The Man Behind the Throne

1

Look at this.

Isn't it incredible?

This will be on the top of a body.

So you can imagine the size of this.

And there'll be two of them.

But is this gorgeous?

Oh, my God. I just love this thing.

Ah!

Oh, I just love him! He's so cute.

Vincent has always been

an innovator.

And the stars

that he has worked with -

Madonna, Michael Jackson,

he's worked with so many -

when they have listened to him

and when they have taken

those steps with him,

it has sent their careers

on a new path.

You've been hit by

a smooth criminal

Ow!

One of the things

about Vincent is,

in a way,

he's a really well-kept secret.

There are some people

that are going after the celebrity.

Vincent, he's never cared

about that.

He's really

always been about the work.

That's it.

Bang. That's great.

Oh, he's reached the public -

you know, millions and millions

and millions of people -

in many ways, and ways

that people don't even realise.

Boom, boom, lift, four.

Boom, boom, lift, four.

"Dear friends and family,

"Here we go again -

journal entry number 1.

"I finally arrived to stay

for a while in Montreal.

"Every moment of my day is filled,

"so I might not write

as often as I used to.

"After two years of preparation,

"the show is finally moving

from paper to reality.

"A Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show

about Elvis Presley.

"This one might be the one

I retire on.

"Amen."

Sketches, sketches...

This is like my script, basically.

The movie medley section -

Rock-A-Hula will be

the last of that.

And then we go to Jailhouse Rock

with that bizarre thing.

The great thing about working

here at Cirque du Soleil

is that it's like being a kid

in Santa's workshop, you know?

Whatever you put in your head, if

you can find a way to make it work,

you know, they go, "Yeah."

And if the world has

never seen it before,

"Yeah! That's what we want."

Blue Suede Shoes...

And that was what I was weaned on

with Michael and Madonna.

"All we want you to do is

create something phenomenal

"that nobody in the world

has ever seen before.

"We want to be the first.

So let your imagination go nuts."

And that's what I did.

That's what I've always

had the luxury of doing.

And now to kind of be

in the same situation again,

where there's almost no limits...

I'm blown away.

I mean, it's a director's dream

to have a theatre

built around your idea,

and that's what this is -

they built the theatre

based on the concept that I wrote.

Wow! Great!

Wow!

Yeah, guys!

Sick. Just sick.

Yeah, nice!

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

- I hope you enjoyed it.

- Are you kidding?

- Special hug.

- Oh, sh*t. Oh, man.

- Can I introduce you to my mom?

- Oh, I'd love to meet your mom.

- Hi. I'm Vincent.

- I'm pleased to meet you.

What's your first name?

- Claudia.

- Claudia. Nice to meet you.

- Well, it is nice to meet you.

- Thank you.

It's a wonderful show.

It's just the beginning.

Yes, my friend.

- You know when I did the shake over there?

- Mm-hm.

- Is that something I can keep in?

- No, I love it!

- Cool, because it's...

- I love it!

It's inspired by Elvis -

why not have something shaking?

Exactly! I love it.

In late news from Los Angeles,

the LA Times is reporting that

pop star Michael Jackson has died.

Katie, startling news

here this evening.

The LA paramedics got a 911 call

at about 12:
21 this afternoon

from Michael Jackson's

posh house in Bel Air.

They rushed to the house

and found him in cardiac arrest,

not breathing.

Michael, really,

is responsible for my career,

believing in me at the beginning,

when I had very few credits.

Saying, "I liked it

when you danced on Beat It,

"and you were really cool

"when you were

the assistant choreographer

"and danced with me on Thriller.

"And why don't you take this song

Smooth Criminal

"and create something for me?"

I had done so little.

I had done a few little...

cheesy commercials

and, you know,

one small piece in a dance concert -

I mean, nothing,

nothing that put me on the map.

And here was Michael Jackson,

the biggest and most successful

artist in the world after Thriller,

turning to me and saying,

"Come on over to the recording

studio where I am tonight.

"I want to play a song for you."

And before I left, him saying,

"Well, take it with you

"so that you can listen to the music

"and let the music tell you

what it should be."

And I said,

"Well, what do you mean?"

"Well, I want you

to come up with the concept

"and create the video for me."

This is the way

Michael and I would work,

the two of us

playing together and...

And I had already given him

the sketch of this.

He was learning it and modifying

a couple of little moments

that he felt worked better

for his body.

Playing with rhythms.

Don't forget the rhythm over

the part is...

Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow,

pa, pa-pum, pow!

When he rehearsed,

he put on all the clothes -

the shirt, the tie,

the shoes, the spats,

the hat, the jacket, the pants -

to see if the movement

that he was creating for himself,

or that I was creating for him

felt really comfortable and organic

in the clothes that he wore.

Michael would stand

in front of that mirror

just doing the same exact movement -

SAME exact movement -

hours and hours and hours on end,

coming back

to the same little section

and repeating it and repeating it

and repeating it.

I'm excited to do some more,

but I'm so beat.

"Montreal, July 2.

"The New York Times

called me last night

"for their front-page article

about Michael.

"I realised that the show

I'm doing about Elvis

"could easily be translated

into a show about Michael Jackson.

"I feel a fascinating connection

with Michael and Elvis,

"and blessed to have both

of their spirits watching over me

"and... guiding me on this path."

One, two...

...I want to involve every genre

in which I've worked in my life.

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight.

I've been with Vincent,

like, over 20 years, probably.

Worked with Michael Jackson

with him, Smooth Criminal.

There was a ton of commercials

with him, movies.

I've assisted him,

I've helped him choreograph,

but this is the first time that

he went, "Here. This one's yours.

"I'm gonna direct this.

I need you to choreograph this."

One, two, a-three, four,

five, six, seven...

It's very different for him

because he's, you know, so used to

directing and choreographing.

And I think it's the first time

he's ever handed anything to anybody

and it was a big gift on his part,

to give that part up,

'cause it's very hard for him to do.

When I was first approached to do

this project by Cirque du Soleil,

they would like me to create a show

that DIDN'T have acrobatics in it,

that was basically music and dance.

And I said, "No, you know,

I want to put acrobatics in it,

"but I want to find a way where the

acrobatics have an emotional impact,

"where they fit into

the biography of Elvis Presley."

- To sink in the position and stay in it.

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