Cultureshock (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Cultureshock - full transcript
On the ninth anniversary of his tragic death, this heartbreaking and celebratory documentary is a fast-moving cultural critique on the day that Michael Jackson passed away.
(heart beating)
(soft music)
(static crackling)
- [Dispatcher] Fire
/ Paramedic 33,
what is the address
of the emergency?
- [Caller] I need an ambulance
as soon as possible, sir.
We have a gentleman
here that needs help,
and he's not breathing.
He's not breathing,
and we need to...
We're trying to pump him,
but he's not, he's not--
- [Dispatcher] Okay.
Okay, how old is he?
- [Caller] He's
50 years old, sir.
- [Dispatcher] 50, okay.
He's unconscious,
he's not breathing?
- [Caller] Yes, he's
not breathing, sir.
- CNN sources are now
saying that Michael Jackson
is in a coma at
UCLA Medical Center.
- I don't know what
to believe right now.
- [Warren] The reaction
to Michael Jackson's death
is so immediate.
(crying)
(helicopter whirring)
It's volcanic.
It was more carnival
than human tragedy.
- [Crowd] Michael!
- [Warren] That breakdown,
- [Crowd] Michael!
(crowd chanting)
that chaos
draws us in.
- [Reporter] Breaking
news about Michael Jackson.
(gentle music)
- [Michael] Peter Pan, to me,
represents something that's
very special in my heart.
Childhood,
youth,
never growing up, magic,
flying.
And to me, I just have never,
ever grown out of loving that.
- [Warren] The Michael
Jackson who feels like
his childhood has
been taken from him
finds the perfect
symbol in Peter Pan.
- [Alan] From way too young,
he was always grown up,
and what he dreamed of was
something that he never had,
childhood.
- [Toure] Since he was a child,
Michael had been dealing
with that pressure
of constant media attention.
He was fodder for more
gossip-based media.
(crowd cheering)
- [Reporter] Jackson was
accused of child molestation.
- [Reporter] Jackson left his
Neverland Ranch this morning,
but he never made it
to the courthouse.
- He landed in the
hospital instead.
- [Reporter] Jackson has
admitted
he's addicted to
prescription painkillers
and is seeking treatment.
- [Reporter] This story
is not cooling down.
Don't expect it to cool down.
(crowd yelling)
- [Brian] He became
better known for
what was seen as his
outlandish-at-best personal life
than his music.
(crowd cheering)
- [Steven] 2009 was prime
to be that breakout moment
for him to come back
to do a huge tour.
(crowd cheering)
- [Warren] It was him setting
out to harness his image,
to gain control again
over what and how
the public saw him.
- [Alan] Everything
with Michael Jackson
was always in superlatives.
The biggest record of all time,
(cheering and screaming)
the biggest tour ever,
(cheering and screaming)
the most shows, the
fastest ticket sales.
(cheering and screaming)
That was how he
approached everything,
and that was what
they had teed up.
- I'll be performing the
songs my fans wanna hear.
This is it.
I mean, this is really it.
This is the final curtain call.
- [Toure] He's trying
to prove to himself,
as well as the world,
that I am bigger, badder.
The comeback has to be
at the highest level.
It can't just be one
show, five shows.
It has to be 50 shows.
- [Warren] In 24 hours, a
million people around the world
had registered to buy
tickets for these dates.
The 50 dates all sold out
within a matter of hours.
- [Woman] I have the hottest
ticket on the planet right now.
- [Woman] I was willing to
pay 1,800 pounds to see him.
- [Travis] This Is It was
going to be the biggest,
most innovative revolutionary
touring show to date.
It was a multimedia extravaganza
with new technology,
never-before-seen production
design techniques,
state-of-the-art
costumes and equipment
and the best dancers
in the world.
He's going to give us this
apex of a performance.
It's going to be even better
than what was already the best.
- [Warren] By the
time he's announcing
this return to the stage,
anything short of a
total mind-blowing,
unprecedented spectacle
ran the risk of being
a disappointment.
(crowd cheering)
Was he really
gonna be able to do
50 dates worth of performances
after not doing
anything for ten years?
He's 50-years-old, hasn't
been in great health.
- [Andy] He's
obviously very frail,
he's very out of practice,
they're dumping a
fortune into this thing.
Can he even do one
show, let alone 50?
- [Man] He's not
physically strong enough
for that many shows.
He doesn't put on some weight,
he'll never get through it.
- [Harvey] We had
heard rumblings,
and we knew that Michael Jackson
was doctor shopping
in Beverly Hills
so he could get Propofol.
- [Man] Jackson's nutritionist
tells the Associated Press
he begged her to give him
a powerful sleeping aid.
- [Harvey] There was
a lot of concern.
We started writing those
stories, posting those stories,
and we did a lot of them.
It became a drumbeat.
Getting tips that he
wasn't gonna make it,
and then hearing
contradictory information that
no, no, he's fine.
(crowd cheering)
Michael Jackson was not fine.
- [Travis] This
Final Curtain Call
is not gonna happen
like we're hoping.
- [Michael] There's nothing
to be nervous about,
and I love you all, and we're
family, just know that.
We're a family.
(applauding)
Blessings, blessings to all.
- [Travis] I started with
Michael as a dancer in 1992,
and This Is It was
gonna be the first time
that I was going to
be directing Michael.
- [Travis] It was really
a dream come true for me.
The 24th was a milestone.
We had completed the show.
We had all the bones.
It was gonna be
only up from there.
Michael was so happy.
He was just like a proud parent.
I remember the last things
we said to each other
was, "I love you," and he'd
say, "I love you more."
- There's a light that
is moving on his command.
Right, then when he moves
forward, he's in that light.
He's in that light.
It felt like we were
accomplishing the dream.
He saw it before him
in those rehearsals.
He asked me to thank everybody,
to tell them that he loved them,
the dancers, the singers,
the band, the crew,
and I gave him a big hug,
and he left the building.
(helicopter whirring)
- [Warren] Michael
Jackson is feeling
the pressure of career.
The only way out of the
pressures
of that enormus career...
(dripping)
Sleep.
- [Harvey] He got Conrad
Murray to live with him
and Murray was giving him
Propofol in his bedroom
at his home on Carolwood
almost every night.
- [Warren] Propofol
is an anesthesia
used on patients who
are undergoing surgery.
It's illegal, it's dangerous.
That's completely insane.
When you go out with
anesthesia, you go right out.
He craved that.
(crowd cheering)
(camera shutter clicking)
(yelling)
(crowd cheering)
(camera shutter clicking)
- Please keep an open mind,
and let me have my day in court.
(crowd cheering)
- [Interviewer] How
would you describe
the pressures of performing?
(soft music)
- While other kids was out
running the streets and playing,
those boys would just
practice most of the time.
- [Michael] Not only
were we practicing,
we were nervous rehearsing
because he sat in the chair
and he had this
belt in his hand,
and if you didn't do it the
right way, he would tear you up,
throw you up against the
wall hard as he could.
Oh my god.
It was bad.
