Michael is dead. This cannot be right.. with his children.
No, it's completely f**ked up! And it's pissing me off as much as it's making me sad. I still don't think everyone will agree with your statement though, especially here... I feel ya though <!-- s --><!-- s --> .
I am a mum and grandma and I protect them as much as I possible can do we honestly see that happen to michaels wonderfull children sadly the answer is no
OMG please guys, don;t tell me you are buying that he is dead? I guess you are all losing faith. This is all part of the hoax. Look at the children how happy they are. If the father was really gone they wouldn't act that way, believe me. They wouldn't be as happy. This is all coaching from Michael. Then again you guys think what you want, you have already made up your minds. Blessings.
To me, this was never a matter of faith. I process what I can see with my own eyes and I can only speculate about the things I can't see (or what's being covered up). Yes, those kids look happy does that necessarily mean Michael is alive? Imo, no - sadly <!-- s:( -->:(<!-- s:( --> Could it be that they still mourn their dad, or think about him in private? In no way can we know how they handle their grief. Could it also be that they're happy because they're doing something that would make their dad proud (although this specific foundation is bogus, bless their good intentions)?
I do fully understand that we all have different ways of viewing things and i respect that but theses are just my thoughts.
please, READ one more time article from Arno Bani MJs booklet to revive your vision and faith - MICHAEL NEEDS US AND OUR SUPPORT NOW!
i will post that article as soon i get more time over the net in my computer to tape it- cause via phone is not allowed to logint to our forum anymore.
=here it is begiining of the future post=
Arno Bani & article from his Auction photobook.
Dear Friends!
I would like to start topick regarding booklet and ARTICLE there ESPECIALLY, -
as we know its a lot of inconsistency behind that photoshot,
But, when u READ essey on that book , all info there just Make you GO <!-- s:shock: -->:shock:<!-- s:shock: --> <!-- s:shock: -->:shock:<!-- s:shock: --> <!-- s:shock: -->:shock:<!-- s:shock: -->
Sorry to keep it short and partial - my access to comp really limited now, and i will post time to time , - any help to put that article from booklet in full lengt here will be highly appreciated <!-- s:roll: -->:roll:<!-- s:roll: --> <!-- s:P -->:P<!-- s:P -->
and i promise you its wotrh of every page reading, and spesially analyzing its words and players.
OK.
Once Upon A Time ...
MICHAEL JACKSON
A Shining Star
by Jeromine Savignon.
Forever Michael by Arno Bani
here is sneak peak of Quote from that article on another link - but what you should Really read its one I mentioned before - with all the Wizard of Oz, yellow road,Wonderland and EURO <!-- s --><!-- s --> in 1999(( <!-- s:shock: -->:shock:<!-- s:shock: --> ??
CHOMONE GUYS! LIFT UP YOUR HEARTS!
Nicolai Hartvig, ARTINFO France Nicolai Hartvig, Artinfo France
PARIS – Michael Jackson moonwalked to Mozart’s "Requiem" as Arno Bani's shutter clicked. Sometimes pensive, sometimes smiling serenely, the King of Pop opened himself to the young French photographer. Bani even took the liberty of having Jackson’s hair cut short because he "liked him that way." Afterward, Jackson let it grow back out. "He really didn’t like his own face," Bani said. "With longer hair, he could hide it."
Eleven years since the intimate session, one of the few artistic collaborations ever initiated by the singer, four striking series of photographs will go on the auction block in Paris on December 13.
"We were like two boys playing on the floor, putting puzzles together," said Bani, greeting ARTINFO France in his northern Paris apartment for a talk about the never-before-seen photographs that are today unveiled to the world. "I was a kid then, but he was ten times the kid I was. I would bring glitter pots and he would stick his finger in them and watch how it sparkled. We would spread it everywhere. The fashion design folders were like toy catalogs to him." He added, "Michael Jackson wasn't just asking me to take pictures. He wanted me to build him a look for the next ten years."
Surrounding the pair was Jackson’s entourage of artistic directors, clutching notepads, scribbling down whether the King of Pop liked the blue glitter better than the red. "It was the world in which he lived," Bani said, "like seeing him in his little golden prison, discovering. He was extremely curious and cultured, but always humble, respectful, and kind. He would jump on the couch and clap when he fell in love with a new detail. He would give me hugs and bow with his hands together, Japanese-style. I had to ask him to stop thanking me, but I was really very touched."
The project came about by chance. Michael Jackson had spotted a fashion shot by Bani on the cover of the Sunday Times style section and immediately decided that he wanted to work with the young photographer. At first, Bani thought someone was prank calling him, before his lawyer friend confirmed that the King of Pop was inviting him for an audience. Bani would make six return trips to New York ahead of the three-day shoot.
