Where you from?
I'm from Holland, and this is like...
Ten hours for me. It's, like, across the world.
I came here for this audition.
I told all my boys at home I'm coming to funk in front of Michael onstage.
I'm just gonna dance for him. I don't care if I make it or nothing.
Thank you, Michael. I'm excited.
You've inspired everything in my life. My energy.
You're why I dance.
I remember being a little girl and watching "Thriller" with my mom...
...and thinking that was the coolest thing in the world.
I go to sleep and just wake up, and the first thing I do is not even eat.
I just start playing your music...
...and start just dancing and moonwalking on a rug.
I was like, "What I would give to be onstage with you. "
And the fact that I get to do that is amazing, so...
I'm from Australia...
And I got word of your audition two days before it was about to happen...
...and I was on the next flight over.
It begins. This is the beginning. I'm not even onstage yet.
Like, I can't even imagine what's gonna happen backstage...
- ... that first show in London. - I'm looking even farther ahead.
I don't even know what I wanna do after this because this is Michael.
I wanted to dance, you know what I mean?
And that inspiration came from, you know, you.
And you've inspired me and given me a reason to want to inspire others.
Life is hard, right?
I've kind of been searching for something to shake me up a little bit...
...and give me a kind of a meaning, to believe in something.
And this is it.
So we open the show, as you know, with all the lights down.
We're gonna create a spectacular opening with pyrotechnics.
And we want some sizzles and some cracks and some pops.
We have our video that is called "Glimpses and Flashes. "
And that's where Light Man...
...comes out on the gantry, floating above the stage...
...and he'll just be dazzling in video information.
And piece by piece by piece by piece...
...MJ is revealed, until he jumps out...
...and on Michael's command, we begin.
You know I'm gonna want that more, right?
It's funkier.
I'm not feeling that part enough.
As in running next to him.
- It's not there. - Okay, it should be.
It should be. I know, it's all for love.
- It's coming there. - We'll get it there.
Jackson's ETA is 15 minutes.
Michael Jackson last performed live right here in London...
...at the 2006 World Music Awards.
Michael Jackson's here. Go straight onstage.
This is it!
Yeah!
This is it. This is it.
I love you.
We love you!
I'll be performing the songs my fans wanna hear.
This is really it. This is the final curtain call.
Okay? And see you in July.
Good. Great. Good to see all of you. Thank you for being here.
The idea was get the big fish from all over and put them in the same pond.
The dancers in a Michael Jackson show...
...are an extension of Michael Jackson.
They are an extension of the man.
Everything is bigger and more intense in his world.
First cut, thank you.
Next group. Ladies, brava.
Lean, gorgeous, hot.
Dancers that can rock it. But if you don't have that goo...
...that ooze coming out of you, not gonna get the job.
She's the one.
And the Michael Jackson principal dancers for This Is It are:
Guys, those go over here.
Hey, guys? Those go over here, actually.
Truss moving.
Quite the eventful day because we got to be toasted.
There's elevator speed and toaster speed.
Part of this, guys, is anticipating the stop.
Keep your shoulders square, keep your center...
...and just get right down into a nice, good squat position like that...
...and you're gonna come up and-
- You feel that initial-? - Yeah, I do.
Yeah, that's the adrenaline, baby.
We're at Culver Studios, shooting green screen.
We're gonna do "The Drill" into "Cadence"...
...into "They Don't Really Care About Us. "
It's gonna be really cool because they're gonna multiply the guys.
So our existing 11 guys are gonna become 1100 guys...
...and it'll be really, really cool.
So we're kind of excited. And Michael's coming today.
- There's the man. The man is here. - There's Michael.
So that we can give you this: a million people.
Michael, do you like this, first of all?
Yeah, that's a cool move, a cool move, but it spreads out too much to the end.
So we can just stop it whenever you hit the space bar.
You can go to infinity.
Yeah. As though there's no more than...
...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? Or maybe just your nine dancers?
- Ten. - Ten. Great.
What is that?
One more time. Six, seven, eight...
In what will go down in history...
...as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Hold for applause, hold for applause.
Slow umbrella fade out.
