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home movies on television?
Well I thought it was time to do so
because many people have opinions about me and they haven't even met me.
They don't even know me
So, I thought it was time to open up, to show them who I really am.
I'm just simply Michael Jackson.
This is the Michael Jackson the world knows,
the legendary superstar who's been at the forefront of the music industry for virtually his entire life.
One of the most electrifying performers the world has ever seen.
He's raised hundreds of millions of dollars for charity and sold more than two hundred million albums.
But who is Michael Jackson when he's not in the spotlight?
You'll find out in the next two hours as you are allowed
an unprecedented look into the personal life of one of the world's greatest entertainers.
You'll see Michael at home with his children and travelling with his most intimate friends.
You'll be allowed inside the gates of Neverland for a reunion with the Jackson family
and share personal, never before seen moments between Michael and some of the world's biggest celebrities:
Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jordan, Macaulay Culkin, Chris Tucker and Princess Diana.
All tonight on Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies: The King of Pop Up Close and Personal.
As far back as I can remember I've been in front of the camera,
not just the TV cameras, but I'm talking about my family taking home movies of me when I was really, really little.
We lived in Gary, Indiana.
My father worked in the steel mills and er, we lived on a street called Jackson Street.
Coincidentally, that was the name of the street.
Imagine, nine kids living in a two bedroom house and er, waiting in line to take baths
and that's a snowball fight, I think.
Wrestling in the snow. That's me on the far right.
I don't want nothing to do with it,
They were pretty rough and er, that's me, I'm freezing. Think that's Tito on the ground.
This the living room, where we had all the furniture and I remember, we would dance and perform.
We loved it! You can see the smile on my face. I loved it.
And um, my father was standing right in front of us, watching making, sure we did everything just right.
That little girl that my mother is holding is Janet, who is now Mrs Rhythm Nation
that's a party! We played a lot of parties. We're actually performing the music that they're dancing to.
That's the guitar. If you look at the back, you can see me spinning around right there.
And my mother made all of our costumes. We did parties, we
opened shopping centers. We did any kind of thing, you know.
We travelled, travelled, travelled, constantly, every night.
The record company usually like for you to support your album and go on tour and
I don't like to.
I do like relating to the fans, giving the fans a chance to see you face to face
as you go from Hong Kong to Africa to
China to Brazil, you know, to Singapore, Switzerland, London, Paris, Russia
and the stadiums are just jammed and the energy is great.
It's fantastic and we have, I mean I don't know how they enjoy the show because, the...the...
This it's festival seating. They don't want chairs. Even if there were chairs, they'd stand on them and just
So we have a tent on the side with
there's usually like five thousand faints every night and we have all these doctors and paramedics,
but it's a difficult thing to tour.
You go from one continent to another. You're sleepy, the time zones are different. You can't sleep after a show
the adrenaline is up here.
Director: Can we just do it again? Without the negative, saying you don't like to tour just
-I don't like it though. Director: -I know, but this just
-I go through hell.. Director:- Standing up though
I go through hell touring!
-Okay then I'll I'll make it positive then. Director: -Yeah, just a
Just you know the truth.
Director:-And action, Michael.
I love to tour. I just
You guys messed it up! Why you all start laughing? I was ready to get into it!
no, no. No, but seriously there is a good part of touring.
It's the fans.
I love my fans. You go to any city, anywhere in the world, they know all the songs, all the dance moves, everything.
They even come with the tapes on their fingers, the hats, the gloves and everything.
It's just a wonderful experience. I love it.
The fans are the reason why I do the tours and um,
it's very important to give the best show we can possibly give them.
-As far as cautiousness, being alert and musicianship, you guys were all wonderful.
-Thanks
-I wish I could say the same for wardrobe and technology but I can't.
They made a couple of mistakes yesterday. You were great Chris. It wasn't your fault okay.
All right. Thank you very much.
It's a spiritual thing also, cause when certain songs we play
like Heal the World, We are the World or Man in the Mirror, we could
the whole stadium is lit up with these er, stick lighters they use and they know when to do it.
They, you hit one chord and they know exactly what it is. Its, its very emotional.
I mean, its, its, its fun and I love to entertain. That's one of my favorite things.
I think the fans see that. Actually I, I know they see it because when I walk out on stage, they give me so much love
and that's everywhere I go, every time I walk on stage.
One of the best moments is right here. Right here.
It's right in the middle of the show and it's my birthday and I'm thousands of miles away from my family.
When they surprised me with the full marching band and then they brought out this huge, beautiful birthday cake
I realized that I've got family all over the world.
Everywhere I go, because my fans really show me the love and I love them just as much.
-This is wonderful. Thank you so much.
I've met a lot of people in my life and very few are real, real, real friends.
You could probably count them on one hand.
And Elizabeth is one of the most loyal, loving, caring people that I know.
She decided to transform Neverland into its first Christmas because I, I don't celebrate Christmas.
-It is 1993 and this will be Michael Jackson's very first Christmas.
It has taken me, I would think, about five years of talking him into celebrating Christmas at Neverland
because I understood that if you were raised a Jehovah's Witness, they don't celebrate Christmas.
