Antoine Fuqua and Graham King scored massive additional payments after the “Michael” biopic required extensive reshoots.
Graham King, who produced the big budget biopic about Michael Jackson’s life, was initially set to be paid $6 million, according to a new report from Bloomberg. However, per the outlet, after the content of the film was forced to change — its entire third act was scrapped amid looming legal threats from former Jackson accusers — King received an additional payment of more than $10 million from the late King of Pop’s estate. Though, a source with knowledge told TheWrap that the bonus was not a direct payment from the late singer’s estate.
Similarly, Bloomberg also reported that Fuqua, who helmed “Michael” throughout its complicated and lengthy production process, is said to have been paid $10 million at first — before nabbing more than $15 million as an additional payment.
“Graham King worked on the ‘Michael’ film for seven years,” a rep for the movie producer told TheWrap when asked about the reported payments. “Because the film needed to go back into production and a new budget developed, King and Antoine Fuqua had to postpone other projects and commitments. This was part of the newly formed budget and an advance against the film.”
According to the outlet, the top-ups were given to King and Fuqua as the changes to the movie could’ve hindered box office grosses, with a source telling TheWrap it wasn’t guaranteed the biopic would be a hit. However, “Michael” appears to be moonwalking to serious success at the box office, with the film recently setting a new biopic opening weekend record with its $90 million-plus launch.
Still, the movie has faced its fair share of criticism, with many calling out the movie for sidestepping the child abuse allegations Jackson faced in his lifetime.
The singer faced 10 charges in 2005 tied to the alleged sexual abuse of a 13-year-old. After denying all of the allegations against him and participating in a 14-week trial, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. However, the controversy resurfaced in 2019 when a documentary, titled “Leaving Neverland,” brought about new allegations from two of Jackson’s alleged victims.
Ahead of the film’s release, Fuqua confirmed to the New Yorker that he initially planned to touch on Jackson’s 2003 arrest, sharing, “I shot [Michael] being stripped naked, treated like an animal, a monster.” Per the outlet, Fuqua had initially “envisioned a film that might have read as a provocative defense of its subject,” before an agreement in Michael Jackson’s settlement with the Chandler family — who accused the singer of sexually abusing their 13-year-old son, something Jackson denied — derailed this plan.
Meanwhile, Colman Domingo and Nia Long, who play the Jackson patriarch and matriarch, respectively, then appeared on “Today” and offered their explanation as to why the film avoided the child abuse allegations.
“The film takes place from the ’60s to 1988. It does not go into the first allegations in 2005,” Domingo said. “So, basically, we center it on the makings of Michael. It’s an intimate portrait of who Michael is …through his eyes.”
