Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland | |
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Genre | Biopic |
Based on | Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days by Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard |
Written by | Elizabeth Hunter |
Directed by | Dianne Houston |
Starring | Navi Chad L. Coleman Sam Adegoke Aiden Hanlon Smith Taegen Burns |
Composer | Zach Ryan |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Executive producer | Suzanne De Passe |
Producers | Kyle A. Clerk Lina Wong |
Cinematography | Tommy Maddox-Upshaw |
Editor | Craig Hayes |
Production companies | Lifetime Silver Screen Pictures |
Original release | |
Network | Lifetime |
Release | May 30, 2017 |
Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland is a 2017 American biographical television film based on the 2014 book, Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days, written by Jackson's personal bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard. The film dramatizes Jackson in the final years of his life. [1] [2] It takes place after the events of the 2004 film, Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story .
The film is told from the point of view of one of Michael Jackson's bodyguards Bill Whitfield (portrayed by Chad Coleman). It begins in December 2006 when Jackson returns from Bahrain and is now living in a Las Vegas mansion. He doesn't want to return to Neverland after the police raid from years earlier and instead plans to purchase a multi-million-dollar estate in Las Vegas he called “Wonderland.” [3] With Jackson in serious debt, he agrees to do a residency just like Celine Dion. Bill Whitfield says, "He [Jackson] hadn't worked in years. He spent tons of money on lawsuits, legal fees, shopping, and family. Money was his issue." The two bodyguards haven't been paid in months. Shortly before signing with AEG for his residency in London, Jackson hires Nation of Islam bodyguards for his protection. He then begins rehearsing in Los Angeles for his London residency.
On January 13, 2017, Lifetime announced that it had ordered a television biopic of Michael Jackson, which would be based on the book Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days. Production was scheduled to begin in February in Los Angeles. [4]
On its premiere airing, the film was watched by 2 million viewers. [5]
Kenneth Brian Edmonds, better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 13 Grammy Awards. He was ranked number 20 on NME's 50 of The Greatest Producers Ever list.
Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch or Neverland Valley Ranch, is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, on the edge of Los Padres National Forest. From 1988 to 2005, it was the home and private amusement park of the American singer Michael Jackson. The ranch is about 5 miles (8 km) north of unincorporated Los Olivos, and about eight miles (13 km) north of the town of Santa Ynez.
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Navi is a Trinidadian-born Michael Jackson tribute artist and actor based in England.
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Fans of American singer Michael Jackson are known as Moonwalkers.
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Michael Jackson Talks ... to Oprah is an American television interview special that was broadcast by ABC on February 10, 1993. The special featured an interview between musician Michael Jackson and Oprah Winfrey, filmed at his Neverland Ranch in California.