John Landis on LKL after Michael's "death"

[voiceforthesilent]

I honestly think that what Landis had in mind when saying tragic/sad figure was Michael's eccentricities and plastic surgeries... But he felt he couldn't say that when LK put him on the spot ("But why tragic?"), so he came up with a "nice" explanation.  I mean, in this short interview Landis commits all the 3 capital sins (well, what I call "capital sins" when it comes to MJ):
1. He calls MJ "eccentric".
2. He talks about Mike's plastic surgeries.
3. He utters the word "bizarre"... And the context doesn't even matter.  I hate it when people do this, because it's the label that the vile media kept attaching to MJ (along with "wacko")!!

NOT COOL, LANDIS.

I totally agree. I've been very disappointed in John Landis every since he filed that lawsuit for his "share" of the money earned from Thriller. I didn't read those links above but I think he also sued for another reason. Totally shameful, IMO. It just proves that Michael had few people in his life that were true, loyal, and honest people. They are all greedy for the almighty dollar.

I didn't even entertain the idea that Michael's death could be a hoax at the time these interviews came on. I remember watching them with confusion at how they could put on a smiley face and not show any sad emotion...and that goes for most of them. My only thought at the time was that these people hadn't maintained a close relationship and were in the interview for the publicity reasons.

[suspicious mind]

what was that he said about michael wanted to become a monster. that sounds like something that could fit into more than one time frame. know what i mean . don't some song lyrics refer to something about being the monster they make him out to be or somethig. :?  :oops:  :?  :roll: jacket

[mjboogie]

OK I have never saw this interview either. But what I am trying to figure out is .........really? How long had it been since MJ even came into contact with Landis? Probably a while right? I just don't understand..all of these so called close associates of MJ's every since he "died" they all come out saying all of these personal things about him! Money is the root of all evil...but looking back on various inner circle people that have given interviews....IT REALLY DOES SEEM LIKE MJ could not trust a soul. I remember hearing Latoya say as well as MJ himself that he was one of the lonliest people you could ever meet. Breaks my heart when I think of that.

[Its her]

I just watched the LKL inteview with John Landis (director of Thriller and Black or White) from June 30, 2009. This was the first time I saw this, and I didn't find any posts about it here. If there is, please let me know.

I saw many of Michael's friends being quite happy shortly after Michael's death, but how Landis behaved is more than strange. He laughed so much during the interview like he was watching a comedy in a movie or something. And it was only five days after Michael's "death".
Miko Brando tried to look sad though - but he laughed on one of Landis' comment too.

Landis said: by Black or White "Michael had had quite a bit more surgeries, so he looked very different" Hmm... And nothing about vitiligo.

Also interesting:
Larry King: You said that despite his gifts, Michael Jackson was a tragic figure. Explain.
Landis: blah-blah.. I have nothing but love and admiration for Mike in tems of as a person and as a truly international and great star. ... But he often was sad and he was accentric, you know. ... blah-blah
King: But why tragic?
Landis: Seriously? (still smiling!) Look what's going on right now. It's tragic. There is no reason for this person to uhh be dead.  :?:  And there is no reason for him to be broken.  :?:  There is no reason for this bizarre thing that's gonna go on now.  :?:  E-e he is a tragic guy. And I just, he was, I mean uh, hm, uhm, you can tell that I mean everyone who worked with Michael is very fond of him. He was a lovely person. But I think he was, I find him a very sad figure.

And he just couldn't stop laughing during telling how tragical Michael's life was...

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John Landis made one of young Mikey's most wild dreams come true.    

Landis, unlike others around "larger than life" Mike, was frequently rendered speechless by the conundrum of MJ's full blown confidence and genius, tempered by a naivete he had to keep pinching himself HARD to take seriously---that he wasn't just being punked by this guy! :?:  :!:  

To just use another example besides the elder tickling  :roll:    :oops: the younger's foot...ahem...

both of these guys are grown men, yet,   Landis is COMPLETELY comfortable picking Michael up, thowing him over his shoulder,TIPPING HIM UPSIDE DOWN,  as one would a CHILD---and THEN, MJ "hangs out in this upside down position(EXACTLY) like a CHILD! anticipating  how ELSE he might possibly be thrown around affectionately by this laughing big brother type-guy...

