Hacker Cinema
Michael
2026 · Film · 128 min
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world, highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career.
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7 comments on Hacker News
I think this year is actually the final nails in the argument that people are desperate for "original" films. The top ones this year are Spider-Man and an adaptation of a literal ancient story. Followed by a fifth Toy Story, a Michael Jackson biopic, a Mario film, the Devil Wears Prada 2 and Project Hail Mary. Only Michael and PHM are arguably non-franchise films, and PHM wasn't one of the ones that grossed over a billion.
And the next expected major films this year that will pull in audiences are Dune 3 and Avengers: Doomsday.
It's looking like franchises are what are reliably bringing people in. They just want quality stories and not a deluge of committee-designed experiences. The new Spider-Man film was good because it gets Spider-Man and what audiences like about the character.
The left are simply tiresome.
"We need to review the author's opinion on every issue before posting any of their content."
But they sure love the new Michael Jackson movie!
Even accepting that Project Hail Mary, Obsession, and Top Gun are "good movies" (which I completely reject), you're cherry-picking. The top three films of the year are Super Mario Galaxy, Michael, and The Devil Wears Prada 2.
This year seems to be turning a bit of a corner. Of the top box office movies so far this year there's Michael, Project Hail Mary, Hoppers, Wuthering Heights, GOAT.. with Obsession and Backrooms rapidly rising.
Last year it was basically F1 and Minecraft (and while not sequels, both are arguably well known "franchises" outside of movies - but I guess MJ and Wuthering Heights are too ;-)).
Those don't seem like the best links, especially that Asimov one. Link inside the Asimov link tells a much better story, with consistent behavior.
> Maybe you have to still be alive to matter?
This is certainly part of the equation. I mean there's a Michael Jackson movie now.
But another part is that someone's work is distinct from their other actions. It's definitely a tough situation and confusing line to draw. Michael Jackson without a doubt made great music. But that doesn't make up for his Epstein-esk escapades. Being dead at least creates some distance as he's not directly benefiting from the revenue streams, which is part of what empowered and even encouraged that behavior (power seems to do more than just corrupt).
> What exactly are the rules here?
There aren't any. We're all just trying to figure it out. But if we didn't create some distinctions then the reality is that there would be no heroes. It's hard to find a notable man or woman from the past who can be considered blameless by today's standards. Though there are plenty who stood above the standards of their day. Maybe the best thing we can do is to remember that we're all human. We're more than our environments, but they do shape us. I think you can think of people as great in one domain but terrible in others. But this is much easier to do with people dead than those alive.
We're all confused. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It gets us to talk and figure it out. I certainly don't know what to do, but I'll at least recognize it isn't trivial. And I'll at least recognize that we're talking about men, not gods
This seems pretty damning:
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/michael-jacksons-biopic-blinds-us-from-the-truth-6a41b5a6:
> Over the years, Jackson and the estate have paid out millions to settle various claims, with some lawsuits still pending without ever admitting wrongdoing. A significant reason for the large settlement totaling about $25 million made by Jackson in 1994 to the Chandler family and their lawyer was the drawing of specific markings Jackson had on his penis caused by the skin condition vitiligo.
> Jordie Chandler drew the markings and the drawing was put into a sealed envelope. During the criminal investigation, Jackson was so resistant to having his genitals photographed that he slapped one of his doctors. It didn’t matter for the civil suit. My reporting showed that when Jordie’s drawing was unsealed, it matched the photos.
Mistakenly, i thought it was about Rotten Tomatoes, and i started thinking about how a movie like Michael ranked badly, the critics missed the whole point of watching a movie, to be entertained, sadly, here on HN, sometimes we miss the point too, if that involves some names