- Yeah. Yeah. - Let's just go for it.
You sound great, MJ. You sound great.
Bam, something right there.
We're seconds away, Mike.
- Rolling. - Rolling.
And Gilda singing.
Bravo!
What's he doing here?
And cut. That was a good one.
Let's cut.
- Okay, Bruce? - Yes, sir?
Rehearsed, and Michael was great. We can do this.
- Ready to shoot? - Yup.
- Okay, guys, let's shoot this. - Here we go, ready. We are...
- ... rolling. - Action.
What do you want me to do? Count three like they do in the movies?
Guys, that's the cue.
I'm sorry, are we misunderstanding something here?
- No, we're not misunderstanding. - We're sizzling.
- He's sizzling. - I'm sizzling.
He's waiting for my point, it's coming.
Michael, I was telling them to start when you turn toward the audience.
Oh, no, I wanna turn first, face the audience with nothing.
- Okay. - And then when he gets my cue...
- ... then we go. - The only thing is...
...how will you see the video change from the marquee to the city?
I gotta feel that. I'll feel it, the screen behind me.
All right. Now this is all sizzle, sizzle, sizzle. It says "Smooth Criminal. "
The audience is going wild. The camera slowly starts to move...
...over the marquee.
Pretty good... Pretty good.
You're gonna put that in?
It's really cool for me as a musical director...
...because I need the artist to be hands-on...
...and MJ is always hands-on with everything he does.
He knows all of his records. He knows all of his tempos.
He knows all of his keys of songs.
Just a little drag, a little bit more behind the beat.
Yeah. It's not the right sound.
Like you're dragging yourself out of bed.
Imagine this is the right sound. Check this.
Don't change so soon, though.
Don't wanna change over so soon yet. See, you're going:
Don't do that one. Don't do that one.
- Don't do that one yet? - No, no.
It should be simpler.
Yeah.
We'll get the sound, we'll get the sound.
We'll get the sound but that's not till tomorrow.
We gotta do a sound check tomorrow night.
That's what we need to do.
And don't start unless you do a sound check.
I know, that's why we doing it.
We need you to do the sound check...
...because can't nobody hear what you need to hear.
Some people might not wanna have that bass-
I want it the way I wrote it. I mean-
Like the audience hears it.
So whatever the record's doing, that's how I want it to sound.
That's what it's gonna sound like, but you gotta get closer to what you want.
Then if you wanna hear a little more booty...
...on something else, know what I mean?
Only you can say that. You know what I'm saying?
A little more booty.
That's funny.
But you knew what I meant though too.
I know exactly what you meant.
One more time from the top.
Try to get the same sound.
Good sound on that. Good sound.
No, no, not yet, Prince.
No. You gotta-
You gotta let it simmer.
It's got a moment where it has to simmer.
- That's right. - You're not letting it simmer.
Just bathe in the moonlight. You have to let it simmer a bit, you know?
All right, Prince? We're gonna add two bars after the:
Or at least a bar.
Yeah. MJ, check it from the top again. See what we got, simmer-wise.
One, two, three, four.
I gotta cue that. I gotta cue that.
- That shouldn't trigger on its own. - That's a special on our girl.
That can't trigger on its own.
I gotta cue that.
So you gotta watch me for that growl, okay?
One more time.
That's why we rehearse.
It's okay, it's okay. Right here on this one.
They wanted us to take those eight out so-
It's okay, it's okay, no. It was a little too soon.
- Yeah, I agree, Michael. - Yeah.
- I think let's add them back. - Just leave it.
You don't feel totally nourished by it, you know?
MJ, we'll also have a fan there, right there in the center.
I'm trying to hear you. Say it again?
There'll be a fan, right there off the stage for you.
Boom, right there.
Okay, watching Michael.
Once again, ladies and gentlemen, the world's most fabulous group:
The Jackson 5.
Everybody clap your hands. Come on!
You guys, I gotta tell you this.
When I'm trying to hear and it feels like...
...somebody's fist is pushed into my ear...
...it's really very difficult.
I know you mean well, so, but it's...
I'm trying to adjust to the ear, the inner ears, okay?