- [Alan] Michael Jackson
never had a childhood
because he was
performing from so young.
What his visions
of childhood were
were his own fantasies,
and that was the thing
that he wouldn't let go of.
That is the great
tragedy of Michael Jackson,
and I think explains so much
of the disturbing side of it
because he was making
it up for himself.
- [Andy] How can you
sleep every night
when you know most of the world
thinks you did this
unspeakably evil thing?
Here's a way I can go right out.
I can get complete
peace through an IV.
He just wanted a
guarantee he could just
have a few hours where
he's not hurting.
- [Warren] The night after
Michael's last rehearsal,
he can't sleep.
Dr. Murray begins
administering drugs.
Falling asleep for five minutes,
finding himself awake,
and then the frustration
that he can't get to
this thing he needs,
making it that much worse.
I need more, I need more.
He is begging for the Propofol.
Let me go into sleep.
Let me
stop feeling what I'm feeling.
Let me fly.
(guitar music)
(siren wailing)
- [Kai] I got into
work around 8:00-8:30.
I fed the kids their breakfast.
Around 12:00, Paris,
she starts screaming,
"Daddy, daddy, daddy!"
Security's running
upstairs, skipping stairs,
and we're all panicked.
(static crackling)
- [Dispatcher] Fire
/ Paramedic 33,
what is the address
of your emergency?
- [Caller] I need an ambulance
as soon as possible, sir.
- [Warren] Michael
is unconscious.
- [Caller] We have a gentleman
here that needs help,
and he's not breathing.
We're trying to pump him,
but he's not, he's not--
- [Dispatcher] Okay, he's not
conscious, he's not breathing?
- [Caller] Yes, he's
not breathing, sir.
- [Dispatcher] Okay, and
he's not conscious, either.
- [Warren] Dr. Murray makes
three calls from his cellphone.
- [Michael Amir] He said,
"Get here right away.
"Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction.
"Get somebody up
here immediately."
- [Dispatcher] Let's get
him down to the floor.
I'm gonna help you with
CPR right now, okay?
- [Faheem] Dr. Murray
asked the question,
"Does anyone know CPR?"
And his children,
Paris and Prince,
were standing
outside of his room.
Paris was on the ground,
balled-up crying.
- [Caller] He's pumping,
he's pumping the chest,
but he's not responding
to anything, sir, please.
- [Dispatcher] Okay,
okay, we're on our way.
(sirens wailing)
(helicopter chopping)
- [Warren] Michael was treated
by paramedics on the scene.
- [Richard] I see an
underweight patient,
an IV and medication
vials on the nightstand.
- [Martin] He was non-breathing,
he was non-moving,
and his eyes was fixed
and dilated.
I could tell he was dead.
(hospital monitors beeping)
- [Ben] One of my
photographers was here,
posted early in the morning.
Shortly after noon, he
saw the ambulance arrive,
also with a fire truck
that parked outside.
- [Andy] He was the most
famous man on the planet,
and a picture of him
was worth a fortune,
and so he was hunted.
(camera shutters clicking)
(crowd yelling)
- [Ben] Through the firetruck,
we could actually see the
computer monitor, and it said,
"50-year-old male,
not breathing."
We thought, okay, this
is probably Michael,
and I saw them
pushing the gurney.
- [Man] Move, move, move.
Go, get off of me!
- [Ben] The bodyguards were here
trying to prevent us
from getting photos.
- [Warren] A small
paparazzi outfit
that was the first
to report online
that Michael Jackson was
headed to the hospital.
Moments later, TMZ
picked up the story.
- [Harvey] We got a tip
that Michael Jackson was
going to the hospital,
so we started calling around.
We found out that he had gone
into full cardiac arrest.
- [Andy] The whole edit staff
is in a conference room.
I see the editor of
our website on TMZ.
Her eyes just bulge open.
Oh my god.
It's pandemonium
in our newsroom.
TMZ is saying that
Michael Jackson collapsed,
that he's in the hospital,
that he could be dead.
- [Andy] We are Rolling Stone.
What the hell do we do?
All we can do is just
hit refresh on TMZ
as it gives us more information.
They have people all over LA.
They pay money and
they know who to pay.
They got the police stations,
at the jails, at the hotels.
They've incentivized
every person all over LA
to just give them
news at all times,
and we can't compete with it.
No one can.
- [Warren] Michael arrived
at the hospital 1:31 p.m.
after receiving CPR
for over an hour.
- [Thao] Michael
Jackson was lifeless.
We moved forward
even though we suspected
that it was futile.
If we call it quit at that
time, it would be giving up.
It's not a case of
too little too late.
It seems like a
case of too late.
- [Warren] The pieces of the
puzzle started coming together.
He was dead at his house.
Conrad Murray refused
to pronounce him dead.
There was no hope.
(soft music)
- [Harvey] We knew when
we pushed the button
that he had died.
- [Steven] But we were
all glued to our desktops.
What information is out there?
What's TMZ posting?
Somebody's head popped up,
and I just heard a voice go,
"Michael Jackson's dead!"
- [Andy] If you look at TMZ
now, they say he's dead.
Do we post? Do we post?
- [Alan] Here's
this website, TMZ,
who are really looked
at as bottom feeders.
That was clearly
not reliable enough
to be considered a real
source, a legit source.
- [Warren] We'll never know for
sure who TMZ's sources were,
but we do know they have a
network of people on the ground
feeding them inside information.
- Joining us now
is a news producer
- We got multiple sources
that had confirmed to us
that he had died.
- [Mike] We started
getting emails, phone calls
from all over the
world instantly
trying to find out
what was going on.
And one of the main questions
we kept hearing was,
"Are you sure?"
- [Harvey] We checked and double
checked and triple checked.
We knew that he had died.
The L.A. Times came out
and said he was in a coma.
The media had to make a choice.
Do they follow The Times
or do they follow TMZ?
- Now I just got off the phone
with a cardiologist and--
- You know, I'm gonna just
interrupt you for a second,
Elizabeth, because, CNN
sources are now saying
that Michael Jackson
is in a coma.
- What else can you
tell me about it?
- He didn't say much and he
couldn't confirm that
those who had been in...
- He did or he...
- The information that is,
um the one,
the information
we're waiting on...
- Unfortunately, there's
all these rumors,
and it's hard to
know what's true.
- [Reporter] Have you
searched the house?
- I've got nothing
else for you, guys.
- [Reporter] Joining me
now for more on Jackson,
we have Alan Light.
- [Alan] We're live
getting different reports.
He was dead, that
he was dying,
that we don't know, that
he's in the hospital.
Nobody's confirming,
nobody's answering.
We don't want to
be irresponsible,
but you don't want
to miss the story.
What constituted responsibility?
What constituted
legitimate sourcing?
It's evident in that
moment that those rules
are changing right
underneath your feet.
The usual standard for
confirming a story is you want
at least two independent
sources to verify the story.
In a world of
internet journalism,
that's a standard that's
gotten very compromised.
(static buzzing)
- President Kennedy
died at 1:00 p.m.
