Michael Jackson's Ghosts

Plot

The mayor of Normal Valley leads a mob to the mansion of the Maestro (Jackson), who has been entertaining local children with magic tricks and ghost stories. The children assure the parents the Maestro has done nothing wrong, but the mayor intends to banish him as a "freak".

The Maestro challenges the mayor to a "scaring contest": the first to become scared must leave. He performs magic tricks and dance routines with a ghostly horde, then possesses the mayor, forcing him to dance. After the performance, the Maestro agrees to leave and crumbles to dust, but returns as an enormous ghoul. Terrified, the mayor leaps through the window. The families agree that they had fun and allow the Maestro to stay.

Production

Ghosts began production in 1993 under the title Is This Scary? with the director Mick Garris. It was planned for release in conjunction with the 1993 family comedy film Addams Family Values. The original video featured Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman reprising their roles as Wednesday and Pugsley Addams, as well as future Scrubs star Ken Jenkins as the Mayor. Jackson backed out of the deal, returning an estimated $5 million, and the Addams Family connection was dropped. Stan Winston, previously in charge of makeup and visual effects, took over as director when Garris left to make the Shining miniseries. According to Garris, Ghosts was the most expensive music video ever made, at around $15 million, all paid for by Jackson.

Cast

• Michael Jackson as Maestro / Mayor / Mayor Ghoul / Superghoul / Skeleton
• Pat Dade as Pat
• Amy Smallman as Amy
• Edwina Moore as Edwina
• Dante Beze as Dante
• Seth Smith as Seth
• Kendall Cunningham as Kendall
• Loren Randolph as Loren
• Heather Ehlers as Heather

Choreographers

• Michael Jackson
• LaVelle Smith Jr.
• Travis Payne
• Barry Lather

Dancers

• Michael Balderrama
• Troy Burgess
• John "Havic" Gregory
• M.G. Gong
• Heather Hayes
• Paula Harrison
• Shawnette Heard
• Cris Judd
• Richard Kim
• Dorie Konno
• Kelly Konno
• Suzi McDonald
• Courtney Miller, Jr
• Nikki Pantenburg
• Travis Payne
• Mia Pitts
• Charlie E. Schmidt
• Joie Shettler
• Yuko Sumida
• Anthony Talauega
• Richmond Talauega
• Lisa Joann Thompson
• Mic Thompson
• Stacy Walker
• Michelle Weber
• Jason Yribar

Release

Ghosts was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by Pharrell Williams' "Happy". In 2020, the film was available on Jackson’s YouTube channel from October 29 to November 1.

In December 1997, towards the end of promotion for Michael Jackson's remix album Blood on the Dance Floor, a Deluxe Collector Box Set of Ghosts was released only in Europe. The box set included a VHS release of Jackson's Ghosts mini-movie on home video and his Blood on the Dance Floor album on CD, as well as a CD maxi single, Limited Edition Minimax CD. "On the Line" was the first track on this single.

Reception

The A.V. Club writer Nathan Rabin described Ghosts as "clunky, leaden and overblown", and said it was a "staggeringly blunt" allegory for Jackson's life and pop culture status. He attributed its failure to Jackson's place in the public imagination at the time, following his recent divorce from Lisa Marie Presley and the 1993 child molestation allegations against him.

On the Line

| B-side =

• "Ghosts" (Mousse T's Radio Rock Singalong Remix)
• "Is It Scary" (DJ Greek's Scary Mix)
• R&B
• pop
• soul
• 4:39 (short version)
• 4:53 (long version)
• Epic
• Sony Music
• Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
• Michael Jackson

"On the Line" is a song co-written and produced by Babyface. Michael Jackson performs the track and is also credited in its writing (on the writing credits of The Ultimate Collection). It was originally recorded by Jackson for the Spike Lee film Get on the Bus (1996), but it was not featured on the soundtrack.

The full-length version of the song was released on November 16, 2004 as an album track of his limited edition box set The Ultimate Collection.

Personnel

• Written and composed by Babyface and Michael Jackson
• Produced by Babyface
• Solo and background vocals by Michael Jackson

Track listing

Limited Edition Minimax CD (EPC 665268 2)

1. "On the Line" (Short Version) – 4:37
2. "Ghosts" (Mousse T's Radio Rock Singalong Remix) – 4:25
3. "Is It Scary" (DJ Greek's Scary Mix) – 7:12

References

References

1. "Stan Winston School of Character Arts".
2. Rob Galluzzo. (2016-05-09). "Check Out The Long-Lost Michael Jackson Video Directed By Mick Garris & Written By Stephen King!". blumhouse.com.
3. Weinraub, Bernard. (November 16, 1993). "Jackson Being Treated Abroad For Addiction, Lawyer Says". [[The New York Times]].
4. S, M. "How Hocus Pocus writer Mick Garris went from 'Thriller' extra to Michael Jackson collaborator". EW.
5. "GHOSTS".
6. "Festival de Cannes: Ghosts". festival-cannes.com.
7. (November 21, 2013). "Longest music video". [[Guinness World Records]].
8. Halstead, Craig. (2007). "Michael Jackson: For the Record". Authors OnLine.
9. Rabin, Nathan. (27 October 2010). "Spooktastic Case File #174: ''Michael Jackson's Ghosts''".
10. (2018). "Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track". [[Cassell (publisher).
11. (1996). "Amazon.com: Get On The Bus: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture". Amazon.com.
12. (1997). "Michael Jackson - Limited Edition Minimax CD (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com.
13. "Get on the Bus (1996) - Soundtracks". IMDb.com.
14. "australian-charts.com - Michael Jackson - On The Line". australian-charts.com.