Landis has marvelled over and over in interviews, that Michael Jackson was the sweetest guy he ever knew, and therein is what he found sad---that he had to relate to him as one would someone very untouched by the world---STILL somewhat innocent. :? (How is this possible in someone who's been all over the world twice???)
He found him to be lonelier than he needed to be, partly because great genius naturally separates people who could have been peers otherwise, from each other, and partly because people MJ's age---25--were acting like they WANTED to be 25, and HE didn't seem to "catch" that enthusiasm OR even know he was expected to be more "worldly" in persona, as well as maturing physically. Even JL's sexual innuendo (and coarse  directives!) to MJ fell on unresponsive ears. Mikey just giggled, like "AW--JOHN!" and improvised. :oops:

He was happy as a clam, (I love that!) being as wonderful and blessed as he was, in his own private world where anything he dreamt up was do-able... 8-)  

It is, ALWAYS, hanging around with other kids which moves one along in development from innocence to the self awareness and personal presence/ sophistication which would
 :?    :oops:
IMMEDIATELY

 PROHIBIT
 :roll:  :oops:  :oops:  :?
another adult from picking YOU up and throwing you around once you are GROWN.

 In fact, if you DON'T get with the program, your peers will ridicule you into the ground, until you DO grow some hard cynical skin over all that innocence.

I was alot younger than I should have been, too, for way longer. This is how I see it in MJ just by listening to John Landis and seeing them together...it's a familiar old ghost from my own past. :oops:  :oops:  :oops:

People tried to :roll:  "introduce me to life", but I preferred the company of younger kids, and was actually still giving piggy back rides on the play ground at school while my peers were chasing boys.  :oops:  :oops:  I didn't want to skip school and drive with some kids to a concert in another town. I didn't want to sneak and smoke in the bathrooms at school. It was so boring, the one time I did it, I almost cried at wasting that hour I could have spent in the library... :x    

It is nice to be "oblivious" and    carefree as long as you can, but there is a point where people give up on you, because you seem arrested developmentally,  :?  :x  :lol: and they don't KNOW how to relate to someone who misses social cues---are you doing that on purpose to play me?

A maturing adult (ego) gets offended at being suckered. :evil: This is why some people are SO strange around MJ. They WANT to be near him, HE"S SO MUCH FUN! but they always feel like he knows more than he lets on.... :?  8-)  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  

A child  just laughs at the trick.

When ever Landis attempted to give Mike a reality check, it never went well. MJ either left JL standing, bewildered as in "WHAT just HAPPENED?"  "Is this the Twilight Zone?" or, it seriously broke trust between them.

If a child thinks you are being mean, they will just cut you out of their playtime; YOU are not fun. :!:  :lol:
I remember vaguely when JL said MJ had something done to his chest---before or during Black and White. Some chemical peel or had something removed--- a great area of his chest, and he proudly showed it to JL, IDK, just to share that he was successfully dealing with either the vitiligo or something else---sorry I can't remember. MJ was just sharing good news.

JL expressed something, ANY associate or relative would, in the same circumstance. JL said (it was a horribly botched surgery and )the Dr. should have been skinned. You can say that when it needs to be said.

It is just watching out for your innocent, unsuspecting, millionaire friend, who is a MARK for opportunistic charlatans...But Michael reportedly became livid at the rain on his parade, and, as John Landis was being NO FUN, they didn't speak for quite awhile. That was JL's side of the story---so...who knows, :roll:  REALLY?

I do not think JL had ONE

heads up from MJ that "there would be an announcement about his death in a few months, but don't worry---it will be a HOAX"---

as you KNOW he gave to Ms. Ross, Ms.Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Larry King, and etcetera...

