Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Crew To Be In Orlando On Friday: Public Invited To Meet Director, Stars
The director and stars of Michael Jackson's groundbreaking 1983 feature video, Thriller, will be in Orlando on Friday, October 9th, to meet the public, sign autographs, and dance with fans. On hand will be director John Landis, star Ola Ray, and key dancer Cheryl Sington. The free event will be held from 1-4 pm at TGI Friday's Front Row at 8126 International Drive. (see map)
Prior to directing Thriller, John Landis was famous for such blockbusters as Animal
House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), and An American Werewolf in London (1981). The lobby of the movie theater shown in Thriller contains a poster for Landis' 1973 horror satire, Schlock, which can clearly be seen over Jackson's shoulder in the music video.
Joining Landis will be actress Ola Ray, who starred as Jackson's love interest in the video, and key dancer Cheryl Sington, who danced alongside Jackson in the film's climactic dance number. Sington will be on hand with the Rich Weirdos to lead the crowd in a full-on re-enactment of the original Thriller dance number. Zombie attire and dancing shoes are recommended but not required. Special effects makeup artists will be on hand to zombify visitors as desired.
Another image from the 25th anniversary CD/DVD of 'Thriller'
The musical celebrity meet-and-greet will be open to the public, and will be the highlight of the Carnevil
Zombie Walk sponsored by The Deadite Empire as part of the preliminary festivities for Spooky Empire's 7th Annual Ultimate Horror Weekend to be held October 9th-11th at the nearby Wyndham Orlando Resort.
Jackson's epic horror-themed video cost over $500,000 to produce--a record at that time--and sold over 9 million copies, prompting the Guinness Book of World Records to award it the 'most successful music video'. Jackson's record-breaking career earned a raft of awards from Guinness over the years, including Youngist vocalist to top the US singles chart, First vocalist to enter the US single chart at No. 1; First entertainer to earn more than $100 million in a year; Highest paid entertainer of all time; and Most successful entertainer of all time.
Examiner / Thanks Joy C!