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"Torture" Music Video

Date range confirmed on shooting schedule (Image 001)

Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks’ “I Want My MTV” (October 27, 2011)

JEFF STEIN, director: The Jacksons’ “Torture” video: an experience that lived up to the song title.

JOHN DIAZ, producer: Michael Jackson was at the first meeting we had with his brothers for “Torture,” and he said, “I want to do this, I want to do that.” And then, of course, Michael didn’t show up to the shoot. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to show, so I found a wax museum in Nashville to make a dummy of Michael. And that’s what you see in the video. We placed it in different positions: sometimes with its hand up, sometimes with it down at its side. Perri Lister was the choreographer on “Torture.” She was Billy Idol’s girlfriend and choreographed many videos I produced. But Jackie Jackson kept saying, “She’s not right for us.” And I had to fire her.

PERRI LISTER, initial choreographer: I love Jeff Stein. He’s a great director and a sweetheart. “Torture”—so aptly named. Jeff wanted me on board as choreographer, but I had to get approved by the Jacksons first. It was like I was joining the CIA. I’ve never been through more security checks in my life, to get to the inner sanctum of the Jacksons sitting in their hotel room. I finally get there, and they’re all there but Michael, and they each had their own lawyer. And manager. Anyway, they liked my reel and they hired me. A few days later, Jeff says, “Listen, I’ve got a slight problem. Jackie’s girlfriend wants to be in the video. He says she’s a dancer.” I’m like, “Let her come to the audition, and if she’s okay, we’ll put her in the video, and if she’s not, I’m sorry, I’m not putting her in.” She comes to the audition, and she’s a little shorter and a little plumper than most, but I figured if I hired some other girls that were the same size, she wouldn’t stand out. The first day of rehearsal comes and she doesn’t show up. So I thought, Never mind her, I’ll keep the other short girls. So we rehearsed for a week, and the day comes to show the routine to Jackie Jackson. I see this girl come in and stand with Jackie. I’m like, “Oh my god, it’s the girlfriend.” Afterwards, Jeff Stein said, “I’m sorry, Perri, but, um, Jackie’s girlfriend has decided that she wants to choreograph the video.” I said, “Well, as long as you give me my check, Jeff, I’m fine with that.” So they gave me my check and I left. And the girlfriend was Paula Abdul.

JEFF STEIN: I’ll take the blame for many things, but not for that video. We were constantly waiting around for everybody to be ready. It was endless. I don’t even know if there was a budget. I mean, it was not my company, I was not the producer, I did not make the deal. I have no idea what it ended up costing. For certain videos, I remember the cost only in terms of human lives. One of our crew members lost control of her bodily functions while we were making the video. The crew motto used to be “Death or victory”. I think that was the only time we ever prayed for death. I had a gut feeling Michael wasn’t going to show up. So I had the foresight to get a wax figure from Madame Tussauds to double for Michael, and that proved to be a good decision. That wax figure was put through the ringer. Its head ended up in the salad bowl at lunch one day.

PAULA ABDUL, choreographer; artist: Michael couldn’t make it, so they ended up using a wax dummy stand-in. I was so young and naive, I just figured this is what they normally do on music videos.

The Jacksons were Jehovah’s Witnesses, I believe, and I was told there could be no drugs or alcohol on the set. So I gathered the crew and told them I expected everybody to adhere to those instructions carefully. We were ready to shoot a sequence, and I couldn’t find two key members of my crew. I was frantic. I turned around and behind the cyclorama I saw two silhouettes of my missing crew guys, the size of Godzilla and Rodan, shoveling something into their nostrils. The silhouette was thirty feet high. I ran the length of two football fields, kicked out the lights, and nobody ever saw it but me.