Three Michael Jackson Biopic 2017 Updates: Navi Bumps Flex Alexander, Joseph Fiennes

The recent controversy over Joseph Fiennes playing Michael Jackson in an Urban Myths episode may have overshadowed the fact that there are three other MJ biopics coming up in 2017 that will star someone other than Joseph Fiennes or Flex Alexander.

Sadly, there is often a disagreement about who should star in a Michael Jackson biopic. For example, in 2011, Michael Jackson had only been dead for a couple of years when an argument began between MJ fans over who should play him in documentaries, biopics, or movies.

At that time, The Week said bettors in England were polled, and they had eight different people suggested to play Michael Jackson in a biopic including Johnny Depp, Zac Efron, Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Justin Bieber, Kevin Bacon, Keanu Reeves, and Crispin Glover.

Since 2011, none of these famous celebrities have played Michael Jackson in a movie or documentary, and few have survived the pressure of going through with the role, including actor Flex Alexander.

Adding to this band of MJ fans that often rebuke actors that play him in a biopic is his daughter. Now that Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, is a grown woman, she is weighing in on who should or should not be playing her father in a movie.

In particular, Paris Jackson was extremely upset about Joseph Fiennes’ portrayal of Michael Jackson in an Urban Myths episode. In fact, the network went ahead and cancelled the Michael Jackson episode due to the outrage of fans, according to Us Weekly.

Regardless, this is not the only time an actor will play Michael Jackson in 2017. For instance, around the time the Urban Myths episode was cancelled, Lifetime announced they had a Michael Jackson biopic planned for 2017.

According to The Wrap, the Lifetime Michael Jackson biopic will star a top-rated MJ impersonator named Navi and will also feature actor Chad L. Coleman as bodyguard Bill Whitfield. The Michael Jackson biopic is tentatively called Searching for Neverland, and portrays the last years of MJ’s life through the eyes of his bodyguards, Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard.

Adding to this, Lifetime is bringing in Suzanne de Passe, and she worked on another Michael Jackson biopic called The Jacksons: An American Dream.

The script for the Michael Jackson biopic was written by Elizabeth Hunter and she is known for The L Word and Charmed. Dianne Houston will direct the script, and her claims to fame are television movies such as City of Angels and Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le.

In addition, there will be another type of Michael Jackson biopic for television written by Tavis Smiley and J.J. Abrams. Interestingly, like the Lifetime movie, this biopic will also focus on the years before Michael Jackson died.

According to Variety, the Michael Jackson television series will be based on Tavis Smiley’s book Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days.

So far, there have been no 2017 updates about Before You Judge Me and who will star as Michael Jackson in the television series. What is known about the MJ biopic series is that it currently is not tied to a single network, is produced by Bad Robot Productions and Tavis Smiley TV & Film, and is under the umbrella of Warner Bros. Television.

In another twist, there is a cartoon about Michael Jackson’s chimp, Bubbles, that was announced in March, 2016, according to Deadline, as an upcoming film. Since that time, there have been no updates about the release date for the Bubbles film, and it is expected that there will be news about the Michael Jackson animated biopic in 2017.

Unfortunately, there is a big sign that more biopics about Michael Jackson might be limited after 2017. Unless the issue is resolved soon, there is a chance that Michael Jackson’s estate might not want to contribute more to his posthumous net worth in 2017 because of their upcoming $1 billion battle with the IRS over MJ’s “image.”

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, each time there is a movie or commercial production made that includes Michael Jackson, this is called “using his image.” Although this is a fairly intangible idea, the IRS is debating with Michael Jackson’s estate about whether they undervalued the true net worth potential of his after-death “image.”

For example, Michael Jackson’s moves and songs were part of the Despicable Me 3 trailers and promotions, and this is an instance where the “image” of MJ was being used. Because Despicable Me 3 used Michael Jackson’s signature dances and other references, they will need to both ask permission from MJ’s estate, as well as pay a fee for using his image in the movie.

Naturally, there will need to be taxes paid on any income Michael Jackson’s estate earns for fees collected for movies using his image — but the IRS thinks that since MJ has been so successful after death, some back taxes and penalties might be owed.

This debate about the true value of Michael Jackson at the time of his death is something that will be settled in California courts starting in February, 2017, according to U.S. Tax Court.

It is also speculated by The Hollywood Reporter and others that this IRS decision about the value of Michael Jackson’s image could seriously affect other celebrities that have enduring estates such as Marilyn Monroe, Ray Charles, and Marlon Brando.

For this reason, Michael Jackson’s estate may not be as generous with giving companies the legal right to use MJ’s image in the future, and, without permission, documentary or biopic companies may not make many movies about Michael Jackson after 2017.

Other celebrities that learned from Michael Jackson’s estate nightmares over the use of his image have decided against the IRS getting their cut for their image being used for commercial use after their death. In particular, comedian Robin Williams restricted the use of his image for 25 years after his death, according to Guardian, and some feel that it was Michael Jackson’s experience that prompted him to do this.

In the end, an opinion article from the American Bar Association states that they feel that luck might be on the side of the Michael Jackson estate in their upcoming IRS battle for $1 billion.

If Michael Jackson’s estate hits a rough skid with the IRS, they may decide to stop allowing commercial use of his image. This could be especially troubling to Michael Jackson fans because, in addition to showing interest in Navi the MJ impersonator, some supporters would like to see Flex Alexander play Michael Jackson in another biopic.

In 2004, VH1 released Man in the Mirror: TheMichael Jackson Story, and it has become extremely popular in customer reviews on websites such as Amazon or movie forums like IMDb.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the MJ biopic mixed reviews and said some fans were unhappy about the outcome of the film because Flex Alexander was “cheesy” when portraying Michael Jackson.

About the Michael Jackson film and some of the negative reviews, Seattle PI quoted producer Allan Moyle stating that the MJ movie “was a biography and not a biopoem.”

Interestingly, there are no reviews online from Michael Jackson himself about how he felt when Flex Alexander portrayed him. Michael Jackson also never mentioned in any interviews his critique of the 2004 Man in the Mirror biopic.

[Feature Image by Vince Bucci/Getty Images]