The producers of Free Willy found their star in Medford. Twelve year old Jason James Richter showed up at an open casting call and was cast in the lead role. He went on to star in Free Willies II & III.

Oregon has a long tradition of animal films. Richter was following in the steps of Roddy McDowall, Sal Mineo and Jodie Foster when he decided to risk all for the love of his killer whale.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Michael Jackson wrote and performed the theme song, Will You Be There.

I hereby claim Free Willy as an Oregon film, based on the location shooting in Portland and on the Coast, and on the status of the lead actor as an Oregonian.

Number of Oregon films with a Michael Jackson theme song: 1

Number of Oregon filmmakers who have directed Michael: 2

Number of Oregon filmmakers who directed Michael twice: 1

Number of pop critics with roots in Portland  who were chosen to write about Michael Jackson: 2

Number of Oregon filmmakers who danced with Michael at his Neverland Ranch: 1

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Key for the Oregon/Michael Jackson challenged:

Michael Jackson sings the theme song Will You Be There in Free Willy (1993), which was shot on the Oregon coast and starred Medford resident  Jason James Richter.

Will Vinton directed Michael in the “Speed Demon” sequence of Moonwalker (1988).

Jim Blashfield directed Michael in the “Leave Me Alone” sequence of Moonwalker (1988).

Will Vinton directed Michael Jackson first as a California Raisin, in 1987.

Former Portland journalist Mikal Gilmore wrote the cover story for Rolling Stone’s memorial issue devoted entirely to Michael Jackson.

Former Portland journalist Kim Morgan has three chapters in the forthcoming “Official Michael Jackson Opus” book, which, at 38 pounds, serves dual purpose as a weight training system..

Will Vinton traveled to Neverland Ranch to co-create, in person, the choreography of the duet which ends the “Speed Demon” sequence. Just as experienced Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers fans know that Fred worked out his routines with Hermes Pan before shooting them with Ginger, the experienced Oregon movie buff can see that in the “Speed Demon” duet, Spike Rabbit stands in for Vinton himself. Vinton studied dance growing up in McMinnville, along with his sister, who later, as Mary Vinton Folberg, founded Portland’s Jefferson Dancers.

Kim Morgan checks out the decor at the Playboy Mansion.

Color me proud. Kim Morgan, the one time Portlander who now rules the blogosphere from LA, was asked to contribute not one, not two, but three chapters to a forthcoming book about Michael Jackson.

What the book like, Kim? From the Film In Focus interview:

……a beautiful Opus book (out this December) about Michael Jackson – the first one approved by the family and estate. I wrote three chapters – one about Michael Jackson the video visionary, one about his fashion, and one on Michael the dancer, which was actually emotional for me. Watching and studying all the things I love that inspired Michael, from Fred Astaire to James Brown to Bob Fosse, was profoundly moving. And sad.

Michael Jackson, pictured here with a few Michael wannabes.

Michael Jackson can do many things, but he can’t direct his own music videos. For that, he taps the best filmmakers around – John Landis (Thriller), Martin Scorsese (Bad) and Jim Blashfield (Leave Me Alone).

Leave Me Alone was made in Portland at Jim Blashfield’s studio. It won a Grammy, the Cannes Golden Lion (for special effects) and an MTV award (for special effects).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rolling Stone placed it at #8 in their list of Top 100 Music Videos of All Time.

Jim Farber, writing in Connoisseur Magazine, May 1989, sums it up:

While poking fun at the wildest tabloid rumors about the star’s life, Blashfield offers unexpected insight into Jackson’s psychology.  He constructs two Jacksons here– one an impish child, the other a Gulliver-style giant, trapped in a labyrinth of roller coasters and log flumes.  With wit and empathy, he portrays him as an adult enslaved to a child’s fantasies.

I hereby claim Leave Me Alone as an Oregon film, based on the Oregon citizenship of the writer-director-producer, Jim Blashfield.

Will Vinton and Jim Blashfield each directed a segment in this feature length film, conceived and produced by Michael himself.

Will Vinton directed Speed Demon, in which Michael dances with a life sized claymation Spike Rabbit (just out of frame in the image below). You will never see a more relaxed and joyful Michael.

Jim Blashfield directed the much acclaimed Leave Me Alone sequence, in which Michael flees the pressures of fame in a mini-spaceship very similar to the flying baked potatoes in Suspicious Circumstances.

Moonwalker doesn’t observe story logic. But there is a story being told – about Michael’s love/hate relationship with his own career. One sequence has him turning into a heavily armed spaceship, another has him running from a pack of dogs, as if he had stepped straight into Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

See for yourself what Michael had in mind when he made Moonwalker. And remember that he tapped two Oregon filmmakers to help him make it.

I hereby claim Moonwalker as an Oregon film, on the basis of the sequences directed by Will Vinton and Jim Blashfield.