Michael Jackson Biopic Finds Director

Will the King of Pop become the King of Biographical Movies?

Lionsgate certainly hopes so. They’ve been prepping a biopic about Michael Jackson for a while now. (The project was officially announced last February.) The script for the film, which has the tentative title of Michael, was written by John Logan, the scribe behind movies like Gladiator, The Aviator, Spectre, and Alien: Covenant. Graham King, he producer of one of the most successful musical biopics ever, Bohemian Rhapsody, is also involved as well.

Now the project is moving forward with Antoine Fuqua as director. Fuqua’s filmography includes Training Day, Shooter, The Equalizer, and most recently Emancipation. 

Here was Fuqua’s comment on the news:

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. 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.

There’s no question Michael Jackson lived a life worthy of his own movie. The question is how much of Jackson’s life will actually make it to the screen. (Jackson’s estate is involved with the film as executive producers, so the material will have to be approved by them in some form or fashion.) That, along with finding someone capable of portraying Michael Jackson across his life, will be two rather enormous challenges.