Archive 2001.05: September 2001 | back to 2001 Archived News

MTV: short version premieres on Total Request Live today @ 3:30pm; long version premieres at 8:00pm
VH1: long version premieres at today @ 5:00pm; repeats 5:30pm, 8:00pm, 8:30pm, 11:30pm
BET: long version premieres on 106 & Park tonight between 7-7:30pm;
        short version played every hour on the hour September 28
MuchMusic Canada: long version premieres this afternoon at 5:00pm
MuchMusic USA: long version premieres tonight at 9:00pm; regular rotation starts September 27

The video was also featured on Entertainment Tonight last night, where it was mentioned that You Rock My World will be played on the in New York's Times Square Jumbotron television screen at 9:00pm, with another screening scheduled for Los Angeles.

(September 25, 2001)   MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO TO PREMIERE ON MTV'S TRL
The Michael Jackson Internet Fan Club (mjifc.com) reports that the American premiere of his new You Rock My World video will be on MTV's Total Request Live show on September 26 (Wednesday).  The show airs at 3:30pm ET and repeats at 8:00pm.

(September 23, 2001)   ***BREAKING NEWS*** MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO PREMIERES IN EUROPE & ASIA
Michael Jackson's highly anticipated new video for You Rock My World (directed by Paul Hunter) has already premiered on several stations across Europe & Asia this past Friday and Saturday.  I previously reported that it was to make it's world premiere in North America on CBS this past Thursday (September 21).  I believe that was the original intent, but due to the recent tragedy in New York City and the delay of the television networks' schedules, the premiere had to be postponed.  I believe the North American premiere of the video will be set for September 27 (this coming Thursday).  However, European and Asian stations kept their original premiere dates, which was for this past Friday.

The video, in unedited form, is 13:47 minutes in length.  However, some stations have opted to show a shorter 5 min. version.  As reported earlier, several actors make cameos in the video, including Chris Tucker, Marlon Brando, Michael Madsen (movie "Reservoir Dogs").  Apparently James Gandolfini & Benicio Del Toro DO NOT make appearances in the video, as previously reported on MrShowbiz.com.  Cihan in Belgium saw the long-form video on the music channel TMF and had this to say about it:

"For starters the video is set in the 50s and mostly takes place in a bar. It starts off with Michael and Chris Tucker eating Chinese in this outdoor Chinese Restaurant. Suddenly a car stops and out walks a sexy momma :) Michael decides to pursue her. The girl walks into a bar, Michael follows her. Turns out the girl is the girlfriend of the bar's owner (Michael Madsen), a hotshot Maffioso type. Michael gets killer looks from Madsen and his men. But Michael doesn't care and starts singing and dancing while following the girl around the bar, "mesmerizing" her. The girls falls for him. Madsen gets very upset of course and tells his men/thugs to take out Michael. Madsen's main man starts saying stuff to Michael like "You wanna die, pal?", then Michael starts doing these elaborate dance moves and at the same time flips over a guy that pulls a knife on him and punches the main man out (this all happens during and is in sync with his dance routine). Then in all the mayhem Michael grabs the girl and they run out. There is Chris with a car, they jump into the car and they're all off. At the end of the video there is an elaborate credits sequence, like in a real feature.

Also, we see Marlon Brando a couple of times. He is the big chief (Don) and is upstairs. Towards the end of the video he runs into Michael and they have a few quick words, but I can't remember what that storyline was about. I saw it only once.

The video is very much along the lines of Paul's "Wild Wild West" video, but it doesn't look as expensive as that one. As usual, the cinematography and colors are beautiful. The video has a red/brownish feel."

(thank you SO MUCH to Cihan for his description of the video)

(September 22, 2001)   2 NEW GAP COMMERCIALS | MJ VIDEO | COKE & MOUNTAIN DEW COMMERCIALS | MAD TV
Two new Gap commercials have recently premiered on television in the past few weeks.  "Angus" features singer Cherokee on her electric guitar to Angus Young's solo from AC/DC's Back In Black.  "My Mom" features Carole King and her daughter Louise Goffin.  Louise sings her mother's 1971 hit So Far Away, while Carole (on piano) sings her new song Love Makes The World.  Both clips are now airing on television, and you can see it online in Quicktime format at gap.com.

Due to the recent tragedies in the U.S., the American television networks were forced to delay the start of the Fall television season.  Therefore, the Michael Jackson You Rock My World world premiere originally set for September 20 on CBS will now premiere on September 27 on the network.  The Michael Jackson Internet Fan Club (mjifc.com) reported earlier this week that the video would premiere on September 21 worldwide, but this is probably going to be delayed for a week (premiering September 28 instead).

Paul Hunter shot the current Coca Cola "Life Tastes Good" commercial that has been airing on television the past few months.  It features a guy is rapping in the background and we see different shots of people enjoying coca-cola: teens at a beach, kids skateboarding, people at an outdoor party. The clip ends with a guy in a pool enjoying a Coke.  As reported earlier, Paul Hunter was in New York in August shooting a new Mountain Dew commercial.  According to Billboard magazine (Sept. 8, 2001 p.5), the commercial for Mountain Dew's new Code Red flavor features Macy Gray singing her song Sweet Baby.  The commercial premiered in mid-August, and is expected to run until the end of 2001.

Mad TV's season premiere tonight will feature a hilarious parody of the Lady Marmalade video, featuring the character Miss Swan!  Mad TV airs on FOX tonight at 11pm.

(September 11, 2001)   ***BREAKING NEWS*** MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO PREMIERE DATE SET
According to reliable sources, the premiere date for Michael Jackson's new mega-video You Rock My World has been set.  It will premiere on September 20 on CBS during its fall season premiere lineup.

(September 11, 2001)   NEW DR. PEPPER COMMERCIALS
Paul Hunter recently shot 2 commercials for Dr. Pepper.  One features singer Thalia and the other features rappers Black Eyed Peas.

(September 9, 2001)   LADY MARMALADE WINS AT MTV VMA | MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO | NIKE SOCCER FREESTYLE
The Paul Hunter-directed video for Lady Marmalade (Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil' Kim, Pink) won two awards at the annual 2001 MTV Video Music Awards this past Thrusday, including the top honor Best Video of the Year.  It also won Best Video from a Film.

More information has been reported on MrShowbiz.com and several New York newspapers about the upcoming Michael Jackson mega-video/short-film You Rock My World (directed by Paul Hunter in Los Angeles in late-August).  The mega-video is for Jackson's lead-single off his eagerly anticipated new album Invincible, which hits stores in October.  The video is expected to be extravagant, similar to his previous groundbreaking videos Thriller and Scream.  The budget for the video has been rumored to be around $4million.  The video features cameos by actors Marlon Brando, Chris Tucker, Benicio Del Toro, and a few actors from the television drama The Sopranos.  The video is expected to have a "major theatrical premiere" in the next few weeks.
read article "Jacko Recruits Brando, Sopranos for Video" at MrShowbiz.com

Nike unveiled its new Nike "Freesyle" campaign in 25 European countries last month, after the popularity of the Paul Hunter-directed Nike "Freestyle" commercials in North America earlier this year.  The new 60, 30, and 15 second European commercials feature new footage of soccer stars bouncing and passing balls, along with footage recut from the original basketball "Freestyle" commercial.  The new footage, shot in Rome by director Charles Randolph-Wright, features soccer stars Totti, Ronaldinho, Silvestre, Mendieta, and Lopez.  Savion Glover, who acted as choreographer to the original Freestyle commercials, also acted as choreographer for the new footage.