A few days after Michael Jackson died, the powers-that-be here at MTV rightly scoffed at my pitch to run a feature suggesting who might play the fallen pop star in the seemingly inevitable biopic. They all said "too soon," an observation I came to agree with after putting the delirium of two marathon-length workdays behind me.
Clearly, someone in a position of Hollywood power is thinking along similar lines. Maybe. It's not like there's any attribution to support the claims that both Jamie Foxx and Johnny Depp are being eyed for starring roles in an unannounced Jackson biopic. We usually try to maintain a pretty even-handed tone here on MTV Movies Blog, but I'm going to have to go ahead and call shenanigans.
Word comes from an "insider," via contactmusic.com, that "there are a number of offers being drawn up with a variety of angles to tell Michael's incredible life story. Some involve using archive footage of Michael and his family and footage from his live shows."
All of that sounds reasonable enough, but the next bit of quote is where things get screwy. "A couple [ideas] would even have an actor cast to play Michael. Jamie Foxx has been mentioned, as has Johnny Depp. It all depends on how his family decide to honour him."
Come. ON. Does anyone really buy this? There's no proper attribution, nothing more than pie-in-the-sky details offered, really nothing to hang a story on. Even Johnny Depp seems a bit flapped by the possibility. "No no no, I never ever thought of playing Michael Jackson in a film, I think if anyone should play Michael Jackson in a film it should've been Michael Jackson." As flapped as Depp ever gets, that is.
I have no doubt that someone, somewhere in Hollywood -- probably multiple someones -- is/are planning all manner of Jackson-related film projects right now, as you're reading this. But bringing in Johnny Depp as some sort of weird, post-skin whitening Jackson is too much even for Hollywood. Sure, borders were pushed with Robert Downey Jr.'s character in "Tropic Thunder," but that was all in the name of comedy. The meteoric rise and tragic fall of Michael Jackson is a vastly different story, and I refuse to believe that there's an truth in these preposterous claims.
Are any of you crazy enough to step up and defend this nonsense? Are you offended at the idea? How would you like to see a Jackson biopic played?
Comments