Safe this could have been avoided? According to a bomb report in puck, LionsgateUpcoming Michael Jackson Biopic “Michael” is facing massive rewrites and re -recording because of a business that Jackson’s property made several years ago with the family to one of the artist’s accusers of children abuse. Lionsgate did not respond to comment.
In November 2024, Lionsgate announced that “Michael”, directed by Antoine Fuqua, would be delayed from a release in April 2025 to October 3, 2025. According to PuckThe problem was in an agreement between Jackson’s legal team and the family of Jordan Chandler, the then 13-year-old who accused Jackson of fraud 1993.
The agreement, which was made several years before the film began to develop, specifically excludes the Chandler family from all films about Jackson’s life. But the “Michael” script began and ended in 1993 with the Chandler charges, with a third act due to the legal drama around Chandler’s final settlement of $ 20 million.
Puck reported that the Jackson property, supervised by John Branca, examined the script but somehow overlooked the Chandler agreement and informed filmmakers about Snafu in September 2024 … just like film into post -production. Fuqua, producer Graham King and author John Logan are now seeking approval for script changes from Lionsgate and Universal. Puck adds that Jackson’s property will cover the cost of the retakes; The film already had a budget of $ 150 million.
According to a story from September 2024 in the Financial Times, Branca made silent payments to five Jackson prosecutors following the release of HBO’s documentary 2019 “Leaving Neverland”. However, one of the chargers requested additional payment in 2024 and that was when Jackson’s estate submitted an arbitration claim.
Only then, according to Puck, did “Michael” learn about silent payments as well as the Chandler problem.
It is more than scary to write about a movie for re -records six months before it is released. But even if Lionsgate and Universal approve the technical solutions – the script makes sense, production can be completed – must it also calculate for a known unknown: what more can happen? The goods are already fighting “Finding Neverland” Subjects Wade Robson and James Safechuck in court, with a trial scheduled for 2026; How many other legal battles can appear in the wake of “Michael”?
Lionsgate teased pictures of “Michael” as early as April 2024 at Cinemacon and said the film promised to “get into everything”, which suggested it would deal with the allegations of fraud.
Lionsgate and a lawyer for Jackson’s estate did not return a request for comment. Universal, which distributes the film internationally, had no comments.