Central Standard time,
two o'clock Eastern
Standard time,
some 38 minutes ago.
- [Harvey] I remember being
glued to a television set
watching Walter Cronkite,
but there wasn't
wall-to-wall coverage
on television sets back then.
- [Warren] Family gathers,
they're all together
gathered around that box.
(beeping)
This piece of technology
would go to sleep.
(static buzzing)
And the family
would go to sleep,
and then you have the
television doing something else.
- [Reporter] This
is CNN breaking news.
- [Warren] Programming
goes 24 hours.
It went from five channels to
we can't really even count them.
Michael Jackson really
grows up with the media.
- [Alan] We're seeing a rise
in the paparazzi culture,
in gossip column coverage,
all these shows that were
driven by celebrity gossip.
- [Reporter] Can't get enough
of that Jackson-Presley stuff?
We have the latest, and
you won't believe it.
- [Reporter] We have new details
from inside Michael
Jackson's divorce papers
and what's going to
happen to the kids?
- [Alan] Which then bleeds
into the internet era.
The internet and social media
entirely transformed our
relationship to information,
to news of-of any kind,
however big or small.
In that moment where
everybody would turn to CNN
to find out the story,
that's not necessarily where
they're turning right now.
They're looking at their phones,
they're looking at their
screens, their computers.
All of this was so new in 2009.
It just felt like chaos.
- I don't know what
to believe right now.
I heard he had a heart attack.
I heard they brought him back.
- [Warren] You see
the system break down,
'cause it's never experienced
this rush for information
that follows the announcement
of Michael Jackson's death.
- [TMZ Spokesperson] We
were the only news outlet
reporting that he was dead.
Traffic was enormous.
- [Alan] Internet news
traffic was breaking records.
- [Reporter] Word of
Michael Jackson's death
spread like wildfire
across the country.
Social media is overwhelmed.
- [Warren] He
broke the internet.
- [Reporter]
Google News shut down
mistakenly thinking the traffic
surge was a virus attack.
- I just want to know
what's happening.
- This coming--
- I have to stop you
for a second, AJ.
- Go ahead.
- Breaking news about
Michael Jackson.
Now in the past few minutes,
The Los Angeles Times
and the Associated Press
have reported that
Jackson has died.
- Are you being serious?
(speaking off microphone)
No.
(crying)
- We're over here at
the medical center, LA.
Michael Jackson has died.
- There were hundreds of people,
gathering steadily over
the last few hours,
and they have been
growing in numbers.
There's a lot of
media, of course,
but what's extraordinary
is the amount of
members of the public that
have been gathering here,
people snapping a lot of photos.
- [Geoff] You have random people
running up to the hospital
with their cameras.
Whatever they capture
at that moment
could go up on the internet,
and I'm watching the media
fighting to report first.
- [Man] Michael!
- [Woman] Oh my god.
- [Warren] Something
new is happening.
- [Man] All right, right
now, me and Jacob are
at the UCLA Medical Center.
- [Warren] The content
that's generated
not by news stations,
but by people who are
out there just chasing.
They're running.
- [Man] Why are we running?
- [Man] Everybody's running.
(helicopter whirring)
- [Steven] We had graduated
from the flip phone
into the smartphone era,
Blackberrys, iPhones.
- [Andy] Everybody's
cellphone was becoming
like a video production unit.
Everybody suddenly is
a roving journalist,
and that's major.
- [Man] They are
not there to mourn
so much as they are there to
share and recirculate
information.
- [Man] Watch your back, guys.
- [Crowd] Michael,
Michael, Michael,
Michael, Michael,
Michael, Michael, Michael,
-[Crowd] Michael, Michael,
Michael,
Michael, Michael, Michael.
- [Warren] We're all
producers, we're all consumers,
and we're just hungry.
- [Andy] The guy, who his
whole life had no privacy,
from childhood to death,
he was a man never
allowed to be dignified.
- [Male Paparazzi] How's the
moonwalking going, Michael?
-[Female Paparazzi] Do you like
the Church Michael?
(speaking off microphone)
(reporters and paparazzi talking
over one another)
(camera shutters clicking)
(camera shutters clicking)
- This is hard, um...
my brother, the legendary
King of Pop, Michael Jackson,
passed away on Thursday,
June 25th, 2009 at 2:26 p.m.
Our family requests
that the media
please respect
our privacy during
this tough time, and
may Allah be with
you, Michael, always.
- [Warren] To officially
announce this
as a member of the family
was almost like just
a little gulp of air,
a gulp of grief
that people did slow down,
but it was just for a
fragment of a second, really,
and then it was back to more.
- [Crowd] Michael, Michael.
- [Warren] The
authorities were concerned
that transporting Michael's body
to the coroner's office by
road would lead to pandemonium.
The only way to get his body out
(helicopter whirring)
was by helicopter.
- [Andy] The casket
going to the morgue
was watched by the entire
planet all tuned in.
We both condemn it and we look.
- [Jermaine] I rushed
across town, and once
I got close to UCLA,
I saw the helicopters
in the sky.
I said, "That's where he is."
- [Pilot] Yep, I got him.
Go to the left, get
as much as we can.
- [Warren] When this
crushing fame his whole life
has finally just killed him,
he's still being stalked
by those cameras.
(gentle music)
-[Pilot] we have a shot
up to your left
it's open right now.
- [Pilot] There you go.
- [Warren] Even in death,
He doesn't get a
moment's privacy.
(gentle music)
- [Steven] When Elvis died,
it was a really simple way
to process someone's death.
- [Brian] When John Lennon died,
people had to gather physically.
There was this feeling
of collective mourning.
People did that with Michael,
but you could also
gather online.
- [Toure] It gives you
more people to mourn with.
It becomes this sort
of virtual wake.
- We should learn by example.
He's definitely a teacher.
So, I'm done crying for tonight.
Peace, guys.
- [Warren] How you
mourned Michael Jackson
is more of a reflection
of you as an individual
than us as a society
because it was across
the board different.
- [Hua] It was
most deeply felt by
people who didn't grow
up on the internet.
It tapped into a
kind of nostalgia
for a time when popular culture
just seemed much simpler,
but much grander, too.
- [Toure] We saw Michael
from a little kid
to a young man,
having children and
becoming older man.
This is the death of a person
who has been part of
your life for decades.
You have a
relationship with them.
It matters.
It becomes part of your family.
- I was raised off of his music.
If you said something bad
about Michael in my house,
you was in trouble.
- They looked just like
me back when they debuted.
They all had 'fro.
- [Danyel] He was
similar to my age,
and he was black.
It was astonishing.
What was there really that
was so reflective of me?
On television, not so much,
but man, I could
listen to him sing
and look at the pictures of him.
I could feel like something
representing me was out there.
It's someone you
had since childhood,
and you just felt like he
was always going to be there.
- It hurts, because it's
like someone all my life,
the Jackson Family,
the Jackson 5.
- [Andy] They
remember being young,
they remembered a more
innocent time in their own life
that's gone forever,
the same as Michael.