One image, "The Golden Cape," was originally intended for the cover of Michael Jackson’s final studio album "Invincible," but it was nixed by Jackson’s label Epic Records. "It was a great disappointment," said Bani, sitting between his eight-month-old son and a stack of Michael Jackson prints, discarded among the more than 8000 he has signed and dated during the past three months for the collector’s box that will accompany the sale.
The auction by Pierre Bergé & Associés is itself unique. Four large, single-print photographs headline the sale, flanked by 31 contact sheets showing a non-airbrushed Jackson, many with the singer’s handwritten notes. Last, there are 55 prints from the contact sheets. All will be sold without reserve or estimate, starting at €1,000 ($1,410) for the prints and €500 ($705) for the smaller lots. There will be no reprints, no mass-market posters, and no T-shirts, said Frédéric Chambre, vice president and associate at Pierre Bergé & Associés, in his office across from the historic Drouot auction rooms.
The collector’s box, priced at €1,000 ($1,410), will hold a large format catalog and four silver prints of the Bani photographs. A second catalog will be in bookstores for €45 ($63) and, in a rare auction-house nod to the masses, a €19.90 ($28) edition will be sold in supermarkets. Co-editors around the world signed up for translated versions without seeing any of the Bani pictures.
"The project is more rock and roll, or pop, than Pierre Bergé & Associés is used to," Bani said. "We wanted to create something that was edgy and arty but open to a large audience."
Bani was bound by contract to keep the photographs out of public view for 10 years and kept them locked in a safe in southern France. The blockade expired three weeks after Michael Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009. "We decided to take our time," the photographer said. "We didn’t want to drown in everything that was being unearthed for sale following his death, to surf that somewhat morbid wave."
Bani and Jackson had developed an intimate but simple collaboration, where the photographer was given carte blanche to assemble his team and create his vision of the singer. Bani brought along star hairstylist Seb Bascle, makeup innovator Topolino, and fashion trendsetters Frédérique Lorca and Maïda. It was summertime in Paris and everyone was in T-shirts and Bermuda shorts.
Topolino became the eccentric troublemaker of the bunch, Bani said. In an almost "diplomatic incident," the makeup artist and his assistants spread vaseline around Jackson’s eye and softly blew the shiny blue glitter onto the singer’s face. "Jackson’s staff was shocked," Bani remembered. "'You can’t blow on Michael Jackson’s face,' they protested."
Topolino liked to have background music, so he brought a five-dollar radio with horrid sound and set it to French oldies and pop stations. "Michael Jackson was curious and wanted to know what this French music was. He was listening to (Joe Dassin's) 'Aux Champs Elysées' and old Georges Brassens tunes," Bani recalled.
The makeup artist also snuck into Jackson’s purpose-built shower that was always carefully sanitized and supplied with ultra-clean, plastic-wrapped towels. In the end, Jackson "didn’t care about any of that," Bani remembered. There were no eccentric celebrity demands, no complaints about the food or the room temperature.
The singer entered a zen-like, meditative state as he sat through the hours-long makeup sessions — first to rebuild and mask, then to create the desired look. "He had this ability to turn himself off and then back on in two seconds. I had asked him to dance for some of the pictures and I thought he was dozing off. He looked tired. Then he just kick-started and did it."
Any tension surrounding the shoot came from an uneasy relationship with Jackson’s label and management. "Michael Jackson had capriciously decided that he wanted this twenty-three-year-old kid from nowhere, some young fashion photographer from Paris. There wasn’t much trust, certainly not on a very expensive project like this one," Bani remembered.
"I had no spending limits," the photographer said. "If the inseam of Michael Jackson’s pants cost 10,000 euros, no problem. At one point, the Sony people told me they had never spent that much on a suit and even brought Michael’s stage costumes out of storage to show me what they usually did. There was an awful jacket with round mirror sequins that were just glued on. It only worked at 100 meters distance with tons of spotlights pointed at it.”
For "The Blue Eye," Jackson wore an embroidered Yves Saint Laurent suit, an oddly coincidental link today to Pierre Bergé, the late fashion designer’s life partner and guardian of his legacy. "He wanted to dream, to feel the elegance of a 'French touch'," Bani said of Jackson’s wardrobe selections. "When I brought him François Lesage embroideries he touched them and was fascinated. He had never seen such delicate, handcrafted work."
The project did hit a few stumbling blocks. Once there was no news from Jackson for two weeks and Bani wasn't sure if he still had the gig. The singer would sometimes be three or four hours late because he had to circle the block "15 times" to get past the fans. The planned location changed from Paris to New York, Germany, and Disneyland Paris, before the French capital was finally selected. Jackson then missed the first day of the shoot.
The Arno Bani prints will go on public display two days before the December sale and Frédéric Chambre said he couldn’t quite predict how popular the event will be. "We would of course be happy if the room was full and there were 2,000 people waiting in the street," he said. "Michael Jackson is a popular item and auctions are not democratic enough for my taste. We have to give people access to this sale and the memories it revives."
