MJ (65 page)

“Michael was really, really ill”
: Holmes interview.

Movies and Grace Rwaramba as manager
: Friedman, “Where’s Michael?,” pp. 175–77.

Legend, Beckford, and other details of sheik dinner with MJ
: DJ Whoo Kid interview.

Holmes pored over MJ’s business papers and 76 to 80 percent of revenue
: Holmes interview.

More than three dozen lawsuits
: Holmes’s number is forty-seven, but another source close to MJ says that “seems high.” Zack O’Malley Greenburg,
Michael Jackson Inc.: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of a Billion-Dollar Empire
(New York: Atria, 2014), p. 225, identifies “the claims of dozens of creditors” upon MJ’s death in 2009.

$275 million in debt and overspending $15 to $20 million per year
: Ackerman testimony.

“He knew he wasn’t that fit”
: Holmes interview.

“regain his health and overall stability”
: Author interview with Qays Zu’bi.

Häagen-Dazs and a Ferrari and $7 million
: “Michael Jackson Sued By Sheik for $7M,” Associated Press,
cbsnews.com
, November 22, 2008.

$15 million per year and $24 to $45 million in spending
: Ackerman testimony.

“No, I’m in trouble” exchange and $330 million cash flow
: Greenburg,
Michael Jackson Inc.
, pp. 200–2.

“grossly disproportionate” and “It made a lot of sense”
: Author interview with Donald David.

$9,000 suite at Burj Al Arab
: Timothy L. O’Brien, “Thriller: Rescuing a Sinking Pop Star: What Happened to the Fortune Michael Jackson Made?,”
New York Times,
May 14, 2006, p. B1.

Twelve advisers
: Author interview with Rob Wiesenthal.

“He went through literally every key title” and Sony-MJ agreement details
: Ibid.

6 percent Citibank offer and
20 percent Fortress rate
: O’Brien, “Thriller: Rescuing a Sinking Pop Star,” p. B1.

Branca gave up his 5 percent
: Letter from Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, et al., to Michael J. Jackson, et al., March 29, 2006.

“Mate, if you don’t do” and “Thank you, and I appreciate your help”
: Holmes interview.

“There’s always going to be someone”
: Author interview with Thomas Mesereau Jr.

Thirty thousand euros a week and Luggala Castle
: “King of Pop Stayed at Luggala for Months,” independent.ie, January 7, 2009.

Flatley encounter
: Confidential source.

“pretty good health,” “He had the body of a dancer,” “dermal fillers in his face,” two or three nose jobs, and extreme sensitivity to pain
: Confidential source.

Propofol as “milk” and other European doctor–MJ details
: Ibid.

“Because Michael always has leeches”
: Author interview with will.i.am.

“Nice rhythm,” will.i.am-MJ collaboration details, and description of music
:
Access Hollywood
(November 2006); footage on
accesshollywood.com
.

“I’m Gonna Miss You”
: Brian Hiatt and Steve Knopper, “Michael Jackson’s Unheard Music,”
Rolling Stone,
August 6, 2009, p. 49.

“You gotta turn the
snare
up!”
: will.i.am interview.

Rwaramba doing most of the talking
: Author interview with Des McGahan.

“You could have pushed me over,” McGahan leaving the gate unlocked, “Oh, that’s my dad,” and Scarli’s CD and Paris encounter
: Ibid.

“What’s up, Mr. Reid?” and Sharpton-Reid conversation
: Author interview with Al Sharpton.

$100,000 and forty-six employees
: “King of Pop to Pay Neverland Workers,”
cnn.com
, March 15, 2006.

$91,602 and Martin Dinnes
: “Jackson Sued for Unpaid Vet Bills,”
billboard.com
, January 7, 2006.

Celine Dion’s more than $500,000 per show, four thousand seats, $80 million per year, and 147 shows
: Pollstar.

2785 South Monte Cristo Way mansion details and
“absurdly oversized living room”
: Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard, with Tanner Colby,
Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days
(New York: Weinstein, 2014), pp. 32, 55, 57–58, 61–64.

“You’re probably one of those,” Randy-Rebbie-Jackie exchange, and “Michael owe me money!”
: Ibid.

Alimorad Farshchian and four or five Naltrexone implants
: Alimorad Farshchian testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG,
July 24, 2013.

Cascio suspicious but came around
: Frank Cascio,
My Friend Michael
(New York: HarperCollins, 2011), pp. 199–200.

Aubrey’s mistrust of Farshchian and “If certain things continue” exchange
: Author interview with Henry Aubrey. Farshchian did not respond to interview requests.

Randy Jackson intervention attempts, Randy on Rwaramba, and “It was ironic”
: Randy Jackson testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG,
played in court August 9, 2013.

“Michael struggled with substance abuse”
: Confidential source.

Palms hotel and room service and “He was good at hiding”
: Author interview with Zoe Thrall.

“Clicked instantly” and other Akon details
: Jocelyn Vena, “Akon Won’t Release Unfinished Michael Jackson Tracks,”
mtv.com
, November 18, 2010.

SoBe commercial
: Thrall interview.

“I can’t just be like the Osmonds”
: Whitfield and Beard,
Remember the Time
, p. 114.

Allgood meeting with Joe Jackson and RV with $50,000 in glove box
: Author interview with Patrick Allocco. Leonard Rowe did not respond to requests for comment. In Leonard Rowe’s 2010 book,
What Really Happened to Michael Jackson: The Evil Side of the Entertainment Industry
(Linell-Diamond Enterprises), he makes some excellent points—why did MJ’s manager Tohme Tohme receive $100,000
per month from promoter AEG when he was supposed to represent his client’s interests? But he undercuts his arguments by obsessing about Jews in the music business.

