Walking down a city street at night, Jackson teases her by performing the verses of "Thriller". J-Lo brought in the new millennium with her video for "Waiting for Tonight." Fall Out Boy's video for "Sugar, We're Goin Down" alternates between the band jamming and a love story between a boy with antlers and a normal girl. Each girl shows off her personality as they move throughout the hotel, making a mess and causing general chaos. [33] It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival,[34] followed by a US premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. An argument could be made for "Baby One More Time" to be on the list for the school girl uniform and high school setting, but "Toxic" deserves the title. The visuals are striking, and at one point, Janet throws a middle finger to the camera. Jackson stayed in the projection booth, declining Ray's invitation to join the audience. Quotes Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" is an incredible video. YouTube/KendrickLamarVEVO. Outlander. Soundtracks. She said: "You look at those early videos and they were shockingly bad. My DS1 does sound more like the OPs, and unlike some children, he is more likely to admit to feeling upset or And as later legal filings would indicate, that's about all the actress and model took home. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider The video features the four guys of OK Go doing a choreographed dance on treadmills all filmed in one shot. No wonder we readily accept the concept of a literal metamorphosis. In 2017, it was remastered from the original 35mm negative and converted into 3D under John Landis' supervision. ", $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? features a band called the Love Below performing on a London show as a bunch of women scream in excitement. "Everybody Hurts" is a heavy song, and the corresponding video highlights the emotional lyrics. The Spice Girls video for "Wannabe" is entirely one-shot and shows the girls taking over the St. Pancras Grand Hotel in London. Epic Records head of promotions Frank DiLeo suggested a third music video, for the album's title track, which wasn't even slated to be a single. The rules have been rewritten, unleashing a new surge of creativity. ", In fact, says Dave Ma another up-and-coming film-maker who's worked with Foals and Delphic directors now have no choice but to be as unconventional as Landis 30 years ago, because their work needs to rise above all the junk online: "The emergence of YouTube has given us a plethora of mindless throw-away 'content'. This was the business model in home video for most of the early to mid-1980s: Studios and publishers charged about $90 for tapes and sold almost exclusively to rental stores, which would then charge customers a few bucks to rent it for a day or two. [12][18] After each broadcast, MTV advertised when they would next play it, and recorded audience figures ten times the norm. I think that video by MJ is just big, but it isn't that fantastic. Additionally, Landis equates the process of man turning to beast, in "Thriller" and in other werewolf-based movies (such as the director's own An American Werewolf in London), with puberty. MTV, which, to that point, had never paid for content, contributed $250,000, and Showtime paid $300,000. I was yet another taper of the original Channel 4 broadcast. In the 1950s, Michael Jackson and a young woman (Ola Ray) run out of gas while driving in a wooded area. Could you want anything more in a video? Sessions had been previously sparsely attended, so Garcia introduced elaborately choreographed dance routines, and before long, as many as 1,500 inmates reported to the prison yard to learn some moves. He and Peters imagined how the zombies would move by making faces in the mirror, incorporating "jazzy" moves, "not too much ballet or whatever". The video even won a Grammy. Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" has two iconic videos. Miss Scarlet and The Duke, Season 1-2 | Watch Now. It's trippy to watch and makes the video one of the most recognizable of all time. 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. And it ended up being the most iconic," she said. For episodes that used a different title in the U.S., the U.S. title is shown in italics underneath the original British title. [10] MTV paid $250,000 for the exclusive rights to show the documentary; Showtime paid $300,000 for pay-cable rights. And his "Hammer pants" are iconic. / The foulest stench is in the air / The funk of 40,000 years / And grizzy ghouls from every tomb / Are closing in to seal your doom / And though you fight to stay alive / Your body starts to shiver / For no mere mortal can resist / The evil of the thriller. 08/07/2009 17:32. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. When antler boy runs to his side, he realizes that the man has deer hooves for legs. It's a weird video, but that's why it's unforgettable. The stories were often set in the London commuter belt. The video was directed by John Landis, written by Landis and Jackson, and stars Jackson and Ola Ray. There's shots of them on a boat in a "storm," there's memorable camouflage outfits, and a truly special dance break in front of a temple. At the end of the credits, they all dance back into their graves, with one of them gruesomely grimacing at the screen. [10] Makeup artist Rick Baker decided to turn Jackson into a werecat "because I just didn't want to do another werewolf". "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is considered one of the greatest songs of all time, and the video is a testament to the song as a teen rock anthem. 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. [14] He initially imagined the werecat would resemble a black panther, but added a longer mane and larger ears. When the series was re-broadcast as part of The CBS Late Movie however, the original title sequences and music were restored. Welcome to the Digital Spy forums. 