When he quit being a Jehovah's Witness, I said to Michael,
"I think Christmas is a wonderful way of celebrating love.
It's a celebration of love. And I can't see Christmas without Michael and Michael without Christmas."
-Its pretty isn't it?
I had no idea she was planning this. This was, er, a real surprise. .
That's my bedroom that she's coming to now.
-Michael? It's the spirit of Christmas, come to haunt you!
-I'm not easy to awake up.
- by the sight of my little dog.
-She know I don't like that dog, because I'm afraid of dogs. They're little, but they bite.
-Morning, sweetie
Come on. Welcome to your first Christmas.
-Oh my God. Its incredible
I can't believe this
This is the first time! - I know
she decorated the entire house.
-That's yours!
-Santa came? -Santa from Bel Air!
-Santa from Bel Air!
-Can I open it? -Sure!
At the same time, it was exciting, I felt guilty too at the same time.
I remember going to the bathroom crying, later
because I felt I'd done something wrong, because I was raised not to ever celebrate it.
-Oooh! I love it! -Cameraman: Are you gonna put it on?
-Yes! I'm putting it on right now!
-Are you realizing you're photographing me without any makeup on?
-Love it! Supersoaker! Now I know how to wake up Elizabeth tomorrow! -How?
-Oh! God!
-You're gonna like it, don't worry! -You're gonna shoot me!
This is a supersoaker. I can feel it and tell!
-: I want a squirt gun! I want a squirt machine gun!
-She's snatching presents! May I have this one? It's for you, but can I have it?
-Yes. -Thank you.
-What it is? -It's a water gun
-How do you know it's a water gun?
-Cause I see it -That's not fair!
-This is a supersoaker!
-Thank you! You're too kind!
-Supersoaker! Yeah!
If you're wondering why I love supersoakers so much,
it's because if you come to Neverland, it's a rule that you are bound to get wet.
Either be thrown in the pool, or you have a water balloon fight or a supersoaker fight.
And I love all of the above.
That's Janet. We think so much alike.
-Janet: I love this! -Michael: You just missed
-Here come Macaulay Culkin.
-You ready?
-Janet: Come on Daddy. - Michael: Come on Daddy! Come on.
See, Mac takes big buckets of water and throw them on.
He cheats a lot. But he's fun He loves to have fun, just like me.
We're all to the field.
Supersoakers are, are really high tech. They got some great ones now.
-You! You win.
-That's Mac's older brother, Shane.
Okay, this is, we're preparing the water er, balloon fight.
-What's the name of our group this time?
-Mac: What do you feel we should be? -What were we last time? That was okay
-Okay. Go ahead.
-Okay. Visions of no
-Visions of doom!
We had teams. We used the whole ranch.
My favorite thing to play, if you call it a sport, it's a sport, is a water balloon fight
I love the way they splatter when they hit!
I've never lost a water balloon fight. I'm the Michael Jordan of water balloon fights.
-Visions of doom!
We won the fight again and again.
-Cameraman: But Janet, what's it like on the winning team? Shane: He's gonna get me!
-Janet: It's great!
-Is this the face of someone who'd do something like that? I'm of the innocent
Right?
I mean, I went through this entire water balloon fight
-Victory! -Victory!
completely dry.
But knowing Macaulay Culkin, he made sure.
He schemed on me. He told me to go up on the diving board and I went up there like a nut.
-I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna kill you Mac!
Mac I'm going to annihilate you!
With Thriller, my mission was to make a short film, a story. So it was like watching a mini movie.
-It's only a movie -It's not funny.
-You were scared weren't you?
-It wasn't just a video, just a lot of abstract you know, craziness that didn't make sense.
-I have something I wanna tell you. -Yes, Michael?
-I'm not like other guys. -Of course not. That's why I love you.
-No, I mean I'm different. -What are you talking about?
-This is rehearsal, what you're seeing, practicing my acting.
-I'm not like other guys. I mean I'm different.
-Cameraman: That's for sure -I'm a monster.
When the moon is full, I metamorphosise into an ugly demon
I'm a monster.
-Go Away!
-One other thing I have to get straight.
Um, people always tend to be rude to me. And I'm just not taking it no more
-Rob, how close are you? -I don't know. Pretty close.
-Like this? Like this? Or can you see chest?
-I can see right about where your Nike is.
-What a jerk! Back up! Awh ***! There. That's how you backup. Okay.
This is me experimenting with socks for Thriller.
Glow socks, light socks, bright silk socks.
I tried everything. I didn't wanna copy people.I wanted to be an innovator, a pioneer.
John: Okay, let's go! Action!
I just cracked that thing over John Landis' head. I love John Landis. He's great to work with.
-Great man. He always turns me upside down.
-John: Let me know when you need Jackson!
Cameraman: Cut!
Girls: Michael! Michael!
Oh this is on the way to the Grammies. I had gotten a record thirteen, I think, thirteen nominations for Thriller.
And we, well, I didn't know what was gonna happen really.