“a good amount of infighting,” “This is a good deal for Michael,” $9 to $12 million estimate, and “Michael could have walked away with $24 million”
: Ibid.

$668,215 in cash
: Stevenson Jacobs, “Michael Jackson Said Net Worth $236M in 2007,” Associated Press, July 3, 2009.

“People would come up and drop these things”
: Whitfield and Beard,
Remember the Time
, p. 145.

Thirty-seven thousand square feet on 99 Spanish Gate Drive
: Randall Sullivan,
Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson
(New York: Grove Press, 2012), p. 226.

Raymone Bain and Peter Lopez met with Randy Phillips
: Randy Phillips testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG,
June 4–6, 10–14.

They settled for $3.5 million
: Kim Masters, “Michael Jackson’s Strange Final Days Revealed in Dueling Lawsuits,”
hollywoodreporter.com
, July 19, 2012.

“under the influence of drugs or alcohol” and “under the influence of prescription medication”
: Michael Jackson deposition,
Dieter Wiesner vs. Michael Jackson, et al.,
Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles, July 25, 2007.

“You’re surrounded by idiots again” and “alive and excited”
: Cascio,
My Friend Michael
, pp. 306–7.

Fortress owned the note on Neverland
: “Re: $92,000,000 Senior Secured Loan Commitment and $3,000,000 Secured Purchase Option,” Fortress Credit Corp. letter to MJ, April 18, 2005.

$23 million mortgage:
Greenburg,
Michael Jackson Inc.
, pp 213–14

Wizard of Oz–
style “leisure kingdom,” Tohme meeting,
“Is there
anyone
you know,” and “This guy”
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brother’s Eyes
(New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 2011), pp. 399–401.

Tohme exercised “his extraordinary gift”
: Sullivan,
Untouchable
, p. 227.

Barrack, Tohme, and MJ meeting details, “All of a sudden I got to this place,” and “Are you willing to start down that line?”
: Greenburg,
Michael Jackson Inc.
, pp. 210–15.

“He’s a real nonstop salesman”
: Author interview with Arnold Stiefel.

Phillips background and $1 million per show
: Phillips testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
.

Ninety-ten split, $5 million advance to MJ, of which $3 million went to settling with the sheik, $15 million line of credit, and $100,000 or $1.2 million
: Concerts West/AEG draft of MJ contract, October 27, 2008,
Katherine
Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

Gongaware tour sketch, including MJ net of $132 million and AEG fee of $27 million, “It’s a big number,” and “I do not recommend wearing suits”
: Paul Gongaware e-mail to Randy Phillips, et al., September 26, 2008,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

Promoters arranged MJ dates around other stars
: E-mails between Randy Phillips, David Campbell, John Meglen, Rob Hallett, and other AEG officials, November 4–6, 2008,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

Randy Phillips–Jeffrey Katzenberg exchange, “For you, for sure,” and “You have a
major AEG I.O.U.”
: E-mails between Phillips and Katzenberg, November 25, 2008,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“One hopes that MJ will see the light”
: Timm Woolley e-mail, December 10, 2008,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“He can have my lung later” and AEG executives passing around e-mails about MJ’s health
: Dan Beckerman e-mail to Randy Phillips and others, December 23, 2008,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“MJ is getting very real”
: Phillips e-mail to Gongaware and others, January 6, 2009,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“Do you think he can pull this off?”
: Beckerman e-mail to Phillips, January 16, 2009,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“He has to, or financial disaster awaits”
: Phillips e-mail to Gongaware and others, January 23, 2009,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

MJ meeting with Tohme, Hawk, and Lopez, with champagne
: Phillips testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
.

$17.5 million insurance policy
: Sue Zeidler, “Analysis: Jackson Case Will Change Tune for Concert, Artist Insurance,” Reuters, October 4, 2013.

“Passed with flying colors”
: Author interview with Randy Phillips, for
Rolling Stone,
2009.

Murray wanted $5 million, “This is the machine,” and “Offer him one fifty!” exchange
: Paul Gongaware testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG,
May 28–31, June 3–4.

MJ auction details
: “King of Pop: A Once in a Lifetime Public Exhibition Featuring Property from the Life and Career of Michael Jackson and Neverland Ranch,” April 14–25, 2009,
juliensauctions.com
.

“everything”
: Author interview with Darren Julien, for
Rolling Stone,
2009.

“That was the ultimate glove-wearer”
: Author interview with Jay Ruckel.

125 visits to Neverland, “creative genius,” condition of Neverland and rides, and “there was no question in our mind”
: Julien interview.

Julien spent $2 million
: Ben Sisario, “Sales of Michael Jackson’s Property Canceled,”
New York Times,
April 14, 2009, p. A13.

James R. Weller as fixer, MJ fired Tohme:
Sullivan,
Untouchable
, pp. 303, 376. Tohme Tohme did not respond to calls and e-mails.

“We cannot be forced into stopping this”
: Gongaware e-mail to Phillips, et al., February 27, 2009,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“We have a little issue”
: Phillips testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
.

“MJ is locked in his room”
: Phillips e-mail to Tim Leiweke, March 5, 2009,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“Are you kidding me?”
: Leiweke e-mail to Phillips, March 5, 2009,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.

“Alberto, you’ve got to let me in” and MJ on the couch
: Phillips testimony,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
.

“I screamed at him so loud”
and “an emotionally paralyzed mess”
: Phillips e-mail to Leiweke, March 5, 2009,
Katherine Jackson vs. AEG
discovery documents.