Home Celebrity Michael Jackson Documentary from Old Pal David Gest Gets Screened

Remember David Gest, Michael Jackson’s bff and Liza Minnelli‘s one time husband, he of the Shirley Temple shrine in his home and the waxed eyebrows? Well, he’s back. Gest has made a documentary about Jackson called “The Real Michael Jackson.” He screened it recently in Los Angeles for a select group that included Smokey Robinson, Angie Dickinson, and Katherine Jackson and her son, Tito. The source I spoke to says the documentary is pretty good mainly because it includes lots of rare footage of Michael and the Jacksons. How Gest got the rights to the footage, I don’t know. He does have plans to release the doc in the UK. Here’s the copy from the invite he sent out, I’ve reprinted it with typos:

PLEASE JOIN ME FOR A PRIVATE SCREENING OF MY FIRST FILM ‘THE REAL MICHAEL JACKSON’ ON THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011  PM AT 8:00 PM AT THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK THEATRE ON THE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS LOT. YOUR NAME WILL BE LEFT AT THE GATE AND THEIR WILL BE PARKING. I HAVE ENCLOSED DIRECTIONS AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE PARKING OR DIRECTIONS CALL MS. xxxxxxx AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ON (818) 777-xxxx

I AM VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK HAS ALREADY PURCHASED THE WORLD DVD RIGHTS AND MR MARK REYNOLDS OF BBC WORLWIDE MEDIA CENTRE (THE TOP DISTRIBUTOR IN THE WORLD) HAVE SIGNED FOR EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS. THIS IS A MOST UNIQUE FILM AND ACCORDING TO LEGENDARY PRODUCER LAMONT DOZIER: ”THE REAL MICHAEL JACKSON’ IS MORE THAN JUST A DOCUMENTARY, IT IS AN EPIC TELEVISION FILM AND QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST REMARKABLE DOCUMENTARY I HAVE EVER SEEN!’

A DRINKS & HORS D’OEUVRES RECEPTION WILL FOLLOW THE SCREENING AT A LOCATION NEAR THE STUDIO (LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED). PLEASE JOIN ME FOR THE SCREENING & RECEPTION BY RSVP TO MY E-MAIL. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 AT 8:00 PM AT THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK THEATRE AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. THE FILM IS 90 MINUTES.

BEST REGARDS,

DAVID GEST

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Author
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
15 replies to this post
  1. This man David Gest self-styled “friend” and “intimate” by Michael Jackson, but throughout the existence of Michael I never heard MJ say so. Michael was surrounded by people and among them were many who wanted to take advantage of Michael and many enemies as well. MJ had its own light and shone like a great young star and its light shone and charmed. Many people approached him and not for good. The fact of being close does not mean that Michael was his friend. People very close to Michael just wanted to exploit it and destroy it as was the case of Conrad Murray who murdered him and Tohme R. Tohme who stole it and still wants to steal your children.
    Throughout the career of Michael Jackson I never heard him refer to David Gest as his “close friend” and much less as your friend. MJ quoted Elizabeth Taylor, Macaulay Culkin, Diana Ross, Brooke Shields, and others, but never Sir David Gest., Even in the 50th anniversary of MJ when he presented a program on MTV and said he was a friend of MJ, Michael did not confirm this.
    It’s like Lisa Marie Presley said in his interview with Oprah Winfrey, Michael was sucked by a gang of vampires that vampirizavam him night and day.
    Now that Michael is dead, this man thinks he can speak for him, but Michael never gave him space to do so.
    To me this man, David Gest, is using the image and name to appear MJ, dull person and talent as he is, whether billing, too, and is already billing the expense of Michael Jackson. He’s just a vulture.

  2. i think i judged this documentary too fast in my first message… :-/
    (even if … with all the s****y products and money that has been made out from his death these last 2 years —> no surprise to become suspicious)

    I’ve been reading and crossing some more infos – the fact Mesereau gave positive opinion is actually quite comforting. But above all :

    Seems to be a real cross-portrait… (50 people interviewed?!) with some new anecdotes and sincere intention.

    So. Maybe we’re gonna finally get interesting and respectful new material after all. :))

    And about the last point i wrote about (since in the meantime, it was announced a DVD is coming in 2012 !!!!!!):
    Let’s hope both John will also ensure the legendary Bad Tour to come out with remasterized sound & images… and new bonuses. ;-)

    As said… as long there’s life…

  3. @ friend – 4 fans? Who do think bought 750,000 tickets for the O2 concerts and who were the other 600,000 people waiting on line to buy tickets when they shut down sales? Not fans?

  4. I can’t wait to watch it. It will be one of the first items about Jackson that is actually done by someone who knew him well and not some media hag. Besides Tom Mesereau Jackson’s former attorney is recommending it. I’m sure though that since it’s positive about Jackson it won’t get aired.

  5. MJ’s fans are clearly kind of disillusioned about the “industry”.

    Thing is… MJ wanted his all life to be the 1st one in all selling records and always chased awards or distinctive nominations proudly. Even if he has distanced himself from that paradox within the last decades, he always wanted to be the biggest seller ever – the best… and so on. (King of Pop !! P_O_P_U_L_A_R // Mass singer)
    (And that’s why we loved (and still love) him – for his perfectionism and hard work – nevertheless my previous arguments are facts !)