With the love, with the love. L-O-V-E.
- Michael. - This is not easy though.
Michael, one more time. I couldn't hear you, sir.
The inner ears are very difficult for me when you're raised...
...to use just your real own, you know, aural- Auditory ears.
Now it feels like somebody's fist, just their fist, is shoved into your ear.
- Okay. - I'm trying to hear and I can't.
So I'm adjusting to the situation.
Right. Michael, is there anything they can give you now...
...in your ears to make it better in terms of volume or mix?
If we could just bring it down a little bit.
Bring it down a little bit, please.
Anything else, Michael? You wanna hear more of anything?
You wanna hear more voice, wanna hear more-?
- No. - Okay, Michael, after the next song...
...if it hasn't adjusted to your liking, please let us know?
- For sure. - Thank you.
Would you like to pick it up from...?
- "Stop! The Love You Save. " - "Stop! The Love You Save. "
God bless you.
Everybody!
I'll say, "Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon...
...Tito, Randy, I love you.
Joseph and Katherine, God bless you. I love you. "
Just trying to conserve my throat, please, so understand.
- And blackout. - We'll make it cleaner at the back.
So you wanna get rid of the bad specials, those profiles coming in.
There's a lot going on. The dancers...
...we do maintenance with them two to three times a week.
We do Pilates and stretching and ballet, and they have physical therapy.
You know, just keeping everybody together.
I saw you, you were going like this, what is this?
That's Russian. This is Russian.
So Baryshnikov does it like this...
...and you guys are doing like this. Same thing.
- Good. - One more time.
But we're straight up and down now, right?
I don't think it's anything except hand moving.
I think that's smoother, you know what I mean?
I mean, I have nothing to move.
Dancers, music.
Oh, my gosh.
All right, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You. " Judith.
Let me know when you're ready.
A mi amor eres tú
Cuando no estas No hay quien me dé lo que das tú
A mi amor eres tú
Do it for Ortega.
- Ortega. - Here we go.
For his people.
One, two, three.
More echo in here?
Now, don't make me sing out when I shouldn't be singing out.
I'm warming- I'm trying to warm up my voice for this moment.
Why do you do this to me? I shouldn't be singing right now.
- No. No, no. - You better sing!
I'm warming up to the moment.
- But you just can't help it, MJ. - No, but, I shouldn't. I really shouldn't.
- Yeah, but you felt it. - No, no.
But you can allow yourself that one time.
I can't do that.
But you're fine to do it. I gotta save my voice.
That ending was just like the smelliest ending of all the versions.
Band, it's just this.
This is what it is.
What day is it? What time is it?
We're down to the wire. We're like halfway through our film shoot...
...for all of our incredible new film content for This Is It.
Today we are filming new segments for "Thriller," 3-D.
- Do I still have on my 3-D glasses? - Yes.
Oh, good.
I think I look great in these glasses.
Do I look as old as I feel?
Guys, please step away if you're not in the shot. Photographers, everybody.
Clear the set now for the crew.
- Rolling! - Here we go.
Action.
This guy should be getting out soon.
- You guys, be aware of the camera. - Look up to it.
There's gonna be light on him. No light on him now.
Give the information to him.
Gravedigger, right into the camera. Put your-
There it is. Right into it, right in there. That's it, keep going.
- Right there. - That's it.
Right into the camera. Reach your hands out in front of you.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah! - That's it, beautiful!
Keep coming. Yeah, right into the lens. I'm in the center of the camera.
There you go.
Now, go out. Go out. Good. And cut. It's brilliant. Thank you, everybody.
We call these the dead brides and the dead grooms.
And there'll be a parade of them moving through the aisles in "Thriller. "
Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'all's neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell
The demons squeal in sheer delight
It's you they spy, so plump, so right
For though the groove is hard to beat
Yet still you stand with frozen feet
You try to run, you try to scream
But no more sun you'll ever see
For evil reaches from the crypt
To crush you in its icy grip
Make sure that there's somebody waiting for Michael there...
...with a flashlight and everything. Great.
Now, you know, could we do that times 10?
Absolutely!
