Dick Zimmerman On Michael Jackson

 Have ya ever wondered who was behind the photo-shoot of Michael's Thriller Album? How bout his famous Lisa Marie wedding shoot? Well, today's your lucky day!

 Dick Zimmerman was asked to do an interview highlighting his career with such novices as Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nicole Kidman, and the like. Including his spectacular accomplishments with Michael Jackson! Here is a snippet of the interview concerning The Gloved One...

Tell me about the day you photographed Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' cover.
 On the day of the shoot, he came alone. No entourage. We had two racks of wardrobe, handpicked by one of the best stylists in LA. Michael didn't really care for anything on it. He said, "I'd like to be wearing something like what you have on." I was wearing my white suit that day. I said, "Well, we're about the same height." So Michael is actually wearing my white suit on the cover.

What happened to the suit?
 I auctioned it off at Sotheby's years ago. I was concerned with the safety of my wife and myself because, at the time, we had a very big house and I went out of town a lot. I didn't know if word would get around that I had the suit, and I didn't want to take a chance. I decided to just get rid of it.

How much did it sell for?
 I believe I got $27,000 for it, and I'm guessing that was 10 years ago. Today, I could probably get a million bucks for it.

Tell me about shooting the exclusive wedding portrait of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley.
 We did the shoot at the Trump Tower in Donald Trump's suite. They actually closed down 5th Avenue in front of the building because they didn't have enough room on the sidewalk for the photographers. The whole street was filled with photographers.

How did you get past the throng of photographers?
 They had to sneak me in through the service elevator. After we did it, I was worried about my life. These photographs were worth a lot of money. We closed down a whole photo lab so we could produce the images in secrecy.

After shooting the couple's wedding portraits, you went back up to Trump's suite. What happened then?
 Around midnight the maid let me into Michael and Lisa Marie's suite and told me that Michael would be down in a few minutes. Thirty minutes go by and no sign of Michael. I'm walking around the suite -- it was kind of dark in there -- and I see this fellow across the room wearing a mustache and beard. I figured he was a security guard. I walked over to him asked if he had any idea when Michael was going to be here. I looked at him and all of a sudden I realized it was Michael. We both laughed as he pulled off his disguise. He had been waiting there the whole time, just watching me, waiting for me to notice him.

What happened after that?
 He opened up a bottle of wine and sat down and looked over the photographs. We talked and talked until about 3 o'clock in the morning. He told me about all his frustrations. He had just done an interview with Diane Sawyer where he took her on a tour of his Neverland Ranch. He said he was as honest with her as anybody could possibly be, and the next day the press jumped on him. He had tears in his eyes. He said, "I don't know what to do anymore."

Do you feel he was misunderstood?
 He was very misunderstood. They talk about him being a pedophile. I can tell you that didn't happen. He was very childlike. I thought he was like a gentle butterfly. All he talked about was future generations of children, the environment, air quality. His problem was that he had too many bodyguards around him. Too many people pushing him in all different directions, and with ulterior motives.

To hear the rest of the interview concerning other clients he's worked with, go Here!

Michael-Diary of A Fan

 June 25th, 2009 will forever be a cliche in the mind of every Michael Jackson fan across the face of this Earth. And for good reason too! The unthinkable had just occurred. Our idol had just passed away on account of patient malpractice(and addiction).

 In "Michael-Diary of A Fan", Franck takes us on a journey through his personal life after this most tragic event. Weather by paying his respects, popping more pills, or even traveling around the world in an attempt to run from himself, his spirit would always come back to haunt him. Weather he visited the basilicas of Moscow, the parading rhythm of Spain, or even the organized routs of Tokyo. He just could not escape deaths cold grip upon his soul. Not until he confronted the monsters in his closet could Frank hope to allow MJ to R.I.P.

 Although the book is littered with grammatical errors, I find his journey pretty intriguing. He even admits(to his credit) that some fans are just too fanatical(even to the point of making him out to be a god). His drawings of the King of Pop are superb(I wish I could draw like that). If you are looking for an extra novel to read in your spare time, then I recommend "Michael-Diary of A Fan"! Click below to purchase a copy...

Michael, diary of a fan

MJ All In Your Name

 Recently, Berry Gibb(formally known as one of the Bee-Gees) released a snippet of him and Michael Jackson singing "All In Your Name"-an unreleased gem started around the mid 80's but picked up again around 2003. Right before he was falsely charged with you know what(had this not happened, the track would've made the incomplete album slated for 2004).

 Furthermore, he plans on leaking the full version real soon. Stay tuned for further updates! In the meantime watch for my post on Thursday as I have another book review!



*Update* In case your wondering what "All In Your Name" means. Well, according to Gibb it's all for the cause of the fans(at least indirectly). Berry has just released a brief snippet of behind-the-scenes studio footage(which is reportedly up to two hours long) of them rehearsing this work of art! Watch and listen below...

[[**Update** The single has now been released of it's entirety. More details can be found Here!]]