That's Emmanuel Lewis, one of my best friends.
That's Gladys Knight, the person I just hugged.
Her and Diana Ross are responsible for launching the Jackson Five.
we got a contract with Motown and um, we started from there.
Oh there's my man. The real creator of rock n roll, Chuck Berry.
Brooke: I'm Michael's size remember!
I'll take that as a compliment.
James: I love you man. I'm glad you look good! -Thanks for everything.
That's one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived. That's James Brown. I idolized him.
I think we're on our way inside the building.
-Thank you very much!
-Emmanuel. He started to rope onto her dress! He's a flirt.
See, I liked her and he liked her too. So, it's competition.
Host: Welcome to the twenty sixth Annual Grammy Awards!
That's me walking in.
When we walked in, we got a huge, like a tumultuous applause.
People really were excited.
This is after I'd won the Grammies. It was a world record. I had won, er, I won eight!
Thriller, still to this day, is the largest selling album worldwide.
So I can't even catch up with my own albums. It's sixty something million now.
I was very happy and I thanked God because it was my dream. It had come true.
As I said on one of the, um, one of my interviews, it's my dream to go on a supermarket
and just shop and be like everybody else and put things in a basket, cause I can't do it.
Because if I when I try to do it
people crowd around, you know. They want autographs and they want you to sign things and take pictures.
That's why I love disguises so much.
I can sit on a bench at Disneyland and see what people really do and talk about.
But when they see it's Michael Jackson, they change.
I don't see the real thing. You know its so I, I wanna see the real world, what it's really like.
And it's very difficult.
So a good friend of mine who owns this mall, he had them close a whole shopping mall and
had people in there that I knew, pretending as if they were shopping
so I felt like, this this real entirement.
Had my cousins dressed as if they were bag boys and I, I I went shopping. It was great.
They planned everything, right down to the music.
Man: You need the glove now!
Cameraman: Now people will know who you are, if you put the glove on.
-Where's the gum?
Cameraman: Big Red!
-Big Red!
It was a lot of fun. It gave me a chance to see, in my way, kind of what the world's like, even though it wasn't the real thing.
Eventually, I started recognizing people.
Like the woman in the blond wig is my nanny
Even Elizabeth Taylor was there. She was on a cover of er, this magazine.
-That's what I'm talking about
Cameraman: What're looking at? Where's your cart? -I don't know.
-There is it. That one right there.
Everybody was messing with me, trying to steal my cart.
Woman: Is there a problem here? -That's my cart.
Woman: I'll trade carts with you.
-These are my things. Where'd my cart go?
Cameraman: Right there.
Woman: He was trying to steal your cart, right? -A hundred percent!
Man: If you can't keep track of your cart, you shouldn't shop!
Man: You gonna buy that?
Woman: Michael, wait.
-Why me?
This is my first shopping experience in thirty years!
-Cameraman: Michael Michael Jackson ice cream!
We just it was like being at Disneyland, in my opinion
Cause I got to do something that I usually don't get to do.
That's Janet and my mother, backstage at one of my concerts. They're singing almost as loud as me
I remember one thing my mother said to me. We were at the Copenhagen, I think.
And there was just a sea of people. It was like over two hundred thousand people and her eyes were watery.
She was on the side of the stage. And I said Mother, what's wrong? Why are you crying?
She said... when you were a baby and I was holding you in my arms, I would never dreamt it. You would, you could, you would do this.
You would have this kind of effect on an audience like this.
And I gave her a hug and tried to get her on stage. She's so shy, she, no matter what, she will not go on stage
But I thought that was really sweet of her.
With Bad, er, we did this in the subway of New York and Martin Scorcese was the director.
This is at rehearsal at the MC Palace, choreographing it
-Once we get inside we go BAMBAMBAMBAM! We gotta hold that a while
We had two days to choreograph. I love that rushing.
-It's gotta be more tense.
Its, its mostly spontaneous movement, which it should be,
cause to have everything choreographed would be kind of hokey for this type of song.
And this was Wesley Snipes' first acting part. So I cast him in this, this piece.
Wesley: So that's the way it goes down, huh?
The word on our set that was totally taboo was video.
I wouldn't allow it. Because I didn't like videos. They were so abstract it made so sense at all
So if you watch pieces that we were doing, that I innovated, you know, you could follow a story.
So there is an outcome. And to be entertaining as well, that's what we did.
Child: Michael Jackson. He is the king of pop. He help the poor people. He loves the small children
and I love him because he's very good with small children. He dance good of all people. Everyday he help poor people and
Other children: Heal the world! Child: heal the world! I love you as big as the ocean!
Neverland appeals to the child inside of every man, woman and child.
It's a place where I feel that you can return to your childhood.
you find grownups, you know, doing things they haven't done since they were like, ten years old.
It's er, it's a fun pace to be. It's er so much to do,
I always wanted to have a place where you're just busy all day and there's just,
unlimited space to go on quads, and mountains and horseback.
All kinds of fun things. Was, er, its just a fun place. I love it.
And er I will always love it and I will never, ever sell Neverland.
