Jackson family to get real?
Jermaine pitches TV show
By MICHELLE CARUSO
DAILY NEWS WEST COAST BUREAU CHIEF
LOS ANGELES - Pop star Michael Jackson was a no-show at the family's Christmas Eve gathering, but cameras captured the fest as the musical clan stockpiled footage for the reality TV show they've been shopping around Hollywood.
So far, no network has announced plans to buy the series, but project frontman Jermaine Jackson has told family and friends he's landed a $7 million deal for a 13-episode reality series, a source close to the family told the Daily News yesterday.
Music exec Cory Rooney, who has produced hit records for Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child and Marc Anthony, is said to be producing the unscripted series.
The most shocking footage banked so far, and a key selling point for the potential series, shows Michael Jackson riding to the Santa Maria, Calif., courthouse with family members on his way to hear the verdict in his child molestation trial last June.
"Michael is rocking back and forth pretty fast with a Bible open in his lap. He's saying: 'They tried to do this to Job, now they are trying to do it to me. Why me?'" the source said.
"His family members keep reassuring him: 'It's gonna be okay. We know they're just trying to get your money and the catalogue (Sony/Beatles music rights). We understand...'"
One thing viewers won't see in the reality show is the King of Pop celebrating with his family after the verdict - because it never happened.
"When they got back to Neverland, Michael sent his family away. He went into a guesthouse and told them he needed to be alone. He stayed in there until they left. That was the last time they laid eyes on him," said the family source.
The reality show will loosely focus on Michael Jackson's nephews Taj, Taryll and TJ - the sons of Tito Jackson who formed the early '90s R&B band 3T - as they try to revive their musical careers.
The family has old home-video footage of uncle Michael interacting with the nephews.
But Jermaine has promised that the King of Pop, who spent Christmas in Bahrain, will make five "new" appearances in the first season's episodes - even though the family has been unable to reach him by phone and fears he is zonked out on prescription pills.
"I don't know how Jermaine plans to get Michael's participation. Michael hasn't even taken his mother's calls," said the source. "It makes no sense."
Neither Rooney nor Jermaine Jackson could be reached for comment yesterday, but if the $7 million reality-TV deal is for real, it may help the family save their beloved Hayvenhurst mansion from possible foreclosure.
The family feared getting the boot in January because Michael has failed to make payments on the $2.2 million second mortgage he took out on the property during his trial.
Pop diva Janet Jackson and brother Randy are the only siblings who have said they don't want to participate in the reality show, but both attended Christmas Eve dinner at Hayvenhurst in Encino, the source said.
Originally published on December 28, 2005
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-321315c.html