John Landis is one of those people who laughs at really inopportune or inconvenient times (kinda-sorta like MJ  :?  :lol: has been known to do, when in a silly mood. They are both Sillies.) but,  because he IS so (AWARE, with an adult grasp of the reality of DEATH in his face, I think in this instance, he simply cannot take the utter sadness  and uncomfortableness of the situation. It's to relieve MASSIVE stress, that's all...

Mostly MEN do this. It simply is UN bearable that they feel like bawling like a baby, when people are depending on them to "be the man, in great demonstration of control" (not so much NOWadays---but, remember,   JL is old school...).

 If it is still out there, on Youtube, see if you can watch his NBC interview about three or four months after MJ "died".  Break out the tissue; it is painfully
 :cry:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry: obvious how much he loved our MJ, and how he clearly believed he was lost for all time to him. He even marvels, and apologizes that he doesn't know why he is blubbering still...poor thing.  

 Geez, Mike.

It's even hard to write this :!:  :!:  :oops:  :oops:

Landis BELIEVED that poor MJ, "in whom he KNEW (from experience) was NO guile", was too  :roll:  tender for this harsh world and actually bought the fiction MJ created about being destitute, losing his property, being duped :roll:  by his handlers to perform 50 shows until it kills him---not sleeping and being desperate to get bizarre drugs,  :roll:

 from YET another

opportunistic QUACK charlatan DOCTOR (who saw him coming) to quiet his horribly painfully lonely life.  These are things that DO happen every year to many entertainers.

But it did NOT happen to MJ.      

John Landis "bought it" for the same reason some of US did---distance from MJ. If they had been in touch recently at all...if we had remembered that he told us repeatedly that he was plotting something like this...

We haven't really seen MJ since 2005-6, when he had JUST been through hell and  :? seemed... to... still... have that rhino-skin he declared he had years earlier... but...everyone knows there is "another shoe going to drop", some how--with such horrible torture and stress, and MJ being all brave and calm...before he cracks... :shock:

Landis probably MEANT something like this: "MJ shouldn't be dead, because he had WAY too much on the ball. His life was SO extraordinarily blessed...even with some evil thrown in...he was so resilient...what ever happened to handling EACH   problem with that Heart of a Child?"

I bet this REALLY hurt, and STUNNED him...

Anyway, I loved John Landis even more, when I realized his heart was as broken as mine over that GOOFball :roll:    prankster, Michael UNDEAD Heartbreaker Jackson. :lol:  :lol:

[SEHF]

Heh..

[truthprevails]

Its her, I believe this is the other Landis interview you may be referring to:
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[youtube:18anambl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d8AHsXiq1o&feature=related[/youtube:18anambl]

I agree that Landis seems to have been touched by MJ, but he still believes him to have been odd, eccentric, "emotionally stunted" (as he said in THIS interview) etc.  Pretty much everything nice that Landis says comes with a caveat... And I don't like that.  As for the LKL interview, coming so soon after Michael's death/disappearance (whichever you believe it was), Landis could have simply refused to be on the program!!  He could have said to LK, "Sorry man, can't handle this. Talk to you another time."  Landis doesn't seem to mind publicity, though.

[truthprevails]

Apropos of Landis and "Black or White", here are some BoW outtakes:
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[youtube:f2803eqv]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV_hlDEKMlw&feature=related[/youtube:f2803eqv]

Funny how a "crazy", "eccentric", "emotionally stunted" guy could create an incredibly mature and smart and thought-provoking body of work that doesn't seem to lose its relevance... And MJ did this for 40+ years!  THAT is what people like Landis should be talking about, especially since they had the privilege to work with Michael and witness his genius firsthand!!  And especially a few days after Michael (is supposed to have) passed away!!

[Its her]

Its her, I believe this is the other Landis interview you may be referring to:
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[youtube:uivxaugn]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d8AHsXiq1o&feature=related[/youtube:uivxaugn]

I agree that Landis seems to have been touched by MJ, but he still believes him to have been odd, eccentric, "emotionally stunted" (as he said in THIS interview) etc.  Pretty much everything nice that Landis says comes with a caveat... And I don't like that.  As for the LKL interview, coming so soon after Michael's death/disappearance (whichever you believe it was), Landis could have simply refused to be on the program!!  He could have said to LK, "Sorry man, can't handle this. Talk to you another time."  Landis doesn't seem to mind publicity, though.

