Hands down MJ’s Thriller has got to be one of the best videos that has ever been produced. Its a cult classic. Below are some things you might not know about the music video. Brought to you by our friends over at BuzzFeed.com
1. MTV And Showtime Helped Pay For It
2. Jackson Lived With His Parents When The Video Was Made
3. Jackson Was Almost Excommunicated For Making The Video
When the Jehovah’s Witnesses found out he was making a werewolf video, they threatened to excommunicate him because it violated their strict rules about occult imagery.
4. Jackson Almost Had The Footage Destroyed
Michael ordered the film to be destroyed when he found out that he was in trouble with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but the editor and director hid the film canisters until the singer changed his mind.
5. Jackson Made Out With His Co-Star Ola Ray
6. Ola Ray Was A “Playboy” Model
7. Jane Fonda Gave Ola Ray Advice On The Set
8. “Thriller” Was The Seventh Single From “Thriller”
It was the final single and video from the record, and came out over a year after the album was released.
9. The Zombie Costumes Were Made From Clothes Picked Up At A Salvation Army
10. “Thriller” Was Screened In Theaters So It Would Be Eligible For An Oscar
“Thriller” never received an Academy Award nomination.
11. “Thriller” Basically Created The Home Video Market
12. It Lost The Top Prize At The MTV Video Music Awards
“Thriller” was nominated for Video of the Year at the first-ever VMAs in 1984, but it lost to The Cars’ surreal clip for “You Might Think.”
13. It’s The First Music Video Ever Inducted Into The National Film Registry
The Library of Congress deemed the short film “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant” in 2009.
14. Director John Landis Had Previous Experience With Werewolves
Jackson hired Landis on the strength of his work on An American Werewolf In London, which came out in 1981.
15. Landis Recycled This Disclaimer
It appeared in An American Werewolf In London too.
16. Jackson’s Dad Scared Him With Monster Masks As A Kid
Part of the inspiration for the video came from his father’s attempt to frighten him as a child. Joe Jackson once “put on a fright mask and crawled into Michael’s bedroom through a window at night, screaming” to teach his young son that he should keep the window closed when he slept.
17. Michael’s Red Jacket Sold For $1.8 Million
18. This Is How You Do The “Thriller” Zombie Dance
