Michael Jackson and David Geffen, THE OPERATOR

We are coming to the end of the road where most of the questions still pending will have to be answered.

And considering that today is nine years since Michael Jackson is gone, the first most natural question to ask is whose guilt is the biggest in contributing to his death.

Well, technically it was Conrad Murray working for AEG Live (and not for MJ as they told us) while the overall atmosphere of unbearable pressure, humiliation and primitive exploitation that finally killed Michael was created by the company itself and specifically its Randy Phillips, whose monstrous methods of work deprived Michael of the last chance to sleep in an natural way.

These methods included arranging for MJ a huge number of concerts he never agreed to and creating for him a harsh schedule of performances he could not follow even when young. There was also shouting at the artist, slapping him and humiliating him in front of others, threatening to leave him on skid row and even take away his children – all of it in case Michael didn’t fulfill Randy Phillips’s willful orders he never had the right to make in the first place.

The only thing that more or less reconciles me with AEG Live is that they fired Randy Phillips, though not until after he gave his pro-AEG testimony in Katherine Jackson’s lawsuit against the company.

But horrible as they are, they are certainly not to blame for the false stories of child molestation about Michael Jackson that were killing him slowly, and most probably not for the introduction of Wade Robson into the scene at the beginning of the Jacksons vs. AEG Live trial (May 2013), as well as supporting Robson in his slander campaign against Jackson for the past five years.

The co-occurrence of Robson’s allegations and the beginning of that trial was indeed too striking not to notice it and the suspicion that AEG Live was involved was the first thing that came to our minds (even Thomas Mesereau thought that there was a connection).

The only factor that restrained me from making a definitive conclusion was the fact that a smart entity like AEG Live wouldn’t have done it so blatantly and wouldn’t have made itself so obvious a target. So even at that time connecting Robson’s allegations with AEG looked like too easy an assumption and the thought that someone else took advantage of the situation to smear Michael’s name did cross my mind, however looking in that direction seemed like over-complicating things, so the thought was brushed aside then.

However now it is probably time to return to this matter. Was there a third party and who was it? Who was so determined to ruin Michael Jackson’s name and legacy that he encouraged a new liar to tell his fake story and supported the accuser (or accusers, if we also include Safechuck) for several years, paying their two consecutive teams of lawyers and carrying out a dirty publicity campaign with the help of tabloids like RadarOnline? And do the main actors of the game know who is orchestrating the whole thing? 

THE OPERATOR

To me the answer to these questions came in the form of a picture which explained that it was possible – at least possible – for a certain person to play others like puppets so that they do what the operator wants them to and at the same time have no idea who is masterminding the scene.

Those who have read my previous posts know that the picture I am talking about is a cover page for the original cast of ‘My Fair Lady’ which serves as an illustration of the usual modus operandi of David Geffen as described by one of his friends.

David sort of sits there in the darkness. Very quiet. You don’t know what he’s doing except controlling and manipulating. Sort of like the original-cast album cover of ‘My Fair Lady.’ That’s David

David sort of sits there in the darkness. Very quiet. You don’t know what he’s doing except controlling and manipulating. That’s David.

No wonder that the only biography written about David Geffen is called “The Operator”.

Actually its full title is even more tale-telling as it suggests that David Geffen’s operating field is the whole of present-day “new” Hollywood which Geffen is said to be building, buying and selling.

The biography is called “The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys and Sells the New Hollywood” and it was written in 2000 by Tom King, a journalist who worked for the Wall Street Journal.

The book is unavailable online and it is not sold in my country, but the reviews of those who have read it are quite illuminating as regards its main character. Here are some quotes:

• “This book is not just about Geffen but about all the lives he touched, helped and often ruined. There is no excuse for some of the things Geffen has done.”
• Geffen seems at points to realize that his best traits are undermined by his worst traits–greed and a vengeful spirit–but seems at a loss to change his behavior.”
• “The richer Geffen became, the more good he did, but it is confounding that he hurt so many people in the process. Geffen’s most disturbing trait as relayed in this book is his willingness to sabotage the careers of others by manufacturing toxic and unfounded rumors.
• No matter how much you thank your lucky stars that you never, ever have to do business with David Geffen, you cannot help but be awestruck at his genius as a businessman, visualizer and strategist.
• The Operator opens up endless hidden layers of world class mind games, shameless confabulation, breathtaking intelligence, and inexplicable weirdness. One leaves with the sense of the entertainment business as one great dysfunctional family, loves spinning out of control into hatreds, and mutual disgust converting into strategic alliances.
• The stories about his interaction with (and abuse of) fellow moguls like Ovitz, Eisner, Ross, and Davis were jawdropping. I found myself shaking my head at the deals he cut, for example talking Steve Ross into giving him back his music label for free after Ross had bankrolled the whole thing! …In this book Spielberg is portrayed as a man at the opposite end of the spectrum: a man who is grateful for his success, indebted to the people who helped him achieve it, satisfied with the money he has made, and eager to give something in return.
• Notwithstanding his many contributions to the recording and film industries in particular, and his phenomenally generous philanthropy, Mr. Geffen is quite simply a completely unappealing person as depicted in this biography and, undoubtedly to many people, in real life as well.
• Mr. Geffen unquestionably has left his mark on history. Unfortunately, he has been absolutely ruthless in doing so. Mr. Geffen comes across in this book as a selfish and greedy creature for whom (literally) billions of dollars still isn’t “enough.” I highly recommend this book but with fair warning: Once you get to the end, you’ll probably feel like sticking your finger down your throat.
• He can be a caring friend or an implacable enemy. He can be embarrassing intimate with almost complete strangers, yet distant as a north star toward his own family. He shows great generosity personally and publicly; yet hasn’t a qualm about financially ruining friend and foe alike for a perceived slight, and sometimes just for the hell of it.
• About two-thirds of the way into it, I had to put it aside for awhile. The paranoia, betrayal, double dealing, etc. had happened over and over so many times, with so many people, that I wondered if there was anything more to the story.
• Despite pulling off some major deals, Geffen also found himself with some very bad breaks, like taking on Donna Summer as a client just as she found religion and homophobia. He was an uneven judge of talent and largely out of touch with the popular culture his business helped shape. It’s also telling that some of his greatest feuds were with people like Jerry Wexler, who understood music, built careers and helped open new doors for different styles of music. Geffen’s money came from his trading in junk bonds, rather than his show business wheeling and dealing.
• It was sad to see the accounting for all the debris (people, careers, reputations, companies) he has apparently left in his wake as he’s made his way down the path to earning his billions. An inspirational yet sad tale all in one.

