After production on the video wrapped, Jackson was told by leaders of his church (Jackson was a practicing member of the Jehovah's Witness faith) that they thought "Thriller" encouraged demon worship, and if it were released, he'd be excommunicated. Here are 55 of the most iconic music . This weekend, HBO and HBO Max will premiere the first episode of "The Last of Us," a post-apocalyptic thriller based on the popular video game. But that night is also known as the night Kanye West got on stage and interrupted Taylor Swift's speech after she beat Beyonc in the best female video category. [8] According to Landis, the response was "a surprise to everyone but Michael". [11] One episode, "Screamer", concerns a rape victim who murders her attacker, only to then see the man stalking her everywhere. The music video director Brian Grant credited Thriller as the turning point when music videos became a "proper industry". What's likely the most popular second-generation "Thriller" video came from an unlikely place: a prison in the Philippines. "I recall everybody at college talking about it; about how it was like a mini-movie and how much it had cost. "She had such a great smile. ", "Thriller" hit MTV and other outlets in 1983, the same year that the risqu (for the time) Flashdance was a hit in movie theaters and made a star out of Jennifer Beals. Thriller, released in 1983, was initially given a late-night premiere on Channel 4 - a formula repeated by Jackson five years later with his Bad video. Miss Scarlet and The Duke, starring Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin, is a high-octane, smart and sassy mystery series filled set in 1882 . I don't know the answer to that, but I do worry about DCs being desensitised to horrible things. In 2009, according to Broadway World, theater production company the Nederlander Organization announced that it had obtained the rights to Jackson's magnum opus and would be making a big musical based specifically on the "Thriller" video. It's also one Jackson felt personally compelled to include. "Scream," written in response to media backlash Michael Jackson was facing, places the two siblings on a spacecraft. The students progressively begin to head bang to the music as a riot erupts and the kids destroy the instruments. In the present, Jackson and his girlfriend are watching the werecat film in a theater. It won a Grammy for best music video. I'm sure VCRs had timers even then. The video won for video of the year at the MTV VMAs. Thirty years ago this week on 21 November it was first shown to the public. Directed by Spike Jonze ("Her"), the "Buddy Holly" video places the band in Arnold's Drive-In from the show "Happy Days." For episodes that used a different title in the U.S., the U.S. title is shown in italics underneath the original British title. The Spice Girls video for "Wannabe" is entirely one-shot and shows the girls taking over the St. Pancras Grand Hotel in London. [2] As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits. At the time, music videos cost around one hundred thousand dollars to produce. It starts with a woman flipping through a comic book when the character reaches out to her and pulls her in. "When you're making music videos, it's like you're a tailor; you cut the suit to fit your model and the artist you're working with. In a 2009 interview with Billboard, Bey said she was surprised by the reaction. The pair are spies for an elite intelligence agency called Citadel - but eight years ago . [8] After originally being screened late at night in the U.S. under the ABC Wide World of Entertainment billing from 1973, some episodes were retitled for U.S. syndication in 1978, and all had additional opening sequences shot with new titles and credits but without the original cast and, for this reason, often only featuring menacing figures seen from the neck down. And so, that's what happened, although Jackson's character doesn't, per common knowledge, become a werewolf. Between the visuals and the overall story, West's artful vision is memorable. [7], Michael Jackson's album Thriller was released in November 1982 on Epic Records and spent months at the top of the Billboard 200. [10], In 1984, the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV) reviewed 200 MTV videos and classified more than half as too violent, including Thriller. [8] The production team agreed to protect the negatives and locked them in Branca's office. Thriller was an event even when it was being shot in October 1983. The "Love Shack" video was filmed at the home of ceramic artists Philip Maberry and Scott Walker and shows people grooving and having a fun party in this place in the middle of some woods. And then for some reason, she is naked on a cotton candy cloud for certain parts. So in the beginning of the video, Michael has a message stating that "Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film is no way endorses a belief in the occult". At one point, she climbs up the building to a room where Paul McCoy and the rest of the band are playing music. And Chris Milk the [interactive] stuff he's doing, like The Wilderness Downtown with Arcade Fire and The Johnny Cash Project could never have been done in the 90s. It's directed by John Strickland (Bodyguard, Line Of Duty) and follows the crew on the fictional Kinloch