See and reserve the limited edition collector’s box here.
i think that some of us who did not really think hoax from the get go are perhaps in better shape emotionally at this point . ones who right away went into thinking hoax probably did not go through any kind of a mourning process. those of us who mourned first may be able to stand a little stronger in the long run. perhaps it would do those who never considered his death in the beginning good to simply take some time and step to mourn and then if you can return do that. perhaps you won't be hit so hard by every set back and if in the long run we find that he in fact is gone you will be better able to cope.jmo
After watching that video, it should be 100% crystal clear to everyone that MJ is alive.
Just listen to the reaction of the reporters:
George Stephanopoulos: "You can tell, at least from the appearances, Robin, they’re amazingly unaffected by all this."
Robin Roberts: "I was just taken aback."
Why are they so shocked? Because the kids are "amazingly unaffected by all this." "All this" being the presumed "death" of their father. It should be obvious that MJ has been with his kids throughout all of the hoax. That's why they're so "well-adjusted."
In a previous interview Paris said before 2009 they were covered in public so that nobody knew what they looked like, so that they could go out in public in freedom without being mobbed, which was very smart of MJ, although the public didn't understand it back then, and thought it was just one more "weird" thing about MJ. But then right before he "died" he let the world see the kids with him so that everyone would know what they look like. This seems to be part of the plan, too. The kids are so impressive, so mature way beyond their years, and that in itself disproves the idea that MJ was "weird." It proves that MJ has always been exactly the kind of father that the kids say. It proves the truth and disproves the lies. It restores MJ's good name for the public to see and to hear from the kids.
If LostHighlander is worth remembering that it was Michael that showed their children in public shortly before his " death " <!-- s8-) -->8-)<!-- s8-) -->
I am not giving up I will wait for the end of the trial many thanks for the piece on Paris photo shoot things are strange I worry about the children and feel Michael would not use them or want them in the public eye this is my worry
suspicious mind
i think that some of us who did not really think hoax from the get go are perhaps in better shape emotionally at this point . ones who right away went into thinking hoax probably did not go through any kind of a mourning process. those of us who mourned first may be able to stand a little stronger in the long run. perhaps it would do those who never considered his death in the beginning good to simply take some time and step to mourn and then if you can return do that. perhaps you won't be hit so hard by every set back and if in the long run we find that he in fact is gone you will be better able to cope.jmo
I have to agree with your JMO Suspicious MInd.
Spent a lot of nights mourniing........ hell my HD is filled up with Michael Jackson and J5 vids and music....TONS of pictures....
somewhere along the way I started reading and watching the Hoax Vid's.
I'm still on the fence about it all....but leaning more to the he is...than he isn't.
Whichever way it goes we may never know for sure anyway.
I didn't start mourning until 5 months after the 25th of June. Before that I avoided all news concerning Michael, I did not watch the memorial,I did not see TII in theatres, I did not listen to his music, avoided all tributes... I just couldn't deal with it, I wasn't ready to take it in fully. Then I slowly started watching some YT clips and the tears just wouldn't stop. I could suddenly start crying on the tube, or during class or when just talking about Michael. After some time I discovered and started to look into hoax videos and started questioning things but I never committed to it fully. I decided to keep a distance while keeping an open mind for the sake of my heart. These last months I'd say most of the hope has faded though and the thing that keeps me here sometimes is not wanting to accept he's gone. I want it SO much to be a hoax!
You see, since I never fully believed Michael was alive I never stopped mourning and how can that process ever stop when there are so many question marks still? It pains me that the controversy just won't leave him alone - ever <!-- s --><!-- s --> I'm sure those kids are strong just like their dad but the way they're being exploited just ain't right...
I never mourned Michael, because he is alive. I am 110% sure that he is alive. So mourn all you want, think he is dead, you are only hurting yourselves. MICHAEL IS ALIVE. I have written a post stating that I have intuitions, my intuitions are always right, God gave me this gift and I usually supress it because it is scary at times. The day I read that Michael passed away in the internet, my mouth remained opened and than I started to laugh. I felt it so much, something came over me and I knew he faked his death. Only people who are intuitive can understand the feeling I have. I know some of you may not believe what I am saying, and frankly I do NOT CARE. I am also fed up of repeating myself, and telling you to be positive. Obviously you will see and hear situations that Michae is dead, what do you think they will tell you in the front page of a newspaper ATTENTION MICHAEL IS ALIVE AND HE IS HIDING. NO. SO think what you want, feel depressed, mourn him, this will be my last time motivating
you... I know he is alive. Blessings.
P.S. why did Katherine cancelled her suit with AEG? THERE MUST BE A REASON ...
Why this subject discussion is going on many threads?
Anyway, based on many clues we have, I cannot say Michael is dead. But what I understand from this whole contradicting documentary, that Michael is not coming back. Hence, it will remain mysterious forever.
Why this subject discussion is going on many threads?