Neverland is me, you know. It's, it represents the totality of who I am. It really does. I love Neverland.
-Okay, here we go. On three. Wait! Okay, wait, wait, don't cheat.
-Mac: Ready? -No, no, put, your hands got to be inside the pockets. That's it.
Mac: No, no -I'm gonna beat you.
Mac: Ready?
-Are we ready? -Wait, no, no, no.
Mac: Ready? Kieran: No.
-I'm crazy for doing this. No, you gotta stretch. Mac, you gotta
Kieran: I'm not doing the Mac: Ready? Set, go.
Michael: You cheater! Whoa!
He cheats a lot but he's fun. He loves to have fun.
And it took a lot of body co-ordination and a lot of kung-fu and pranks and
That's my cousin, Elijah. He just pushed me in the pool. That's Levon, my other cousin. And Mariz.
-I dried off. They pushed me right back in.
Kids: Get him!
I can't believe that. First shot of me without my shirt on
-I'm a nice PERSON! I just took a SHOWER! And I washed my hair thoroughly!
Kids: Yeah!
-See what they do to me?
-Ahh! Please Mac
-Mac is the most reckless driver, oh my God.
-You almost killed us!
You can see his brother Kieran on the back.
-Did you see that leap? You pushed you pushed his hand over!
-They're good kids, though.
-Mac: I know. He act like -This is what he did, look. He had the camera and he went
That's me and my cousin on the trampoline.
-That was close. Kid: Yeah!
-Egg hunt day! Kid: Yeah!
-And we're gonna how many eggs are there? Woman: Forty-five.
-How many? Woman: Forty-five.
-Forty-five? Woman: Yeah.
-We're looking for forty-five eggs. Woman: And we have, there'll be special prizes.
-Do we get prizes? Woman: Yeah.
-A trip to Bermuda! Kids: Yeah!
And er, a trip to Florida Disneyland!
Kid: Let's start now! Let's start now! -One, two, three, go!
Whoever finds the golden egg gets the biggest prize.
Oh, I have no fortune. Nothing.
Please, do you know where it's hidden?
Tell me please. I wanna win this game
Yeah!
My first egg!
My first Kid 1: My sixth egg!
-Oh my God Kid 2: This is my seventh egg thank you
He's the egg hunter around here.
Is that nice? He steals my eggs.
Man: Who's got the most?
Man 2: Michael? -Yeah?
He went to reach the thing and I grabbed it!
Kid: Hey Applehead come on Applehead -Aww... you said Applehead. That's the
Most kids never call me by my name Michael. Either Applehead or another name which I don't wanna say!
It's not a bad word.
Kids: Applehead? Applehead?
I'm skipping with the eggs.
In someone's pocket there's an egg.
Girl: I found it! I found it! Yeah, cause I heard what he said ten!
-Here's our winner Fourteen eggs Girl: Thirty-five.
-Seventy dollars.
Kid: Come on Applehead! -No
Kid: Look down! Look down!
Thank you Why did I let him do that?
I was born an egghead
There's Gregory Peck and his wife Veronique. See Gregory dancing?
That's the child that comes out inside of grown men when they come to Neverland.
He's one of the nicest people in the world. I really love Gregory Peck and his wife.
That's their dog, Blanket, believe it or not. Blanket's sister is Elizabeth Taylor's dog.
Gregory Peck is a dear, dear friend of ours.
He's singing. He's happy.
Awh, he wouldn't I can't he would never go on the Zipper.
I hold the world record for that ride. I went on that for thirty-five minutes straight.
Gregory: Michael. Never again.
Gregory: I loved it, but I hated it.
Gregory, I mean, he gets on this thing and it bring back his childhood.
Gregory: Thanks. Can we do it every weekend?
For the short film, Jam, I got to work with the greatest sports legend of all time, Michael Jordan.
M. Jordan: Hey, how you doing? -Thank you for doing this.
I knew this was going to be amazing, so I had all these cameras set up, all around us.
And there was tons of footage that never made it into the piece.
And you're about to see some of the best, and some of the worst.
M. Jordan: play off. You need the points guard. -What's the points guard?
M. Jordan: That's the guy who runs all the players. Pass the ball. All you gotta do is pass to me.
We had to play one-on-one. It was so embarrassing.
Woman: Aww come on Jackson!
He never missed!
That was the object, for him to teach me to play basketball and for me to teach him to dance, you know.
-Can you imagine me trying to
M. Jordan: Round me, back forward.
He's one of the nicest people you could meet. He really is.
He spends his summers teaching kids to play basketball. He signs all his autographs.
M. Jordan: Now that's the spirit!
We had a real game. People crowd around and they were watching me play one-on-one.
And wondering who's gonna win this game. I wonder who?
Look at this. This is cheating like crazy
He takes it and goes up, slams it!
M. Jordan: Now you gotta show me how to moonwalk.
Actually, this is my favorite part of the whole short film because it's candid, you know, it's fun.
he was really embarrassed he said.
Dip your toes in, then out. .