It's a yearning
for their own past.
- He was a hero for me
as I was growing up.
- [Warren] This
giant was now dead.
It was like a part
of them that died.
This beautiful man came
and gave us so much music.
- [Reporter] Record
stores have had a hard time
keeping Michael Jackson
music on the shelves.
- [Store Rep] We were sold out
within about an hour and
a half after his death.
- [Store Rep] We sold every
CD we had in the store.
Records, vinyl,
memorabilia, videos.
We're out of everything.
- Madame Speaker, we would
ask members to please stand
for a moment of silence.
(solemn music)
- [Warren] There was no
bigger star in the world
than Michael Jackson.
You could go to any
corner of the universe.
You could go to any continent.
- As a pop star,
he's always been
my inspiration ever
since I was a small boy.
- [Maria] We were all
crying together as a people.
We can relate, even if we
don't speak the same language.
- [Reporter] They came
here initially to mourn,
but then it began
to be a celebration.
- [Crowd] Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson!
Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson!
- [Danyel] It was
the saddest day, but
music,
that's the purity,
that's the joy.
- [Warren] It had new
meaning and purpose
now that he wasn't here anymore.
It became
much more powerful.
- [Maria] We're all
very different people
sharing the same feeling.
- [Crowd] Michael,
Michael, Michael!
- [Maria] And without words,
we were able to understand
what the other person felt.
(crowd chanting)
His death made me
revisit my life.
- [Reporter] As throngs
of fans worldwide
continue to mourn the
loss of Michael Jackson,
the family is still
working on plans
for the funeral for
the King of Pop.
- It is the family's
wish to create a service
and a celebration
that all of Michael's fans
around the world can be part of.
- The thought of trying to pull
all of this together by Friday
seems to be difficult at best.
- [Reporter] Work is
underway at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles for Michael
Jackson's memorial.
More than a million
and a half people
have registered to
win the 17,500 tickets
for the Tuesday event.
- [Reporter] So many
people scrambled
to get tickets that the
website offering them
simply crashed.
It seems a little bit
more like a rock concert.
- [Reporter] Police are bracing
for a massive onslaught,
up to 700,000 people.
- [Reporter] This could be
a very, very
expensive deployment of
public safety personnel.
- [Travis] No one
could have imagined
being tasked mounting this
globally televised memorial.
It was, and still remains,
one of the most surreal
moments of my life.
Our rehearsals took on
a different purpose.
Our focus shifted.
The job then now became to
mount the memorial service,
and so it just kinda
rolled right into that.
- [Reporter] Toure
is in Los Angeles.
He is an NBC contributor
who also writes for
Rolling Stone Magazine.
- So you have to
put him at the top,
certainly the greatest
of his generation.
(crowd chanting) Michael,
Michael, Michael...
I covered the memorial outside
the Staples Center for MSNBC,
seven straight
hours of coverage.
I just saw the magnitude
of this moment.
- [Jermaine] We
lost our brother,
our hero.
The world is mourning,
we're mourning,
the fans are mourning.
It's unreal, it's unbelievable.
- [Reporter] Now before
Michael Jackson is buried here,
his body goes downtown
to the big tribute
at the Staples Center.
- [Toure] Of course
the Michael Jackson end
has to become a circus because
his life has been a circus.
(crowd cheering and yelling)
(instrumental circus music)
- [Pilot] That's what
I want right there.
- [Reporter] Limousines,
private cars, 37 in all,
with a huge police escort,
all going along the
freeways here of Los Angeles
to the tribute downtown,
and Michael Jackson, once again,
is delivered to his public.
- [Reporter] There's a lot
of energy out here,
a lot of people very excited
to simply be a part of
this day in history.
- This is not just an LA event,
and not just an American event.
It's a very much
a worldwide wake.
It's being carried live
right across the planet.
It's likely to be the
biggest memorial service
the world, in fact,
has ever seen.
(speaking in Chinese)
-[Reporter] In the heart
of Harlem,
about a block away from
the Apollo Theater,
where Michael Jackson
burst onto the music scene,
thousands gathered, a
steady stream of folks
who are standing before
this jumbotron enwrapped,
watching what is taking
place in Los Angeles.
- [Reporter] Quite a crowd
that is amassing here in front
of the gates of Neverland.
We have quite a few vendors
who are here, as well.
They're selling everything from
these Michael Jackson t-shirts,
to hats, to buttons,
lemonade, water, you name it.
There are quite a few
entrepreneurs here.
The fans that I talked to
really feel closer to
Michael Jackson here.
- [Brian] Michael ended up
on a stage again
with his brothers.
They managed to
reunite one more time.
- [Andy] Last stage
that he was on
became the stage of his funeral.
- [Warren] Michael Jackson
comes in as an entertainer,
he goes out as an entertainer.
- [Steven] Let's let him finish
and leave this earth
with one last big show.
(crowd cheering and applauding)
- [Alan] The
memorial for Michael
was arranged as a performance.
It was an event.
It was shot the way you
would film an awards show.
There was an
entertainment aspect
that was above and beyond
a memorial service.
(crowd applauding)
- We were here.
We were right here,
a little less than a week ago,
and Michael was with us.
We knew we had to
invite the world
to join us here at
Michael's house.
(crowd cheering)
- [Travis] I have to
believe everything
happens for a reason,
and that he is in
a better place,
and not suffering,
and able to be
remembered for his songs
that spoke to people globally.
-[Rev. Sharpton] All over
the world today,
people are gathered
in love vigils
to celebrate the life of a man
that taught the
world how to love.
It was Michael Jackson
that brought blacks,
and whites, and Asians,
and Latinos together.
It was Michael Jackson that
made us sing We Are The World.
Michael made us love each other.
Michael taught us to
stand with each other.
I want his three
children to know,
there wasn't nothing
strange about your daddy.
It was strange what your
daddy had to deal with.
(crowd cheering and applauding)
- [Warren] At the
end of the memorial,
Michael Jackson's
children come out.
- [Travis] The moment is
seared into my memory.
(crowd cheering)
- I just wanted to say
- Speak up,
sweetheart, speak up.
Get close.
- Ever since I was born,
daddy has been the best
father you could ever imagine.
And I just wanted
to say I love him
so much.
(applauding)
- [Warren] It's then
that we really realize
all that we didn't allow
Michael Jackson to be.
It becomes our shame
in what we have done
to reduce this
individual to one thing,
man on stage.
(soft music)
We were left with a culture
that we somehow
knew had changed.
There's this
heightened awareness
that we were all deep in
the labyrinth of images
and information and that
now, more than ever,
we would need those gaps
where humanity comes through.
The final curtain call
shows for Michael Jackson
are really the strangest shows
in the history of popular music,
because there's so much
pressure on Michael Jackson
to be the star that
we asked him to be.
He's telling us this is gonna
be the final set of shows.
This is gonna be a culmination.
It's gonna be big.
He's taking on and saying
that he's gonna top himself
and go out, you
know, at that peak.
