Talking about icons in music, MJ, or as you might call him, Michael Jackson, very few have even come close to the legacy of Jackson. He not only made statements in the world of music with diversity and phenomenal performance, but he also fought offstage too. Allegations and racial barriers? MJ caught that, though like most popular personas, he didn’t have a clear, transparent personality. This doesn’t take his credibility down one bit.
And that’s why the biopic of Michael Jackson is so important. This isn’t just an attempt to ride the wave of biopics; for that, Lionsgate could have opted for any random celebrity. But this has the potential to be on the podium of biopics and musicals, for that matter.
You can obviously expect a whole lot of music and songs from this film, and as per the recent updates state, Lionsgate is considering using around 30 songs for the upcoming film. Now, this number is somewhat confusing. If Lionsgate manages to nail the use of music, they will have something really special, and if they overdo it, it will be unwatchable.
Talking about the number of songs, though 30 sounds like a lot on paper, firstly, very few of them will be full songs, so the length of the movie won’t be something astronomical. Plus, if you are acquainted with Indian cinema, you just know the extensive and diverse usage of songs; you shouldn’t really complain.
Films like Rockstar or Pakeezah showcase that the number of songs doesn’t really matter; it’s the usage that does. And talking about the number of songs, the possibilities are endless. Indrasabha has 72 songs, which embodies the spirit of being ‘’too much.”
Now, will it be excessive if Lionsgate uses 30 songs?
See, it’s a biopic of Michael Jackson; songs will be an inevitable part of this. And the 30 songs Lionsgate is promising, the majority of them are clippings. Similar to the case of Bob Marley: One Love where the official soundtrack was of 17 songs, but it wasn’t the entire songs. We can expect the same from the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothee Chalamet.
And if we want to shed some light on the chances of success with the MJ film, you can just believe that this has all the potential to be a major hit. Keeping the Jackson influence in mind, the biopic will get exposure like nothing before.