Post by darkpast on Jul 31, 2020 16:39:10 GMT
Would Michael Jackson in white face been a better choice for Xavier?
www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bryan-singers-traumatic-x-men-set-movie-created-a-monster-1305081
In the spring of 1999, Bryan Singer and a group of X-Men producers and crew were working out of the old Fox offices near Olympic and Bundy when Michael Jackson walked in the door. Wearing sunglasses and refusing to shake hands, Jackson was visiting the industrial space to meet with Singer to discuss the prospect of playing Professor Xavier in the upcoming film.
"I said to him, 'Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?' " X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner recalls. "And Michael said, 'Oh yeah. You know, I can wear makeup.' "
With that, Jackson queued up an elaborate presentation complete with the short film Ghosts, in which the pop star morphed into a 60-something white mayor railing against a well-meaning performer who entertains local children with magic tricks. Twentieth Century Fox, the studio behind the film, never seriously considered Jackson for the role, which eventually went to Patrick Stewart in a turn that enabled him to be known for a popular character other than Star Trek's Captain Picard. As one former executive remembers, "Michael was already in the thick of all his allegations by X-Men."
"I said to him, 'Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?' " X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner recalls. "And Michael said, 'Oh yeah. You know, I can wear makeup.' "
With that, Jackson queued up an elaborate presentation complete with the short film Ghosts, in which the pop star morphed into a 60-something white mayor railing against a well-meaning performer who entertains local children with magic tricks. Twentieth Century Fox, the studio behind the film, never seriously considered Jackson for the role, which eventually went to Patrick Stewart in a turn that enabled him to be known for a popular character other than Star Trek's Captain Picard. As one former executive remembers, "Michael was already in the thick of all his allegations by X-Men."