And here is a little more about the way Tom King found himself writing a book about the man that intrigued him so much and what came of his benign plans.

How David Geffen Got Ahead: Lies, Loot and a Little Luck

By David Handelman • 03/13/00 (excerpts)

…according to New York magazine, Mr. Geffen “became physically ill” when he read the manuscript for The Operator , his demi-authorized biography written by Tom King, who covers the entertainment industry for The Wall Street Journal .

It’s easy to see why. Yes, the book tells the story how he rose from nothingness to media moguldom. (Mr. Geffen now advises President Clinton.) But the bulk of The Operator exposes [] how along the way he has betrayed, badgered, lied to and cut off most of his family, friends and colleagues.

It’s been widely reported that Mr. Geffen originally cooperated with the book partly because of Mr. King’s classy employer, and partly because Mr. King is openly gay. Mr. Geffen himself, after much hemming and hawing, finally came out in a speech at a 1992 AIDS fund-raiser in his honor.

After about a year, Mr. Geffen stopped speaking to Mr. King, shocked that there might be some negatives in the book. When the author sent him an advance copy of the manuscript, Mr. Geffen called it “fiction” but didn’t single out any falsehoods.

But David Geffen has trafficked in fictions all his life. The Operator could have easily been called The Liar. The William Morris agent-turned-rock manager-turned-record label executive-turned-movie executive has lived a life of self-denial and manipulation, always trying to control the story and make the buck. (As one record executive once screamed at Mr. Geffen, “You’d jump into a pool of pus to come up with a nickel between your teeth!”)

He’d advise clients to lie to get what they wanted; he’d spread lies about people with whom he was feuding; he’d lie about providing a haven for artists against the big corporations, when all he really wanted to do was sell out to them as fast as possible.

He went into the music business not out of any love for it but because it promised the quickest advancement to a young person. He was drawn to singer-songwriters less for their artistic purity than for the fact that they owned their own material and thus could generate more profits.

Mr. King never really analyzes how much of Mr. Geffen’s success is, like anything in Hollywood, dumb luck. He invested a million dollars in Broadway’s Cats, and has made a third of the profits ever since. But he also put out the worst records in the careers of Elton John and Neil Young (who have since rebounded). While he focused his energy on Little Shop of Horrors, for instance, another Geffen movie he barely paid attention to, Beetlejuice , was the one that hit.

Money always seems to be the goal. Mr. King even points out that while Mr. Geffen has donated millions of dollars to AIDS causes, instead of doing so quietly, he has always “insisted on, or agreed to, having his name celebrated openly.”

Amazingly, many of the fellow moguls Mr. Geffen alienates pretty thoroughly in these pages-Mike Ovitz, Mo Ostin, Sandy Gallin-are back in his circle. Maybe they’re just aware that, as Warren Beatty once put it, “a mobilized David Geffen is something that you want working for you, not against you.”

http://observer.com/2000/03/how-david-geffen-got-ahead-lies-loot-and-a-little-luck/

“David Geffen. The book he doesn’t want you to read”. Cover picture for Tom King’s interview. The Advocate, April 11, 2000.

Whose Life Is It, Anyway?

By Lisa DePaulo

…This week, as King’s book, The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood, finally hits bookstores, Geffen is beyond offended. He’s furious, with King “and with himself,” says Terry Press, his right-hand person at DreamWorks.  The way Geffen — one of the most feared and powerful men in Hollywood — sees it, Tom King seduced him, wooed him with “promises and lies,” then went about blithely assassinating his character in 688 pages.

King sees it differently. [ ] At a time when powerful subjects routinely quash books before they are even written, King won Geffen over by convincing the mogul that his cooperation would ensure a “fair and accurate” portrait of his life. Is his largely unflattering portrayal a betrayal of their deal? Or is it simply good journalism?

…King seems to hold back intentionally when it comes to anything intimate, including Geffen’s much-speculated-about sex life. King is more focused on the melodramas of his business dealings, especially an ongoing pattern in Geffen’s life of forging powerful relationships, then sabotaging them, or at the very least getting supremely pissed at his closest friends.

…In one memorable scene, he brings his professional-diver boyfriend to the Oval Office, to advise President Clinton on how to spin the press.

King also goes into great detail about Geffen’s colorful feuds and battles — with Steve Ross, Ahmet Ertegun, Mike Ovitz, Michael Eisner, Don Henley, Phil Spector, Donna Summer, Clive Davis, Neil Young, Madonna, Sandy Gallin, Barry Diller, and countless others. At one point, he recounts an incident in which Geffen picked a tactical fight with Warner music legend Mo Ostin — to ensure that Ostin would be safely out of the way when a deal was struck.

