Michael Jackson comes alive again in epic biopic

Big screen cinema exploded across the United States over the weekend with the virtual ‘resurrection’ of the iconic Michael Jackson.

I missed the premiere. Not by design. But a story for another day.

Critics in Hollywood have unanimously praised ‘Michael’, an epic biopic that is being primed to smash all box office records in the recent history of American cinema.

Central to the mystique about this motion picture production caper is the sudden emergence into stardom of Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real life nephew.

A splitting image of his superstar uncle, Jaafar is the son of Jermaine Jackson of the legendary Jackson Five.

The young man bears such striking resemblance to Michael when in full bloom, it’s virtually impossible to tell them apart.

According to director Antoine Fuqua who cast Jaafar as Michael Jackson, “It was on day one, seeing Jaafar perform ‘Bad’.

“That was the tour where Michael got his wings and creative freedom.

“To see Jaafar do that, when he never acted before, in front of 500 or 600 screaming extras, felt like a real concert, and that was a pivotal moment for me.

“I was understanding Michael from a more intimate perspective”.

To land the part, Jaafar had to fight through the entire auditioning process just like any of the other contestants.

And it took the producers two years of crisscrossing the globe to find the best person to play the king of pop music, Michael Jackson.

Producer, Graham King whose credits include the making of the other popular biopic, ‘Ali’ and ‘Blood Diamond’ (which features Africa’s own Djimon Hounsou), hailed the casting of Jaafar as a spiritual discovery.

“Jaafar may have the essence of Michael in his DNA, but he elevated that to a more profound and emotional level than we ever imagined. He is the core. He is the key. You connect him, and the film comes alive”, enthused the award-winning filmmaker. Thecable