Thriller director sues Jackson

A DAY after plans for a Thriller musical were announced, it emerged Michael Jackson is being sued by the original director of the 1980s video.

Legal papers filed on behalf of John Landis claim that Jackson withheld profits from him and that the star is guilty of “fraudulent, malicious and oppressive” conduct.

The writ follows the release of Thriller 25 last year to celebrate the quarter-century celebration of the ground-breaking music video. It also comes after news broke that a Broadway musical is planned based on the 14-minute pop promo.

Legal documents were filed at Los Angeles Superior Court last Wednesday by lawyers for Landis’s company, Levitsky Productions. The papers have been reproduced on the website The Wrap.

Landis’s lawyers accuse Jackson and the defunct production firm, Optimum, of failing to provide accounts for recent profits made from the marketing of Thriller and the accompanying “making of” the documentary. They claim Landis — who co-wrote and directed the 1983 video — is entitled to 50% of profits.

The writ states: “After a spectacular theatrical premiere, the Thriller video became a worldwide mega-hit and an iconic pop culture phenomenon that has continued to generate profits for defendants Optimum Productions and Michael Jackson, who have wrongfully refused to pay or account for such profits to the plaintiff.”