# "Michael" And The Jackson Biopic That Wasn't (With Danielle Hewitt)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/michael-and-the-jackson-biopic-that-wasn-t-with-danielle-hewitt
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/michael-and-the-jackson-biopic-that-wasn-t-with-danielle-hewitt.md
Podcast: [Critical Darlings](https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666)
Published: 2026-04-30T08:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI3166060745.mp3?updated=1777500561
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI3166060745.mp3?updated=1777500561
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critical-darlings-7771666/episodes/michael-and-the-jackson-biopic-that-wasn-t-with-danielle-hewitt
Duration seconds: 5523

## Resource

Michael is many things: a box-office triumph, a savvy piece of IP management, and a Frankenstein stitched together from a movie we’ll never get to see. Today on the show, we’re joined by two journalists who have reported on Michael Jackson for the Think Twice: Michael Jackson podcast: our own producer Benjamin Frisch, and Danielle Hewitt, to try and make sense of a deeply flawed film that also features some of the best pop music of all time. We get into the drawn-out trajectory of the movie, its legal woes and reshoots, the casting of Michael’s nephew Jaafar in the lead role, and the film’s rose-colored view of its main subject. We also dip into Jackson family history to think about how a more effective Jackson biopic might work, and get into the story of Michael’s career and the legacy of the now-impossible-to-stream Leaving Neverland. Next week, we’re off to fashion week with The Devil Wears Prada 2, with Who Weekly! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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## Transcript

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