And really, his death
is the thing that makes it
the most perfect ending.
He was right.
He did not fail.
That final curtain call
was the biggest show.
(soft music)
(static crackling)
- [Dispatcher] Fire
/ Paramedic 33,
what is the address
of the emergency?
- [Caller] I need an ambulance
as soon as possible, sir.
We have a gentleman
here that needs help,
and he's not breathing.
He's not breathing,
and we need to...
We're trying to pump him,
but he's not, he's not--
- [Dispatcher] Okay.
Okay, how old is he?
- [Caller] He's
50 years old, sir.
- [Dispatcher] 50, okay.
He's unconscious,
he's not breathing?
- [Caller] Yes, he's
not breathing, sir.
- CNN sources are now
saying that Michael Jackson
is in a coma at
UCLA Medical Center.
- I don't know what
to believe right now.
- [Warren] The reaction
to Michael Jackson's death
is so immediate.
(crying)
(helicopter whirring)
It's volcanic.
It was more carnival
than human tragedy.
- [Crowd] Michael!
- [Warren] That breakdown,
- [Crowd] Michael!
(crowd chanting)
that chaos
draws us in.
- [Reporter] Breaking
news about Michael Jackson.
(gentle music)
- [Michael] Peter Pan, to me,
represents something that's
very special in my heart.
Childhood,
youth,
never growing up, magic,
flying.
And to me, I just have never,
ever grown out of loving that.
- [Warren] The Michael
Jackson who feels like
his childhood has
been taken from him
finds the perfect
symbol in Peter Pan.
- [Alan] From way too young,
he was always grown up,
and what he dreamed of was
something that he never had,
childhood.
- [Toure] Since he was a child,
Michael had been dealing
with that pressure
of constant media attention.
He was fodder for more
gossip-based media.
(crowd cheering)
- [Reporter] Jackson was
accused of child molestation.
- [Reporter] Jackson left his
Neverland Ranch this morning,
but he never made it
to the courthouse.
- He landed in the
hospital instead.
- [Reporter] Jackson has
admitted
he's addicted to
prescription painkillers
and is seeking treatment.
- [Reporter] This story
is not cooling down.
Don't expect it to cool down.
(crowd yelling)
- [Brian] He became
better known for
what was seen as his
outlandish-at-best personal life
than his music.
(crowd cheering)
- [Steven] 2009 was prime
to be that breakout moment
for him to come back
to do a huge tour.
(crowd cheering)
- [Warren] It was him setting
out to harness his image,
to gain control again
over what and how
the public saw him.
- [Alan] Everything
with Michael Jackson
was always in superlatives.
The biggest record of all time,
(cheering and screaming)
the biggest tour ever,
(cheering and screaming)
the most shows, the
fastest ticket sales.
(cheering and screaming)
That was how he
approached everything,
and that was what
they had teed up.
- I'll be performing the
songs my fans wanna hear.
This is it.
I mean, this is really it.
This is the final curtain call.
- [Toure] He's trying
to prove to himself,
as well as the world,
that I am bigger, badder.
The comeback has to be
at the highest level.
It can't just be one
show, five shows.
It has to be 50 shows.
- [Warren] In 24 hours, a
million people around the world
had registered to buy
tickets for these dates.
The 50 dates all sold out
within a matter of hours.
- [Woman] I have the hottest
ticket on the planet right now.
- [Woman] I was willing to
pay 1,800 pounds to see him.
- [Travis] This Is It was
going to be the biggest,
most innovative revolutionary
touring show to date.
It was a multimedia extravaganza
with new technology,
never-before-seen production
design techniques,
state-of-the-art
costumes and equipment
and the best dancers
in the world.
He's going to give us this
apex of a performance.
It's going to be even better
than what was already the best.
- [Warren] By the
time he's announcing
this return to the stage,
anything short of a
total mind-blowing,
unprecedented spectacle
ran the risk of being
a disappointment.
(crowd cheering)
Was he really
gonna be able to do
50 dates worth of performances
after not doing
anything for ten years?
He's 50-years-old, hasn't
been in great health.
- [Andy] He's
obviously very frail,
he's very out of practice,
they're dumping a
fortune into this thing.
Can he even do one
show, let alone 50?
- [Man] He's not
physically strong enough
for that many shows.
He doesn't put on some weight,
he'll never get through it.
- [Harvey] We had
heard rumblings,
and we knew that Michael Jackson
was doctor shopping
in Beverly Hills
so he could get Propofol.
- [Man] Jackson's nutritionist
tells the Associated Press
he begged her to give him
a powerful sleeping aid.
- [Harvey] There was
a lot of concern.
We started writing those
stories, posting those stories,
and we did a lot of them.
It became a drumbeat.
Getting tips that he
wasn't gonna make it,
and then hearing
contradictory information that
no, no, he's fine.
(crowd cheering)
Michael Jackson was not fine.
- [Travis] This
Final Curtain Call
is not gonna happen
like we're hoping.
- [Michael] There's nothing
to be nervous about,
and I love you all, and we're
family, just know that.
We're a family.
(applauding)
Blessings, blessings to all.
- [Travis] I started with
Michael as a dancer in 1992,
and This Is It was
gonna be the first time
that I was going to
be directing Michael.
- [Travis] It was really
a dream come true for me.
The 24th was a milestone.
We had completed the show.
We had all the bones.
It was gonna be
only up from there.
Michael was so happy.
He was just like a proud parent.
I remember the last things
we said to each other
was, "I love you," and he'd
say, "I love you more."
- There's a light that
is moving on his command.
Right, then when he moves
forward, he's in that light.
He's in that light.
It felt like we were
accomplishing the dream.
He saw it before him
in those rehearsals.
He asked me to thank everybody,
to tell them that he loved them,
the dancers, the singers,
the band, the crew,
and I gave him a big hug,
and he left the building.
(helicopter whirring)
- [Warren] Michael
Jackson is feeling
the pressure of career.
The only way out of the
pressures
of that enormus career...
(dripping)
Sleep.
- [Harvey] He got Conrad
Murray to live with him
and Murray was giving him
Propofol in his bedroom
at his home on Carolwood
almost every night.
- [Warren] Propofol
is an anesthesia
used on patients who
are undergoing surgery.
It's illegal, it's dangerous.
That's completely insane.
When you go out with
anesthesia, you go right out.
He craved that.
(crowd cheering)
(camera shutter clicking)
(yelling)
(crowd cheering)
(camera shutter clicking)
- Please keep an open mind,
and let me have my day in court.
(crowd cheering)
- [Interviewer] How
would you describe
the pressures of performing?
(soft music)
- While other kids was out
running the streets and playing,
those boys would just
practice most of the time.
- [Michael] Not only
were we practicing,
we were nervous rehearsing
because he sat in the chair
and he had this
belt in his hand,
and if you didn't do it the
right way, he would tear you up,
throw you up against the
wall hard as he could.
Oh my god.
It was bad.
- [Alan] Michael Jackson
never had a childhood
because he was
performing from so young.
