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"The Official Michael Jackson Opus" Book Meeting

Date range confirmed in “Today” (archived) (“Kraken Opus… originally pitched the idea of a Michael Jackson opus to the singer last April”)

Kraken Opus, which has produced coffee-table books on topics ranging from the English football team Arsenal to designer Vivienne Westwood, originally pitched the idea of a Michael Jackson opus to the singer last April. It probably didn’t hurt that Kraken Opus had already produced one of its signature big books on Prince’s 21-concert run at O2 Arena in London; Jackson often looked at Prince as competition and was eager to eclipse him with his own groundbreaking run at O2.

Thus, what was supposed to be a 20-minute meeting with Jackson turned into a two-hour-plus gabfest with the publishers.

Fowler said Jackson wanted his story told in a way that differed from the dozens of Jackson books — many of them scandalous — already crowding shelves at booksellers. “Obviously, a huge amount had been written about Michael Jackson, both visual and editorial, and I think one of the things that fascinated Michael Jackson when we sat down with him, from a creative point of view, was to tell the story maybe in a way it’s never been told before,” Kraken explained. “That’s the challenge we set.”

Kraken Opus reps met with Jackson regularly as the book progressed, including a meeting just days before his death. “He looked happy, fine,” Fowler said of the company’s last meeting with the King of Pop. “In those days before, we were talking about how we were going to create the content, and he was immersed in it. There were no signs at all. He was very happy and enthused about it.”