But even Ostin came back into the fold. He now works for Geffen at DreamWorks. “That’s what’s so fascinating,” says King. “One moment he repels people, and the next moment he draws them in. There’s a magic about this guy that’s irresistible,” King says. “I found it seductive, too.”

In the beginning, the Geffen-King partnership seemed, in true Hollywood fashion, to be the start of a beautiful relationship. “I’d been intrigued by Geffen and his life and his career for a long time,” says King. “And being a gay man myself, I knew him from that perspective, too. He was certainly one of the most, if not the most, famous gay man in America.”

Over the years, Geffen had not only fended off other prospective biographers but also managed to get books killed. [ ] This time, Geffen was intrigued. His friends say that two things about the young writer appealed to him: that King was gay and that he worked for the Wall Street Journal.

Geffen’s well-known propensity for killing books would have scared off most publishers. But King had secured more than Geffen’s promise of cooperation: He had Geffen’s agreement in writing.

Geffen’s green light was crucial in getting people to cooperate. Whether it was Cher, Tom Cruise, or Geffen’s cousin in St. Louis, it was always the same drill: They’d check with David first, then call back, astounded that he told them that they could actually talk.

Geffen’s first “real freak-out” on King was the day he called his biographer as King was headed to Encino to interview Geffen’s estranged older brother, Mitchell, a retired attorney. King told him where he was headed, as he usually did. Tom, you can’t interview my brother! You agreed not to interview my brother! (King says he never agreed to that.) And finally, We can call this whole thing off right now.

“When I first heard he was unhappy with the book, I wasn’t sure I should believe it,” King says. “He’s such a Machiavellian character, I wasn’t entirely certain he wasn’t putting on an act.”

Geffen’s friends insist it is no act and claim he has gotten increasingly depressed as the buzz around the book intensifies. .. in the end, he is less outraged by revelations of his conquests than he is about his depiction as an unscrupulous businessperson.

Even as he privately rants over King’s “betrayal,” Geffen has steadfastly declined to comment publicly on the book, telling friends he refuses to give it any more attention. Behind the scenes, however, he and his team have mounted an impressive effort to discredit it.

… sources claim that representatives of DreamWorks have called various networks, trying to persuade them not to give airtime to the biographer. Typically, Geffen has vowed that King will come to regret his betrayal. At the very least, he has told friends, King will never write another book in this town again.

That might be wishful thinking. Last week, before a single book appeared in stores, The Operator had already climbed to No. 20 on the Amazon list.

King is back to work at the Journal, writing a weekly column about Hollywood. So far, being Geffen’s No. 1 enemy hasn’t hindered his job. “At the end of the day,” says one of King’s colleagues, “Who cares what David Geffen thinks of him? He’s a reporter at the Wall Street Journal. What’s the worst thing that could happen to Tom? He won’t get a contract at DreamWorks?”

http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/2329/index3.html

The worst that could happen to Tom King took place just three years later – he died at an early age of 39 of a brain haemorrhage while on vacation. He just complained of a headache, collapsed on the floor of a bathroom and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“King’s death stunned the Hollywood community and his colleagues. Jonathan Friedland, the Journal’s Los Angeles bureau chief, said it was “a terrible shock — Tom was a great guy, seemingly in great health.”

And though the cause of his death was indicated as natural ever since then the people close to Geffen have flatly refused to give any more interviews. One of his friends sort of summed up the general feeling in a short conversation with journalist Nicole LaPorte:

“When I called a friend of Geffen’s and asked him if he’d speak to me, I was met with a heavy silence on the other end of the line. And then a deep-throated growl: ‘The last person who wrote a book about David Geffen is dead! And he was young. And healthy. And now he’s dead!’ Click.”

Tom King was indeed the last person to write about Geffen, however not the first one. There was also an earlier book by Fred Goodman published in 1997 about rock music turned into a commercial product where Geffen was one of the key players (“The Mansion on the Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen, Springsteen and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce).

And if anyone suspects that Tom King was biased in making an unflattering portrait of Geffen, the publisher’s note to the book by Fred Goodman, a former editor at Rolling Stone, makes it clear that King was actually quite balanced and even charitable to this character. The publisher’s note to the earlier book says:

This hard-nosed history of the rock-music business concentrates particularly on the rise of the manipulative, calculating and utterly ruthless, billionaire music business Svengali, David Geffen.

The book reviewers add to it:

Goodman sees Geffen as being very different than Albert Grossman [Bob Dylan’s manager] because Grossman really cared that his artists were able to say what they wanted to say, whereas Geffen simply wanted his artists to make money regardless of their content.

The book includes excellent portraits of Mr. Dylan, Mr. Geffen, Mr. Springsteen, Neil Young and Jon Landau, the rock critic turned record producer who transformed Mr. Springsteen’s career. Mr. Geffen gets the harshest treatment, being depicted as one of the most arrogant young men ever to come out of Brooklyn. Mr. Goodman recounts one particularly startling series of events that began when Mr. Geffen convinced Neil Young he should sign with Mr. Geffen’s record company for $3 million less than another company was offering, because the singer ”would be free to make whatever records he wanted without commercial constraint.” Then, after Mr. Young made two eccentric albums for Mr. Geffen that were both commercial failures, Mr. Geffen sued Mr. Young for the return of the $3 million the impresario had advanced him. As Mr. Goodman points out, ”Geffen’s claim was extraordinarily brash,” considering how he had persuaded Mr. Young to sign with him in the first place. ”The truth is I fought with him because I wanted him to do better work,” Mr. Geffen explained afterward. ”I was taking too much of a fatherly role in his life.” Even in the record business, only David Geffen could describe a $3 million lawsuit against one of his prize musicians as an excess of paternalism.