What his visions
of childhood were
were his own fantasies,
and that was the thing
that he wouldn't let go of.
That is the great
tragedy of Michael Jackson,
and I think explains so much
of the disturbing side of it
because he was making
it up for himself.
- [Andy] How can you
sleep every night
when you know most of the world
thinks you did this
unspeakably evil thing?
Here's a way I can go right out.
I can get complete
peace through an IV.
He just wanted a
guarantee he could just
have a few hours where
he's not hurting.
- [Warren] The night after
Michael's last rehearsal,
he can't sleep.
Dr. Murray begins
administering drugs.
Falling asleep for five minutes,
finding himself awake,
and then the frustration
that he can't get to
this thing he needs,
making it that much worse.
I need more, I need more.
He is begging for the Propofol.
Let me go into sleep.
Let me
stop feeling what I'm feeling.
Let me fly.
(guitar music)
(siren wailing)
- [Kai] I got into
work around 8:00-8:30.
I fed the kids their breakfast.
Around 12:00, Paris,
she starts screaming,
"Daddy, daddy, daddy!"
Security's running
upstairs, skipping stairs,
and we're all panicked.
(static crackling)
- [Dispatcher] Fire
/ Paramedic 33,
what is the address
of your emergency?
- [Caller] I need an ambulance
as soon as possible, sir.
- [Warren] Michael
is unconscious.
- [Caller] We have a gentleman
here that needs help,
and he's not breathing.
We're trying to pump him,
but he's not, he's not--
- [Dispatcher] Okay, he's not
conscious, he's not breathing?
- [Caller] Yes, he's
not breathing, sir.
- [Dispatcher] Okay, and
he's not conscious, either.
- [Warren] Dr. Murray makes
three calls from his cellphone.
- [Michael Amir] He said,
"Get here right away.
"Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction.
"Get somebody up
here immediately."
- [Dispatcher] Let's get
him down to the floor.
I'm gonna help you with
CPR right now, okay?
- [Faheem] Dr. Murray
asked the question,
"Does anyone know CPR?"
And his children,
Paris and Prince,
were standing
outside of his room.
Paris was on the ground,
balled-up crying.
- [Caller] He's pumping,
he's pumping the chest,
but he's not responding
to anything, sir, please.
- [Dispatcher] Okay,
okay, we're on our way.
(sirens wailing)
(helicopter chopping)
- [Warren] Michael was treated
by paramedics on the scene.
- [Richard] I see an
underweight patient,
an IV and medication
vials on the nightstand.
- [Martin] He was non-breathing,
he was non-moving,
and his eyes was fixed
and dilated.
I could tell he was dead.
(hospital monitors beeping)
- [Ben] One of my
photographers was here,
posted early in the morning.
Shortly after noon, he
saw the ambulance arrive,
also with a fire truck
that parked outside.
- [Andy] He was the most
famous man on the planet,
and a picture of him
was worth a fortune,
and so he was hunted.
(camera shutters clicking)
(crowd yelling)
- [Ben] Through the firetruck,
we could actually see the
computer monitor, and it said,
"50-year-old male,
not breathing."
We thought, okay, this
is probably Michael,
and I saw them
pushing the gurney.
- [Man] Move, move, move.
Go, get off of me!
- [Ben] The bodyguards were here
trying to prevent us
from getting photos.
- [Warren] A small
paparazzi outfit
that was the first
to report online
that Michael Jackson was
headed to the hospital.
Moments later, TMZ
picked up the story.
- [Harvey] We got a tip
that Michael Jackson was
going to the hospital,
so we started calling around.
We found out that he had gone
into full cardiac arrest.
- [Andy] The whole edit staff
is in a conference room.
I see the editor of
our website on TMZ.
Her eyes just bulge open.
Oh my god.
It's pandemonium
in our newsroom.
TMZ is saying that
Michael Jackson collapsed,
that he's in the hospital,
that he could be dead.
- [Andy] We are Rolling Stone.
What the hell do we do?
All we can do is just
hit refresh on TMZ
as it gives us more information.
They have people all over LA.
They pay money and
they know who to pay.
They got the police stations,
at the jails, at the hotels.
They've incentivized
every person all over LA
to just give them
news at all times,
and we can't compete with it.
No one can.
- [Warren] Michael arrived
at the hospital 1:31 p.m.
after receiving CPR
for over an hour.
- [Thao] Michael
Jackson was lifeless.
We moved forward
even though we suspected
that it was futile.
If we call it quit at that
time, it would be giving up.
It's not a case of
too little too late.
It seems like a
case of too late.
- [Warren] The pieces of the
puzzle started coming together.
He was dead at his house.
Conrad Murray refused
to pronounce him dead.
There was no hope.
(soft music)
- [Harvey] We knew when
we pushed the button
that he had died.
- [Steven] But we were
all glued to our desktops.
What information is out there?
What's TMZ posting?
Somebody's head popped up,
and I just heard a voice go,
"Michael Jackson's dead!"
- [Andy] If you look at TMZ
now, they say he's dead.
Do we post? Do we post?
- [Alan] Here's
this website, TMZ,
who are really looked
at as bottom feeders.
That was clearly
not reliable enough
to be considered a real
source, a legit source.
- [Warren] We'll never know for
sure who TMZ's sources were,
but we do know they have a
network of people on the ground
feeding them inside information.
- Joining us now
is a news producer
- We got multiple sources
that had confirmed to us
that he had died.
- [Mike] We started
getting emails, phone calls
from all over the
world instantly
trying to find out
what was going on.
And one of the main questions
we kept hearing was,
"Are you sure?"
- [Harvey] We checked and double
checked and triple checked.
We knew that he had died.
The L.A. Times came out
and said he was in a coma.
The media had to make a choice.
Do they follow The Times
or do they follow TMZ?
- Now I just got off the phone
with a cardiologist and--
- You know, I'm gonna just
interrupt you for a second,
Elizabeth, because, CNN
sources are now saying
that Michael Jackson
is in a coma.
- What else can you
tell me about it?
- He didn't say much and he
couldn't confirm that
those who had been in...
- He did or he...
- The information that is,
um the one,
the information
we're waiting on...
- Unfortunately, there's
all these rumors,
and it's hard to
know what's true.
- [Reporter] Have you
searched the house?
- I've got nothing
else for you, guys.
- [Reporter] Joining me
now for more on Jackson,
we have Alan Light.
- [Alan] We're live
getting different reports.
He was dead, that
he was dying,
that we don't know, that
he's in the hospital.
Nobody's confirming,
nobody's answering.
We don't want to
be irresponsible,
but you don't want
to miss the story.
What constituted responsibility?
What constituted
legitimate sourcing?
It's evident in that
moment that those rules
are changing right
underneath your feet.
The usual standard for
confirming a story is you want
at least two independent
sources to verify the story.
In a world of
internet journalism,
that's a standard that's
gotten very compromised.
(static buzzing)
- President Kennedy
died at 1:00 p.m.
Central Standard time,
two o'clock Eastern
Standard time,
some 38 minutes ago.
