SANTA MARIA, CA - JUNE 13: Michael Jackson prepares to enter the Santa Barbara County Superior ... [+]
The Michael Jackson biopic is well on its way to being made, as the team behind the highly-anticipated movie has been announcing new additions to the cast regularly for weeks now. The project has a release date, and at least one image from the star has been shared–but someone who knows the musician’s controversial past very well says that the script is still a huge problem.
Dan Reed, the man who directed the docuseries Leaving Neverland, which was about the sexual assault allegations aimed at Jackson by several men, had some choice words about the script for Michael. The director, who has reportedly read a draft of the movie, told Variety that he found it “startlingly disingenuous.”
“Jackson is only ever seen caring for children with childhood cancer, or dancing with a little girl in a wheelchair, or tucking up multiple little boys, mostly his nephews, at sleepovers,” Reed told Variety. He then took a shot at the lawyer most closely connected to the Jackson estate, John Branca, who has helped steer the ship since the artist’s passing. “It feels like the creators of the movie have been stuck in a room with John Branca and just told what to write.”
A report from Puck emerged recently that stated that Michael will deal with the assault allegations, but how exactly wasn’t clear. Now, according to Reed, at least, it seems that they’re only referenced in a way that hurts those who came forward to speak out against Jackson years ago.
Reed’s series focuses on two men who accused Jackson of wrongdoing, Wade Robson and James Safechuck. According to his read on a draft of the screenplay, they do have some part in the upcoming movie, but it doesn’t seem like it will be good for them. The Variety article states that in the director’s view, the biopic makes “a point to discredit Robson and Safechuck’s contention that Jackson was a pedophile.”
Michael is moving ahead, despite any controversy, with a talented cast and crew. The movie is being directed by Antoine Fuqua, the script was penned by John Logan, and it’s set to be produced by Graham King, a powerful team. Jackson’s nephew Jaafar is portraying the musician, and recent Oscar nominee Colman Domingo plays his father. Michael is expected to hit theaters in April 2025.