M. Jordan: I'm gonna pull a muscle here!
I really wanted to just move his legs in the right place.
His feet are like boats.
Then, POWPOWPOWPOW! Put all your energy in this finger and BOOM, just throw it out.
-It's like walking. It's the same system, but you're going back. M. Jordan: But at the same time
-Yeah, cause you're talking your weight and you're pushing it back. That's what creates the illusion.
It's the weight shifting. Now, as this foot comes back, the, this other one goes up
M. Jordan: Yeah yeah yeah! I think I got it.
-It ain't too hard for me what's the last line? -It ain't too hard for me to jam.
It ain't too hard for me to jam.
It ain't too hard for me to jam.
-Yeah! It ain't too hard for me to jam!
-You got it! M. Jordan: Wait! What's so funny?
Girl 1: He's my only God. I love him. He's perfect.
Joe Jackson day represents a day for our father.
We don't celebrate birthdays really, so we create a day for our father and a day for our mother.
All the family comes
and we present them with speeches, how we feel about them and give them presents.
There he is. The guy who taught me everything on stage.
There's Janet.
There's Alex the chimp. She's got earrings on.
See, my father loves animals. I think that's where I get my love for animals from.
this was his day.
There's two names for that ride: The spider or the puke bucket.
I don't think Janet got on this. She's just real chicken.
But the real fun is when you see five hundred kids, you know, terminally ill children having fun
That's the part comes to life. They're having fun
There's my mother and father sitting together. It's a great shot.
That's fantastic
She's taken the popcorn!
There's my nephew Taj, nephew Augi.
look at her. She's she's like me. She loves the camera.
There's Janet and myself.
Tell you what, the whole family calls her Donk, which is short for donkey.
We've always called her that, since she was a little girl.
We're going into the movie theatre to see a magic show.
Two ice creams. That's her! Janet loves to eat!
Magician: This is the one! This is it!
Watch Augi.
They gotta put their neck in there
Look at Augi! He's backing out!
Magician: Do you wanna sit down? Okay.
Magician: Here goes. Everybody's gotta say one! -One!
Magician: Everybody's gotta say two! Two!
Magician: Everybody's gotta say Ahh!
He ran!
Look at him. He ran He ran out of the theatre,
That's hilarious!
This is back at the other house.
That day, Janet and I gave my father we bought him a boat.
And he loves to fish. He loves fishing. He loves the outdoors. He's an outdoorsman.
Joe: So that's why That's nice. Who got this?
Janet: Michael and I did.
Joe: It's great
Oh he loves it.
Joe: She comes over, this boat, look out. Katharine: Shut up.
He's teasing her.
Aww, it was a big day.
This, it's very hard to work with Chris Tucker,
because when the director says action, he just starts screaming and laughing.
Chris: Shamone man!
I'd just look at him. His eyes pop out of his head he's so funny.
And that's what makes it difficult
Chris: You have an ambitious nature and you may make a name for yourself. -Oh right.
Chris: Why, that's me man!
He does these little things in between, where he's just improvising. And it's very funny.
Chris: Don't know the words! Yeah yeah!
Don't know, what's the words?
Man: Wait, what's going on here?
Man: Anyone ever tell you, you're a joke?
Some of the best stuff in Rock My World is wasn't shown on the screen.
-Oh, no hug?
Man: No hug, just a kiss. Go the other way.
you tilt to the left.
Man: I want some real Chinese food. You got some real food?
In this short film, we ate all this food and we ran out without paying
It's so fun.
Chef: You forgot to pay! Chris: You forgot to cook the food!
Chef: You got to pay today! Chris: Food was no good. Keep it to yourself!
Chef: Come back! Come back! Pay today! You forgot to pay! Come back!
Chris: Knock it out. Yeah! Rock my world?
I love great talent. People like Chaplin.
I mean, God, how could you not admire his genius?
He was the king of pathos. I mean, he had such a heart and he know how to make you laugh and cry at the same time.
I mean, he he was the master of that. And...
I find some of that in what I do. I relate to him.
All I sometimes feel like I am him.
And I like to dance very much.
Sometime, I'll close myself in a room and I'll just put on spotlights and,
put on my sister's music er, Janet's music and I'll er, dance,
and discover new things right there.
I, I can go with my body. I always tell her my favorite song of hers is er,
Rhythm Nation or the Knowledge, cause I love the bass lick.
It really just makes me crazy. It makes me wild and we think so much alike that,
we come up with the same ideas at the same time, sometimes.
A lot of times. And I told her, er, at one time, that dancing was going toward a more military style movement.
I'd done a short 3D film with Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas called Captain EO for Disneyland.
And um, we did a lot of military stuff and Janet had seen it and she called me on the phone.
She said, Michael is it okay if I steal, er, if I steal what you were doing in Captain EO? I go, what do you wanna steal?
She said, the military stuff. I go, I could choke you. She go, why? I said, because I was gonna do
My next short film was gonna be all military.
I said, you know what, since you're my sister, I love you, I'll let you do it.
You take it. And that's what she did with Rhythm Nation.
That's her best short film, I think.