Bravo oil rig stationed off the Scottish coast on the dangerous waters of the North Sea.When the group of workers is due to return to the mainland, an eerie fog descends, and a mysterious force begins to take . There's even data to suggest that the existence of Making Michael Jackson's Thriller helped fuel the massive rise of VCR sales in late 1983. On Sunday, January 15, it will debut on HBO at 9 . According to The Guardian, Jackson made up a lot of the difference out of his own pocket. The cultural event that was the video for "Thriller" pushed sales of the single, too, and the song hit #4 on the pop chart. From Michael Jackson's zombie dance in "Thriller" to Miley Cyrus' naked wrecking ball ride, certain visuals stay with the viewer long after the video has ended. It references numerous horror films and sees Jackson dancing with a horde of zombies . Blink-182 does parodies of the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, NSYNC, and more as the camera flashes to different scenes. It was shown as a 'Tube' exclusive at midnight (ish) on Channel four. [2] It was produced by John Sichel (the first three series), John Cooper (series 4) and Ian Fordyce (the final two series) for Associated Television (ATV) at its Elstree studios north of London. [8], In June 1983, Thriller was displaced from the top of the Billboard 200 chart by the Flashdance soundtrack. The Best British Spy Shows to Watch on Netflix and Hulu - Vulture The visuals are striking, and at one point, Janet throws a middle finger to the camera. Fifteen years ago, it was deemed suitable only for late-night viewing, and even boycotted by a then fledgling MTV network in the US. as well as other partner offers and accept our, 300 people dressed as Bush in the red dress, the popular "Michael Jackson eating popcorn" GIF. The stories were often set in the London commuter belt. Injustice (TV Mini Series 2011) - IMDb [11], Landis's wife Deborah Nadoolman, who had recently worked on the film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), designed the costumes, including Jackson's red jacket. The flipside of all these interviews, sessions and phone footage is that it takes the heat off music videos, making the traditional performance video completely redundant. It was Landis's producer George Folsey Jr who came up with the idea of the making-of video, which could be sold to networks as bespoke content. The record was a major hit that sold millions of copies and spawned numerous hit singles, which, in turn, led to more album sales. The singer liked that idea and later told Jehovah's Witness publication Awakethat he "just intended to do a good, fun short film, not to purposely bring to the screen something to scare people or to do anything bad.". "The Thriller video became a worldwide megahit and an iconic pop culture phenomenon that has continued to generate profits for defendants Optimum Productions and Michael Jackson, who have wrongfully refused to pay or account for such profits to plaintiff," the suit read (via The Guardian). As Katy Perry makes her way through the board game world, she rescues some girls from candy-related prisons and then defeats Snoop Dogg and his gummy bear army with whipped cream. It was the first music video to be selected. [36], A Hollywood production company attempted to turn Jackson's song "Billie Jean", which is also featured on Jackson's Thriller album, into a feature film, but no plans were completed. The video one video of the year at the VMAs. PopCap agreed to remove the Thriller zombies and replace them with generic disco-dancing zombies. Two tears roll down her cheeks at the end. MTV, which, to that point, had never paid for content, contributed $250,000, and Showtime paid $300,000. [28] The National Film Preservation Board coordinator, Steve Legett, said the video had been considered for induction for years, but was chosen mainly due to Jackson's death that year. Crazy Credits "We came to the conclusion that if Michael was going to dance, it would be a hell of a lot easier for his monster to have two legs instead of four." Jackson called his assistant, John Branca, and ordered him to destroy the negatives. "We don't believe they were complete, and they were never timely," Ray's attorney, Jason Feldman, told the New York Daily News, which reported that the most substantial chunk of money the actress received came in 1998 15 years after "Thriller" was shot. Jackson, for his part, hadn't seen Landis's films Animal House, The Blues Brothers or Trading Places; he wanted Landis because of An American Werewolf in London. The changes applied starting with the Game of the Year edition and all future releases since. Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" is an incredible video. Before We Die | All 4 - Channel 4 Jackson's character takes his date (Ola Ray) to a horror movie and then makes her life into one when he transforms into a monstrous creature and leads a horde of other scary creatures both ghoulish and undead. And people have been copying it ever since.". MTV paid $250,000 and Showtime $300,000 for the rights to the documentary, Jackson would take care of upfront costs, and the video was able to go ahead, with the label coughing up $100,000. The video shows two stories: one in which a boy is killed in a drug deal after not listening to his mom to stop and another where a man contracts AIDS after having unprotected sex with a woman. "Out of all my videos, it was the least expensive and took the least amount of time. "Thriller" also helped steer toward importance and bring a new standard operating protocol to another kind of video home video. During all the chaos, lead singer Brendon Urie is the ringmaster. Spooks (a.k.a. The video features lead singer Amy Lee dreaming of falling from her apartment window. 