Antoine Fuqua to direct Michael Jackson biopic from Bohemian Rhapsody producer
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Antoine Fuqua is bringing Michael Jackson's story to the screen with a new biopic.
The Training Day and Emancipation director has signed on to helm Lionsgate's upcoming film Michael, about the life and music of the King of Pop. Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King is producing the project, with a screenplay by John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator).
Michael is expected to begin filming in 2023, but there's no word yet on who might be playing Jackson.
"The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am," said Fuqua, who's directed music videos for Prince, Lil Wayne, and Stevie Wonder. "For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work — the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV. His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible."
Richard E. Aaron/Redferns Michael Jackson
Jackson rose to fame as a young child, fronting the Jackson 5 before conquering pop culture and becoming the most iconic pop singer of all time. He was also a polarizing figure, facing multiple controversies and several allegations of child sexual abuse. (In 2005, he was tried and acquitted.) Those controversies rose to new prominence with the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck alleged that Jackson sexually molested them for years when they were boys. (The singer's estate has denounced the documentary and called those allegations "absolutely false.") Jackson died in 2009 at age 50.
It remains to be seen how Michael might address the musician's many struggles and controversies, but in a news release, Lionsgate said the film will "explore all aspects of Michael's life." King is producing the film in collaboration with the co-executors of the Michael Jackson estate, John Branca and John McClain, and according to Lionsgate, the film will "give audiences the never-before-told and in-depth portrayal of the complicated man who became the King of Pop."
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