Earlier in the week came a Puck report that Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael” biopic had to have its entire third act reshot due to legal issues. More details have now surfaced and the production seems to have been as messy as a biopic on the King of Pop would entail.
For starters, The InSneider is hearing that the film was “an absolute dumpster fire” of a production that underwent multiple starts and stops in 2023. It finally started production in January 2024.
Early buzz is that Jaafar Jackson is “absolutely killer” as Michael Jackson in a performance that‘s prosthetic heavy, and feels eerily similar to the iconic singer’s look and persona. Jaafar is Michael’s nephew.
However, as was the case, with the various changes in MJ’s face over the ’80s and ‘90s, the project apparently went tens of millions over budget, and a big part of that had to do with a digital nose for Jackson that is expected to be added on during post-production.
Furthermore, and most hilarious of all, the overprotective Jackson family and their reps would often visit the set and “somewhat difficult to deal with during production,” which led to Fuqua spending time directing remotely, from his van, in hiding for the Jackson clan. This earned Fuqua the nickname “Vantoine” from multiple crew members on set.
Reps for Vantoine actually responded to Sneider’s emails and told him there’s nothing to see here, the filmmaker has always preferred to direct his movies in a van rather than on-set.
A recent cut of “Michael” clocked in at nearly four hours and “still felt incomplete,” which means those reshoots, set for March, might help, or as rumored, Lionsgate could pull the trigger in splitting the film into two parts in an effort to recoup the massive budget.