Every time I do an album, I write, almost, nearly a hundred or over a hundred songs, so we have to sucker them down
and Smooth Criminal almost did not make it on the album.
And on top of that, once it was on the album, I decided that I would make the short film into a western.
I went on the ranch, on the property and I had a cameraman
to pretty much shoot me coming up with ideas of how I wanted this thing to be.
I knew I wanted hats and I wanted wind and I wanted just a lot of attitude, you know.
A lot of some quick cuts, some big shots, long shots and at the last minute,
I said um, nah I don't wanna do it as a western.
It should be like A Hot Summer Night in Chicago 1945, an underground kinda thing going on.
I think that was the best way to go. It's, it's one of my favorite pieces.
I get more comments for Smooth Criminal than any other pieces I've ever done, really.
Lady Diana, um, in real truth, was one of the sweetest people I've ever known, because,
we could relate to each other, we shared something in common, with the press.
I don't think they hounded anyone more than her and myself.
And we had a relationship, a very good relationship, where we would call each other,
late at night, for me, er, and we would, you know, just talk about
just like cry on each other's shoulders, how hard and difficult and how mean the tabloids can be.
And how they lie and twist stories around.
but she came to
Wembley Stadium in London
and er, you know, they do, when the royal family comes and you have to line up
and you meet the family and everything..
But at some point, she called me away from the line and um
I saw Prince Charles looking at me and I said, oh boy.
She said, I wanna talk to you! So I said, yeah, what's, what's happening?
She said, are you gonna do Dirty Diana tonight?
I said, no, no, I took it out of the show, out of respect for you! She said, that's my favorite song!
I said, are you serious? I said, I took it out of respect cause I
Dirty Diana and you're sitting in the audience?
So at that point, I couldn't, I couldn't put it back in the show,
because it was too close to show time. So um,
I remember, um, Prince Charles leaving the line
walking over to us and he said, what are you talking about?
And she said, oh, nothing. Like that. So that was that story.
There's a couple of other ones, but I don't wanna, you know
say too much.
She was just a wonderful, warm, compassionate, person
very caring, very caring. It was real. It wasn't a publicity
stunt. It was real.She really cared.
I'm the same way. If feel the same way that she does about
children and the future of our children and the future of the world.
What I usually do on my off days
I do as many hospitals as I do concerts.
I do as many orphanages as I do concerts. But because it's good news, the press don't cover it.
They want bad news.
But I do it from my heart. I don't do it to wave a flag and say, look at me!
We bring bags of toys and posters and albums and you should see how it transforms these kids.
They jump up and down and they're so happy.
This is Lisa Marie and myself at a hospital in Budapest.
And I saw this little kid, his name was Farkas.
He was very sick. He was green in the face. But he had this, this glow in his this sparkle in his eye.
I asked his nurse, what's, what's wrong with this kid? She said that he needs a liver.
So I said, does that mean he's gonna die? She said, yes he's gonna die unless he gets a liver.
I said, I'm not gonna let him die. This sweet, sweet angel.
No matter what it takes, I'm gonna find him a liver for him.
So I sent my organization around the world. We went all over the place and it took a long time.
And I said, I'm not giving up.
I'm, I'm not going to have the child die. I was so happy when I got a phone call.
They told me, we've found a liver! And he has his life.
I'm so proud that I could help him. God bless him. I love you Farkas.
I found a tape that was really exciting because,
in truth, I didn't even know it existed anymore.
In between tours, we had a break.
And my brothers and I took my mother to Alabama to visit her stepfather.
Brother: We're on our way to Alabama.
Michael: That's right.
Salvation Army tomorrow Bill!
Really, don't laugh. You find good stuff, don't you Tito?
That other places would sell real expensive.
I'm telling ya!
You gonna be hitting them soon when the depression hits ya.
I love going to the Salvation Army, cause I find things that I haven't seen since I was little.
Brother: There's Michael there, looking for
They know I like to go through everything.
I'm very curious. I go through drawers and go through everybody's closets
I don't steal, but I like to look and explore.
Marlon: What they got in there, Mike?
I love seeing the Oklahoma homes in the South.
I took this shot of me and my brothers walking down.
I had a huge camera in my hand!
Man: Brothers! Aunt Georgia!
This is my mother in the front and the lady behind her is my mother's stepfather's mistress.
That's me peeping look at the shack. I love this.
Man: Hiding behind his mama Hey Jacksons! Turn around. This smell like beef, Jackie?
We were just exploring. They live in those houses, very interesting.
it's a whole different way of life down there.
Man: Y'all tighten up!
We love visiting, people we don't know
We tried to get these kids to dance. See, I'd do a little step and maybe he'd join in.
He, he got a little shy.
They have per these kids have incredible rhythm. But they were shy in front of us.
Aunt Georgia: You keep that thing on me, why?
Man: She was saying he said, possums are good eating down there, aren't they?
They ate possum, but I wouldn't have any because I knew it was in the rodent family and er, they're very cute.
They've got these little pink noses and big eyes and they're very inviting, but I wouldn't want to eat one.