What little respect you may still have for the music business will be whittled down to next to nothing before you are finished with this book. It’s a fascinating read nonetheless.

Considering Geffen’s extraordinary ability to manipulate, control and take advantage of everyone who came his way, his ongoing pattern of forging relationships and then turning on his closest friends, his exceptional vindictiveness and incessant feuds, his propensity to sabotage the careers of others by manufacturing toxic and unfounded rumors and spinning the press, as well as a long trail of reputations ruined for a perceived slight or just “for the hell of it”, as one reviewer said, there is no reason to believe that Geffen treated Michael Jackson any differently.

In fact the notorious 2003 Vanity Fair article by Maureen Orth did claim that Geffen was on Michael Jackson’s “enemy list”.  But if MJ lost his affection for Geffen and had a falling out with him, the same must have been all the more true for the other side, so the thing we can be absolutely certain of is that it was Michael Jackson who was on Geffen’s enemy list. And if he was – well, “he might as well kill himself” as one of Geffen’s friends said.

“David will do anything for you if you’re his friend,” says Howard Rosenman, a movie producer and, yes, a friend. “But if you’re his enemy, well, you might as well kill yourself.”

To call a spade a spade, I think that David Geffen has much to do with Michael Jackson’s character assassination and smearing campaign, as well as the attempts to ruin his career, legacy and finances, both during his lifetime and after his death.

The only problem here is that due to Geffen’s usual modus operandi there are no traces left – he always stays in the shade and wages his wars via proxies or those who don’t even suspect that they are being manipulated and are certainly unaware of the identity of the person acting from behind the scenes.

…David was never there, but it was very clear that he had influence,” says the actress Allison Caine. “David never had his fingerprints anywhere “.

But if Geffen never leaves his fingerprints anywhere, finding any direct proof of his anti-Jackson activity is simply ruled out. Expecting those in the know to talk about it is wishful thinking too, at least at the moment, as everyone is absolutely terrified to open their mouth – even in case Geffen himself authorizes them to talk. Tom King said about it back in 2000:

I was surprised to find, however, that many of Geffen’s friends were reluctant to talk, even though he encouraged them to do so. Most, apparently, they did not believe him when he told them, “I’m comfortable with everything – say whatever you want.” When various other authors had set out to write books about him in the past, he had sent letters to nearly everyone he knew, imploring them not to cooperate.

“Nobody is going to tell you anything really nasty about him because they are afraid of him,” Ahmet Ertegun, the head of Atlantic Records and one of Geffen’s earlier mentors, told me.

… a number of the people who did talk candidly – even if they had not said anything mean – almost instantly regretted what they had said. Carrie Fisher, one of Geffen’s brightest and most articulate friends, tracked me down at Los Angeles International Airport the day after our first interview, telling me she was panicked about the stories she had told. [“The Operator”, foreword]

And Carrie Fisher was certainly no coward – however in Geffen’s case an innocent story told about him sent her into so much panic that she followed the author to the airport to track him down there.

So when no one is willing to talk and when any direct evidence of Geffen’s meddling with Michael Jackson’s life is impossible to find in principle, we will have to make do with what we have – draw analogies between Michael Jackson and ruined careers of other people close to Geffen and find the reasons why he did away with them, collect the tiny bits and pieces left here and there, and look into Geffen’s interaction with Michael Jackson, paying special attention to the way it was reported by the press at different periods of time.

This will require a whole series of posts and looking into the subjects that may seem irrelevant at first sight. However, if you are building your case on circumstantial evidence alone there are no such things as irrelevant subjects or insignificant points.

This post will be the first take on this matter.

PART II

THE LETTER

On June 21, 1990 Michael Jackson wrote a letter to David Geffen thanking him for the flowers sent to him while he was in hospital for a few days. This letter was later sold at Julien’s Auctions complete with the envelope.

MICHAEL JACKSON LETTER TO DAVID GEFFEN  

Lot closed – Winning bid: $2,560

Michael Jackson signed letter to David Geffen dated “June 21, 1990” written on MJJ Productions stationary, thanking Geffen for flowers sent during an illness. Letter reads in part, “Thank you for standing by me. You’re wonderful!” signed in red marker by Michael Jackson. With original transmittal envelope. 10 1/2 by 7 1/4 inches

http://www.julienslive.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/3/lot/447/

The letter said:

June 21, 1990

Mr. David Geffen

100 Universal Plaza

Universal Plaza, CA 91608

Dear David:

The flowers you sent during my illness were so beautiful and greatly appreciated.

With your prayers and blessings as my shield, I am quickly advancing towards complete recovery. I fully expect to resume work in the near future and continue sharing the fruits of my labor with loyal friends such as you.

Thank you for standing by me. You’re wonderful!

Love always,

Michael Jackson

The author Mike Smallcombe who wrote Michael Jackson’s biography says that Michael was taken to hospital on June 3, 1990 with chest pains that later turned out to be inflammation of the ribcage cartilage.

On June 3, Michael was admitted to St. John’s Hospital in Los Angeles with chest pains. Tests later traced the pains to inflammation of rib cage cartilage. Although Michael was released from hospital five days later, the illness kept him out of the studio for several weeks.

The date of June 3 wonderfully fits in with the time estimated by us for the same episode described in Darlene Craviotto’s book. You remember that the book was published in 2011 and is about her writing a script in 1990 for the so-called secret Project M for the Disney studio – a Peter Pan movie with Michael Jackson in the main role.

