b'Cover StoryHed done Billie Jean 2 and Beat It, and on both of those, hes kind of isolated, so I wanted to give him some balls 1 and have him 1. Landis gives MJ a hand during Thriller scene at cinema connect with a 2. Landis gives MJ a lesson in the stiff arm3. Dan Ackroyd, Michelle Pfeiffer & Steve Martin pretend to play4 woman.instruments in the Landis directed Lucille video for B.B. King4. Ola Ray and Michael and the zombies of Thriller 3talk about Thriller is that Thriller wasboring. But Michael was a brilliant dancer,a laugh. But I wanted him to be aware ofgenerated publicity, and it was good formen who just did it for fun. Rick Baker isthe aging of western culture.made like a little movie. It was shot 35and I realized that I had an opportunity.it. I didnt want to do anything that wouldthe film! (laugh) the guy who comes out of the crypt. JL: Zombies seem to be the monster millimeter with a union crew and theIn The Blues Brothers, because John andmislead him or be something he would beWas Vincent Price involved in thisWas dancing in the costumes everof the twenty-first century. As Joe dancers were given rehearsal time, andDanny were not professional dancers, Iunhappy with. But Michael was great. Onproduction since you had to recut thean issue? Did the performers have anyDante says in the book, All monsters one of the things thats different is thatused only amateurs in the dance numbersthat, he was totally - well, have you everaudio tracks? problems? are metaphors. The example he gives it has a movie mix. Its not needle drop.in Chicago, and then lived to regret itseen The Making of Thriller? I had hoped to use his track from theNot really. Not at all, they were justis Godzilla, where you have a country, You know how people still do the Thrillerwhen I came back to L.A. to finish theIm one of the million people whorecord, but it was mixed in with a synthclothes. In fact, everything was cut forJapan, literally the only country in the dance? When you watch them, theresmovie. The only number that does havebought the VHS. track, and I needed to isolate it for mythe dancers. As for the makeup, theworld to ever have an atomic weapon always the moment when theyre kind ofprofessional dancers is the James BrownMillion? Six million! Anyway, thatmix. I called Vincent Price and I askeddancers loved it. Those makeups candropped on it, and shortly thereafter they staggering around waiting for the dancenumber in the church, which is one of thewas exactly what it was like. He washim if he would come in and he graciouslybecome uncomfortable after a longmake a movie with this giant prehistoric music to start. The way it is in the film islast we shot. So, I love musicals, and thatsenthusiastic, and childlike, and excited.came in. He did it in fifteen minutes, heperiod of time, though. They had a gooddragon-type monster thats radioactive very different from the record, but no onereally why I said yes to Michael, because IHe was great. just read it. time. One of the things that makes Thrillerand lays waste to cities. Its pretty ever seemed to notice that, which is fine.thought, great, I can make a little musicalHow was Ola Ray cast? You hadnt worked together prior todifferent from other videos is that I gaveobvious, but you trace the history of post-We used the original tracks, it is all [albumhere. Hed done Billie Jean and Beat It,this, right? That must have been a thrillthe dancers a whole week of rehearsalwar Japan through the Godzilla pictures, producer] Quincy Jones and [recordingHow was working on the script andand on both of those, hes kind of isolated,for you, being a longtime monster movietime, maybe even longer. Theres oneits really interesting. He becomes the engineer/mixer] Bruce Swediens tracks.dialogue with Michael? so I wanted to give him some balls andfan. shot, Im sure no one will notice, where Iprotector of Japan, the good guy.It really We just duped and then recut them andMichael has a co-credit on everything,have him connect with a woman. It wasI knew him, but we hadnt workedplaced the camera low and they all leapdepends on the zeitgeist, but zombies, remixed them to make a movie mix.but in truth, Michael didnt write it.very important to me that he actuallytogether. It was the one time I everin the air and the reason I put it there isas David Cronenberg points out, are Is it true that, in the dance sequences,He wanted to be a monster. He wasdance and sing with