Man: Papa! Woman: Papa!
Man: Papa, where you been?
That's my mother's stepfather, Papa. Uncle Johnny.
I love they way they talk down there.
It seems like they're speaking another language doesn't it?
Brother: Sugar Babe! Need a hand?
Oh yeah, that's Sugar Babe. She, helps take care of Uncle Johnny.
She loves to dance.
Sugar Babe!
Uncle Johnny is truly a character.
And he has this drink called white lightning,
and this drink was so strong, its, I'm not joking.
One sip would get you drunk. It's really strong. My brother Tito took a sip and he went, Wow!
He couldn't believe it, but I stayed away from it.
But Sugar Babe had some, That's why she was dancing!
Uncle Johnny: Alright, let's go! Papapa!
Brother: That's Aunt Georgia behind, hugging.
She was hiding in the house because she told us when it was time to leave, that she couldn't take it.
And she's crying. So they all brought her out.
It was a wonderful experience. It was just really phenomenal.
This is behind the scenes on the black or white short film and that's John Landis, our director.
He's done so many great feature films:
Coming to America, An American Werewolf in London, the Blues Brothers.
He's done three of my short films and I
always have a great time working with John because he's a lot of fun.
John: I'm gonna let you do one more, thinking about my baby. Because if the painting
John: Cause if the painting is beautiful, I wanna stay on it longer.
Macaulay Culkin was also in the Black or White short film too.
And John was always goofing off, throwing stuff at us.
Here we are, scheming to kinda pay John back for all the messing around that he did to us on the set.
We had planned this, Mac and I, way before shooting the film, that we would have a big pie fight right at the end.
We have supersoakers, we have stink bombs in the pies and we, waiting for John Landis to show up.
We're practicing how we're gonna do it now.
-Pretend I'm John. Mac: I know, I know, I know. And then you go, then you go
-Mac: No, for um, for being so nice to us during the whole thing, we give you this. Turn around okay?
Okay, look, look at him. He's rehearsing.
Mac: We're going to nail John. -He's gonna throw it at him, okay?
Mac: okay, tell me what you're gonna say? I'm gonna say, John in appreciation for working on this great video, we just wanna
band then he's gonna sneak I'm just gonna keep talking until he sneaks up and he's gonna hit John with the first pie.
Cause I'm gonna say John? John? Watch, he's so excited.
Mac: I go John? John? -Yes?
-Then boom. Okay Okay?
-And after he, after he gets the first throw, everybody else can start
John: This looks very suspicious Michael.
He knows something's up though.
Kid: We're having a party!
He's looking for Mac, Look, he's looking for Mac!
John: Where's Macaulay? Where's Mac? -You know, where's Mac?!
John: This looks very dangerous to me. -In appreciation for working on the er, Black or White short film
we'd like to say thank you and we love you and we think you've done Mac: And John? And John?
-Mac: John? Michael: a wonderful job.
Mac: John? John: What Mac?
Mac: John. John: Mac.
Oh, that's fantastic.
Oh, I loved it! It could have gone on and on as far as I cared.
We're pranksters, you know.
Look at John! Look at John!
Michael: Wait! John: Whoa, whoa. Ow, ow, ow!
Michael: Cut! Cut!
Look at him. You can't recognize him!
One day, I get this call from Elizabeth Taylor saying she wants to come to the ranch.
She flew out in this helicopter.
Man: How are you? Elizabeth: Hi!
-Hi. Is Michael out in front?
I knew by the tone of her voice that something was up.
But I had no idea how big the surprise was.
She came out with this huge elephant.
It was unbelievable.
-Hi its great... Elizabeth
That it's beautiful
At first, I was kinda scared cos this thing is huge!
Eventually, I got into it, feeding him carrots and stuff like that.
Woman: She's like a garbage can...
-Show us your foot. -Bless your hear!
I love elephants. They're gentle giants, really.
Elizabeth was dressed like a gypsy. And that's why we named the elephant Gypsy.
It was one of the best presents that I've ever gotten.
I was so happy that day. Was a wonderful experience.
But what Elizabeth didn't know, that I was planning a surprise for her also.
-Oh my God!
That's amazing! I love it!
Oh, thank you! -You're welcome.
What is it made of? A carpet?
The gift that I gave Elizabeth, to me was very unique.
It looks like a painting, but it isn't.
-Wow! That's incredible Michael. -I love that color.
It's a tapestry. This guy did it piece by piece.
-And I wrote something on the bottom.
Elizabeth I love you Michael.
-Oh, I love it! -Do you have a place for it? Maybe, this seems like
Elizabeth: Now I may have to build a house
I think it was a shot of one of her movies. -I think it's fabulous!
-I saw that commercial you have er its beautiful
-Do you like it? -Awh it's incredible!
-Well maybe you'll see one of my films one of these days. -I knew you were gonna say
I'm seeing Virginia Woolf. -Well, congratulations!
-I'm seeing it today actually.
We have to explain the joke.
The last film that Michael saw me in, he thought I was really wonderful in,
was a film called White Chested Dover.
