| Movie Michael Never say never in Neverland. That's what director Barry Sonnenfeld found out when he went to Michael Jackson's famed ranch before he cast Jackson in the upcoming "Men in Black II," due out this summer."Michael really wanted to be in the movie, so he called me up," says Sonnenfeld, adding that Jackson reminded him that they almost worked together on the director's "Addams Family Values," which led to a trip to Jackson's digs years ago. "I got there and Michael wasn't around," Sonnenfeld says. "I did get the caretaker to open the carousel. You've never heard anything funnier than a carousel playing 'Beat It.' "Actually, Sonnenfeld wanted to tell GLARE to beat it when we grilled him about Jackson's cameo in the sequel to Will Smith's alien-busting "Men inBlack." We snickered and queried him on why Jackson wasn't cast as an alien."Because that's what everyone would expect," says Sonnenfeld, who adds,"Michael's incredibly funny in his scene. He only worked one day. That's all I can say."Did he demand to wear the sequined glove? "No, no, no!" says Sonnenfeld. "Michael came in and I showed him where to stand, which was in front of a bluescreen. We spent a lot of time talking about his character and then sat around on our pizzeria set. Michael asked a lot of questions about the movie and then we shot for four or five hours."Is his role a makeup fest or will we know it's Jackson? "Oh God, yes,you will know it's Michael," Sonnenfeld promises. As for "Men in Black II," Sonnenfeld says, "We bring Tommy Lee Jones' character back because something that happened 25 years ago is threatening Earth. Willhas to get Tommy and give him his memory back. Tommy's character is working at a post office. ...Once he remembers, you have the dynamic of two people who think they're in charge because it's five years later and Will has advanced."Pause. "See, I've told you too much." Source: Cindy Pearlman, Chicago Sun-Times, March 19 Thanks to Marjorie |