Anyway, based on many clues we have, I cannot say Michael is dead. But what I understand from this whole contradicting documentary, that Michael is not coming back. Hence, it will remain mysterious forever.
How do you know he is not coming back. Has he told you personally? We cannot say, we just need to have faith.
I NEVER EVER believe in a second that Michael is gone after I watch these videos. After all of the things I have found I'm 1500% sure that he is alive. Some of you guys are so ready to lose your hope. Wish I could do something to change your minds and give you faith again but you have to do it yourselves. To me the reason of the inteview is so obvious. Did you listen to what Katherine said? "Michael was misunderstood. He had a beautiful heart". Clearing MJ's name in the media and public view. And the kids are helping like their father did. It's all about showing people what kind of person Michael is in real. And it's a double bonus when they speak out about being an actress, making movies etc. Nobody is going to be shocked when they learn that this is also a movie and Michael is alive and Paris was acting at the memorial. I do not get why you guys are loosing faith but this has to be another good news for you. It is for me. <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->
P.S. why did Katherine canceled her suit with AEG? THERE MUST BE A REASON
Yeah she did...
actually I believe it was "scaled back" not dropped completely.
They dropped uhhhhhhh.... what's his name from the suit....MJ's long time friend and producer....or whatever?
[sorry having the old short term memory loss here...I'm terrible with names anyway] lol
The reason may be a conflict of interest...or the will.
I believe he may be called as a witness in yet another suit concerning the never ending Michael Jackson estate night mare.
Right now, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. <!-- s --><!-- s -->
Unless I missed something...which would not surprise me. lol
How do you know he is not coming back. Has he told you personally? We cannot say, we just need to have faith.
No way...if he is still alive...
1] he does not want to come back into the public....I think he made that crystal clear when he was officially "alive".
2] Never fear grasshoppa'.....if he is still around we will see things he does...
they just will not have his name on them.
After watching that video, it should be 100% crystal clear to everyone that MJ is alive.
Just listen to the reaction of the reporters:
George Stephanopoulos: "You can tell, at least from the appearances, Robin, they’re amazingly unaffected by all this."
Robin Roberts: "I was just taken aback."
Why are they so shocked? Because the kids are "amazingly unaffected by all this." "All this" being the presumed "death" of their father. It should be obvious that MJ has been with his kids throughout all of the hoax. That's why they're so "well-adjusted."
In a previous interview Paris said before 2009 they were covered in public so that nobody knew what they looked like, so that they could go out in public in freedom without being mobbed, which was very smart of MJ, although the public didn't understand it back then, and thought it was just one more "weird" thing about MJ. But then right before he "died" he let the world see the kids with him so that everyone would know what they look like. This seems to be part of the plan, too. The kids are so impressive, so mature way beyond their years, and that in itself disproves the idea that MJ was "weird." It proves that MJ has always been exactly the kind of father that the kids say. It proves the truth and disproves the lies. It restores MJ's good name for the public to see and to hear from the kids.
I so agree with what you said! While I grieved like hell for 2 months in the beginning, after I found the hoax forums and started looking into everything, my opinion changed and it hasn't wavered a bit. Michael is most definitely ALIVE. I firmly believe he is pulling all the strings and the family know and are playing their parts. MJ wanted to do films, to innovate them as he said on Gerlado, and he IS totally doing something unique now. I personally feel MJ's influence in some recent movies, Avatar & Megamind to name just 2, and he was probably involved in others that came out before his "death" and is using a false name or letting someone else claim the credit for now. Anyway, these appearances by his children are a good thing in my mind. He is allowing it and they ARE helping to show the world the real "man behind the mask". In the Oprah interview, Paris said that she used to do improv with her dad. Improv consists of developing scenes spontaneously. It requires quick thinking and a tremendous amount of teamwork among those performing the scene. So the kids have had acting lessons and been practicing for years. Why should anybody be surprised, MJ wants to do films and such and he couldn't pull this off without his family being able to play their parts.
The hoax has many reasons and is a complex adventure that he is pulling off to perfection in my point of view. I smile at all the drama going on because he had to make it so very real to be believable. Of course, when you have been looking at all the coincidences and strangeness around everything since June 25, you can see the bigger picture coming together. He is orchestrating all of this and he is getting his name cleared up. He will prove some major points with this farce of a trial with Murray I'm sure. Hell I'd love to see him appear as a surprise witness for Murray, wouldn't that be something?!
Have faith in the Man with the Plan! It's All for Love, You Are Not Alone, We Know What's Going On, Keep Your Head Up, We Are The World and We Are Here To Change The World! Can't You Feel It?!!! Sorry, but I can "feel" it and it makes me happy and excited. I have become more awake & aware and full of HOPE since this all started. I have learned a lot more about Michael. He is on a mission that is about way more than making movies and clearing his name. He IS creating HIStory, and past history will be revised when all the truth is revealed. As scary as the world may seem at times, this really is a great time to be alive! I truly believe Michael is bringing in a paradigm shift for this world.
