Niagara man who worked with Michael Jackson disturbed by recent HBO series
A Niagara man who worked closely with Michael Jackson for two years is shaking his head in disgust at the latest allegations made against the pop icon in HBO’s recent documentary series, “Leaving Neverland.”
Colin Chilvers, an Academy Award winner in 1979 for his special effects work on the first “Superman” movie, also directed the 42-minute short film and music video for “Smooth Criminal,” part of Jackson’s 1988 motion picture, “Moonwalker.”
In an interview at his home in the Crystal Beach area of Fort Erie, the 73-year-old who also worked on “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the two other “Superman” films, “XMen” and countless other movies, TV shows and commercials, finds it odd that the two accusers the two-part series focuses on waited so many years to come forward with such graphic claims.
“Leaving Neverland” is a documentary directed by British filmmaker Dan Reed that centres around Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who became acquainted with Jackson in their childhood years.
Both men allege in the series that they were sexually abused by Jackson at his Neverland ranch and in hotel rooms for several years.
Robson testified in court in support of Jackson in 2005 when sexual molestation charges were laid against the singer, of which he was acquitted. Jackson died in June 2009.
Chilvers finds it strange that Robson, age 35 in the documentary, gave a completely opposite story in front of a California jury than what he claims in the recent HBO special. “Why would he suddenly change his testimony?” he asked.
Chilvers said he never saw Jackson behave suspiciously when he worked with him from 1986 to 1988 in Los Angeles.
There were three children on set during production of the short film and music video he worked on — one of them was Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Lennon was included in the video after his mother reached out to Jackson as a family friend, which led to Chilvers flying from Los Angeles to New York City to meet with them.
Another child, a girl, was hired to be in the production through a standard casting session, said Chilvers.
The third child, a boy, was brought in after Jackson noticed him at the gate of the Hollywood film studio where that portion of the movie was being shot, mimicking Jackson’s dance moves and stage attire.
“He was so good at impersonating Michael, we put him in the video,” said Chilvers.
He said he never witnessed anything that would lead him to believe Jackson hand-picked the young boy due to a sexual attraction, which in the documentary Robson and Safechuck claim happened during their experiences with the King of Pop.
“There was no ulterior motive,” said Chilvers.
Through much of Jackson’s career, he was known to be close with many boys, but this doesn’t mean he had other intentions, said Chilvers, based on what he knows of the deceased entertainer.
“I don’t have any occasion to think there was ever anything going on,” he added.
The director said Jackson “loved the innocence of youth” as a result of never having much of a normal childhood, and that he faced allegations in his career because of his star power.
“People in his position are very susceptible to that kind of allegation, especially Michael, because he was a big kid,” said Chilvers.
“He felt comfortable around kids because he didn’t feel like they were trying to make something out of it, or use him for some reason or another,” added Chilvers.
The Fort Erie resident, who moved to the area in the early 1980s from England, was hired for “Moonwalker” after being introduced to Jackson by Kevin Pike, a friend of Chilvers’ who was the special effects coordinator on “Back to the Future.”
He got the job after their first meeting, and Chilvers said Jackson stood by him even after some of his people advised the singer to consider bringing in a bigger name in show business.
“Michael liked that I’d done a lot of kids’ stuff,” said Chilvers, who also directed dozens of TV commercials for several Barbie toys, Jordache, Micro Machines, and many more clients.
He said he knew Jackson before he moved into Neverland Ranch, and was invited many times for dinner at the singer’s home in the Hayvenhurst area of Encino, Calif., where he lived with his mother.
They often made trips together to a popular art book store in the Los Angeles area, Chilvers said. He would phone the business ahead of time to let them know Jackson would be coming by for a shopping spree, allowing the store to close so they could browse the shelves in privacy since it was “impossible to do anything in public” during the height of Jackson’s fame.
He also became acquainted with ‘Bubbles,’ Jackson’s pet chimpanzee.
Chilvers recalls watching “Robocop” for the first time at the family estate in a 30-seat theatre on the property, as well as introducing Jackson to the classic film “The Third Man,” which was a large inspiration for the cinematography in the “Smooth Criminal” short.
Jackson was “a perfectionist, as well as a creative genius,” Chilvers said in his recent interview.
“It was a privilege and an honour to work with somebody like that,” he added, noting that the video took 18 weeks of shooting before it was edited into a finished product.
His work with Jackson earned him a Brit Award in 1989 for best music video.
Communication with the megastar ended shortly after their professional relationship came to a close. They spoke with or saw one another at least twice a week during the two years they worked together, said Chilvers.
“If he tried to keep in contact with all the people he met, he would have no time for anything else,” he said.
Chilvers has co-authored a soon-tobe-released book called “Believing a Man Can Fly,” about his career in show business.
He explained that not watching the series is a choice he has made.
“It would annoy me. I’ve got better things to do than watch something I don’t think is truthful.”