163: Season Nine Christmas Special

Taj Jackson joins Jamon BullElise CapronCharlie Carter, and Charles Thomson to celebrate the holidays and reflect on this past year… Welcome to The MJCast’s ninth annual Christmas special!

The crew discusses the year that was, including the final version of the Thriller40 documentary; Marcos Cabota’s problems with finding a distributor for his own Thriller documentary, Sonic Fantasy; a major auction of Dick Zimmerman’s Thriller album cover test Polaroids and camera; and drama around a digital release of The Jackson 5’s first-ever recording. Plus, the team covers updates on MJ: The Musical, the Robson and Safechuck court cases, the MJ biopic, and Taj shares the latest developments on his docuseries project, as well as insights into the happenings within both the Jackson family and fan community circles.

Special thanks to Taj Jackson for being a part of our annual Christmas Special for many years. It’s an honor to have this tradition with you.

And, huge thanks to all of our listeners and MJFam around the world. We could not do this without you. Wishing you a happy 2024 to come!

This episode was edited by Jamon Bull.

Participants
• Taj Jackson (Donate to Taj’s docuseries, Re-Righting HIStory, and subscribe to updates here.)
• Jamon Bull
• Elise Capron
• Charlie Carter
• Charles Thomson

Discussion Topics
• Thriller 40 documentary has been released.
• Marcos Cabota reveals more detail as to why he’s found releasing Sonic Fantasy problematic.
• Unseen Michael Jackson Thriller album cover photos have been auctioned. (You can hear our interview with Dick Zimmerman, who took the photos, here.)
• The Jackson 5’s first ever recordings were recently released digitally, and the Estate is not happy.
• ‘MJ: The Musical’ run extended in London, and now coming to Sydney, Australia!
• An update on Taj’s docuseries.
• Wade and James drop Finaldi.
• Biopic shooting and scheduled for 2026 release.

Like this episode?
• If you have the means, consider a donation in any amount through PayPal to help cover our costs. All proceeds go towards online running costs, upgrading equipment, and charity donations. Learn all about the various ways you can support The MJCast through visiting our website.
• We also have an official merchandise shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our fun merch.

Connect with Us
• TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Mastodon
• Twitter
• Threads
• YouTube

If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Keep Michaeling!

086: Dick Zimmerman Special

Q and Jamon are excited to welcome to the show renowned photographer and artist Dick Zimmerman, best known in the Michael Jackson fan community for his iconic portrait of Michael used for the Thriller album cover, which is said to be the most distributed portrait in history.

Zimmerman, known as ‘The Image Maker’, has, in over 45 years as an artist, captured the images of a wide range of celebrated entertainers, dignitaries and politicians, including everyone from Jane Fonda, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Mick Jagger, Robin Williams and of course, La Toya, Janet and Michael Jackson.


Originally from New York, Zimmerman studied painting at the School of Visual Arts, the Parsons School of Design, New York University, the Brooklyn Museum, and throughout Europe, including the Musee D’orsay. His work has been featured in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, CNN, NBC’s ‘The Today Show’, ABC’s ‘Access Hollywood’, ‘Dr. Drew’ and more.

The guys chat with Zimmerman about his background as an artist, the concept development behind the Thriller cover, working with Michael, and his new DVD package, ‘Memories of Michael, the Thriller Cover Session Interview’.

Additional Links
• Dick Zimmerman’s website, Facebook and Twitter pages.
• Dick’s blog post about meeting Salvador Dali and his wife Gala
• Dick Zimmerman’s interview with Dr. Drew
• Dick’s Fan Club Art Gallery website, which includes giclee prints available for sale.
• Information on his DVD, ‘Memories of Michael: The Thriller Cover Session Interview’, which includes a limited-edition art booklet.
• ’35th Anniversary of the Thriller Photo Session’ interview.

Ad & Music Breaks
• 
Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) [SWG Original Mix]
• Michael Jackson – Beat It (SWG Extended Mix)
• Michael Jackson – Thriller (Louis La Roche Mix)

Connect with Us
• 
TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube

If you have any thoughts, opinions, or feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.comMichael on!