Paradigm Shift is a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation. It is driven by agents of change... US!
When we are awake, aware, and have hope we realize that we have the power to Heal The World! I think Michael is working on the "hundredth monkey" theory. It will not take the whole world waking up and changing, or even a majority. Just a magical number of people who feel the call and make the changes...others will follow and before you know it, society will change. War and hatred has never fixed a damn thing and Michael has always tried to spread Love, unity, fairness, and joyful giving. Focus on those things, try not to let fear control you. So far So Good...We Made It. I think those songs from Tito are just another indication that humanity is and will make it this time. We are heading into a new Golden Age and humanity is going to finally ascend beyond this Dark Age that we are truly in.
Ok, now everybody thinks I'm whacked lol. I will step down from my soapbox *blushing*
Sorry I got off topic, but I just had to release the positive energy I'm feeling. Michael gave me this blessing of feeling hopeful and I'm enjoying the adventure along the way. Feel with your heart and don't be upset by every "real" looking story. Michael is letting us see and hear what he wants, when he wants. In his own time.
I said in the very beginning of this hoax, on this forum, that I was following my heart and intuition. It hasn't let me down, so I Keep The Faith, Spread The Love, and Share The Hope!
Love & Light <!-- s:D -->:D<!-- s:D --> We are all family! Believe
I have written a post stating that I have intuitions, my intuitions are always right, God gave me this gift and I usually supress it because it is scary at times.
I am happy you believe ypu what you believe...so strongly.
Hey I am a do whatever makes you happy type of person!
I think everyone has intuitions ...it is whether they choose
to acknowledge them that make the difference.
Other times, it is how to interpret them that is the problem.
That is the reason I ended up here...after looking for the 'end of the internet'
trying to figure out one I had about Michael myself.... <!-- s --><!-- s -->
1] he does not want to come back into the public....I think he made that crystal clear when he was officially "alive".
I many many times thought about the come back issue. And most of the times I must admit that I start to believe that he is not coming back. BUT on the other hand, I can not get myself thinking about why he left so many clues behind if he was not going to come back and why did he involve Murray in this hoax? If I could find answers to these questions, I would have thought that he is not coming back but I can't. He could have done such an easier fake death IF he wanted to live far away from the media and public attention. So I do believe in a come back. A Thriller without a Resurrection would be pointless. But we'll see of course.
Hi there everybody. Wow, several posts came in while I was rambling on trying to compose my last post. All4loveandbelieve I hear ya with the intuition...I've always had it and it has grown much stronger these last 2 years. That coupled with my heart screaming at me to pay attention...well you just have to because you know it really means something to be drawn this way.
Anyway, most probably don't remember me here because after I joined twitter I mostly just have time for that. It has been over a year since I posted here regularly, but I do come read sometimes. I wish I had stayed in contact with everybody here more. In my heart I'm convinced, so for the most part I try to avoid the drama that I usually find when I visit here. I just don't do drama, it brings me down.
Anyway, I wanted to say HI to everybody and hope all can keep love in their heart and not give up.
Well....PureLove
This is my thinking on the matter right now....his back was SO up against the wall.
He had massive debt and 02 concert contract for 50 concerts he really did not want to do.
So in order to make it believable he would have to make a verra dramatic exit left.
Which he did.
I think the clues just add to his usual known mystique of am I here Or not?
Comments
No, it's completely f**ked up! And it's pissing me off as much as it's making me sad. I still don't think everyone will agree with your statement though, especially here... I feel ya though <!-- s
I do fully understand that we all have different ways of viewing things and i respect that but theses are just my thoughts.
please, READ one more time article from Arno Bani MJs booklet to revive your vision and faith - MICHAEL NEEDS US AND OUR SUPPORT NOW!
i will post that article as soon i get more time over the net in my computer to tape it- cause via phone is not allowed to logint to our forum anymore.
=here it is begiining of the future post=
Arno Bani & article from his Auction photobook.
Dear Friends!
I would like to start topick regarding booklet and ARTICLE there ESPECIALLY, -
as we know its a lot of inconsistency behind that photoshot,
But, when u READ essey on that book , all info there just Make you GO <!-- s:shock: -->:shock:<!-- s:shock: --> <!-- s:shock: -->:shock:<!-- s:shock: --> <!-- s:shock: -->:shock:<!-- s:shock: -->
Sorry to keep it short and partial - my access to comp really limited now, and i will post time to time , - any help to put that article from booklet in full lengt here will be highly appreciated <!-- s:roll: -->:roll:<!-- s:roll: --> <!-- s:P -->:P<!-- s:P -->
and i promise you its wotrh of every page reading, and spesially analyzing its words and players.
OK.
Once Upon A Time ...
MICHAEL JACKSON
A Shining Star
by Jeromine Savignon.
