Video:Kenny Ortega Interview - Michael Jackson's This Is It

Transcript:Kenny Ortega Interview - Michael Jackson's This Is It

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the 15 Critics' Choice Movie Awards held Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Kenny Ortega - Michael Jackson's This It It

Congratulations on Michael Jackson's This Is It. That was an amazing tribute to him. All the audiences reacted so positively to that.

Kenny Ortega: "And the critics. This is so beautiful and really unexpected. We didn't think this through. We set out to tell a story for the fans to get a chance to understand where Michael was coming from with his final creative process and we ended up with so much more. We're really grateful."

It reminded me of why I loved him as an entertainer. I'd forgotten that, actually.

Kenny Ortega: "It does stand as a reminder of his great genius and loving heart."

I don't understand how you put that together with all that footage. How did you get it down to that?

Kenny Ortega: "It was a labor of many hearts, first of all. I had an incredible team around me that kept me from falling apart, because it was emotionally the most challenging time of my life."

How were you able to go in every day and look at that footage with your connection to him?

Kenny Ortega: "I was afraid of it at first. I didn't know that I could handle it. And in fact it was helpful, it was healing, it was comforting. What I was afraid of in the beginning actually turned out to be probably it was the best place I could possibly be to help get myself through what was going to be one of the toughest things in my life - the loss of a great friend, my creative partner. We had a future together. Not only were we working on 'This Is It' but we had movies. We hung out. We were buddies. We were friends. We called each other, you know? He was in my life and he changed my life for the better."

How so?

Kenny Ortega: "Oh my gosh, he was a master. He was a filmmaker, choreographer, composer, lyricist, singer, recording artist. There was nothing that this guy didn't do at the highest level. And I guess what he did was he reminded me of the effort that you need to put into something. He said, 'Don't do it if you're not ready to put the full effort into it. If you're going to do something, have a reason to do it and then do it full out.' And Michael was all about that. So he inspired me to work harder and to be a better artist and better person."

Was he as gentle as he comes across on screen?

Kenny Ortega: "He was surrounded with this light and goodness. When he walked into a room, he lit up the space. And people jumped in line to just get near him and give him a hug. It was like a guru, like a holy man, honestly, and he didn't perceive himself that way. He laughed when you talked to him about things like that, you know? He would giggle and he would say, 'Oh, you're so funny.' I don't think that he recognized his own sort of specialness at times. I really don't. He was shy and insecure in many ways."

Has he changed the way you're going to approach filmmaking and approach talent from now on?

Kenny Ortega: "Oh yeah. And although I shall miss him, you know, in every day in the rest of my life, he left me with so much information as a man, as an artist, that I will include in the rest of my life."

Have you decided what you're going to do next?

Kenny Ortega: "Well, I'm working on the Haiti relief fund right now for the Red Cross. And creatively, I'm going to hopefully direct a movie next summer for Universal."

Is it a musical?

Kenny Ortega: "Yes - In the Heights. The Tony award-winning musical In the Heights. It's a wonderful musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara [Alegria Hudes] that garnered 13 Tony award nominations and won the Musical of the Year in 2008. We're doing it as a film, hopefully this next summer."

Have you got your cast down yet?

Kenny Ortega: "Not yet, we just started."

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