YUP, THIS IS THE ONE! I somehow thought I watched it for an hour, though, but this is the right interview. THANK YOU FOR FINDING IT!

On the other point you make about him qualifying every compliment with a cut... I think some people feel they have to work harder at success and resent it a little bit when a kid (or someone presenting himself as this unassuming ingenue who... 'CAN'T EVEN APPRECIATE HIS OWN MAGNITUDE, GOSH DARNIT :!:  :!:'  :roll:         ) prances and spins like there's lightning in his veins and SEEMS to so easily take home a Trillion dollars in a few afternoons... :shock:  :lol:  :lol: It is just perspective. Nothing good falls out of the sky. And if something does, look out, it will probably kill you. :roll:  There is always some work, some sacrifice, some sweat.  

Those same people love MJ and are as captivated and endeared as we are, and may not even realize the subtle jealousy being expressed. It is just human nature to want something sparkly, and to feel that it looks like you got shortchanged, somehow. To his credit:

You heard John Landis say that during B & W, he was more like

a hired hand to GODZILLA!!!!  :lol:  :lol: What a guy!

Which didn't seem hard for him to say. It was very honest. Could have been humbling---but he was a sport...and tears don't lie. Some people are good at crying on cue(  :roll: Mikey) but to work up buckets of tears and be slapped unexpectedly with this monsoon of emotion, on a major network...that is an unmistakeable heart thing.  I love to see that everybody loves MJ.  Bless JL for letting the network show that, pretty much uncut...  

It also COULD be that he, like Rabbi Boteach, was just SO shocked and TICKED off that MJ seemed to throw it all away doing some stupid chemicals...that everything said has a caustic judgmental edge.

 :arrow: Then, there is also,  that JL is a film maker and KNOWS the value of emotion :idea:  to STEAL a scene. He SEEMED sincerely overtaken...but, he could just be shooting for GODZILLA status, learning a few manipulative tricks from the master G... :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[DREAMSandTRUTH]

Its her, I believe this is the other Landis interview you may be referring to:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

[youtube:2mrrds7b]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d8AHsXiq1o&feature=related[/youtube:2mrrds7b]

I agree that Landis seems to have been touched by MJ, but he still believes him to have been odd, eccentric, "emotionally stunted" (as he said in THIS interview) etc.  Pretty much everything nice that Landis says comes with a caveat... And I don't like that.  As for the LKL interview, coming so soon after Michael's death/disappearance (whichever you believe it was), Landis could have simply refused to be on the program!!  He could have said to LK, "Sorry man, can't handle this. Talk to you another time."  Landis doesn't seem to mind publicity, though.

Okay, maybe Landis thought that Michael died, and he is the kind of man who doesn't want to show his emotions. So he laughed a lot and talked about his nice memories about Michael, which saved him from crying. And as he was very emotional, probably he didn't even realized or couldn't contor what he said. (I mean he said what he thought, that "Michael had  had quite a bit more surgeries", but if he wasn't this emotinal he wouldn't have said it). He really spoke as a very confused person. This sentence of him shows this pretty well:
"And I just, he was, I mean uh, hm, uhm, you can tell that I mean everyone who worked with Michael is very fond of him."
During that other interview he also laughed too much, but this time it didn't work that well - as he started to cry, but quickly smiled again and said: "Forgive me, I apologize, it's not like me."

BUT if Landis really filed that lawsuit against Michael, than I don't know why he laughed. In that case he could have been calm. (Or he was just playing a role...?) And why was he invited to the interview if he sued Michael? He is not a friend then, who cares that he directed Thriller. Of course, idk who decided from the staff of CNN to invite him... and why he accepted that...

[backstager]

Please don't shoot me for this.