Forever Michael by Arno Bani
here is sneak peak of Quote from that article on another link - but what you should Really read its one I mentioned before - with all the Wizard of Oz, yellow road,Wonderland and EURO <!-- s
CHOMONE GUYS!
LIFT UP YOUR HEARTS!
Nicolai Hartvig, ARTINFO France Nicolai Hartvig, Artinfo France
PARIS – Michael Jackson moonwalked to Mozart’s "Requiem" as Arno Bani's shutter clicked. Sometimes pensive, sometimes smiling serenely, the King of Pop opened himself to the young French photographer. Bani even took the liberty of having Jackson’s hair cut short because he "liked him that way." Afterward, Jackson let it grow back out. "He really didn’t like his own face," Bani said. "With longer hair, he could hide it."
Eleven years since the intimate session, one of the few artistic collaborations ever initiated by the singer, four striking series of photographs will go on the auction block in Paris on December 13.
"We were like two boys playing on the floor, putting puzzles together," said Bani, greeting ARTINFO France in his northern Paris apartment for a talk about the never-before-seen photographs that are today unveiled to the world. "I was a kid then, but he was ten times the kid I was. I would bring glitter pots and he would stick his finger in them and watch how it sparkled. We would spread it everywhere. The fashion design folders were like toy catalogs to him." He added, "Michael Jackson wasn't just asking me to take pictures. He wanted me to build him a look for the next ten years."
Surrounding the pair was Jackson’s entourage of artistic directors, clutching notepads, scribbling down whether the King of Pop liked the blue glitter better than the red. "It was the world in which he lived," Bani said, "like seeing him in his little golden prison, discovering. He was extremely curious and cultured, but always humble, respectful, and kind. He would jump on the couch and clap when he fell in love with a new detail. He would give me hugs and bow with his hands together, Japanese-style. I had to ask him to stop thanking me, but I was really very touched."
The project came about by chance. Michael Jackson had spotted a fashion shot by Bani on the cover of the Sunday Times style section and immediately decided that he wanted to work with the young photographer. At first, Bani thought someone was prank calling him, before his lawyer friend confirmed that the King of Pop was inviting him for an audience. Bani would make six return trips to New York ahead of the three-day shoot.
One image, "The Golden Cape," was originally intended for the cover of Michael Jackson’s final studio album "Invincible," but it was nixed by Jackson’s label Epic Records. "It was a great disappointment," said Bani, sitting between his eight-month-old son and a stack of Michael Jackson prints, discarded among the more than 8000 he has signed and dated during the past three months for the collector’s box that will accompany the sale.
The auction by Pierre Bergé & Associés is itself unique. Four large, single-print photographs headline the sale, flanked by 31 contact sheets showing a non-airbrushed Jackson, many with the singer’s handwritten notes. Last, there are 55 prints from the contact sheets. All will be sold without reserve or estimate, starting at €1,000 ($1,410) for the prints and €500 ($705) for the smaller lots. There will be no reprints, no mass-market posters, and no T-shirts, said Frédéric Chambre, vice president and associate at Pierre Bergé & Associés, in his office across from the historic Drouot auction rooms.
The collector’s box, priced at €1,000 ($1,410), will hold a large format catalog and four silver prints of the Bani photographs. A second catalog will be in bookstores for €45 ($63) and, in a rare auction-house nod to the masses, a €19.90 ($28) edition will be sold in supermarkets. Co-editors around the world signed up for translated versions without seeing any of the Bani pictures.
"The project is more rock and roll, or pop, than Pierre Bergé & Associés is used to," Bani said. "We wanted to create something that was edgy and arty but open to a large audience."
Bani was bound by contract to keep the photographs out of public view for 10 years and kept them locked in a safe in southern France. The blockade expired three weeks after Michael Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009. "We decided to take our time," the photographer said. "We didn’t want to drown in everything that was being unearthed for sale following his death, to surf that somewhat morbid wave."
Bani and Jackson had developed an intimate but simple collaboration, where the photographer was given carte blanche to assemble his team and create his vision of the singer. Bani brought along star hairstylist Seb Bascle, makeup innovator Topolino, and fashion trendsetters Frédérique Lorca and Maïda. It was summertime in Paris and everyone was in T-shirts and Bermuda shorts.
Topolino became the eccentric troublemaker of the bunch, Bani said. In an almost "diplomatic incident," the makeup artist and his assistants spread vaseline around Jackson’s eye and softly blew the shiny blue glitter onto the singer’s face. "Jackson’s staff was shocked," Bani remembered. "'You can’t blow on Michael Jackson’s face,' they protested."
Topolino liked to have background music, so he brought a five-dollar radio with horrid sound and set it to French oldies and pop stations. "Michael Jackson was curious and wanted to know what this French music was. He was listening to (Joe Dassin's) 'Aux Champs Elysées' and old Georges Brassens tunes," Bani recalled.
