Michael Jackson as Jareth
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HarveyManfredSinJohn — 10 years ago(January 18, 2016 03:47 AM)
Prince would in no way be as awesome as Bowie was in the part, but I only bring him up because Bowie seemed to be in his Thin White Duke, 70s soul mode during Labyrinth, particularly with Magic Dance, the chorus of Underground (with Chaka Khan and Luther Vandross on backing vocals) and Chilly Down (which Bowie wrote but did not perform), and I could imagine Prince bringing a similar flavour, musically-speaking, to the film. Plus, he could project an air of mystery and maybe even menace, although he perhaps wouldn't seem as imposing and unlike Bowie I don't think Prince would have been as capable as projecting his stage/music video charisma to an acting role. The thing about Bowie is that he was always incredibly charismatic even when he wasn't performing.
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dekada-06992 — 10 years ago(January 18, 2016 12:46 PM)
Great point about the 70s soul mode. I was always thinking he was in New Romantic mode, but that's probably As the World Falls Down on eternal replay in my head. (Indulge me, please! I know it's cheesy, but as far as cheeses go, this is Beaufort d'Ete!
)
Another thing about Bowie was that despite his "bad boy" image (onstage and off), he's also a really great guy. He practically headlined Live Aid, a cause he strongly believed in. As mentioned by the cast and crew of Labyrinth (and pretty much everything Bowie worked on), he was a joy to work with brilliant but completely devoid of the self-absorbed diva airs typical of rock stars, including Prince (at that time).
Bowie radiates this added warmth through Jareth whom he considers a reluctant Goblin King. And so we have a supposed villain who spends a good portion of the film with a baby snuggled contentedly in his arms that I actually wonder if Toby would have been better off with Jareth than his bratty sister.
Prince/Jareth is a cool cat. Bowie/Jareth is a panther at rest. Michael/Jareth is a puppy. (Doh!
That would have saved me about 600 words) -
HarveyManfredSinJohn — 10 years ago(January 18, 2016 01:14 PM)
Agreed. And the thing about Jareth is, that although he's a bad guy, this is still a family/kids' film and so you don't want Jareth to be too disturbing/creepy. Thus, the warmth you mention is important.
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Spyro Bandicoot Elsa Anna Olaf — 6 years ago(March 23, 2020 05:05 PM)
Everyone knows MJ was the self proclaimed King Of POP/King of Pop in name only. James Woods or John De Lancie couldve played Jareth since Woods was Hades and De Lancie was Discord in My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Or maybe Willem DaFoe
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jtmovies — 9 years ago(April 19, 2016 07:55 AM)
Yeah,
The movie about Michael kidnapping a baby wouldn't have aged well considering the child molestation scandal in 1993.
Make 3,000 a month for only $18!
http://jamesthenderson.com/4corners -
ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony — 9 years ago(September 11, 2016 05:26 PM)
Plus, one of the major themes of this film is growing up. I doubt Michael Jackson would want to do a film about growing up since he was a creepy ass man child with Peter Pan syndrome.
RIP
Freddie Mercury
1946-1991 -
Blue Wave — 4 years ago(October 06, 2021 04:36 AM)
No. He would not have been as good. Less charisma. Less talent. He would have been weird in all the wrong ways for this film. For all of his ability as a performer Michael Jackson could not have pulled off Labyrinth as well as David Bowie did.