hours of Michael Jackson's last performance. Travis Payne beautifully sums up the essence of Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT.

"For people to have a glimpse of his last great creative process is a blessing and will answer a lot of questions that people may have . And end a lot of speculation that surrounded this project and give people their hero back for a little while."

As expected, Sony Pictures has extended the release of THIS IS IT from it's original two-week only release. THIS IS IT continues in theaters for a longer run and expect the DVD to create another craze when it releases in a few months.

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