- [Harvey] I remember being
glued to a television set
watching Walter Cronkite,
but there wasn't
wall-to-wall coverage
on television sets back then.
- [Warren] Family gathers,
they're all together
gathered around that box.
(beeping)
This piece of technology
would go to sleep.
(static buzzing)
And the family
would go to sleep,
and then you have the
television doing something else.
- [Reporter] This
is CNN breaking news.
- [Warren] Programming
goes 24 hours.
It went from five channels to
we can't really even count them.
Michael Jackson really
grows up with the media.
- [Alan] We're seeing a rise
in the paparazzi culture,
in gossip column coverage,
all these shows that were
driven by celebrity gossip.
- [Reporter] Can't get enough
of that Jackson-Presley stuff?
We have the latest, and
you won't believe it.
- [Reporter] We have new details
from inside Michael
Jackson's divorce papers
and what's going to
happen to the kids?
- [Alan] Which then bleeds
into the internet era.
The internet and social media
entirely transformed our
relationship to information,
to news of-of any kind,
however big or small.
In that moment where
everybody would turn to CNN
to find out the story,
that's not necessarily where
they're turning right now.
They're looking at their phones,
they're looking at their
screens, their computers.
All of this was so new in 2009.
It just felt like chaos.
- I don't know what
to believe right now.
I heard he had a heart attack.
I heard they brought him back.
- [Warren] You see
the system break down,
'cause it's never experienced
this rush for information
that follows the announcement
of Michael Jackson's death.
- [TMZ Spokesperson] We
were the only news outlet
reporting that he was dead.
Traffic was enormous.
- [Alan] Internet news
traffic was breaking records.
- [Reporter] Word of
Michael Jackson's death
spread like wildfire
across the country.
Social media is overwhelmed.
- [Warren] He
broke the internet.
- [Reporter]
Google News shut down
mistakenly thinking the traffic
surge was a virus attack.
- I just want to know
what's happening.
- This coming--
- I have to stop you
for a second, AJ.
- Go ahead.
- Breaking news about
Michael Jackson.
Now in the past few minutes,
The Los Angeles Times
and the Associated Press
have reported that
Jackson has died.
- Are you being serious?
(speaking off microphone)
No.
(crying)
- We're over here at
the medical center, LA.
Michael Jackson has died.
- There were hundreds of people,
gathering steadily over
the last few hours,
and they have been
growing in numbers.
There's a lot of
media, of course,
but what's extraordinary
is the amount of
members of the public that
have been gathering here,
people snapping a lot of photos.
- [Geoff] You have random people
running up to the hospital
with their cameras.
Whatever they capture
at that moment
could go up on the internet,
and I'm watching the media
fighting to report first.
- [Man] Michael!
- [Woman] Oh my god.
- [Warren] Something
new is happening.
- [Man] All right, right
now, me and Jacob are
at the UCLA Medical Center.
- [Warren] The content
that's generated
not by news stations,
but by people who are
out there just chasing.
They're running.
- [Man] Why are we running?
- [Man] Everybody's running.
(helicopter whirring)
- [Steven] We had graduated
from the flip phone
into the smartphone era,
Blackberrys, iPhones.
- [Andy] Everybody's
cellphone was becoming
like a video production unit.
Everybody suddenly is
a roving journalist,
and that's major.
- [Man] They are
not there to mourn
so much as they are there to
share and recirculate
information.
- [Man] Watch your back, guys.
- [Crowd] Michael,
Michael, Michael,
Michael, Michael,
Michael, Michael, Michael,
-[Crowd] Michael, Michael,
Michael,
Michael, Michael, Michael.
- [Warren] We're all
producers, we're all consumers,
and we're just hungry.
- [Andy] The guy, who his
whole life had no privacy,
from childhood to death,
he was a man never
allowed to be dignified.
- [Male Paparazzi] How's the
moonwalking going, Michael?
-[Female Paparazzi] Do you like
the Church Michael?
(speaking off microphone)
(reporters and paparazzi talking
over one another)
(camera shutters clicking)
(camera shutters clicking)
- This is hard, um...
my brother, the legendary
King of Pop, Michael Jackson,
passed away on Thursday,
June 25th, 2009 at 2:26 p.m.
Our family requests
that the media
please respect
our privacy during
this tough time, and
may Allah be with
you, Michael, always.
- [Warren] To officially
announce this
as a member of the family
was almost like just
a little gulp of air,
a gulp of grief
that people did slow down,
but it was just for a
fragment of a second, really,
and then it was back to more.
- [Crowd] Michael, Michael.
- [Warren] The
authorities were concerned
that transporting Michael's body
to the coroner's office by
road would lead to pandemonium.
The only way to get his body out
(helicopter whirring)
was by helicopter.
- [Andy] The casket
going to the morgue
was watched by the entire
planet all tuned in.
We both condemn it and we look.
- [Jermaine] I rushed
across town, and once
I got close to UCLA,
I saw the helicopters
in the sky.
I said, "That's where he is."
- [Pilot] Yep, I got him.
Go to the left, get
as much as we can.
- [Warren] When this
crushing fame his whole life
has finally just killed him,
he's still being stalked
by those cameras.
(gentle music)
-[Pilot] we have a shot
up to your left
it's open right now.
- [Pilot] There you go.
- [Warren] Even in death,
He doesn't get a
moment's privacy.
(gentle music)
- [Steven] When Elvis died,
it was a really simple way
to process someone's death.
- [Brian] When John Lennon died,
people had to gather physically.
There was this feeling
of collective mourning.
People did that with Michael,
but you could also
gather online.
- [Toure] It gives you
more people to mourn with.
It becomes this sort
of virtual wake.
- We should learn by example.
He's definitely a teacher.
So, I'm done crying for tonight.
Peace, guys.
- [Warren] How you
mourned Michael Jackson
is more of a reflection
of you as an individual
than us as a society
because it was across
the board different.
- [Hua] It was
most deeply felt by
people who didn't grow
up on the internet.
It tapped into a
kind of nostalgia
for a time when popular culture
just seemed much simpler,
but much grander, too.
- [Toure] We saw Michael
from a little kid
to a young man,
having children and
becoming older man.
This is the death of a person
who has been part of
your life for decades.
You have a
relationship with them.
It matters.
It becomes part of your family.
- I was raised off of his music.
If you said something bad
about Michael in my house,
you was in trouble.
- They looked just like
me back when they debuted.
They all had 'fro.
- [Danyel] He was
similar to my age,
and he was black.
It was astonishing.
What was there really that
was so reflective of me?
On television, not so much,
but man, I could
listen to him sing
and look at the pictures of him.
I could feel like something
representing me was out there.
It's someone you
had since childhood,
and you just felt like he
was always going to be there.
- It hurts, because it's
like someone all my life,
the Jackson Family,
the Jackson 5.
- [Andy] They
remember being young,
they remembered a more
innocent time in their own life
that's gone forever,
the same as Michael.
It's a yearning
for their own past.
- He was a hero for me
as I was growing up.
