Steven Boone at Big Media Vandalism has composed a mesmerizing collage (OK, montage) using text from Jackson's 1988 biography "Moonwalk," audio interviews with MJ, and footage from some of Lynch's films, notably "The Elephant Man," "Mulholland Dr.," "The Straight Story," "The Grandmother" and "Eraserhead" to imagine a biography of Michael Jackson directed by David Lynch. He calls it "Notes for a David Lynch adaptation of Moonwalk."
Boone writes:
It all comes down to what you believe, because none of us knew the man....
[...]
I believe David Lynch is the filmmaker who should make the inevitable MOONWALK movie. Lynch's capacity for empathy; his ability to describe alienation, suffering and loneliness in spiritual, visual terms; his American ear; his understanding of corporate show business as a place where dreams are nourished with candied arsenic... make Lynch the best equipped among marquee-value auteurs to say something vital about Michael's life and death.
Couldn't agree more about how we didn't know him, how Lynch is suited to the material thematically and has had experience with bizarre outsiders whose lives meet at that horrifying life intersect of tragedy and comedy... I also love: "Lynch describes alienation, suffering and loneliness in *spiritual*, visual terms."
It is true that Jackson's life was based upon the visual. (Though Lynch is also a master of sound.) So this qualifies 'Jimmy-Stewart-from-Mars' Lynch. But look at this word 'spiritual'.
Spirit is exactly what's in Lynch. His movies feel haunted. And I would say it's because he can take any object and make it look frightening, if he really wants to. His latest movies especially defy physical space and time, not taking either for granted. That should make him qualified for a movie titled "Moonwalk" more than anything.
This could help paint an unforgettable portrait or, rather, multiple schizophrenic portraits (plural) of how Michael may or may not have seen the world. And Lynch's spirituality of sorts -- he seems like he can look into souls or (through people's facades of happiness) into a lack thereof -- could be an intriguing counterpoint to MJ's seemingly 'not-all-thereness." Their offbeat personalities and kind but quirky mannerisms even seem to synch up.
Also, to people who think Lynch can't 'do dancing', he had his hand in directed one of the most memorable ditties in television history, the little man in the red room in a dream sequence of "Twin Peaks".
No bio-pic about Jackson could ignore the accusations of child molestation against him.
And no bio-pic could possibly hope to acknowledge the issue, and then "move on."
The only succesful and truthful Jackson bio-pic I can imagine is one that dramatizes his youth, and the beginnings of his carreer, in which we see the foundations being layed for a very very troubled adult life.
Perhaps the film ends with a massive jump forward in time, and our breath is taken away by the horrifying spiritual and physcial transformation of the beautiful, innocent, & talented child we've rooted for for 2 hours.
Brilliant; I agree completely that Jackson's music is totally in sync with Lynch for some reason: the beauty hiding darkness and decay, commercial work infused with artistic integrity. That was fantastic.
::No bio-pic about Jackson could ignore the accusations of child molestation against him.::
I strongly disagree. You said it yourself, "accusations". Since when does the career of one of the most successful artists of all time and biggest humanitarians of the century boil down to an unproven allegation? If anything, digging around for facts reveals that Michael's accusers BOTH had parents with documented criminal histories of lawsuit fraud and extortion. Perhaps the better question is, why did the media chose to ignore that? I have to be honest here. Michael's accomplishments were without measure and the humanitarian work he faithfully carried out his whole life and never seems to be acknowledged for (which was obviously his wish, or he would have been public about it) seem to fall on deaf ears in contrast to what can only be described as completely fishy.
As for Michael's 'horrifying' spiritual and physical transformation, I wouldn't say that someone who gave of himself so selflessly in the face of such ridicule had a horrifying spiritual life. If anything, he proved himself to be far stronger than anyone thought, not only by surviving as long as he did and continuing to give but by taking on a concert series when everyone thought he was at the end of his rope.
Actually, Michael Jackson and David Lynch have crossed paths before. Lynch directed the intro to Michael Jackson's "Dangerous Short Films Collection," on video and DVD. It's reminiscent of Lynch's early animated/mixed-media work, especially his short films "Six Men Getting Sick" and "The Alphabet." You can find the intro on Lynch's website (on the Commercials page), and on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mABW_91c_Xk