Antoine Fuqua has revealed that his only contact with Michael Jackson was a brief phone call, and that the King of Pop simply wanted to say hello and tell him he liked his work.
talking to Variety like your Miguel The biopic opened with $97 million in the United States and $217.4 million worldwide, the best opening weekend of his career. Fuqua reflected on the personal connection, or lack thereof, he had with his subject.
When asked if he had ever met Jackson, the director was candid.
“No, just a phone call when I was considered director of Remember the time. I was in Italy, so I couldn’t participate in the bidding on that one. He was a calm and sweet boy. It wasn’t so much an audition or anything like that, it was more him saying hello and how much he liked my work. It was like he was in contact with me. “It wasn’t a long phone call.”
Fuqua came to the project through an unexpected route.
While working at Equalizer 3 With cinematographer Bob Richardson, he was shown a photograph of Richardson next to a figure who bore a striking resemblance to Jackson.
He turned out to be Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s nephew, during a screen test.
“It blew my mind,” Fuqua said. Producer Graham King later flew to meet him on the Amalfi Coast to talk about the film, and from there the director was on board.
The road to the finished film was not without significant complications.
The film’s original ending featured Jackson’s accuser, Jordan Chandler, whose agreement with the singer’s estate legally prevented him from appearing on screen.
The discovery came after production had wrapped, forcing 20 days of reshoots at an additional cost of $50 million, bringing the film’s total net production cost to $200 million.
Fuqua had to shelve other projects to make room for additional filming.
spoke with Variety while traveling to Italy, where he is currently filming Hannibala Netflix feature starring Denzel Washington.
Fuqua previously directed music videos for Toni Braxton, Stevie Wonder, Prince and Coolio, including the iconic Gangster paradise.