Okay, so next is the fire screen.
We're gonna show you some chase sequences.
Rock 'n' roll!
Today was all about...
...testing the chandelier and bed props for the show...
...with our aerialists and pole-dancing experts.
It's all about checking dimension...
- ... widths, pipe, how things work. - Building props with people on it...
...is a big responsibility and a lot of fun...
...because we have to design things around the human body.
This is the first time in the history we've worked with Michael...
...for the past 25 years that we are including lighted elements...
...in his "Billie Jean" costume.
The cut of the stones, the refraction of the light...
...as we're applying, you almost need sunglasses, just the reflection.
We're bringing things into his performance...
...where they haven't been developed. It's just being developed for Michael.
I'm working with scientists in the Netherlands...
...with people in California, working with Swarovski.
Always trying to push the boundaries because that's what Michael's about.
Now, is this working this evening?
Without running the number, if Michael would like to...
...just to give him a little ride so that he feels his new cherry picker out.
From the top of "Beat It. "
- You wanna do it with music already? - Yeah.
Can I just give you a ride first?
- Sure. If you want. - Okay.
Yeah. Just for safety. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Michael.
- Sure. Sure. - Daredevil MJ.
- I trust in you. - Thank you.
Just for safety. Thank you.
Stand by, guys.
You've been there before.
MJ, this is just at mid-height.
It goes much higher than this.
This is the low height.
Why would you say that to me? You know better.
See, why did you say that to him?
He's teasing me. That's why.
He know I wants to go higher.
God bless you, Kenny.
Hi.
Yeah, yeah. Are the fans working on this?
It's great.
Michael, please hold on.
- Thank you. - It's very nice.
- Yeah? Is it smooth? - Yeah.
Great. This is monumental, Michael's back on the cherry picker.
- Yeah. - Thank you.
- We love you, Michael. - Love you too.
Okay, that's where you want it? When we come up-
What we're doing is...
We're doing it for the height.
I'm gonna take off the jacket...
...and kick it, and beat it, and beat it and we're gonna burn it.
The jacket's gonna be too hot. It's gonna be on fire.
I just wanted to know when that last one was.
That's the one, I was pointing to it.
I was pointing that to you.
I got you. You don't have to do it again.
We can. Do it again.
Here it is right here, just do me the last one.
Come on the one before it.
Let's go on to C. One before.
And let it burn, and the lights out!
Lights out.
Lights out! Let it burn!
We're on a 10-minute break.
I'm just so happy. This is a dream come true.
When MJ comes in the room to rehearse with us...
...his presence is just amazing. It's pretty, pretty cool. Really, really cool.
Thank you.
Michael is the epitome of one of the great entertainers of our time.
Performing with Michael has just been a thrill.
I've been a Michael Jackson fan since he was 8.
It's like a lifelong dream for me to actually work with Michael.
I've worked with a lot of great, great artists...
...but I consider this, like, really a pinnacle.
Michael's a perfectionist.
You don't find that in pop musicians. You can't fool Michael.
You have to come in knowing the record.
Then, hopefully, finding a middle ground...
...to embellish it to make it even better.
He's just an icon of performance.
His talent runs so deep in creativity. And he draws from a deeper emotion...
...than anybody else I've ever seen or worked with.
Right here, right here, right here.
Okay, no second verse. Sorry. Okay, sorry, sorry.
That was a mistake, there is no second verse. Sorry about that, you guys.
First verse, then right to the bridge, okay?
- Let's do it one more time. - Sure.
- Wanna go down then come back up? - One more time.
- This is why we have rehearsal. - There you go.
So we'll run this way.
When they stop, you have to just keep- Just hit your highest note.
It's time for you to shine.
And hit a high, long one.
I mean, way up there.
It's your time to shine.
We'll be right there with you.
It's remarkable. It's some genius stuff going on over here, man.
He is the king.
And he's a good guy too. He's real humble.
You know. And he knows his music.
What more can you ask for? Because I'm searching for that flavor too.
Look at that. I think it's beautiful.
Show him the second one.
- It'll come rolling out at us, right? - Yes.
