Conversations had begun happening more frequently where when we would start telling people what we were working on, people wanted to see something.  So we made a decision to take a break in the film editing and put together a trailer so people could get a better sense of the feel of our film.  The trailer went through a few versions until we were finally satisfied that as much as we could cram under three minutes captured the essence of the film.

As soon as we posted on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter we were rewarded with comments where people said the trailer had made them cry, and thank yous for creating a project that fans looked forward to seeing that focused on their love for Michael.

In reviewing the footage we had, and starting to edit, we realized that no matter what we tried to do, there were still some technical issues that we weren’t happy with from Alex’s group’s first interview.  So we called the family and they graciously allowed us to interview them again in their home.

What was an unexpected surprise in this interview is we met Katie, Alex’s older sister, who had some of her own Alex/Michael stories.  Bob (Alex’s father) also showed off some of the twins’ home movies and Debbie had us look at the hardwood floor they had discovered when they pulled out the carpet to give Alexa better dance space.

The footage we got on this second Alex day was incredible, and we were all extremely happy that we had gone back in for the second interview instead of settling.

During the interviews we conducted at the premiere of “This Is It”, we met two incredibly enthusiastic and wonderful Michael Jackson fans, Sandy and Jeff. They shared their experience of being first-hand observers of the media circus at the Encino home, since they worked in that vicinity. In their initial interview, the way they chatted and interacted with each other seemed to imply they had been friends for years.  As their initial interview unfolded, they revealed that it was only through Michael Jackson’s death did they really find their friendship. This theme of finding friendship or reconnecting through the shared impact of Michael Jackson’s death, became a recurring theme.

On this particular Sunday, we asked Jeff, Sandy and Sandy’s son Trevor to join us in Encino and walk us through what they saw and felt when Michael Jackson passed.  Even though, it had been a really sad time for everyone, Sandy and Jeff shared how so many had come together from all parts of the world–and all found solace in each other and Michael’s music.

For the premiere of This Is It, we knew there was a huge party going on in Downtown LA full of celebrities and family, but we only wanted to speak with fans.  Michael Jackson’s true love was his fans and we chose to film people away from the media attention, and film those who were going to see the film just for the love of Michael.

We met some incredible people, including Sandy and Jeff who would later show and describe the outpouring of love from MJ’s fans that took place in Encino (outside the Jackson home) after Michael Jackson’s death.