Some Words From Steven Spielberg About Michael

Why He's A Thriller (TIME Magazine; March 19, 1984)

Director Steven Spielberg has remarked that "if E.T. hadn't come to Elliott, he would have come to Michael's house."

He reflects that Jackson is like a hybrid of outer space's most famous tourist and of Chauncey Gardiner, the video-bedazzled innocent whom Peter Sellers portrayed in Being There.

"I think Michael can be hurt very easily," Spielberg says. "He's sort of like a fawn in a burning forest."

Jones watched Michael break down several times while recording She's Out of My Life for Off the Wall, and eventually just left the crying on the track. Jackson also teared up repeatedly while recording the children's album E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. During a break in a photo session for the album, Spielberg saw Jackson chatting and swapping gestures with E.T.

"It's a nice place Michael comes from," Spielberg observes. "I wish we could all spend some time in his world."

(TIME Magazine; March 19, 1984)

Thanks Lesley. :-)