The project was a fraud from its inception as the rights to the movie belonged to another film company where Spielberg was about to begin his work on a similar project (‘The Hook’), so under no circumstances could ‘Peter Pan’ be made at Disney – which Michael Jackson certainly knew nothing about.

However Craviotto is thoroughly painting a picture of everyone at Disney allegedly wanting to make the film happen and when Michael Jackson was taken to hospital she made it look like an unwelcome delay to their project because they were allegedly “running out of time” with it.

… a voice on the television suddenly makes an announcement.

“Michael Jackson hospitalized with chest pains! News at 11!”

…Howard calls me first thing that morning.

“He’s fine,” he tells me, matter-of-factly. “He just pulled some ligaments in his ribcage.”

“I’ll call Stella today to see when Michael wants to meet…”

Howard interrupts me before I can finish.

“We’ve run out of time,” he says, ominously.

I remind Howard about the September deadline in my contract. I tell him that I don’t think Disney can afford to anger Michael just because they want to read the story treatment before he does.

“This isn’t about Michael anymore,” Howards says firmly.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“I can’t get into it,” he explains. “The studio wants to make this film happen, but we need the treatment right now – the future of the project depends on it.”

When the movie didn’t happen (as it was never meant to) the Disney executives blamed it on Steven Spielberg and Michael believed their version, forever after considering Spielberg to be responsible for ruining his most cherished dream.

And while Spielberg did indeed look like a bad guy, David Geffen was made out to look good. In Michael’s letter to Geffen, written two weeks after his release from hospital, when he must have already known that Project M was cancelled, Michael called him a wonderful and loyal friend and thanked him for “always standing by” him. Michael hoped to resume work soon and continue sharing with Geffen the fruits of his labor…

Curious to know the whereabouts of Geffen’s office I looked up the address of the letter, and was amazed to find that it was located on the premises of the Universal Studios lot which is a seat of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin production company and the place Darlene Craviotto went to for the initial meeting with Hollywood executives about the Peter Pan movie.

Universal studios Hollywood address

According to Craviotto that first and only meeting with Hollywood executives was attended by her as a scriptwriter, Michael Jackson, Disney head Jeffrey Katzenberg, one more Disney executive, and director Steven Spielberg. No mention was made of David Geffen.

But how could Geffen not attend that meeting if it was held on the same premises, next to his office, and he was actually the one responsible for all movie projects for Michael Jackson? Finding the right movie for MJ was the task he took upon himself in the 1980s and this was the way how he won Michael Jackson’s admiration, trust and undivided attention – the news we’ve learned about Geffen only thirty five years later. Some people surely know how to keep their secrets.

Michael Jackson and David Geffen in 1982

Let me remind you of the New York Times article dated July 1985 which revealed that sometime in 1982 Geffen said to Jackson: “Let’s make a movie” and this is actually how he “got” him and won his loyalty at least for the next decade.

Two years later, in 1984 Michael was reported to have signed a deal with David Geffen for the production of a musical. The musical was planned for 1985, was to be produced by Geffen’s Film company and distributed by Warner Bros. (where Geffen was once Vice-President and later headed one of its subdivisions). The music to the movie was to be composed and performed by Michael Jackson and released by CBS Records with whom Michael had a contract.

Mind you that the musical was to be a full feature film and not a short Captain EO video suggested by Disney at the same period and to be run at Disneyland only.

The JET issue of November 1984 described Michael’s major film deal with Geffen as follows:

November 26, 1984

Vol.67, No.12

MICHAEL JACKSON PENS MAJOR FILM DEAL WITH GEFFEN MOVIE COMPANY

In what has been called the coup of all coups, Geffen Film Company has signed superstar Michael Jackson to showcase his talents in a musical to be produced sometime next year.

Many Hollywood moviemakers have made overtures to Jackson for several years.

Jackson will write the music as well as perform, according to a spokesman at Warner Bros. Studios, the organization that will distribute the property.

The project will integrate Jackson’s full range of talent in dance, drama, as well as music. The music will comprise Jackson’s next album project and will be distributed by CBS Records.

According to Geffen President Eric Eisner, “Michael Jackson is the most acclaimed entertainer in the world today. His talents are magical. The picture will be a reflection of his creative vision as well as a showcase for his gift as a performer.”

Daily Variety quoted a Geffen official as saying the deal was a result of “a very special relationship David Geffen and Michael have enjoyed for many, many years…

So Geffen’s official said that by the year 1984 Geffen and MJ had enjoyed a very special relationship for many, many years? Well, it means that the previous piece about Geffen’s suggestion to guide Michael into the movies in 1982 was perfectly correct.

Almost a year passed since the announcement of the major Geffen/MJ movie deal, but it was still “in development” having no title, no script and no director – at least this is what the Chicago Tribune said about it in July 1985.  A short film for Disneyland was also mentioned as a project already under way.

July 14, 1985

Perhaps most anticipated is his upcoming feature film for David Geffen`s Geffen Films Co. The most anyone would say is that the project is still “in development.“

In fact, the project doesn`t even have a title, script or director yet. More information is expected later this summer on what will be Jackson`s first major feature since he played the Scarecrow in “The Wiz“ in 1978.

Even with the delays, Geffen Films is still gung-ho on the project, if for no other reason than that Jackson`s next album is expected to be the movie soundtrack.

More intriguing are news media reports about a film Jackson is supposedly doing for Disney World in Florida. The 10-minute film, which was said to have a budget of $10 million, is reportedly going to be produced by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. However, representatives for LucasFilm, Walt Disney Studios and Coppola`s Zoetrope Studios would not comment on the story.