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 really opened our eyes to music videos as a creative form of film-making, and a potential career." "I recall everybody at college talking about it; about how it was like a mini-movie and how much it had cost. [10] Landis felt Jackson should become scary and creepy, but not ugly. [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. "Thriller" never really stopped being popular. "I auditioned a lot of girls and this girl Ola Ray first of all, she was crazy for Michael," Landis said. [6] Jackson's make-up casts "a ghostly pallor" over his skin and emphasizes the outline of his skull, an allusion to the mask from The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Panic! Spooks (a.k.a. On Sunday, January 15, it will debut on HBO at 9 . It's amazing. "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." The clips promoting "Thriller" helped turn MTV into a vital cultural force, solidified Jackson's stature as the "King of Pop," and significantly raised both the quality and expectations of music videos. [8], Jackson created the zombie dance with the choreographer Michael Peters, who had choreographed the "Beat It" video. Choreographer and singer Paula Abdul danced alongside a cartoon cat named MC Skat Cat in the video for "Opposites Attract." "Thriller" was one of the first music videos to show that the medium carried the potential for greatness, and not only did critics acknowledge its importance, but they kept doing so for years afterward. 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. This brilliant video won the VMA for video of the year. And then 4 months later it was spoofed on the very first episode of ITV's Spitting Image. Eventually, she stands on the edge of an overpass preparing to jump when her ex shows up with a bunch of cops. And then there's the wild action sequence in a futuristic Paris where she poisons her unfaithful boyfriend. Michael Jackson's estate owes Quincy Jones $9.4m in royalties, jury decides, NewMichael Jackson music to be produced by Timbaland, Michael Jackson is top-earning dead celebrity, beating Prince and Bowie, Mysurreal 1980 interview with Michael Jackson: Direct your questions to Janet; shell put them to Michael, Michael Jackson's Thriller becomes first album to sell 30m copies in the US, Michael Jackson: Five years after his death, how his influence lives on, Michael Jackson: Xscape review - a fitting bookend to the man's career, Kirsty Wark can perform the Thriller dance. [8] As films required theatrical screenings to be eligible for Academy Awards, Landis had the video played before screenings of Fantasia (1940) at a Los Angeles cinema, though it was not nominated. The actress claimed that back in the 1980s, she was promised a portion of the "Thriller" profits (2.5 percent, according to Courthouse News), and yet, more than two decades later, she hadn't received any money since some initial payments. 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. [8] Vestron Music Video offered to distribute Making Michael Jackson's Thriller on VHS and Betamax; this was a pioneering concept, as most video cassettes at the time were sold to rental stores rather than directly to viewers. | 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". The striking video is mostly black-and-white with some of the only color provided by red flowers on the float. ", Only later did Landis realize that Ray was a former Playboy Playmate, which threatened her involvement in the video because Jackson thought it might come across as improper for him to be sharing the screen with a nude model. Vaughan Arnell, who had videos on MTV in its earliest days, and has gone on to make 12 promos for Robbie Williams and three for One Direction, remembers Thriller with some trepidation. [42], number of copies sold were 900,000 at a price of $30, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, YouTube video of more than 1,500 prisoners performing the dance, Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, "Director: Funds for "Thriller" almost didn't appear", "Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the eternal Halloween bop and so much more", "John Landis says Michael Jackson was too 'grotesque' to film: Howell", "How Michael Jackson's Thriller changed music videos for ever", "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' is the eternal Halloween bop and so much more", "Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: Global Superstar (198286)", "It Happened This Week in L.A. History: Silver Screen Thrills Los Angeles Magazine", "Michael Jackson's videos set a new standard", "VH1 Names '100 Greatest Videos of All Time', "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Added To National Film Registry", "MTV: 100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made", "The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos Michael Jackson, 'Thriller', "Jackson "Thriller" film picked for U.S. registry", "Michael Jackson's Thriller added to US film archive", "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' remains a Halloween hit", "Barack and Michelle Obama make Halloween a thriller for DC kids", "John Landis on 'Thriller 3D', the 'American Werewolf' Remake, & Lucasfilm's Director Troubles", "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Could be Broadway Show", "Review: Masterful Plants vs. Zombies Proves Less Is More", "Plants vs. Zombies (Windows, Mac OS X) - the Cutting Room Floor", "Michael Jackson Estate Forces 'Plants vs. Zombies' Update", "Monster Metaphors: Notes on Michael Jackson's Thriller", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Jackson%27s_Thriller_(music_video)&oldid=1142427273, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 09:09. It's incredibly simple, with David Bowie just standing in front of a white background for most of it, but with his orange hair, powder blue suit, and blue eye shadow, the visuals are vibrant and mesmerizing. 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. The first thing he said to me when he came out of school was 'Are zombies real, mum?'. [10] "Come Out Come Out, Wherever You Are" takes place at a creaky country house hotel: a female guest begins asking about her missing travelling companion whom the owner claims was not with her upon arrival the previous evening and whom none of the other guests initially recall seeing.