- [Warren] This
giant was now dead.
It was like a part
of them that died.
This beautiful man came
and gave us so much music.
- [Reporter] Record
stores have had a hard time
keeping Michael Jackson
music on the shelves.
- [Store Rep] We were sold out
within about an hour and
a half after his death.
- [Store Rep] We sold every
CD we had in the store.
Records, vinyl,
memorabilia, videos.
We're out of everything.
- Madame Speaker, we would
ask members to please stand
for a moment of silence.
(solemn music)
- [Warren] There was no
bigger star in the world
than Michael Jackson.
You could go to any
corner of the universe.
You could go to any continent.
- As a pop star,
he's always been
my inspiration ever
since I was a small boy.
- [Maria] We were all
crying together as a people.
We can relate, even if we
don't speak the same language.
- [Reporter] They came
here initially to mourn,
but then it began
to be a celebration.
- [Crowd] Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson!
Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson,
Michael Jackson!
- [Danyel] It was
the saddest day, but
music,
that's the purity,
that's the joy.
- [Warren] It had new
meaning and purpose
now that he wasn't here anymore.
It became
much more powerful.
- [Maria] We're all
very different people
sharing the same feeling.
- [Crowd] Michael,
Michael, Michael!
- [Maria] And without words,
we were able to understand
what the other person felt.
(crowd chanting)
His death made me
revisit my life.
- [Reporter] As throngs
of fans worldwide
continue to mourn the
loss of Michael Jackson,
the family is still
working on plans
for the funeral for
the King of Pop.
- It is the family's
wish to create a service
and a celebration
that all of Michael's fans
around the world can be part of.
- The thought of trying to pull
all of this together by Friday
seems to be difficult at best.
- [Reporter] Work is
underway at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles for Michael
Jackson's memorial.
More than a million
and a half people
have registered to
win the 17,500 tickets
for the Tuesday event.
- [Reporter] So many
people scrambled
to get tickets that the
website offering them
simply crashed.
It seems a little bit
more like a rock concert.
- [Reporter] Police are bracing
for a massive onslaught,
up to 700,000 people.
- [Reporter] This could be
a very, very
expensive deployment of
public safety personnel.
- [Travis] No one
could have imagined
being tasked mounting this
globally televised memorial.
It was, and still remains,
one of the most surreal
moments of my life.
Our rehearsals took on
a different purpose.
Our focus shifted.
The job then now became to
mount the memorial service,
and so it just kinda
rolled right into that.
- [Reporter] Toure
is in Los Angeles.
He is an NBC contributor
who also writes for
Rolling Stone Magazine.
- So you have to
put him at the top,
certainly the greatest
of his generation.
(crowd chanting) Michael,
Michael, Michael...
I covered the memorial outside
the Staples Center for MSNBC,
seven straight
hours of coverage.
I just saw the magnitude
of this moment.
- [Jermaine] We
lost our brother,
our hero.
The world is mourning,
we're mourning,
the fans are mourning.
It's unreal, it's unbelievable.
- [Reporter] Now before
Michael Jackson is buried here,
his body goes downtown
to the big tribute
at the Staples Center.
- [Toure] Of course
the Michael Jackson end
has to become a circus because
his life has been a circus.
(crowd cheering and yelling)
(instrumental circus music)
- [Pilot] That's what
I want right there.
- [Reporter] Limousines,
private cars, 37 in all,
with a huge police escort,
all going along the
freeways here of Los Angeles
to the tribute downtown,
and Michael Jackson, once again,
is delivered to his public.
- [Reporter] There's a lot
of energy out here,
a lot of people very excited
to simply be a part of
this day in history.
- This is not just an LA event,
and not just an American event.
It's a very much
a worldwide wake.
It's being carried live
right across the planet.
It's likely to be the
biggest memorial service
the world, in fact,
has ever seen.
(speaking in Chinese)
-[Reporter] In the heart
of Harlem,
about a block away from
the Apollo Theater,
where Michael Jackson
burst onto the music scene,
thousands gathered, a
steady stream of folks
who are standing before
this jumbotron enwrapped,
watching what is taking
place in Los Angeles.
- [Reporter] Quite a crowd
that is amassing here in front
of the gates of Neverland.
We have quite a few vendors
who are here, as well.
They're selling everything from
these Michael Jackson t-shirts,
to hats, to buttons,
lemonade, water, you name it.
There are quite a few
entrepreneurs here.
The fans that I talked to
really feel closer to
Michael Jackson here.
- [Brian] Michael ended up
on a stage again
with his brothers.
They managed to
reunite one more time.
- [Andy] Last stage
that he was on
became the stage of his funeral.
- [Warren] Michael Jackson
comes in as an entertainer,
he goes out as an entertainer.
- [Steven] Let's let him finish
and leave this earth
with one last big show.
(crowd cheering and applauding)
- [Alan] The
memorial for Michael
was arranged as a performance.
It was an event.
It was shot the way you
would film an awards show.
There was an
entertainment aspect
that was above and beyond
a memorial service.
(crowd applauding)
- We were here.
We were right here,
a little less than a week ago,
and Michael was with us.
We knew we had to
invite the world
to join us here at
Michael's house.
(crowd cheering)
- [Travis] I have to
believe everything
happens for a reason,
and that he is in
a better place,
and not suffering,
and able to be
remembered for his songs
that spoke to people globally.
-[Rev. Sharpton] All over
the world today,
people are gathered
in love vigils
to celebrate the life of a man
that taught the
world how to love.
It was Michael Jackson
that brought blacks,
and whites, and Asians,
and Latinos together.
It was Michael Jackson that
made us sing We Are The World.
Michael made us love each other.
Michael taught us to
stand with each other.
I want his three
children to know,
there wasn't nothing
strange about your daddy.
It was strange what your
daddy had to deal with.
(crowd cheering and applauding)
- [Warren] At the
end of the memorial,
Michael Jackson's
children come out.
- [Travis] The moment is
seared into my memory.
(crowd cheering)
- I just wanted to say
- Speak up,
sweetheart, speak up.
Get close.
- Ever since I was born,
daddy has been the best
father you could ever imagine.
And I just wanted
to say I love him
so much.
(applauding)
- [Warren] It's then
that we really realize
all that we didn't allow
Michael Jackson to be.
It becomes our shame
in what we have done
to reduce this
individual to one thing,
man on stage.
(soft music)
We were left with a culture
that we somehow
knew had changed.
There's this
heightened awareness
that we were all deep in
the labyrinth of images
and information and that
now, more than ever,
we would need those gaps
where humanity comes through.
The final curtain call
shows for Michael Jackson
are really the strangest shows
in the history of popular music,
because there's so much
pressure on Michael Jackson
to be the star that
we asked him to be.
He's telling us this is gonna
be the final set of shows.
This is gonna be a culmination.
It's gonna be big.
He's taking on and saying
that he's gonna top himself
and go out, you
know, at that peak.
And really, his death
is the thing that makes it
the most perfect ending.
He was right.
He did not fail.
That final curtain call
was the biggest show.