Another four years passed but no musical or any other movie had yet materialized. Michael Jackson was still hopeful and at the beginning of 1989, after closing the Bad tour, he said he would bid farewell to touring and focus on recording and films instead.

Michael’s manager Frank Dileo who spoke to the LA Times in January 1989 said that another tour would kill him, and made it clear that touring was so strenuous for Michael that even at the age of 30 he insisted on only three shows a week and having a rest on the remaining four days, even though this schedule cost him more than half a million a week in salaries to the cast.

At this point I would recommend recalling Randy Phillips again who set 50 shows for the 50-year old Jackson with half the shows having a one-day break between them – which sent Michael, his mother and friends into a state of consternation (Phillips said it was “just business” and Kenny Ortega laughed it off as an unimportant matter too).

David Geffen gave a separate interview for that 1989 LA article as a person specially retained by MJ for their joint movie adventures and in that interview admitted, so uncharacteristically of him, that he had yet failed to find a suitable movie project for Michael.

And again this news takes us by surprise as firstly, we were never told that Geffen was retained by Michael for finding suitable movie projects for him, and secondly, it is incredible news that this powerful Hollywood mogul and genius of success failed in his task – which makes us wonder whether Geffen took the job seriously and really meant what he was doing for Michael Jackson.

A New Stage for Michael Jackson

January 27, 1989|PAUL GREIN

When the 30-year-old superstar leaves the stage after his performance tonight at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, he’ll not only end a marathon, 16-month “Bad” world tour but also bid farewell to touring–so he says.

Having set records for the largest grossing tour in history ($125 million) and the largest paid attendance (4.4 million), Jackson plans to focus on recordings and films.

“He’s accomplished everything he has to accomplish as far as touring,” [Jackson’s manager, Frank Dileo, said during an interview in Beverly Hills this week.] “He’s got the biggest gross and has played to the most people. What are we going to do next time? Play for two years? That would kill me.”

Another factor: Jackson is known to prefer film and recordings because performances in those media–unlike concerts–are preserved for posterity.

The interview-shy Jackson has said for years that he wants to break into films, but Dileo said it’s more of a priority now than ever before.

The two hope to develop a film musical for Jackson to star in. Jackson’s only theatrical role to date was in the 1978 film version of “The Wiz.”

“We have stacks and stacks of scripts and proposals,” said Dileo. “We’ll sort through them and see what’s right for Michael.”

Finding the right property for a specialized talent like Jackson has proved to be a challenge.

Even multimedia producer David Geffen was unable to find the right project when he was retained by the singer around the time of the Jacksons’ 1984 “Victory” tour.

“I couldn’t come up with anything,” Geffen acknowledged in a separate interview Thursday. “It’s my failure, not his. I just wasn’t interested in doing a bad movie.

“I think it will take a special project. You can’t cast him in just anything. I don’t think you’d cast him as a dramatic actor, or that you could have believably cast him in ‘Coming to America.’ It would have to be something created for him.”

But Geffen added: “I don’t think they could cast Fred Astaire in just any picture either. I think they had to develop special pictures for him too.”

“Don’t bet against him,” Geffen cautioned. “He’s very single-minded and he’s a very hard worker. He’ll get it done.”

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, is among the top producers who is reportedly trying to develop a film project for Jackson.

Meanwhile, Dileo said he and Jackson are prepared to wait until a suitable film comes along.

“There are a lot of artists who have chosen to do scripts that they shouldn’t have done,” Dileo said. “It’s like a good poker game. You can afford to wait it out ’til it’s right.”

Relaxing over a pot of coffee in a hotel suite, the soft-spoken Dileo said that the “Bad” tour, which encompassed 123 shows in 15 countries, is still something of a blur to him. The tour may well be the most expensive ever mounted, in large part because of Jackson’s insistence on playing only three shows a week and resting the other four days. Dileo kept all the musicians and crew members on salary for the entire week, resulting in a weekly “nut” of between $500,000 and $650,000.

The “Bad” album has sold more than 6 million copies in this country, and is the only album in pop history to generate five No. 1 singles.

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-27/entertainment/ca-1672_1_michael-jackson/2

Finally in 1990, which was eight years after their first talk about going into the movies, the so-called Project M to allegedly make a Peter Pan film emerged, which looked like a perfect proposition for Michael and his most coveted dream come true. Jeffrey Katzenberg was pronounced its initiator and producer, the project was made secret (for some reason) and was disclosed by Craviotto in her book only 21 years later, and there was no mention of Geffen’s involvement.

But since Geffen was specially retained by Michael to find a suitable movie for him how can we believe that he had nothing to do with this Project M? It is simply impossible! And considering that the first and only meeting over that movie project took place on the Universal Pictures studio premises where Geffen had his office then, the chances that he was attending it are practically 100%, even though Craviotto never mentions it – which effectively points to which side she is on.

In contrast to that there is nothing to confirm that Steven Spielberg was there – except Craviotto’s word of course, which is a dubious source considering her agenda and all the half-lies and half-truths she told us earlier (see the previous posts for that).

Well, so what does all of it boil down to?

The way I understand it, it is highly likely that the big meeting described by Craviotto was held by two close friends – Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen (and not Spielberg), and it is them who inspired Michael Jackson with a secret Peter Pan movie – secret because no one was supposed to know as it was actually a fraud.

They must have promised to get Spielberg for the project, and this is why Michael was so worried during his sessions with Craviotto whether Spielberg would or wouldn’t like his ideas about the movie – this alone suggests that he didn’t have direct contact with Spielberg and couldn’t discuss it with him personally.

