Another Tom Mesereau Endorsement!

Randall Sullivan's new Michael Jackson biography is causing a lot of controversy. It's not hard to see why. Last weekend I spotted a feature in the Mail on Sunday, taken from Sullivan's book. It included an allegation that Jackson's years of plastic surgery had left him with no nose and he had to wear a prosthesis. The story said Jackson kept a jar of fake noses and a tube of glue beside his bed.

The story is absurd, of course. Jackson's full autopsy report leaked after his death. Autopsy reports contain anything and everything about a body which is considered to be unusual. Jackson's mentioned scars behind his ears caused by his plastic surgery. It mentioned black tattooing on his head to disguise his baldness. It mentioned his dental work. What it didn't mention, though, was anything about Jackson not having a nose or anything about him wearing a prosthesis. Ergo, story is demonstrably false.

I haven't read Randall Sullivan's book yet so I won't comment on it as a whole, but the Mail on Sunday article was a travesty of journalism. At first I found it disappointing, but when I realised that it was not only Sullivan who had let the prosthetic nose nonsense into print but also his publishers', their legal team and subsequently the Mail on Sunday's editorial and legal staff, I thought it stopped being disappointing and started being sinister.

There is no way the story could go through to many legal checks without somebody realising it was deranged. It was clearly sent to print in the knowledge that it was false. And if it wasn't, every staff member who checked it before it went to print should be sacked with immediate effect because they are incompetent. On the other hand, if they sent it to print in the knowledge it was false then they should still be sacked. Either way, they are unfit to do their jobs.

Anyway, I digress. I got an email the other day to tell me that I am repeatedly referenced in Randall Sullivan's book. In his acknowledgements section he describes my Huffington Post articles about Michael Jackson as 'excellent' and I am told he references them several times.

Even more excitingly, Mr Sullivan writes in the acknowledgements that he was introduced to my work by none other than Thomas Mesereau, the magnificent civil rights attorney who secured Jackson's acquittal in his 2005 trial.

 Thomas Mesereau endorses my work to Randall Sullivan.

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I met Mr Mesereau and his co-counsel Susan Yu at the London premiere of David Gest's Michael Jackson documentary 'Life of an Icon' last year. They were both very complimentary about my work. I had appeared on the radio with Mr Mesereau a few weeks earlier where he had also praised my work. However, I was unsure if he was just being polite. He seems like a very nice man.

To learn that Mr Mesereau privately refers people to my work when they ask him questions about the Michael Jackson trial is extremely humbling. I was a journalism student when Jackson's trial was going on. I remember following it every day - reading the transcripts and the media coverage. I remember watching the verdicts live on BBC News with my mother and my brother. I could never have even conceived at that time that one day Tom Mesereau would be pointing to me as an authority on the trial he worked so hard to win.

So anyway, a big thank you to Tom Mesereau - a hero not only for his valiant work in 2005 but for his catalogue of pro bono work in the Deep South. He is a conscientious and valiant man who excels in his profession. As Mr Sullivan writes in his acknowledgements - Mr Mesereau is just about the only prominent figure in Jackson's life who has escaped significant criticism from his fans. It is an honour to have his endorsement.

 Thomas Mesereau and Susan Yu at the London premiere of 'Life of an Icon'. Picture by Angela Kande.
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London Film Festival: Ralph Steadman Update

I promised to notify you as soon as my interview with Ralph Steadman was published. Here it is as it appeared in this week's editions of the Yellow Advertiser - Britain's biggest regional newspaper series. Unless you have a massive screen, you won't be able to read that, though, so click here to read it on the YA website.

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London Film Festival: Inside the European Premiere of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie

Those of you who have followed me on twitter for a while or who know me in person will know that the London Film Festival is something I'm very passionate about. I first joined the BFI and became aware of the festival as a teenaged film student. Since then I have set aside the duration of the festival every year to squeeze in as many galas, screenings and events as I can. In 2010, I even covered the festival for two American websites. A lot of my reviews from that year are available here.

This year I achieved a festival first by scoring tickets to the opening night gala - they're like gold dust - which also happened to be the European Premiere of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie 3D. Mr Burton was in attendance, as were cast members including Catherine O'Hara and Martin Landau. I took my younger brother - an animation student. It was his first ever movie premiere. 

On the red carpet.
Click to enlarge. Picture property of Charles Thomson.

The film itself is a remake of sorts. In the 1980s Burton made a short film titled Frankenweenie - a live action piece which borrowed heavily from Frankenstein, about a boy scientist who revived his pet dog. It appeared as a special feature on several incarnations of the Edward Scissorhands DVD. He has now revived the piece as a feature-length, stop-motion, 3D spectacular.

Tim Burton took to the stage to introduce the movie.
Click to enlarge. Picture property of Charles Thomson.

