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Shawn Shackelford leads the entire MJCast crew, including Elise Capron, Charlie Thomson, Charlie Carter, and newest member, Simon Wilkie, in a deep-dive discussion about the long-awaited “Michael” biopic, which hit theaters this past week.
“Michael” marks a major moment for MJ fans after years of anticipation—and comes with a surge of excitement which has built in the months and weeks leading up to its release. In the first 48 hours of officially hitting theaters, it blew up even the most optimistic projections, taking in around $100 million globally in a single day. By the end of opening weekend, it made well over $200 million globally (opening in 80 countries worldwide), and could officially claim the title of the biggest opening ever for any musical biopic.
Even though the film has faced a wave of negative reviews and press coverage from mainstream sources, audiences are showing up in large numbers, and with great enthusiasm. Critics haven’t exactly embraced the film, but one thing that keeps coming up is Jaafar Jackson’s performance as Michael Jackson. In this roundtable discussion, the team breaks down his performance, along with everything else the film gets right… and where it may fall short. Without a doubt, 2026 is the year of “Michael”.
This episode was edited by Simon Wilkie.
Participants
• Shawn Shackelford
• Elise Capron
• Charlie Thomson
• Charlie Carter
• Simon Wilkie
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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 livin’ off the wall.
Was eagerly waiting for this roundtable, I enjoyed every minute of it! So much to say about the biopic, but at the end of the day, if it results in more people appreciating the man and his music, I will be one happy Moonwalker. Thank you guys for everything you do and a big warm welcome to Simon. 🙂
Thanks so much for tuning in! -E
Welcome back, I will come and check every day here for a new episode and here we are I just finished listening to it.I watched the movie four times three on my own and one with my family, first time I watched it I felt a bit empty at the end because of what I know about Michaels life I wanted more but then I knew what to expect and I enjoyed it,the theatres are full of young people and I believe most of them they don’t know much about Michaels life so they enjoy what’s given to them and maybe in courage them to do some research and find more about Michael Jackson, I agree almost with everything you had to say and I think this is the time to release one of the documentaries maybe trial by media or TJ documentary before the second part.Most of all I enjoyed how Michael brought the world together again.
I largely agree with all the comments made and when I went the cinema was packed with people off all ages. Especially kids and teenagers , they were singing along , they knew the words and doing all the “hehe”. It was really good to see and hear. Many people going to watch this movie will go out of curiosity and likely will turn into huge fans. I approached the movie as a casual viewer and not as a massive MJ fan and I really enjoyed it. I tried to look past the flaws and I was especially impressed with Jafar’s dancing. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the film. Those studio scenes where ‘Michael’ was singing ‘Whose Loving You’ and the ’Don’t stop till you get enough’ scene in the studio with Quincy sent the chills down my spine. The fundamental problem is you simply cannot make a film about Michael Jackson’s life. At best you can pick one era and make a film about that for example the History era: album, marriage/ tour, first child, drug dependency, media scrutiny. You could make a 4 hour film just on 1995 to 1997. I’ve always thought Michael’s story is best told as a series that way you have time to develop the character, tell the story properly and let it breathe. You could have 20 episodes all one hour each covering each era. First season would be Jackson 5 / Jacksons years showing the music, the family dynamic , Joe Jackson etc. Next season you would have the Off the Wall era with 20 episodes showing his move to a solo career and his disappointments with the lack of recognition from the album and so on. You could likely have 20 episodes just on the 1993 allegations [assuming you could legally do that] even without the talking about the Dangerous album. But despite its flaws I was pleasantly surprised, found it very entertaining and I may see it again for the second time. Also really good point by Charlie Thompson at the end of the episode and thanks everyone who made this episode you did wonderful job. I was looking forward to hearing it and getting to hear your thoughts.
Hello Gursajan, I am beyond glad that when you went to see Michael the biopic there was people of all ages packing the cinema. Hearing that kids & teenagers were singing along shows MJs legacy is alive & well. Having people with curiosity turn into those actively finding out more about him would be great .
It would be my wish , one day very soon , that the world would SEE HIM AS A PERSON with feelings ( not just a superstar ) & stop assuming he is weird.
To add to your ideas on what could be included
Regarding HIStory album 1995 -1997 :
– tour of his STATUE around the world , the rare spectacle
– he had strong desire to be a DAD , like alot of everyday people
– his thoughts about the SONG Childhood
Jacksons / Jackson 5 years
– number of hit songs they had before finishing HIGH SCHOOL
– his MUM SINGING with them like many everyday people
– the awkwardness he felt about his ACNE & permanent effects on personality
– how often he wanted to be outside his homes , make FRIENDS ( to get support ) ( to confide in about loneliness & other worries ). If this could be done with big enough impact on audience , we could think of it again in each decade he lived away from this family.