In fact, it may well turn out that Spielberg was not even aware of the plan. Remember that the project was “secret”, maybe even for those who were to implement it, and that our Operator is reported to be an easy liar who has no qualms about inventing things.

When Spielberg started working on ‘Hook’ the same year, he called MJ and explained that it was a different version of Peter Pan where Michael could have only a very small role. Having all those great expectations Michael was mortally offended and surely not interested. All the blame for the collapse of Project M rested with Spielberg while the well-intentional Geffen looked like a loyal friend who was “always standing” by Michael, even when that terrible Spielberg so terribly betrayed him.

And though the above is only a hypothesis you will agree that it is explains a lot and is very much in line with general Geffen’s style as described in his biography by Tom King and other sources.

WHY?

Now what could be the reasons for that scam?

The most obvious reason was to keep Michael Jackson “happy” – this idea was mentioned by Craviotto too often to be just a random thought. Keeping a client happy is a regular method employed in Hollywood for placating their stars in order to have a grip over them and stop them from leaving for a rival.

In fact Geffen and Katzenberg pursued the same policy towards Spielberg himself while they were still partners in their DreamWorks enterprise.

“…Keep Steven Happy was the unwritten rule at DreamWorks, and the reason Geffen and Katzenberg pursued ideas and ventures even when they felt they were ill-advised”

Another obvious reason was that eight years after Geffen first promised movies to Michael he simply had to produce something to justify his presence in Michael’s life and forge his friendship with him.

But a less obvious reason is that it could be a fact-finding mission on the part of Craviotto. She could be assigned to meet Jackson to discuss the concept of a Peter Pan movie and listen to his thoughts on eternal boyhood with a side goal to find something “wrong” about him while observing him in the company of his child friends.

At least this is the only way I explain why Craviotto so readily rushed to Hollywood to spread nasty rumours about Michael the very next morning she saw at his place the so-called Andrew from New Zealand (real name: Wade Robson from Australia) in the company of someone called Buddy (real name: Buz Kohan, a renowned producer and writer, father of three and long-time friend of Michael Jackson).

All readers of Craviotto’s book found her actions and sudden innuendoes about MJ at the very end of the book extremely strange – yes, it was late in the evening, but a boy listening to the final script, eating pizza and then falling asleep in Michael’s condo in the presence of three adults was absolutely nothing to worry about, however the very next morning she rushed to Hollywood exclaiming “How does Hollywood not know about it?”

But if one of the big ideas of that project was finding something that would confirm, say, the project initiators’ suspicions about Michael, everything would fit in. For several weeks she met Jackson and heard from him nothing incriminating, though the story of Peter Pan and his companions was clearly a provocative subject, but as soon as she saw a boy at Michael’s place she immediately rushed to report it to her Hollywood mentors. In these circumstances it did look like a triumphant final note: “Here it is! I’ve found it!”

And not that these Hollywood people would have minded it that much, even if the nasty story had been true (it was not). We have heard so many reports about rampant pedophilia in Hollywood raging there in the 90s and other times, that no one there would have been shocked by the alleged crimes against children attributed to Jackson. Their goal could easily be just gathering information on Jackson to confirm what they were thinking about him anyway. And then keep this information just in case.

So Wade Robson was the boy the anti-Jackson campaign began with and the first Hollywood started buzzing about. He was their first and favourite target who was constantly provoked to “come clean” about Jackson.

Not that it justifies Robson’s behavior now, but having to live with that label and facing queer looks and stifled laughs throughout his life can make almost anyone a little kooky and lose touch with reality. And it is no coincidence that history made a full circle and for lack of anyone else the initiators of that project had to return to Robson – he was their best “victim” all along and someone they always had in mind.

Incidentally, the fact that Robson was their leading hopeful perfectly fits in with information from Victor Gutierrez for whom Robson was the most sought-after boy on that list of Michael’s child friends which this unknown newcomer from Chile received from some American source soon after his arrival in the US.

In his book Gutierrez is openly telling us that he was spreading toxic rumors (he calls it “information”) about Jackson for several years before the first Jordan Chandler’s allegations and while making rounds of all children in Michael’s vicinity he was specifically looking for Wade Robson. The search took him five months until he finally saw him quite by chance in 1992 on the Venice beach in California impersonating Jackson. This is when he interviewed the eleven-year old Robson and his mother Joy, who were amazed to hear his nasty stories about MJ and instead of cooperating with Gutierrez reported him to Michael’s team as Gutierrez complains in his book.

Actually when describing his so-called “interview” with Joy Robson where, following his usual method, Gutierrez spilled a lot of dirt on Jackson, he said:

“She silently listened as I told her about the cases involving other young boys and about the several statements made in Hollywood about Jackson’s sexual preferences for boys”.

Statements made in Hollywood about Jackson?

How come we never noticed that the toxic rumors spread by Gutierrez were actually coming from Hollywood (and not police sources, for example)?  And is it where he got his list in the first place? And was it someone in Hollywood who gave him the task (and paid for it) to make rounds of all those children and smear Michael Jackson?

In any case by now it is clear that the campaign of Michael Jackson’s character assassination is simply inseparable from Hollywood and some of its people.