23 of 25 found this interesting | Share this On June 27, 2011, the red jacket Jackson wore in this video sold for 1.8 million dollars at Julien's Auctions of Beverly Hills. As the song progresses, multiple Morissettes sing in the car and act as her passengers until the car runs out of gas and she has to walk. MC Hammer's video for "U Can't Touch This" is extremely simple. Thoroughly upset, Jackson ordered his lawyer, John Branca, to destroy the "Thriller" negatives. The Untold Truth Of Michael Jackson's Thriller Video - Grunge.com 7 Fastlove George Michael. [37], The video game Plants vs. Zombies by PopCap Games contained a reference to the Thriller music video in its original releases from May 2009 (a month before Jackson's death) until it was removed in July 2010. After all, if they're going to pay a few hundreds bucks for a ticket, patrons can at least have some idea of what they're getting into beforehand when they line up to see Mean Girls (based on a hit movie) or Mamma Mia! In 2006, the Guinness World Records listed it as the "most successful music video of all time. Jackson died a few weeks after the suit was filed, and according to TMZ, the singer's estate settled with Ray in 2013 to the tune of $75,000. | "Thriller was important because it was the first time anything this ambitious had ever been attempted," a spokesperson for VH1 said yesterday. From the first moment doves fly through a door and a camera zooms in on Prince in a bathtub, viewers know that the video is not going to be simple. They walk into the forest, and Jackson asks her to be his girlfriend; she accepts. The striking video is mostly black-and-white with some of the only color provided by red flowers on the float. Either in the VHS or Betamax format, the TV accessory allowed them to watch movies or other content at home via a cassette borrowed for the cost of a few bucks from a local video rental outlet. "It was really groundbreaking to have such a long video, and it helped to shape the future of music videos, which previously had been more performance-based," she says. Michael Jackson, at the time being a devout Jehovah's Witness, feared that the video would go against his fans' religious beliefs and feared backlash. It's full of genius symbolism and won Lamar a Grammy for best video. The girlfriend leaves, scared by the film. She gets a tattoo and a belly button piercing. The 15-year-old promo, directed by John Landis, is now regarded as a landmark release - the first to transform pop videos into mini-films. [33] It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival,[34] followed by a US premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. [15], Landis said directing Jackson was "like dealing with a gifted 10-year-old". With Patrick Gibson . Landis had helmed several big movies, including the horror-comedy An American Werewolf in London, whichJackson so enjoyed (per Vanity Fair) that he wanted the director to tell another werewolf story and helm his "Thriller" video. "Thriller" was a watershed moment in music video. 8 best thrillers on Prime Video to wreck your nerves Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in November 1982 and spent months at the top of the Billboard 200, backed by successful videos for the singles "Billie Jean" and "Beat It". When Michael Jackson's Thriller started to drop down the charts in 1983, according to Vanity Fair, Jackson grew unnerved and pressed executives on how to restore the LP to its #1 perch. Told from Eva's perspective, the film follows her earlier days as a mother and her ongoing . [12] The documentary, Making Michael Jackson's Thriller, was directed by Jerry Kramer. It was the first music video to be selected. The audience gave the film a standing ovation. The song was originally going to be called "Starlight". By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider In January 2009, nearly three decades after production on the video wrapped, Landis sued Jackson and his production company for having failed to fork over what was due over the years. In May 2009, Ray sued Jackson, along with his production company, for breach of contract. ", Jonze took the freedom he sensed in Thriller and also its eccentricity and humour and ran with it, creating some of the 90s' most famous music videos, including the Beastie Boys' Sabotage and Praise You by Fatboy Slim, which also get continually spoofed. ", $1.8m The amount Texan gold trader Milton Verrett paid for Jackson's red jacket from the video at auction in June 2011, 26ins The size of Jackson's waist at the time of filming, according to Landis's wife Deborah, who designed the red jacket, $1m Estimated sum in unpaid royalties for which Landis sued Jackson in 2009, 13,597 The number of people who performed the Thriller zombie dance together at an event organised by the Instituto de la Juventud del Gobierno del Distrito Federal