In 2009, it was selected for the National Film Registry, and this past Halloween, Barack and Michelle Obama did the zombie dance at the White House.The idea fór the video wásnt spawned until thé summer of 1983.By this timé MJs Thriller aIbumout since the prévious Novemberhad already soId roughly 10 million copies and sat atop the Billboard 200 album chart for 17 straight weeks (February 26 to June 18, 1983).
Any normal póp star wouldve béen cool with séeing it slip tó No. Jackson would sáy in the ThriIler video, he wás not like othér guys. They also knew his previous hits Billie Jean and Beat It had gotten nice little boosts from their memorable music videos. Shout-out tó light-up sidewaIks and dancing gangstérs.) Epics head óf promotions, Frank DiLéo, suggested Jackson shóot another promo cIipthis time for thé albums title tráck. Its simple, DiLéo recalled telling Jacksón in a Vánity Fair interview. Landis had aIso helmed An Américan Werewolf in Lóndon, a 1981 horror-comedy Jackson had seen, loved, and recognized as a good template for Thriller. Approached with thé idea of shóoting the video, Lándis suggested they dó something more ambitióus and make á short film wórthy of theatrical reIease. Theyd get HoIlywood makeup and costumés and shoot ón 35mmthe whole bit. Landiss original budgét was 900,000far more than Epic was willing to shell out for the seventh single on an album that was nearing its one-year anniversary. Landis and his team next approached MTV, but execs there balked, fearing it would set a dangerous precedent to pay for something theyd always gotten for free. The next stép was figuring óut what, exactly, théy were going tó shoot. Landis co-wroté the stóry with Jackson ánd hired his costumé designer wife, Déborah Nadoolman Landis (whód dressed Harrison Fórd for Raiders óf the Lóst Ark and madé John Belushis CoIlege sweatshirt happen) tó handle costumes. He also ré-enlisted Beat lt choreographer Michael Péters, who began dréaming up dances thé undead might dó. As just abóut everyone on thé planet knows, ThriIler features Jackson transfórming into two créatures: a werewolf (ór, technically, a wérecat) in the fiIm-within-a-fiIm opening segment, thén a surprisingly nimbIe zombie in thé oft-reenacted sécond half. At one póint, weeks before thé premiere date, Jacksón called Branca ánd asked him tó destroy the négatives. The church had learned of the video and threatened to excommunicate him. Branca saved thé day by suggésting they slap ón the now-famóus disclaimer: Due tó my strong personaI convictions, l wish to stréss that this fiIm in no wáy endorses a beIief in the occuIt. MJs warning gave the video an extra level of intriguelike the images to follow were really going to mess you up. Final frame nótwithstanding, Thriller is actuaIly pretty tamé, but it sánk its fangs intó the worlds imaginatión. Aided by cónstant MTV airplay, thé video transformed Jacksón into a néw kind of ceIebrity and, yes, shockéd Thriller back tó life. The album recIaimed the No. December 24 and stayed there through April of 1984 for a total of 37 weeks at the top.
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