Many will recognise Lorraine Fields as the sassy lady on the stairs who gets up close and personal with Michael before stealing his wallet in Smooth Criminal. She had previously featured alongside him in Thriller as one of the lead zombies. In Issue 21 of Iconic Magazine, the dancer shares her unique experiences on working with Michael. Here’s a sneak peek at this exclusive Interview…
How was Michael during the shooting and rehearsal for Thriller? How did he match up to the trained dancers?
I don’t know what he was internally feeling but what he showed externally was the determination to do his very best! And it never came off that he was insecure about the fact that he wasn’t a professional dancer because I think he loved dancing! He loved dancing so much that he didn’t care and he was a learner! He was dancing since he was 6 years old so he might not have been a professional dancer but, he developed his own style and own techniques and everyone was trying to be like Mike!
Did you spend a lot of time in make-up and costume every day?
The first day it took 5 to 7 hours! Make up was strong in terms of time! Stronger than the costume! These make up artists had to do that every day! They run out of prosthetics by the time they got to me and I was so upset because they started to reach to the ground and putting on me what they found on the ground to put on my face! I was like “What happened to the prosthetics?” [Laugh]
How did you get the call back for “Smooth Criminal”?
Well, now I was working with Vincent (Paterson) and I was called to audition and again Vince and Michael told us the story and the characters and the music was AMAZING! I love music and for me it is one of best piece of music ever written! In Audition, it immediately clicked! And in one of the scene very closed up…you know we nearly kissed! I was flirting with him to steal from him and I LOVED LOVED doing that scene!
So how long did “Smooth Criminal” take to film?
OH MY GOD! It almost took 4 weeks! That was after 2 weeks rehearsal! It was almost a 2 months project! They rented like 3 or 4 sound stages. One stage had the roof top, the other one, the street scenes and the park… he spent so much money on that production!
What was your response when he did the lean?
That was fascinating! The idea of them doing that was phenomenal even though it was supported by mechanics! You still have to hold your core!
What’s your fondest memory of Michael?
My fondest memory of Michael is when he was with the Jackson 5 and … I think that was the most fun time to watch him as a young kid. Watching him continuously developing his craft, his music and performance and coming up with amazing concepts.
Read the full interview in Issue 21 of Iconic Magazine – Available from King of Shop
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MJVibe ask your permission to translate into Spanish this interesting interview. Thank you very much for sharing this interview and I hope your permission to share on my blog.