I caught Burton's last offering - Dark Shadows - on a plane from Boston to Heathrow last month. Halfway through, I switched off and opted to watch a small animated plane chart our progress across a map of the Atlantic Ocean instead. His previous two features - Alice In Wonderland and Sweeney Todd - held my attention a little better but still seemed to be lacking that quintessential Tim Burton charm. So I am relieved to report that Frankenweenie is his best offering in years.

Deeply moving in some places and hilarious in others, it is thematically similar to Edward Scissorhands, exploring the plight of the misunderstood outsider and the injustices they can face. The animation is beautiful and the script is clever enough to keep both kids and parents entertained. For movie buffs, it's also crammed with funny references to horror flicks and monster movies spanning all eras, from Bride of Frankenstein and Godzilla to Jurassic Park and American Werewolf in London.

To top off the evening, I walked away with a goody bag from festival sponsor American Express.

The American Express goody bag.
Click to enlarge. Picture property of Charles Thomson.

He's some video my brother and I took from our second row seats inside the cinema. The crowd was entertained by a live organist until Tim Burton took the stage to introduce his ensemble cast.The movie received a rapturous round of applause as the credits began to roll.

The Lost Interview

In September 2010 I received an email from an aspiring writer called Danielle, asking me to take part in a Q&A about journalism ethics and practices. My heavy work load meant that I didn't complete the interview - carried out via correspondence - until June 2011. By that point Danielle was busy with her own journalism degree and publication was delayed a couple of times. Until tonight, I had forgotten about it.

But I just received an email from Danielle to tell me that at long last - almost 18 months after it was completed - our interview has gone live. Looking over it, I had forgotten how much depth I went into for some of the questions - they are like essays on particular areas of journalism ethics.

Amongst many other issues, I talk to her about why objectivity in journalism is actually often a bad thing, the institutional problems which can lead to farcical reporting and the journalists inspired me - and still inspire me - to do what I do.

Click here to read our interview. 

Meeting Michael Bush: Update

As I signed off my previous blog about my exclusive preview of the new Michael Jackson exhibition, I promised to post the article as soon as it was published. Here it is as it appeared in the Yellow Advertiser, Britain's biggest regional newspaper.

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The interview, which lasted roughly half an hour, produced a 4,000 word transcript. Limited space in the newspaper meant it had to be cut to 600 words. I may post an extended version of the piece online in the future.

Fear and Loathing at the London Film Festival

On Friday, the morning after my advance tour of the Michael Jackson exhibition, I set about trying to arrange another interview. The London Film Festival begins this week and I knew that a documentary was screening about Ralph Steadman.

Mr Steadman is probably best known for his collaborations with Hunter S Thompson and I am a huge fan of their work together. I even wrote my university dissertation on Hunter's gonzo journalism and to what extent its influence could still be felt in contemporary journalism.

While the pair's most famous collaboration is probably Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I have two favourites; one from the early years and one from the latter. The first was their debut, 'The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved', written for short-lived magazine Scanlan's. The second is a giant coffee table book, 'The Curse of Lono', in which Hunter drags Ralph to Hawaii to observe a marathon, setting in motion a chain of catastrophic events.

Knowing the Steadman documentary - 'For No Good Reason' - was screening at the film festival a week later, I called the press office on Friday morning to see whether Mr Steadman might be in town giving interviews at any point.

To my surprise, I was told Mr Steadman was at the BFI National Film Theatre at that very moment. At midday I received an email telling me I had been allocated a slot at 2pm. I had nothing with me - no dictaphone, no camera - so had to leg it home, gather my equipment and dash to the train station.

I made it to the BFI with just ten minutes to spare but that didn't matter in the end. The gentleman before me was still waiting and we were told there was a backlog. As time wore on - and 2pm became 3pm - we were approached, variously, by PR workers, the film's executive producer and its director, all of whom explained that Ralph had a tendency to veer off on wild tangents and his interviews were all overrunning as a consequence.

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Photo property of Charles Thomson

Eventually, Mr Steadman loomed over me, grinning maniacally and claiming I shouldn't ask him any questions because he was a 'moron'. It was a strange beginning to a strange interview, which should be published later this week.

Before we parted ways, I asked Mr Steadman if he'd do me the honour of signing my copy of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' ('The Curse of Lono' wouldn't fit in my bag). He went a step further, drawing Hunter's face - complete with cigarette holder - then raising his fountain pen above his head and flicking it downwards, splurting ink all over the book (and my dictaphone and the BFI's table). We had a few pictures taken and then I headed home.

It was certainly not an encounter I'll forget in a hurry. As soon as the article is published, I will post it here.

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Photo property of Charles Thomson

The Michael Jackson FBI Files Revisited

Several months ago I gave an interview to Dancing With The Elephant - a blog which takes an academic look at the life and work of Michael Jackson. The blog owners Willa and Joie, who I have taken part in round table discussions with in the past, wanted to talk to me about my work on Jackson's trial and, in particular, my involvement in the release of his FBI files.

The interview finally went online today and can be read here.