The makeup artist also snuck into Jackson’s purpose-built shower that was always carefully sanitized and supplied with ultra-clean, plastic-wrapped towels. In the end, Jackson "didn’t care about any of that," Bani remembered. There were no eccentric celebrity demands, no complaints about the food or the room temperature.
The singer entered a zen-like, meditative state as he sat through the hours-long makeup sessions — first to rebuild and mask, then to create the desired look. "He had this ability to turn himself off and then back on in two seconds. I had asked him to dance for some of the pictures and I thought he was dozing off. He looked tired. Then he just kick-started and did it."
Any tension surrounding the shoot came from an uneasy relationship with Jackson’s label and management. "Michael Jackson had capriciously decided that he wanted this twenty-three-year-old kid from nowhere, some young fashion photographer from Paris. There wasn’t much trust, certainly not on a very expensive project like this one," Bani remembered.
"I had no spending limits," the photographer said. "If the inseam of Michael Jackson’s pants cost 10,000 euros, no problem. At one point, the Sony people told me they had never spent that much on a suit and even brought Michael’s stage costumes out of storage to show me what they usually did. There was an awful jacket with round mirror sequins that were just glued on. It only worked at 100 meters distance with tons of spotlights pointed at it.”
For "The Blue Eye," Jackson wore an embroidered Yves Saint Laurent suit, an oddly coincidental link today to Pierre Bergé, the late fashion designer’s life partner and guardian of his legacy. "He wanted to dream, to feel the elegance of a 'French touch'," Bani said of Jackson’s wardrobe selections. "When I brought him François Lesage embroideries he touched them and was fascinated. He had never seen such delicate, handcrafted work."
The project did hit a few stumbling blocks. Once there was no news from Jackson for two weeks and Bani wasn't sure if he still had the gig. The singer would sometimes be three or four hours late because he had to circle the block "15 times" to get past the fans. The planned location changed from Paris to New York, Germany, and Disneyland Paris, before the French capital was finally selected. Jackson then missed the first day of the shoot.
The Arno Bani prints will go on public display two days before the December sale and Frédéric Chambre said he couldn’t quite predict how popular the event will be. "We would of course be happy if the room was full and there were 2,000 people waiting in the street," he said. "Michael Jackson is a popular item and auctions are not democratic enough for my taste. We have to give people access to this sale and the memories it revives."
See and reserve the limited edition collector’s box here.
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Just listen to the reaction of the reporters:
George Stephanopoulos: "You can tell, at least from the appearances, Robin, they’re amazingly unaffected by all this."
Robin Roberts: "I was just taken aback."
Why are they so shocked? Because the kids are "amazingly unaffected by all this." "All this" being the presumed "death" of their father. It should be obvious that MJ has been with his kids throughout all of the hoax. That's why they're so "well-adjusted."
In a previous interview Paris said before 2009 they were covered in public so that nobody knew what they looked like, so that they could go out in public in freedom without being mobbed, which was very smart of MJ, although the public didn't understand it back then, and thought it was just one more "weird" thing about MJ. But then right before he "died" he let the world see the kids with him so that everyone would know what they look like. This seems to be part of the plan, too. The kids are so impressive, so mature way beyond their years, and that in itself disproves the idea that MJ was "weird." It proves that MJ has always been exactly the kind of father that the kids say. It proves the truth and disproves the lies. It restores MJ's good name for the public to see and to hear from the kids.
I have to agree with your JMO Suspicious MInd.
Spent a lot of nights mourniing........ hell my HD is filled up with Michael Jackson and J5 vids and music....TONS of pictures....
somewhere along the way I started reading and watching the Hoax Vid's.
I'm still on the fence about it all....but leaning more to the he is...than he isn't.
Whichever way it goes we may never know for sure anyway.
You see, since I never fully believed Michael was alive I never stopped mourning and how can that process ever stop when there are so many question marks still? It pains me that the controversy just won't leave him alone - ever <!-- s
you... I know he is alive. Blessings.
P.S. why did Katherine cancelled her suit with AEG? THERE MUST BE A REASON ...
Anyway, based on many clues we have, I cannot say Michael is dead. But what I understand from this whole contradicting documentary, that Michael is not coming back. Hence, it will remain mysterious forever.
How do you know he is not coming back. Has he told you personally? We cannot say, we just need to have faith.
Yeah she did...
actually I believe it was "scaled back" not dropped completely.
They dropped uhhhhhhh.... what's his name from the suit....MJ's long time friend and producer....or whatever?
[sorry having the old short term memory loss here...I'm terrible with names anyway] lol
The reason may be a conflict of interest...or the will.
I believe he may be called as a witness in yet another suit concerning the never ending Michael Jackson estate night mare.
Right now, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. <!-- s
Unless I missed something...which would not surprise me. lol
No way...if he is still alive...
1] he does not want to come back into the public....I think he made that crystal clear when he was officially "alive".
2] Never fear grasshoppa'.....if he is still around we will see things he does...
they just will not have his name on them.
