The new biopic follows Michael Jackson from his childhood with The Jackson 5 through 1988
Credit: MCA/Universal/Courtesy Everett; Lion’s Gate
NEED TO KNOW
- Michael, the new movie that depicts Michael Jackson’s rise to fame in the 1970s and ’80s and stars the singer’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop, released in theaters on April 24
- The movie’s cast features Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Larenz Tate, Miles Teller, Kendrick Sampson, Mike Myers, Deon Cole and more
- Many of the events in Michael are taken from Jackson’s real life, though some aspects are fictionalized
Michael is providing Michael Jackson fans with a feature film-sized take on his upbringing and rise to superstardom.
The new biopic released in theaters on April 24 with the late singer's real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson portraying the "Thriller" singer as a young adult, while Juliano Valdi portrays Jackson as a child during his time singing with the Jackson 5.
The movie meets a young Jackson as he and his brothers — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon — begin performing together and rise to fame via Motown Records in the late 1960s and early '70s.
Along the way, a young Michael meets (and wows) music industry legends like Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate) and Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson) and embarks on his mega-successful solo career.
"I knew to make my family proud, I knew I would have to have a work ethic that was incredible and really take on everything the way Michael would take it on," Jaafar told PEOPLE at the movie's Los Angeles premiere.
Michael died in 2009 at age 50; the new movie follows his life into 1988, and reports have suggested that the film's studio, Lionsgate, may seek to make a follow-up movie to cover more of the singer's life.
But how much of the biopic is real? Here's everything to know about what is fact and what is fiction in Michael.
Warning: Michael spoilers ahead!
Was Michael Jackson actually obsessed with Peter Pan?
Credit: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty; THA/Shutterstock
In Michael, the singer is depicted as frequently reading from the book Peter and Wendy, which many literature and movie fans recognize better as Peter Pan via Disney's 1953 animated classic of the same name.
Throughout the movie, Michael voices his admiration for the novel's Neverland setting a number of times in his downtime from writing and performing music.
It's unclear exactly how interested Michael was in that story in real life. According to a 2020 Biography.com piece, Michael once said he identified with the story's title character Peter Pan, who famously never grows up.
The book's inclusion in the movie is also a reference to Michael's famous Santa Barbara County, Calif., home, Neverland Ranch, where he lived for over 15 years.
Michael paid $19.5 million for the property in 1988 and built amenities like a zoo and a small amusement park on the property over the years, according to Billboard.
In 2005, he left the ranch and lived elsewhere for the rest of his life after he was acquitted of all charges in a 2005 criminal trial related to allegations of child molestation. A billionaire named Ron Burkle purchased the property for $22 million in 2020.
Did Michael Jackson really own a pet chimpanzee?
Credit: Sankei Archive via Getty
Michael famously owned a chimpanzee named Bubbles for a number of years. According to the Center for Great Apes, Bubbles was born in 1983.
A 1986 article published by UPI stated that Michael was granted a permit to raise a young giraffe named Jabbar at his Los Angeles-area home.
At that time, the singer's head of security, Bill Bray, told UPI that Michael also owned a chimpanzee, two llamas and multiple deer.
The nonprofit Center for Great Apes' website states that Bubbles joined the dedicated ape sanctuary in 2005, after he appeared in a number of Michael's music videos and other promotional material over the years.
Bubbles even notably joined Michael on tour in Japan, as the nonprofit noted.
Did Michael Jackson actually meet with gang members to recruit them for the "Beat It" music video?
Credit: Lion’s Gate
In Michael, the singer is depicted as bringing various members of the Los Angeles-area gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, together to combat gang violence by participating together in the music video for his 1982 hit "Beat It" after Michael witnesses a news report on violence in L.A.
According to a 1983 Time magazine article, this detail is based in reality. The article describes the "Beat It" music video as a "$150,000, five-minute West Side Story, in which the singer flashdances through a cast of 80 gang members (most of them real Los Angeles street dudes) and 60 scenes to avert a showdown."
Bob Giraldi, who directed the music video, also told Boards magazine in a 2009 interview that Michael decided to invite members of both gangs to participate in the music video.
"He went out and he got 'em through, I guess, the LAPD's gang squad and he convinced them that, with enough police presence, this would be a smart and charitable thing to do; get them there to like each other and hang with each other for two days doing the video," Giraldi said at that time.
He added, "I didn't like the idea because it was hard enough to direct actors and dancers, let alone hoods."
In that interview, Giraldi remembered that there were "a few incidents" between the rival gangs during the video shoot that almost resulted in police shutting the production down.
Did Michael Jackson actually suffer burns to his head while filming a Pepsi commercial?
Credit: Lion’s Gate
A pivotal moment in Michael depicts a lengthy hospital stay the singer experienced after he suffered burns to his head when his hair caught on fire while filming a mock concert for a Pepsi commercial.
This did happen: a BBC News archive states that Jackson's hair caught fire when a fireworks display went off behind him on Jan. 27, 1984. According to the article, Michael was treated for second-degree burns at a nearby hospital.
The Culver City, Calif., burn center that treated Jackson was renamed after him in the wake of the incident, according to an 1987 Associated Press article.
As is depicted in the movie, the article states that Jackson established a fund for the burn center to treat and entertain victims, but it was closed in 1987.
A 2013 Los Angeles Times article reported that Jackson asked Pepsi to fund the burn center rather than sue the company over the incident.
Did Michael Jackson actually quit the Jacksons during their Victory Tour mid-performance?
Credit: Lion’s Gate
One of Michael's climactic moments features Michael announcing during his final 1984 Victory Tour concert with his brothers at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium that he would never perform with the rest of the Jacksons again.
This, too, is rooted in reality: a YouTube video of the Dec. 9, 1984, performance shows Michael making the announcement similarly to how it is depicted in the movie.
"I'd like to say this is our last and final tour, and I think this is our farewell tour. You've all been wonderful, it's been a long 20 years, and we love you all," he said in the video.
Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli's book Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story corroborates the event and notes that Michael and his brothers did not get along during the tour.
Michael's father Joe and boxing promoter Don King, who worked with the Jacksons around this time, originally planned for the tour to continue to Europe, but Jackson told them he would "absolutely not" tour with the group further before making the announcement, according to the book.
The announcement seemingly came as news to each of his brothers. According to Taraborrelli's book, Michael donated all of the money he made from the tour to a cancer research foundation, as well as the United Negro College Fund and the Ronald McDonald Camp for Good Times.
Read the full article here