    So, i mean…
    Think about it twice: the “ones” you’re blaming today also made his Star-success possible. That’s how it works. That’s how it will continue to be.

    Industry earns money through music artists. And they never have been so much exploited from majors as they are today. And the public never needed entertainment so badly as today.

    Considering all of this… I think you’ll get my point.

    I sometimes do ask myself if i am gonna live long enough to see a Bad Tour DVD in HD quality, or a REAL clever documentary about his MUSIC and artistic projects – as well as his projects for the future he obviously couldn’t realize – or any side of his personality and what he had to endure in the show-business that wouldn’t just soak into a soapy marshmallow-movie.

    By the way:
    MJ wasn’t a monolith. He also had his bad moods, was able to get rude, And was sometimes manipulating – even if gently and very often for some good reasons. As we all do sometimes. Anyway… waht i mean with this is:
    I don’t expect such documentaries to learn anything more on the subject.

    I think we’ll have to wait some more years for that. For having a relevant picture painted. Less caricatural, more humanizing.

    But…

    As long there is life, there’s hope, though.

  6. I wouldn’t mind watching it after all David always spoke well about mike I’ll never support anyone who lied on him . I only support the ones who have good truthful things to say about him but as usual media doesn’t really give the true friends of mike a platform to speak on they like to interview the scums that loves telling lies on him for a quick buck so I would love to see his documentary, I don’t think he’s doing this all for money maybe he just wants to show people a different side of mike a positive side for once. I’m sick of hearing about his skin and his plastic surgery that crap has played out especially when it came out he did have a skin disorder found in the autopsy . Then the same old crap about him having sex with kids once again no proof of that at all same old drama and I’m sick of it hopefully this one is different and joyful to watch in peace .

  7. What the same David Gest that in 2006 was going to release a book about MJ with Mark Bego detailing MJ’s sex life and all the secrets and skeletons that were apparently in the closet. Supposed stories of abuse etc etc. Will the hypocrosy ever end? When he was alive they all wanted to make money off of his strangeness now he is dead they all want to make money off of his new found sainthood! Even his family have books waiting to be published. I wouldn’t mind betting that Jermaine’s new book is nothing like the one he was trying to publish in 2004!

  8. Is it possible the body that has been ASS-U-MED to be Michael Jackson’s really isn’t. Learn more by watching the jaw-dropping documentary “Alive! Is Michael Jackson Really Dead?” This is really how a death hoax makes sense.

  9. I guess you can’t stop people from profiting off of our beloved’s name but we can let them know how we feel about it.Maybe they’ll think twice and not feel so comfortable with themselves.Let’s also remember that this is a private screening so if and when a media outlet buys it,we can choose to support it or not.The children and Michael’s estate will certainly get a percentage of any profits off our beloved’s name. I’m just upset cause my MJ is gone and I don’t care about anything else.These so-called friends and/or associates of my MJ were absolutely useless to him when he needed them the most so they can choke off the profits cause I’m not worried.They will soon be cut down.

  10. I hope at some point this “shady” individuals (and there are too many to count) will let Michael Jackson RIP and allow his rightful beneficiaries (his children) to get what they deserve from their father that worked so hard for throughout his life. Please do not allow this to be screened if possible at least in the US or Canada!

  11. Michael Jackson is of course, the greatest entertainer ever. However, he is also a brand. Yes, if you acquire the rights legally to an MJ brand you can profit from it. That is what his estate is doing, the media is doing, radio stations, and so on. There are many legal loop holes.

    When you become famous you basically become a money making machine. That is how the industry works.

    If you think his estate is giving his kids all the money your misinformed. They are in it for a profit as well. When you become a brand you have to realize people will make money off of you for as long as they can.

    People in show business realize this. MJ had people sue him for profiting off them as well. Don’t be ignorant in this area of business.

    Why do you think Paul McCartney was so upset with MJ?

    MJ, found a way to profit off the Beatles to make money…It is business.
    MJ was a very smart business man.

    That is how show biz works.

  12. It used to be fun being a Michael Jackson fan but not anymore.

    Too much negativity.

    I’m sick of the new fans. THEY AREN”T REAL FANS!

    And they don’t know MJ’s relationships with people.

    A lot of these people have personal archives that I would LOVE to see.

    His estate doesn’t own the stuff from when he was young.

    So David makes money so the heck what?

    The estate is making money hand over fist.

    I will be supporting this. And I’m just sick of the Jackson “fake fans” negativity.

    Michael Jackson only had a handful of fans: Me and four other people!

    The rest are newer and not real!

  13. Sounds interesting . . . however, David Gest always equals SHADY AS HELL in my book. Why the Jackson family is associated with so many opportunistic crazies (David Gest, Brian Oxman, Howard Mann, etc., etc.), I’ll never know. =/

  14. Another leech trying to make money off Michael Jackson without sharing it with his children….his permanent beneficiaries.

    I Wonder, how long before we find the Howard Mann connection?

    I will encourage MJ fans NOT to support unofficial products…because that money ISN’T going to MJ’s beloved children.

    DON’T SUPPORT THE LEECHES!!!!! EVENTUALLY, THEY WILL GET THE MESSAGE AND GO AWAY.

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