Off the wall era
– his great first time acting role in movie THE WIZ.
– the perfectionist nature he had , working hard all hours of the night , gruelling demand of tours , surviving on little sleep etc since he was a teenager.
What that did to his peace of MIND for the rest of his short life. Make this so memorable to audience that they put themselves in his shoes ( & intensely feel empathy for him , a fellow human being).
Gursajan , what would you think about including the making of the short film CAPTAIN EO
( the perspective of MJs, dancers, directors, music engineers , visitors to the set ) ?
To show him as a gentle but firm leader , informal generous teacher , prankster & most of all
HOW MUCH HE HAS IN COMMON WITH EVERYDAY PEOPLE (the fundamental dispositions and traits all humans have).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.Bye
I REFUSE to support this film; you are only making the demonic Branca and his loathsome ilk richer; Branca acquired the estate through illegitimate means, while his ilk traduced Jackson during his lifetime, and these so-called fans are willing to ignore all of that for transient pleasure. This entire sham sickens me to my soul.
Completely fair point! -E
Im a huge fan/supporter of MJ and the Jackson family. I really enjoyed the different perspectives of the movie.I’m looking forward to more episodes! Excellent podcast! Great job everyone! Thank you. Cheers!
Hello, I enjoy the MJcast very much as a podcast but do have a question about
ep 190 Michael biopic roundtable 1/May/2026.
Does the person who said the following ( at around the 50 minute mark) believe it to be true or
are they giving an example of tabloid junk ?
” Can we play Twister ( says MJ in biopic ) ?
They are all going , no , I’ve got a date with a women ( his brothers say ) ”
” He ( MJ ) clearly has no interest in women in this film ”
Thanks for the chance to give feedback. Bye.
I’m not entirely sure if this answers your question, but the point we were discussing was just that the biopic, in our view, doesn’t show any glimmer of an adult life MJ may have had. They never show him going on any dates, or having interest in adult relationships at all. They portray his personality as very angelic and innocent (in slight contrast to his brothers, who are going out and doing “normal” adult things). While we understand what they are going for…it seems odd to us to show such a one-sided view of MJ. -E
Hello Elise, thank you for your prompt & detailed reply. Appreciate you taking the time & effort out of your busy day to do it.Bye.
Oh yes. I am inspired by the MJCast commitment to keep us informed and learning new things about Michael.
This podcast was a long wait, but it was worth it for the in depth perspective on the film. I wasn’t interested in seeing the film, but now think that perhaps it would be worth it even if it’s just to experience the audiences reaction.
Welcome to Simon, the new team member.
Thanks for your patience, and for tuning in! We have a little more biopic content coming (as well as other eps!).
-E
Maybe in the near future, they might create and release an extended cut of the film to properly fix the choppy and sloppy editing so that the film can finally have a real story to it and have the narrative be more coherent and consistent and have it be much better than the theatrical cut which we have all seen recently.
I would love to see a Director’s Cut happen. -E
With Charles’s explanation on Jaafar’s performance and portrayal of his uncle and the other elements during that important era in his life, I think the flaws and the other aforementioned elements in the film are not really Jaafar’s, Antoine Fuqua’s or writer John Logan’s fault really. It was I think studio interference
I would say that we, as a team, essentially agree. The team did the best they could within the parameters they (unexpectedly) had. -E
I just watched it a second time, and actually the montage-feeling was not as prominent this time. I noticed a few details that are almost impossible to notice the first time – like the time he stares at Peter Pan, touches Peters nose in the picture, then touches his own – and it transitions to the doctors office and the nosejob. Did you guys notice that detail? Small things like that are so important for the narrative, and its really clear how they had to just cut it down and how important details get lost in the speed of the story. They should just have made it longer.
That Peter Pan detail is a great example of the kinds of things I didn’t notice until the second viewing. (And yes, that exact sequence really caught my attention, too.) -E
Also, great roundtable! I love how you all have different opinions and gives us great discussions. And a huge thank you to Charles Thomson for the part about the media narrative and the attacks. He is a wizard with words and always puts this media- and legal shit in perspective. I hope he knows how important his inputs are. Looking forward to the next one and guys – make a patreonpage or something where we can sign up to be monthly supporters!
Thank you so much for your support, Amanda! It means a lot to us. -E