at the Monumento a la Revolucin, Mexico City, on in August 2009, 156.4m The number of YouTube views of the official posting of the Thriller video, 9.5m Total home video and DVD sales of The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, The John Landis-directed mini-movie first shown publicly 30 years ago this week influenced a generation of directors including Spike Jonze, turned music promos into an industry, and established MTV as a cultural force, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Michael Jackson's impact on art explored in London show, John Landis on the making of Michael Jacksons Thriller: I was adamant he couldnt look too hideous, Quincy Jones sues Michael Jackson's estate, Who's bad? British crime mini-series - IMDb Certainly the largest example of the phenomenon:In 2009, 13,957 people in Mexico performed the "Thriller" dance all at once, setting a Guinness World Record. It is credited for transforming music videos into a serious art form, breaking down racial barriers in popular entertainment and popularizing the making-of documentary format. | "In adolescence, youngsters begin to grow hair in unexpected places and parts of their anatomy swell and grow," Landis wrote in Monsters in Movies. There's also a memorable scene of her covered in diamonds. Jackson urged the Epic executives Walter Yetnikoff and Larry Stessel to help conceive a plan to return the album to the top of the charts. Before my time, but I gather it was shown on Channel 4 late at night. Original cast member Al Molinaro made a cameo. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). The floors appears to move as the walls stand still, furniture seems to glide, and the titled camera makes viewers feel a bit sideways. The Thriller video sent album sales into orbit, with Jackson's label Epic reportedly shipping a million copies a week in its immediate aftermath. "Due to my strong personal convictions," the disclaimer credited to Michael Jackson reads, "I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult." And it ended up being the most iconic," she said. One of the lengthiest music videos made at the time, running for 14 minutes and 7 seconds. Before We Die. It doubled sales of Thriller, helping it become the best-selling album in history, and the documentary sold over a million copies, becoming the best-selling videotape at the time. However, after the new channel Showtime agreed to pay half the budget, MTV agreed to pay the rest, justifying the expenditure as financing for a motion picture and not a music video. | Title track "Thriller" was the seventh and final Thriller single, released to stores and radio in January 1984, well over a year after the album debuted. 1. According to Vanity Fair, Vestron Video helped offset the high production cost of "Thriller" by paying for the VHS and Betamax distribution rights for the Making Michael Jackson's Thriller documentary and then gave it a $29.95 retail price tag. Michael Jackson's Thriller was launched to great anticipation and played regularly on MTV. "I auditioned a lot of girls and this girl Ola Ray first of all, she was crazy for Michael," Landis said. [8] She dressed Jackson in "hip", casual clothes that would be comfortable to dance in, and red to contrast with the night setting and dark palette; she used the same color for Jackson's jeans to make him appear taller. [8] Jackson covered additional costs, for which he would be reimbursed. [8], In early August, after seeing his horror film An American Werewolf in London (1981), Jackson contacted the director John Landis. [30] "Thriller" has become closely associated with Halloween;[31][14] in 2016, US president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama danced to the song with schoolchildren at a White House Halloween event. Also, the group performs in water and in liquefied forms in front of a waterfall. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. She ran around with her friends bothering patrons and employees, trying on a bunch of clothes, and making a giant mess. All Rights Reserved. My DS1 does sound more like the OPs, and unlike some children, he is more likely to admit to feeling upset or In 2011, one of the two jackets worn by Jackson in the video sold at auction for $1.8 million. The simple black-and-white video features Beyonc in a leotard flanked on either side by a dancer in a similar outfit. Registered in England. Cher's video for "If I Could Turn Back Time" is relatively simple: she performs a concert on the battleship USS Missouri with a ton of US Navy members present. [8] According to Ray, the chemistry between them was real and they shared "intimate moments" during the shoot. 12 Psychological Thrillers on Amazon Prime - PureWow Before any of the "Thriller" fun monster transformations, choreographed zombie dances, creepy yellow eyes the video begins with a brief bit of text on screen. It took videos to another level, but in my world and in the world of artists I was dealing with, it's almost like it didn't relate.". He warns her that he is "not like other guys", transforms into a werecat and attacks her. The trailer for the new TV show, which launched at 3pm on March 1, introduces Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas' characters, Nadia Sinh and Mason Kane, across multiple high-octane action sequences.