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"Dirty Diana" Music Video
Date range assessed by the fact that the video was released on April 14, 1988, and the only break for the “two-week gig” (LA Times) that Michael had from the Bad Tour was between the end of the Australian leg in November 28, 1987 (Brisbane concert) and the start of the American leg February 28, 1988 (Kansas City). Possibly filmed between the end of the Japanese leg in October 12, 1987 (Osaka concert) and the start of the Australian leg in November 13, 1987 (Melbourne), but less likely.
Joe Pytka, director, personal website (accessed July 6, 2017) (archived)
The charge here was to give Michael a hard rocker look. That’s where the ‘concert’ idea came from. We built a set and had a live audience for the first day. My friend Conrad Hall was between films and he kindly consented to be one of the camera teams. I didn’t really know what Michael was going to do onstage, I had to be prepared for anything. That’s why Conrad’s presence was so important. Conrad was one of the two great cinematographers of all time and I knew I would have great coverage without the responsibility of having to ‘direct’ the camera. He gave me the freedom to shoot my camera and take risks. The video was a number one (not as sure a thing as you might expect since THRILLER never was a number one). Steve Stevens' suit cost twenty grand. We couldn’t shoot much the second day because Michael was doing his knee slides without pads the first day. I had planned on engulfing the set with rain and lightning and literally destroying it in the deluge but had to settle with a concert video. Michael’s performance was enough of a storm. He made Mick Jagger look phony. There is some talk that the girl was Cheryl Crow. Not true. She was just a terrific leg model.
Personal website (accessed April 9, 2020) (archived)
Larry Bridges and I were experimenting on the limits of what we could do on film and we had a number of willing clients at that time: Nike, Lee Jeans, John Hancock, Michael Jackson videos, especially Dirty Diana. The experiments included extremely quick cuts, fragmented soundtracks, hand held cameras, rephotographing the film on television monitors, flash frames, camera stops, hand cranked cameras, super eight film, a lot of other stuff.
Steve Stevens, “Dirty Diana” guitarist, “The Eddie Trunk Podcast” (January 12, 2017) (archived)
Eddie Trunk: You were in the video for [“Dirty Diana”] too, right?
Stevens: I did, yeah, yeah. The coolest thing- [laughs] The funniest thing about the video was I pull up to the shoot, and there's a van outside, and I get out, and I kinda look at it, and it's got all these kids' toys, and jungle gym, and all this stuff set up. I go, "Wow, somebody's kid's got it made, he's got a whole playground out here.” And it turns out, it's for Bubbles the chimp [laughs]
Trunk: I remember the video was, like, white sheets blowing and stuff, right? It was kind of like, silhouettey?
Stevens: Yeah... The guy Joe Pytka, who was the director, had done all the Pepsi adverts and stuff like that. And I realized all the other- the rest of the guys, and the band there, were all kind of stand-ins and I'm looking at 'em going, "Man, they all have wigs on and shit" [laughs]
Shooting the video was incredible as well, a day I'll never forget. I think, actually, a lot of the takes that we did that didn't end up in the video were even more incredible. There was one point, unfortunately the camera angles weren't correct, but there's one point where I was playing and Michael ran across the stage and literally slid between my legs and came behind me and kind of pulled my guitar out of my hands. And the whole crew and everybody just erupted in applause, but [laughs] I guess the angles weren't correct, they didn't get the best version of that, so that's not in the video... There's a lot of time spent when you're not shooting, when they're just setting up for shots, and we just talked about rock n' roll music. I remember him telling me that his favorite rock band was Queen, and that he knew Freddie Mercury, and he had seen a bunch of Queen shows, and he said that, for his next tour, he really wanted to have as much of a visual show as Queen did. And I had never seen Queen, so I was kind of explaining what a Billy Idol show was like, he hadn't seen us, and then he asked me about Mötley Crüe. He asked me if I knew Mötley Crüe [laughs] I said I didn't know Mötley Crüe, I was from New York, but I knew the New York Dolls [laughs].
Lisa Dean, “Legs” actress, “Dirty Diana Reveals More Than Her Legs” article
You may not recognize the face but you'll never forget the legs. Long, lithe and luscious, they belong to California model Lisa Dean and she's Michael Jackson's co-star in the Dirty Diana video. He wanted the girl with the sexiest, steamiest, dreamiest pair of legs in the world to promote his hit single. And what Mr Jackson wants - he gets.
So more than 200 top models bared their legs in secret auditions for the millionaire singer personally viewed them on video. When he saw Lisa's lovely legs screamed: "That's her! That's Dirty Diana. I don't want to look at any more legs. That's it - I've found her!"
Since the video first appeared, the beautiful brunette has been offered movie roles by top Hollywood directors, including Warren Beatty, signed her own record contract, recorded her first single, and now she's set to star in her own rock video - repeating her role as Dirty Diana.
But 28-year-old Lisa's big acting break has come in a part which is far removed from her own demure lifestyle. "Dirty Diana couldn't be less like me." she says. "The lady in that song is no lady. She is the ultimate groupie, wanting to sleep with any, and every, rock star in town. I've never been that sort of cheap, on-the-prowl nymphomaniac painted lady. But I can easily look that way with the right clothes and make-up.”
"When I was called to audition. I was told that Michael Jackson wasn't just looking for the best legs around. He said I had to be a sexy bitch - Dirty Diana had to be the baddest, sexiest, bitchiest, most elegant and drop-dead beautiful woman ever seen on the screen.”
"At first, I wasn't sure I could be that good, but gave it my best shot. When I first saw the finished video, even I was astonished at how sexy I looked. They had squeezed me into the tightest, shortest skirt possible - it was less than 12 inches long. I wore no stocking, and I was teetering in high, high heels.”
"At first, I was so upset that all people were seeing was my legs. Isn't it just great! Finally I'm working with Michael Jackson. I'll be seen by millions of people around the world - and nobody will recognize me. That was very disappointing, but the video director told me it was better to keep the mystery of the face behind the legs, and let people wonder. And he was right. So much interest has followed, and so many opportunities."
Before the Dirty Diana video, Lisa had been a model for 10 years and lived in Milan, Paris, London, Tokyo and New York. She's appeared on Vogue covers and dozens of TV.
LA Times (July 3, 1988)
The 5 foot 9, "mid-20s" Vogue cover girl was picked from hundreds of auditioning beauties. Dean's secret to gorgeous gams: "Daily exercise, years of ballroom and jazz dancing, and just being naturally skinny." Her looks have also landed her TV spots for Levi's 501s and Sprite, plus the 1984 video for Ratt's "Round and Round"--playing someone so obsessed by the group's heavy metal music that she begins ripping off her rubber mini-dress.
As for Jackson: He's a "quite magical, sweet and gentle person" who never flirted--but did spend a lot of time on the set with his favorite chimp, Bubbles. Dean's only complaints about making "Dirty Diana" were earning only the standard $300 per day for the two-week gig and working in that confining outfit.
As a result of "Dirty Diana," Dean said she's now reading movie scripts from independent producers (she wouldn't say who)--one about a funny girl, one about a wholesome girl and one about a . . . sexy girl.
Chris Cadman, author, “Michael Jackson the Maestro”
Video filmed at Long Beach, California – directed by Joe Pytka.