Michael Jackson's Ghosts

For the song, see Ghosts (Michael Jackson song).

Michael Jackson's Ghosts
File:Ghosts MJ.jpg
Directed by	Stan Winston
Screenplay by	Stan Winston Mick Garris
Story by	Michael Jackson Stephen King Mick Garris
Produced by	Michael Jackson Stan Winston David Nicksay
Starring	Michael Jackson
Cinematography	Russell Carpenter
Edited by	Marcus Manton
Music by	Michael Jackson (songs) Nicholas Pike (score)
Production companies	MJJ Productions Kingdom Entertainment
Distributed by	SMV Enterprises
Release dates	October 25, 1996 (1996-10-25)
Running time	39 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million

Michael Jackson's Ghosts is a 1996 short film starring Michael Jackson, written by Stephen King and Mick Garris, and directed by Stan Winston. It was filmed and first screened in 1996 and released along with select prints of the film Thinner. It was released as promo a year later internationally on LaserDisc, VHS and Video CD. Jackson plays five roles.

Ghosts tells the story of an eccentric man with supernatural powers being forced out of a small town by its judgmental mayor. Jackson performs dance routines set to the songs "2 Bad", "Is It Scary" and "Ghosts", taken from Jackson's albums HIStory (1995) and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix (1997).

Plot

The mayor of Normal Valley leads a mob to the mansion of the Maestro, who has been entertaining local children with magic tricks and ghost stories. The children assure the parents the Maestro has done nothing wrong, but the mayor intends to banish him as a "freak".

The Maestro challenges the mayor to a "scaring contest": the first to become scared must leave. He performs magic tricks and dance routines with a ghostly horde, then possesses the mayor, forcing him to dance. After the performance, the Maestro agrees to leave and crumbles to dust, but returns as an enormous demon. Terrified, the mayor leaps through the window. The families agree that they had fun and allow the Maestro to stay.

Production

The project began production in 1993 under the title Is it Scary? with director Mick Garris, planned for release in conjunction with the family comedy film Addams Family Values. Following contract disputes, the Addams Family connection was dropped. Stan Winston, who was previously in charge of makeup and visual effects, took over as director when Garris left to make the Shining miniseries. According to Garris, Ghosts was "the most expensive music video ever made" at around $15 million dollars, all paid for by Jackson. There was a six week shoot.

Cast

• Michael Jackson as Maestro / Mayor / Mayor Ghoul / Superghoul / Skeleton
• Pat Dade as Pat
• Amy Smallman as Amy
• Edwina Moore as Edwina
• Dante Beze as Dante
• Seth Smith as Seth
• Kendall Cunningham as Kendall
• Loren Randolph as Loren
• Heather Ehlers as Heather
• Michael Balderrama, Troy Burgess, Nikki Pantenburg, John "Havic" Gregory, Travis Payne, Michael Gregory, Mia Pitts, Heather Harley, Charlie Schmidt, Paula Harrison, Joie Shettler, Shawnette Heard, Anthony Talauega, Yuko Sumida Holley, Richmond Talauega, Cristan Judd, Lisa Thompson, Richard Kim, Mic Thompson, Dorie Konno, Stacey Walker, Kelly Konno, Michelle Weber, Suzi McDonald, Jason Yribar, and Courtney Miller as Dancers

Songs

• "2 Bad" (film version)
  • Taken from HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
• "Is It Scary" (film version)*
  • Taken from Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix
• "Ghosts"
  • Taken from Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix

Release

Ghosts was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by Pharrell Williams' "Happy". In 2020, the film was available on Jackson’s YouTube channel from October 29 to November 1.

Reception

According to AV Club writer Nathan Rabin, Ghosts is a "staggeringly blunt" allegory for Jackson's life and pop culture status. Rabin attributed its failure to Jackson's place in the public imagination at the time, in light of Jackson's recent divorce from Lisa Marie Presley and the 1993 child molestation allegations against him.

Deluxe collector box set

In December 1997, towards the end of promotion for Michael Jackson's remix album Blood on the Dance Floor, a Deluxe Collector Box Set of Ghosts was released only in Europe. The box set included a VHS release of Jackson's Ghosts mini-movie on home video and his Blood on the Dance Floor album on CD, as well as a CD maxi single named the Limited Edition Minimax CD. "On the Line" was the first track on this single.

On the Line

"On the Line"
File:LimitedEditionMinimaxCD.jpeg
Single by Michael Jackson
B-side	"Ghosts" (Mousse T's Radio Rock Singalong Remix) "Is It Scary" (DJ Greek's Scary Mix)
Released	January 11, 1997
Genre	R&B pop soul
Length	4:39 (short version) 4:53 (long version)
Label	Epic Records, Sony Music
Songwriter(s)	Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Michael Jackson
Producer(s)	Babyface
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Stranger in Moscow" (1996) "On the Line" (1997) "Blood on the Dance Floor" (1997)

"On the Line" is a song co-written and produced by Babyface. Michael Jackson performs the track and is also credited in its writing (on the writing credits of The Ultimate Collection). It was originally recorded by Jackson for the Spike Lee movie Get on the Bus (1996), but it was not featured on the soundtrack.

The full-length version of the song was released on November 16, 2004 as an album track of his limited edition box set The Ultimate Collection.

Personnel

• Written and composed by Babyface and Michael Jackson
• Produced by Babyface
• Solo and background vocals by Michael Jackson

Track listing

Limited Edition Minimax CD (EPC 665268 2)

1. "On the Line" (Short Version) – 4:37
2. "Ghosts" (Mousse T's Radio Rock Singalong Remix) – 4:25
3. "Is It Scary" (DJ Greek's Scary Mix) – 7:12

External links

• Michael Jackson's Ghosts at the Internet Movie Database