- All golden. Look at this. - It'll be floating so much.
I love her. I love the light.
- God, and the lighting's great. - Yeah. You got it.
I respect the secrets and magic of nature.
That's why it makes me so angry when I see these things that are happening.
That every second, I hear, the size of a football field...
...is torn down in the Amazon.
I mean, that kind of stuff really bothers me.
That's why I write these kind of songs, you know.
It gives some sense of awareness and awakening and hope to people.
I love the planet.
I love trees. I have this thing for trees, and the colors and changing of leaves.
I love it. And I respect those kind of things.
The value would be greater...
...you let it rumble...
...let it stay open, let it close in silence.
And when that door opens, you start that piano.
God bless you.
I really feel that nature is trying so hard...
...to compensate for man's mismanagement of the planet.
Because the planet is sick. Like a fever.
If we don't fix it now, it's at the point of no return.
This is our last chance to fix this problem that we have...
...where it's like a runaway train...
...and the time has come. This is it.
I love you.
That'll be the ending of this under the words.
People are always saying, "They'll take care of it. The government'll-
Don't worry. They'll-" "They" who? It starts with us. It's us.
Or else it'll never be done.
Guys, can I have the lighting crew?
- Travis? - Yeah!
First of all, Michael will be coming on from offstage...
...and he's got, like, an attaché case.
And right here, Michael, you call it here.
So now it comes here. So it's a light that is moving on his command.
- Absolutely. - Right? Then when he moves forward...
- ... he's in that light. - Yeah.
He's in that light.
But I wanna be able to step into the pool once I'm fully dressed.
So then- So after he does this- Why don't you do this, Michael?
After you go like this and you send that down...
...a gesture and a pool of light comes on.
Now a pool of light comes on down here...
- ... wherever his light is... - Yeah.
...and the pool of light comes on and now he'll walk into it, center stage.
And now he'll start.
I know.
At least we get a feel of it.
God bless you.
Church.
The church of rock 'n' roll.
I'm a fan.
God bless you.
Get some water.
Water, water...
I just wanna say as Michael's creative partner in this venture...
...this has been one of the most extraordinary experiences...
...of my creative life. I am so proud and so thrilled and so excited...
...and I just wanna thank everybody for their extraordinary work.
And I'm gonna just give this to Michael now.
Everybody's doing a great job.
Let's continue and believe and have faith.
Give me your all, your endurance, your patience and your understanding.
But it's an adventure, it's a great adventure.
It's nothing to be nervous about.
They just want wonderful experiences, they want escapism.
We wanna take them places that they've never been before.
We wanna show them talent like they've never seen before.
So give your all.
And I love you all. And we're a family. Just know that. We're a family.
- That's right. - Amen.
We're putting love back into the world...
...to remind the world that love is important.
Love is important. To love each other. We're all one. That's the message.
And take care of the planet.
We have four years to get it right...
...or else it's irreversible, the damage we've done.
So we have an important message to give. Okay? It's important.
But I thank you for your cooperation so far. Thank you. Big thank you.
Blessings! Blessings to all.
Michael Jackson!
Have a beautiful Sunday.
- Be safe. Stay healthy. - Energy!
On three! On three, "Michael. "
One, two, three!
Michael!
What I'd like to do right now is just run, for a sound check, "Man in the Mirror. "
- Okay. - And then we'll talk about the ending.
MJ Air.
Your favorite part.
Right?
- They'd love that. - You have to do it like MJ.
No, no, no.
You know you love that part.
I love when you...
No, no.
That's how the stewardesses do it, I love when they do that.
I love it.
In third grade, the first song I sang was "Man in the Mirror. "
So it's kind of cool, like, going from that to this...
...singing it onstage with Michael, you know.
So it's just an amazing experience to be onstage with him.
He's such an amazing artist.
- There should be a break there. - Yeah, we gotta work that out.
- Have it right there, okay? - Yeah, we gotta work that one out.
Let me bathe in my own time when I come back in.
Yeah, you got it.
I'm gonna button my shirt or my jacket or whatever it is.
I'm gonna look around a little bit, play with them.
Snap my fingers maybe, then bam!