• Gutierrez refers to certain statements made in Hollywood about Jackson…
• A child manager from Hollywood advises the Santa Barbara sheriffs about Jackson and then turns out to be a pedophile who molested Corey Feldman… is never followed by the police….
• The dentist Evan Chandler working with Hollywood stars and dreaming of a career in Hollywood says about his allegations against Michael Jackson: “Everything is going according to a certain plan that isn’t just mine. There’re other people involved.” See his secretly taped telephone conversation for that…
• Craviotto runs to her Hollywood bosses to spill her innuendoes about Michael as soon as she sees a boy in his presence …
• Michael’s haters bombard us with their hate stories about MJ based on what they claim to be their exclusive “sources in Hollywood” …

In other words wherever you go it is Hollywood, Hollywood and Hollywood again. And this mud-slinging campaign against Jackson is taking place against the background of real crimes against children which are effectively hushed up there, are rarely reported and investigated, and if someone is caught red-handed and does get a sentence they are often welcomed back as if nothing happened…

This alone is enough to make your head spin.

HOLLYWOOD KNOWS THE TRUTH

While a certain part of Hollywood is surely working against Jackson, it is also obvious that the rest of it knows the truth about Michael Jackson’s innocence, but is afraid to raise its voice and speak up.

In 2004 Buz Kohan, Michael Jackson’s friend and collaborator, the one who was derogated in Craviotto’s book, wrote a poem for Michael Jackson and sent it to him to assure him of his support and let him know that he loved and cared for his friend during the most difficult time of his life.

The poem is exceptionally insightful and heartwarming and it provided the help to Michael he critically needed at the time when he was fighting his lone fight.

But what is also characteristic about that gesture of support was that the poem was sent privately, with no one else knowing about it … however in the face of so much evil it would probably be asking too much to expect such empathy to be displayed openly.

This remarkable video presentation of the powerful Buz Kohan’s poem will remind us of the anguish Michael had to live in and will make many of us tearful.

A poem dedicated to MJ by Buz Kohan

“Buz” Kohan was born in New York in August 1993. He is an award-winning producer, writer, and composer. Among his many credits are working on “Jackson Family Honors”, “Going Back to Indiana”, “Motown 25”, “You Were There” – Sammy Daivd Jr.’s 60^th Birthday Celebration, the 1993 Presidential Inaugural Gala, and too many others to mention.

He also co-wrote and co-composed “Gone Too Soon”, which most people know Michael sang on behalf of Ryan White, who dies of AIDS in the 1980s. Buz remembers a living gift Michael gave to him in appreciation for a poem Buz wrote for Michael. It was a poem that let Michael know that Buz understood the anguish he was suffering during a difficult time in his life.

REMEMBRANCE’

Big storm blowing

Danger growing

Wind coming up from

Every side

Air is filled with

Flying objects

No relief

No place to hide

Fury follows

Shaking, breaking

Taking charge

Complete control

Whirling, swirling,

All around me

Trying to

Destroy my soul

All so senseless

I’m defenseless

Caught in a frenzy

Whipped and tossed

Pushed and shoved and

Smashed and bashed

When all is chaos

All is lost

More harsh raids

Resistance fades

I am alone,

Wind-blown and beat

Wind, you win

I must give in now

In disgrace, I

Face defeat

Then, from way off

In the distance

There comes a tiny

Shaft of light

Growing brighter

Growing lighter

Shining through the

Endless night

From a tiny

Ray of sunshine

There comes a brilliant

Amber glow

Touching all that

Comes before it

As I watch it

Grow and grow

With the sunlight

Comes the voices

All getting louder

More intense

Speaking to me

Pain and anguish

Let the healing

Now commence

Let the truth

Emerge before us

Let all the lies be

Drowned in shame

Let the storm

At last disperse

To clear the air and

Clear my name

You, my friends

You all sustain me

There to defend when

I’m attacked

You restore my

Faith and courage

When the mirror

Has been cracked

You surround me

With your passion

Guiding my steps when

I’m unsure

Through your love I’m

Wrapped in sunlight

Once again I

Feel secure

For your faith, I

Make this promise

I shall not fail your

Trust, I swear

No disaster

Can destroy me

Long as I know

How much you care

Long as I know

Your love

Is

There.

Buz Kohan said about his poem:

This poem I wrote for Michael back in 2004, when he was going through a very difficult time. I sent it and a day or two later a messenger came to my door to give me a big bag of gifts. I was about to sign the shipping, when he said that there was more. He returned with a large metal object that seemed to be chirping. I thought, how nice, someone’s sent one of those mechanical birds, but when I uncapped the cloth that covered it, I realize that there were no mechanical birds, but two beautiful white doves or pigeons and they were very much alive.

Together with the birds was a lovely and heartfelt note thanking me for the poem and telling me that he had been touched by it. Also, there was a book about exotic birds and bird food for an entire year.

I took the box with the birds to the yard and named them “Billie Jean” and “Bad”.

One night an animal that roamed the house attacked “Bad”, and I thought that being so close, soon Billie Jean would die with a broken heart. As a tribute to his indomitable spirit, “Billie Jean” continues chirping five years later.

Keep on singing, sweet bird.

Sadly Michael never had the opportunity to sit with me to put music to the poem and I’ve just kept it in my files. I hope it can send an inspirational message to the world …. something that Michael always tried to do with his music, his charity, and his life.

My friend Michael is gone too soon, but his light will never fade.

Rest easy, dear soul.

“Buzzie Wuzzie” (this is what Michael always called me)

What an astounding tribute to Michael Jackson, made as if for today! Given the ongoing efforts to still smear Michael’s name and rob him of his finances through various schemes and frivolous claims, even the present time is still difficult for Michael Jackson and will remain so until the truth finally emerges, lies are drowned in shame and the healing commences.

So let these words be our inspiration.

Let the truth emerge before us

Let all the lies be drowned in shame

Let the storm at last disperse

To clear the air and clear my name…