I so agree with what you said! While I grieved like hell for 2 months in the beginning, after I found the hoax forums and started looking into everything, my opinion changed and it hasn't wavered a bit. Michael is most definitely ALIVE. I firmly believe he is pulling all the strings and the family know and are playing their parts. MJ wanted to do films, to innovate them as he said on Gerlado, and he IS totally doing something unique now. I personally feel MJ's influence in some recent movies, Avatar & Megamind to name just 2, and he was probably involved in others that came out before his "death" and is using a false name or letting someone else claim the credit for now. Anyway, these appearances by his children are a good thing in my mind. He is allowing it and they ARE helping to show the world the real "man behind the mask". In the Oprah interview, Paris said that she used to do improv with her dad. Improv consists of developing scenes spontaneously. It requires quick thinking and a tremendous amount of teamwork among those performing the scene. So the kids have had acting lessons and been practicing for years. Why should anybody be surprised, MJ wants to do films and such and he couldn't pull this off without his family being able to play their parts.
The hoax has many reasons and is a complex adventure that he is pulling off to perfection in my point of view. I smile at all the drama going on because he had to make it so very real to be believable. Of course, when you have been looking at all the coincidences and strangeness around everything since June 25, you can see the bigger picture coming together. He is orchestrating all of this and he is getting his name cleared up. He will prove some major points with this farce of a trial with Murray I'm sure. Hell I'd love to see him appear as a surprise witness for Murray, wouldn't that be something?!
Have faith in the Man with the Plan! It's All for Love, You Are Not Alone, We Know What's Going On, Keep Your Head Up, We Are The World and We Are Here To Change The World! Can't You Feel It?!!! Sorry, but I can "feel" it and it makes me happy and excited. I have become more awake & aware and full of HOPE since this all started. I have learned a lot more about Michael. He is on a mission that is about way more than making movies and clearing his name. He IS creating HIStory, and past history will be revised when all the truth is revealed. As scary as the world may seem at times, this really is a great time to be alive! I truly believe Michael is bringing in a paradigm shift for this world.
Paradigm Shift is a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation. It is driven by agents of change... US!
When we are awake, aware, and have hope we realize that we have the power to Heal The World! I think Michael is working on the "hundredth monkey" theory. It will not take the whole world waking up and changing, or even a majority. Just a magical number of people who feel the call and make the changes...others will follow and before you know it, society will change. War and hatred has never fixed a damn thing and Michael has always tried to spread Love, unity, fairness, and joyful giving. Focus on those things, try not to let fear control you. So far So Good...We Made It. I think those songs from Tito are just another indication that humanity is and will make it this time. We are heading into a new Golden Age and humanity is going to finally ascend beyond this Dark Age that we are truly in.
Ok, now everybody thinks I'm whacked lol. I will step down from my soapbox *blushing*
Sorry I got off topic, but I just had to release the positive energy I'm feeling. Michael gave me this blessing of feeling hopeful and I'm enjoying the adventure along the way. Feel with your heart and don't be upset by every "real" looking story. Michael is letting us see and hear what he wants, when he wants. In his own time.
I said in the very beginning of this hoax, on this forum, that I was following my heart and intuition. It hasn't let me down, so I Keep The Faith, Spread The Love, and Share The Hope!
Love & Light <!-- s:D -->:D<!-- s:D --> We are all family! Believe
Blessed to have been,
Touched By An Angel
I am happy you believe ypu what you believe...so strongly.
Hey I am a do whatever makes you happy type of person!
I think everyone has intuitions ...it is whether they choose
to acknowledge them that make the difference.
Other times, it is how to interpret them that is the problem.
That is the reason I ended up here...after looking for the 'end of the internet'
trying to figure out one I had about Michael myself.... <!-- s
I many many times thought about the come back issue. And most of the times I must admit that I start to believe that he is not coming back. BUT on the other hand, I can not get myself thinking about why he left so many clues behind if he was not going to come back and why did he involve Murray in this hoax? If I could find answers to these questions, I would have thought that he is not coming back but I can't. He could have done such an easier fake death IF he wanted to live far away from the media and public attention. So I do believe in a come back. A Thriller without a Resurrection would be pointless. But we'll see of course.
Anyway, most probably don't remember me here because after I joined twitter I mostly just have time for that. It has been over a year since I posted here regularly, but I do come read sometimes. I wish I had stayed in contact with everybody here more. In my heart I'm convinced, so for the most part I try to avoid the drama that I usually find when I visit here. I just don't do drama, it brings me down.
Anyway, I wanted to say HI to everybody and hope all can keep love in their heart and not give up.
TouchedByAnAngel
This is my thinking on the matter right now....his back was SO up against the wall.
He had massive debt and 02 concert contract for 50 concerts he really did not want to do.
So in order to make it believable he would have to make a verra dramatic exit left.
Which he did.
I think the clues just add to his usual known mystique of am I here Or not?