A lot of people are talking about John Landis horribly because he was "in it for the money" or he said Michael was eccentric, and this and that. I don't see the laughing as much of a clue (IMO) because people have a way with grief. He could've just been trying to keep up the mood, to stop himself from crying. I'm guilty of this sometimes.

As for the money, of course he was in it for the money. That's why you work with people, to get money. I'm aware its the root of all evil, sure. But thats how you make a living. And I'm sure if he filed a lawsuit against Michael just before his passing/"passing", he probably felt guilty.

All this bad talk about Mr. Landis, and we don't really know him. Michael has sued people before, and that doesn't lessen our view of him. Let's not do that with everyone that crosses Michael's path.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm ranting. It's not on purpose.

[DREAMSandTRUTH]

Please don't shoot me for this.

A lot of people are talking about John Landis horribly because he was "in it for the money" or he said Michael was eccentric, and this and that. I don't see the laughing as much of a clue (IMO) because people have a way with grief. He could've just been trying to keep up the mood, to stop himself from crying. I'm guilty of this sometimes.

As for the money, of course he was in it for the money. That's why you work with people, to get money. I'm aware its the root of all evil, sure. But thats how you make a living. And I'm sure if he filed a lawsuit against Michael just before his passing/"passing", he probably felt guilty.

All this bad talk about Mr. Landis, and we don't really know him. Michael has sued people before, and that doesn't lessen our view of him. Let's not do that with everyone that crosses Michael's path.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm ranting. It's not on purpose.

Are you really only 14?  

[backstager]

Please don't shoot me for this.

A lot of people are talking about John Landis horribly because he was "in it for the money" or he said Michael was eccentric, and this and that. I don't see the laughing as much of a clue (IMO) because people have a way with grief. He could've just been trying to keep up the mood, to stop himself from crying. I'm guilty of this sometimes.

As for the money, of course he was in it for the money. That's why you work with people, to get money. I'm aware its the root of all evil, sure. But thats how you make a living. And I'm sure if he filed a lawsuit against Michael just before his passing/"passing", he probably felt guilty.

All this bad talk about Mr. Landis, and we don't really know him. Michael has sued people before, and that doesn't lessen our view of him. Let's not do that with everyone that crosses Michael's path.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm ranting. It's not on purpose.

Are you really only 14?  

Guilty as charged  

[DREAMSandTRUTH]

Please don't shoot me for this.

A lot of people are talking about John Landis horribly because he was "in it for the money" or he said Michael was eccentric, and this and that. I don't see the laughing as much of a clue (IMO) because people have a way with grief. He could've just been trying to keep up the mood, to stop himself from crying. I'm guilty of this sometimes.

As for the money, of course he was in it for the money. That's why you work with people, to get money. I'm aware its the root of all evil, sure. But thats how you make a living. And I'm sure if he filed a lawsuit against Michael just before his passing/"passing", he probably felt guilty.

All this bad talk about Mr. Landis, and we don't really know him. Michael has sued people before, and that doesn't lessen our view of him. Let's not do that with everyone that crosses Michael's path.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm ranting. It's not on purpose.

Are you really only 14?  

Guilty as charged  

:lol:

[suspicious mind]

@it's her  ; you tickle me to death i love to read your post :lol:
as for the videos of john landis. this is the kind of emotion i would have expected kenny to show. not that very uptight non emotional oh well yeah it is sad that it happened kind of attitude. even though landis couldn't quite comprehend every aspect of michael's makeup he seemed to genuinely like the guy.

[Its her]

@it's her  ; you tickle me to death i love to read your post :lol:
as for the videos of john landis. this is the kind of emotion i would have expected kenny to show. not that very uptight non emotional oh well yeah it is sad that it happened kind of attitude. even though landis couldn't quite comprehend every aspect of michael's makeup he seemed to genuinely like the guy.

 YEAH---Kenny, Frank Dileo, ALL of the team, and hey, how about that immediate family  :?  :x

It tickles me that my posts tickle YOU.

Thanks for making my day!  :lol: