If you’ve been following the new Michael Jackson movie, there’s an answer this week, and it’s got a lot of fans scratching their heads.
The film is called “Michael,” and it’s packed with his biggest hits. So the studio that made it, Lionsgate, went to the people who hand out the Golden Globes and asked them to judge “Michael” in the musical category. The director, Antoine Fuqua, even wrote a letter backing the request, the way the Globe rules say he has to.
On Oct 20 the Globes gave their answer. They turned down the request.
That isn’t the same as turning down the movie. “Michael” is still very much in the race. It just has to compete as a drama now instead of a musical.
So why say no to the musical label? It comes down to one line in the rulebook.
The Globes define a musical this way: “A musical can be a comedy or a drama in which songs are used in addition to spoken dialogue to further the plot.” The words that matter there are “further the plot.” The songs are supposed to move the story along.
That’s where the voters landed somewhere different. The movie is full of concert scenes, Michael up on the stage doing the numbers everybody knows by heart. But the members saw those as re-creations of his real shows, not as part of the storytelling. Variety put it plainly: “the organization evidently viewed those sequences as re-creations of Michael Jackson’s performances rather than as integral storytelling devices.” Billboard said much the same: “The members felt that the musical performances in Michael did not sufficiently drive the narrative.”
If that reasoning rings a bell, it should. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the film about Freddie Mercury and his band Queen, ran as a drama too, and it went on to win Best Drama. The 2022 “Elvis” movie competed as a drama as well. So “Michael” is in good company.
Here’s what the switch changes. Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s real-life nephew, plays him in the film, and he’ll now be up for Best Actor in the tougher drama field instead of the lighter musical one. The supporting acting categories don’t split that way, so the rest of the cast isn’t affected by the move.
Lionsgate hasn’t given up, though. The studio can appeal the decision, and it has until Oct 31 to do it. After that the calendar moves fast. The Golden Globe nominations come out Monday, Dec 7, and the ceremony itself is Sunday, Jan 10.
So fans who were rooting for a musical win will have to adjust their hopes a little. The movie everybody’s been talking about is still in the running for the night’s biggest prizes. It just has to go up against the dramas to get there.