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An ordinary-length film would not have been able to include all that.
Robson and Safechuck also say that Jackson gradually tried to drive a wedge between them and their families.
The singer, he says, often plied him with jewelry in exchange for sex.
At the same time, these children believed that they loved Jackson, and that he loved them back.
There were candy and toys and videos everywhere, and tons of things to do.
The singer helped them with their careers, bringing them along on tour and letting them perform.
He helped me with my career and my creativity.
And he sexually molested me for seven years.
How familiar were you with the Michael Jackson story before you started making this film?
One factor, which plays a big part, is my 30 years experience of interviewing.
And that real thing is a 360-degree solid thing.
They dont have to make it up.
When people are lying, they dont have that thing unless they are pathological liars.
That comes through in the film.
The viewer feels like we are in the same room with them the whole time.
You dont do a lot of clever cutting around the interviews.
You really let your subjects speak.
I take great care with the filming of interviews.
These are stories told by the human voice.
But thats just a means to an end.
I want viewers to experience that in the theater or watching on TV.
What are some other ways you verify these stories?
We have to double-check that their accounts stack up.
I also interviewed experts on child sexual abuse.
Does this match the pattern of a pedophile?
A hundred percent it does.
And he said, you know, Jacksonsmodus operandiwas absolutely typical, and kind of cookie-cutter perfect.
I mean, there is no videotape of Michael Jackson having sex with a child.
We dont have that kind of proof.
Although he did record himself having sex with James …
Oh, he did?
He destroyed it he panicked and destroyed the tapes.
But I believed [Wade and James] because their accounts have all the characteristics of a credible account.
This wasnt a half-hour conversation.
This was days and days of interview, followed up by lots of checking up and verifying.
And I havent found anything that made me question whether they were telling the truth or not.
And Ive got to know them pretty well now.
Did you reach out to other victims, or other potential victims?
I did reach out to those who I thought might be open to speaking to me.
But before very long, it became clear that this was a story about the Robsons and the Safechucks.
This wasnt like a series of generic stories which I used to demonstrate Jacksons guilt.
And as soon as you start adding more variety, you dilute that.
Because its not really a story about how two boys were sexually abused by Michael Jackson.
Its really a story about how these two men and their families came to terms with the fact.
The denouement is the last half-hour of the film.
At what point did you realize that would be what the film is about?
And most people dont know the details.
Did that pose a challenge for you?
And I think weve delivered the answer to that question.
One response is, Oh, but he never had a childhood.
And that really annoys me.
Just because you didnt have a great childhood doesnt mean you’re free to rape children.
People were like, Well, maybe hes just really weird.
Entire generations grew up with his music, and his image.
You cant take his influence out of world pop culture.
And thats why I think people will come out of the film feeling sad.
I think itd be very difficult not to believe them, once youve listened to them and their families.
Imagining that theyd make that story up is just so implausible.
Institutions that we thought would always be there to protect us are being challenged.
Its a time of reevaluation.
And the meaning of that thing is going to change, and were attempting to change it.
Its a devastating scene.
Id never heard about this.
Jamess story hasnt been told at all.
Jackson had this thing, where he would say to James, Sell me some.
And that meant James would have to perform sexual favors for Jackson to get to get jewelry.
And its interesting that hes hung onto those rings.
That was a scene we filmed later, actually.
It took a while for James to come around to being able to show us those rings.
And when we shot the scene, as he says in the film, his hands are trembling.
And the fact that hes kept it.
And the fact that hes kept it.
And yet, he also destroyed something very precious: their childhood.
Theyre struggling with it James probably more than Wade is really struggling with that duality.
The rings kind of symbolize that for me.
I think its a really telling scene.
You really feel for him.
The mock wedding with a 10-year-old.
I mean, come on.
Have you engaged with any of those arguments?
Im familiar with the arguments.
I know the reasons why they think that Wades lying, and none of them have any validity.
Its just not factual.
We know he took the witness stand in 2005 and said that Michael hadnt abused him.
He says it in the film, and he explains exactly why that happened.
We know that he went to Michaels memorial service and wept.
He says that in the film.
Yes, its in the film.
He doesnt deny any of that.
Was there ever a point at which you thought you might tell a more straightforward, investigative story?
I left that option open pretty much until we began editing, or a little way into editing.
Because I wanted to be sure that I understood the civil case and the criminal trial.
Because thats where Wade reconnects with Jackson, is his testimony.
He is the strongest witness in Jacksons favor.
I wanted to ensure that I had all my facts straight.
Did Wade ever reach out to Gavin?
Did you reach out to Gavin?
I did, yeah.
I wrote him a long letter.
Hes entitled not to respond, and I didnt take offense to that at all.
And that would require Jordy and Gavin to come forward.
And I felt thats what weve done.
Its a story that demanded to be told in this way.
Are you surprised that more hasnt been done about this story, until now?
Im kind of astonished that this film hasnt been made before.
I think what weve done is extraordinary and unique, and its never been done before.
And its due mostly to the courage of Wade and James and their moms and their families speaking out.
But also being able to let them tell their story over a long time.
This is the antithesis of that.
And thats why I think it has the ring of truth.
