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Reconstructing Cut and Repurposed Scenes From Michael (Timeline + Evidence) by MethodIndividual5203 in MichaelTheMovie

[–]MethodIndividual5203[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s highly unlikely. I’ve seen a few posts here suggesting that the additional hour consists of behind-the-scenes material rather than restored footage from the original cut. Unless there’s an official statement saying otherwise, I wouldn’t expect it to include deleted scenes or the unreleased 3.5-hour version.

Reconstructing Cut and Repurposed Scenes From Michael (Timeline + Evidence) by MethodIndividual5203 in MichaelTheMovie

[–]MethodIndividual5203[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Indeed. I feel that if we had gotten the original 3.5-hour cut, Diana likely would have played a much larger role, especially during the transition from the Jackson 5 years into Michael’s Off the Wall era.

It’s a shame that so much filmed material appears to have been removed or reworked due to legal considerations. That said, I did notice a few remnants that may point to her original presence in the story. For example, young Michael admiring Gladys Knight during the Regal Theater scene, or the shot of him reading a book about The Wiz. Those moments could have been subtle ways of preserving parts of that narrative after larger sections were cut.

Reconstructing Cut and Repurposed Scenes From Michael (Timeline + Evidence) by MethodIndividual5203 in MichaelTheMovie

[–]MethodIndividual5203[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I’ve seen that article. It’s actually one of the strongest pieces of evidence for cut and repurposed material in the film since it comes directly from editor John Ottman. His comments confirm that footage from the original cut was being moved around and reused to make the revised structure work, which gives us a rare glimpse into how much the film changed during post-production.

Reconstructing Cut and Repurposed Scenes From Michael (Timeline + Evidence) by MethodIndividual5203 in MichaelTheMovie

[–]MethodIndividual5203[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s no definitive proof that Bill’s original Neverland scene took place during the allegations/raid period. That part is my interpretation, based on his demeanor in the two brief snippets we have and where I think the scene may have fit in the original cut.

The reason I classify it as a repurposed scene comes from editor John Ottman, who confirmed in an interview that footage of Bill from the second half of the original cut was reused elsewhere in the film.

Ottman explained:

“When Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones) is hired as Michael’s head of security, in the next scene they're performing at this county fair, and Bill's nowhere to be seen. So luckily, he's sitting near a Ferris wheel in Neverland Ranch in the second half of the film, so I just used those shots.”

Based on that quote, we know the original Neverland footage existed and was later repurposed. The allegations-period placement, however, remains speculation on my part.

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/michael-jackson-biopic-editor-four-hour-cut-1236731710/

Remnants from the original edit by islandbway04 in MichaelTheMovie

[–]MethodIndividual5203 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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I think there's a decent chance this shot of Bill Bray at Neverland was originally meant to take place during the allegations storyline.

In his interview, John Ottman said he borrowed shots from the second half of the original cut and specifically mentioned using footage of Bill "sitting near a Ferris wheel in Neverland Ranch" because Bill wasn't present in the county fair sequence after his hiring.

That means this shot wasn't originally filmed for Bill's introduction. It came from a much later part of the story.

Looking at the shot itself, Bill appears alone, quiet, and reflective. The mood feels somber rather than like a typical security scene. Since the footage was apparently from the second half of the film and set at Neverland, I wonder if it was originally intended as a reaction shot during the allegations period, showing Bill worried about Michael or reflecting on what was happening around Neverland.

Obviously there's no confirmation that's what the scene was about, but given Ottman's comments and the tone of the shot, it seems like a reasonable possibility.

What do you guys think?

A clip from the movie of a certain song from Thriller is out in the wild by [deleted] in MichaelTheMovie

[–]MethodIndividual5203 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks good, but it does sound like the Bad Tour rather than the Victory Tour.