Joseph Fiennes to play Michael Jackson in 9/11 'urban legend' road trip tale

A new TV film project based on a purported road trip taken by Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando has people everywhere scratching their heads, both because of the bizarre urban legend that inspired it and the casting of Joseph Fiennes as the late King of Pop.

'It's a challenge,' British actor says of casting, amid strong reactions on social media

CBC News Posted: Jan 27, 2016 10:47 AM EST | Last Updated: January 27, 2016

Joseph Fiennes, seen at left in 2015, says he's been cast to portray pop star Michael Jackson, seen at right in 2001, for a new TV movie based on a purported road trip taken by Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. (Richard Shotwell/Suzanne Plunkett/Associated Press)

British actor Fiennes, who is white, best known for playing the Bard in the film Shakespeare in Love and seen on TV's American Horror Story, is slatedto portray the iconic African-American pop star in a short, 30-minute TV film.

Elizabeth, Michael & Marlonwas commissioned by the U.K.'s Sky Arts, which confirmed the casting Wednesday and said the project was in post-production,due to air this year.

The channel said it was "part of a series of comediesabout unlikely stories from arts and cultural history."

It's a fun, light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek road trip of what celebrity of that kind is like. But also it's rather beautiful and poignant about their relationships as well.- Joseph Fiennes

"I got the script the other day it's a challenge," Fiennes told WENN (World Entertainment News Network) in an online interview published late Monday.

"It's a comedy. It doesn't poke mean fun, but it's a story, possibly urban legend, whereby Michael, Marlon Brando, and Liz Taylor were all together the day before 9/11 doing a concert."

According to Fiennes, American actress Stockard Channing is set to portray screen siren Taylor, while Scottish actor Brian Cox will appear as movie legend Brando.

"It's a lovely thing about Michael's relationship with Liz Taylor and Marlon Brando," Fiennes told WENN.

"It's a fun, light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek road trip of what celebrity of that kind is like. But also it's rather beautiful and poignant about their relationships as well."

'Escape from New York'

The mythicalroad trip tale arose a few years ago when Taylor's former personal assistant, Tim Mendelson, recounted it in a 2011 interview with Vanity Fair.

According to Mendelson, Jackson had invited the two Hollywood stars (two of his closest friends) to join him at concerts in New York in September 2001. The trio, finding themselves grounded and unable fly back to California after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, allegedly chose to rent a car and attempt to drive home.

In the interview, Mendelson claims they made it as far as Ohio.

The story was denied by another of Taylor's assistants, but with the three central figures dead and never having commented (Taylor died in early 2011, Jackson in 2009 and Brando in 2004),the urban legendhas persisted even inspiring a 2015 short story published in the New Yorker by acclaimed writer Zadie Smith.

The strange casting of Fiennes as the internationally renowned black pop star comes amid the heated debate and swirling controversy surrounding the lack of diversity at the upcoming Oscars and, more generally, in Hollywood itself (a similar discussion is also taking place in the U.K.).

Jackson said he suffered from the conditionvitiligo,which caused him to havepatchy loss of skinpigmentation and which he blamed for hislightenedcomplexionas he aged.

In a statement, Sky said it"puts the integrity of the creative vision at the heart of all its original commissions.

"We believe in giving producers the creative freedom to cast roles as they wish, within the diversity framework which we have set."

News of the project rippled throughsocial media, with people alternately angry, confused and skeptical.

The world's reaction to Joseph Fiennes playing Michael Jackson pic.twitter.com/EGLKYSETIO
—@MissSchliez

WTF? Joseph Fiennes is playing Michael Jackson? This is NOT the colorblind casting we meant, entertainment industry https://t.co/1EPpbC8jcO
—@dorothysnarker

Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson: A symptom of Hollywood's deep-seated race problem https://t.co/dvK8o88aL8 pic.twitter.com/zEKRVFDVPR
—@thedailybeast

The fact that the Joseph Fiennes & Charlie Hunnam whitewashing announcements are made during #OscarsSoWhite campaign says a whole lot.
—@Lexialex

I'm TOTALLY on board with Joseph Fiennes playing Michael Jackson IF AND ONLY IF Angela Bassett is cast as Elizabeth Taylor
—@TheOrlandoJones

Charlie Hunnam can play Mexican-American Edgar Valdez & Joseph Fiennes can play Michael Jackosn, but Idris Elba can't play Bond?
—@HashtagLaToya

There is no way this is real. https://t.co/nWRv8c7QGC
—@normwilner

With files from The Associated Press

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