On This Day In 1983, Michael Jackson Changed The Face Of Music Videos Forever
December 02, 2019
On This Day In 1983, Michael Jackson Changed The Face Of Music Videos Forever

It had some magic that made it shine. When I started directing videos myself a few years later, it was like a touchpoint. I didn’t have this thought intellectually at the time, but when I watch it now I realize that there’s no reason for a lot of it; it’s so free and loose. There’s the car running out of gas and it’s like a movie, then it just keeps going, as if they’re saying: ‘That’d be cool, let’s do that.’ Michael Jackson seems like this kid who loves music, horror films, special effects, makeup, zombies and wants all of those things in the video. It has that spirit to it that must have been contagious; it spoke to other kids.” – Director Spike Jonze on the unyielding impact of “Thriller.” Michael’s paradigm-bending short film premiered on MTV at Midnight, December 2, 1983.

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