Captain EO — Coppola, Lucas, Disney — Michael Jackson

THE FACT

Captain EO was a 17-minute 4D space-opera musical film starring Michael as a starship captain, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, produced by George Lucas, with new songs by Michael and Quincy Jones — and it played only inside Disney theme parks. At $30 million, it was the most expensive film ever made per minute of footage.

WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW

Disney executive Michael Eisner, fresh off his hire in 1984, approached Lucas with a single brief: 'Make us something theme-park-exclusive that justifies the price of admission for a whole new generation.' Lucas brought in Coppola — who had recently lost his shirt on the Cotton Club — and Michael agreed to star, write two new songs, and choreograph the film for an upfront fee of just $750,000 plus a Disney profit share. The film was shot in 70mm with stereoscopic 3D, with seat-shaking effects, simulated lasers, smoke and water-mist effects piped into the theatre — among the first '4D' film experiences ever built. It ran at Epcot, Disneyland Tokyo and Disneyland Paris for over a decade. The two new songs, We Are Here to Change the World and Another Part of Me, were eventually released on the Bad album. The film cost $1.76 million per minute of finished footage — the most expensive ever made by that measure until Avatar in 2009. After Michael's death in 2009, Disney revived Captain EO as a tribute attraction and ran it for another five years.

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THE MOMENT

Michael Jackson — Captain EO (Disney 4D Film, 1986) — Directed by Coppola. Produced by Lucas. Disney-exclusive for 20 years.

SOURCES

Captain EO — Wikipedia ↗