And I was nine years old.
So he will see me as a grown up. -Yeah.
-He may never speak to me again!
It's amazing.
It wasn't quite as big as Gypsy,
but I think she liked my gift as much as I liked hers.
Eddie: And what is it you're going to do?
Working with Eddie Murphy is so much fun, cause he keeps you laughing all day long.
He's just naturally talented. The guy is incredible.
As funny as Eddie can be though, there was one moment in Remember The Time,
that had everyone laughing, except Eddie.
There was this big hunting bird over his right shoulder and as he was sitting on the throne next to Iman,
right in the middle of the take, the bird decided to take off.
And so did Eddie
When he realized that he was the only one who was scared, he thought he had some serious explaining to do
Eddie: I'm hey! I don't want y'all to think that I'm Runnin'
cause Iman didn't move from the bird.
But it's two ways to react to a situation like that.
You can run or be real still. And she's just being real still, but she's as horrified as I am.
See, she was raised in East Africa.
She knows, if the eagle goes crazy, be real still.
I'm from Brooklyn, so you run!
When he comes to Neverland, he has a guitar, an acoustic guitar in his hand and he's
screaming reggae songs all through the house. Yah! Just yelling.
He's just funny. He makes he'll take any situation and make it funny.
. I mean, that's his real gift. Wonderful. I enjoyed working with him a lot.
Girl: Michael, you know, he's the king of pop, but also the king of children.
I love you England!
When I get time off, it's a rarity, in the first place.
It's a real rarity. We always end up our tours in fun places, like Florida.
We stay at the Playboy club hotel. There were bunnies walking around, serving you, you know.
They have their little tails on and these little legs and stuff. It's fun.
-Me and Mac are, are, we're in Bermuda. And we're looking for, for treasure!
Mac and I were going on vacation together and we Mac is very smart and he's very a genius in causing trouble
-It's his, it's his idea. Mac: Yeah!
We were in Bermuda together and, we were signing water balloon
he, he had me signing water balloons and he was throwing these balloons at the fans from the balcony.
They loved it! They wanted more. They were asking for more.
-But Mac's throwing it.
So I was signing these balloons and he kept throwing them.
Mac: This balloon is autographed!
I'm signing them, he's throwing them and that's what we did.
Those are snaps. Those little finger things you see there.
When you throw them they pop. And Mac wanted to see if he could light the snaps.
-What? Mac: Imagine if we could light this thing. Shush!
I didn't want him to do it, but
he did it anyway
No, we shouldn't use fire, Mac. I'm scared.
Right in front of the manager!
-Especially with the manager standing over you heh! -Yeah.
Mac: No, okay. Move back. This is the manager of the hotel, you know. He's gonna run you out
And he got away with it. The guy said, it's okay don't worry about it.
The footage you're seeing now is Emmanuel Lewis and myself on the speedboat.
This is at Disneyland and we had so much fun there.
We did everything. We did hot air balloons, we fed turtles
there he is. He's dancing with
with the characters. He's not shy at all.
I was too shy to dance.
Oh yeah. I love the water parks.
I wish I could do that more often these days, but I'm allergic to the sunlight.
I, I really can't go in the sun I have to take umbrella.
Then there are times when you just like
it look like so much fun, you just say, forget it.
: I'm going. I have to have I have to do this.
That's er, where
Yo! Yeah! At FAO Schwartz. We spent the night there. I loved it. I loved it. It was so much fun.
they closed it down, we stayed all night. We opened things, we could rollerblade
they give you pizza, they tell you stories, and nobody want to go to sleep cause, you're, its, you're having so much fun!
Kid: Can you give me one? -This magician here,he was trying to do this trick. He made me pick a card.
Magician: Make your choice to everyone. Don't let me see it.
And I had to show the card to everybody.
Magician: Don't let me see. Kid: What is that?
Then he reveals what the card was.
Magician: Four of spades. Yes or no?
Kid: No! Michael:No.
And the audience thought it was wrong.
Magician: Please concentrate.
But then the real magic started to happen.
I love magic.
Magician: How about the eight of spades?
I wanna get that trick..
Man: Incredible!
Man: Look at this damn traffic.
This is me on vacation with my good friend, Brett Ratner.
Brett: I got a good shot. Look at that.
We're in Miami, in rush hour traffic.
And we were singing to the music playing, acting round, being silly. It's fun.
Brett's like a kid, like me. We like to have fun.
You've seen a lot of footage tonight of my life my joys, my happiness , you know,
,but what you're about to see now, is what I'm most proud of
what I think life is really all about.
I love and adore my children. They mean everything to me.
When they're in public though, I conceal their faces, cause I don't want
I want my children protected.
At home, they have a normal life, they play with other kids and they have a good time, they're laughing a lot.
They run around,they even go to school.
It's a normal life for them. But in public, I must protect them.
Man: What do you wanna do when you grow up? Paris: I'm gonna be like my Daddy.
Woman: Paris, what do you like to read? Paris: Peter Pan!
Prince: I like to read Snow White.
I love my children very much and I'm proud to be their dad.