a girl, and give itworked with him, and he was delightful.theres 25 people jumping, and theyre allus. I mean, thats what we will become, you were trying to improve upon whatnot involved in the writing, but he wassome sex, so we did casting. I met, I dontI mean, he just did it so quickly. And thenexactly eight inches off the ground. Youin terms of a metaphor for old age and you had done in The Blues Brothers? fantastic. I mean, I showed it to him forknow, two hundred girls, and Ola justwe went to lunch at Musso & Franks andcould have put a piece of glass up theredecrepitude. But even to be more obvious, Im a big musical fan. My wife insistsapproval, and in fact, I told him that thehad that amazing smile, and she wasI listened to him tell wonderful stories. and theyd be on it. It was incredible howas agents of the apocalypse, which is that Im gay, because I love Broadwayline Im not like other guys was goingadorable. In fact, there was a problemThe look of the zombies was fromcrack they were. what they are being used for now, is musicals and movie musicals so much.to get a laugh. I wanted him to be awarewhen, after I hired her, we found out she[Landis wife] Deborah [Nadoolman] &How was working withto represent anarchy and the collapse The best filmed dance sequences Iveof that, and he said, Why will that get awas a Playboy playmate, which we didntKelly Kimball, right? choreographer Michael Peters? of social order, which is clearly what is ever seen are still in the RKO Fred Astairelaugh? and I explained to him, becauseknow. Michael was still living at homeI was actually surprised that DeborahWell, Michael Peters was a pleasure, ahappening all around the world. (laugh) and Ginger Rogers movies directed byyoure not like other guys, you know,at the time, and his mothers father, hisgave Kelly a credit on that becausevery sweet guy. I told him what I wanted,I really think that is the thing behind the Mark Sandrich, where he would do theseyoure Michael Jackson! (laugh) grandfather, was a deacon or somethingbasically Kelly just distressed the zombiehe worked very well with Michaelpopularity of the zombie at the moment.elaborate crane shots but hold themBut you meant something else, sortin Jehovahs Witness, so there was aclothes. Jackson. He was greata bit of a diva. IWho was a better actor in the head-to-toe together because theseof. problem. I said, Michael, listen, thatsDid you give them any direction onmean, look at Beat It. He puts himselftransformation sequences, Michael people could really dance. When you haveWell, I meant it to be Im an oddridiculous, shes not a Playboy playmatethe look of the zombie clothes? in a white leather jacket. Anyone will tellJackson or David Naughton?all the fast cutting and stuff in a moviefellowIm not like other guys becausein this film. Theres no nudity. And heRick Baker, more than me, came upyou, dont put anyone in white near the(Sigh) Well, David. (laugh) But David like Chicago, its because Richard Gerehe isnt. He wasnt. said, Fine. In fact, you know that cardwith that. I just told them I wanted it tostar because your eye goes to white. had a lot more to do.cant dance, and so you have to cut likeBut what made you think it would getat the head of the movie? That camelook like good old EC Comic zombies.Speaking of zombies, what do youSure, that sequence was more crazy to give the illusion that he can. Witha laugh? about because when we finished, hisAnd Rick Baker had an terrific crew andattribute the return to zombies inintricate and much longer.rock acts, how many ways can you shootBecause it does! grandfather was upset and thoughtsome of the more elaborate makeupspopular culture and film lately? WhatAlso, when I wrote Werewolf, it says a guy playing a guitar? They put girls inBecause Michael isstrange? it was demonic, so John Branca and Ion zombies were makeup men! I askedkeeps people fascinated about them?in the script that it takes place in bright their underwear dancing around with fastYeah, because Michael is so not likewrote that disclaimer card. So very mucharound if anyone wanted to be in it, andYou said in your book Monsters in thelight with no cutaways. Thats a very cuts to disguise the fact that the band isother guys that I knew that it would getlike everything Michael did, even thatsome of the graveyard guys are makeupMovies that zombies are a comment ondifficult thing to do to a makeup artist. 8MVTMISSUE #1ISSUE #1MVTM9'