Golden Globes reject Jaafar Jackson’s musical/comedy bid, setting ‘Michael’ vs. ‘The Odyssey’
Jaafar Jackson’s Michael biopic saw its musical or comedy bid rejected, setting up a fight for recognition in drama instead.
After a review by the Golden Globes category committee, Michael won’t compete as a musical/comedy this season. Gold Derby reports the committee turned down Lionsgate ’s submission and shifted the biopic into the Globes’ drama fields, reasoning that while the film features major performances, the songs don’t primarily drive the plot — a key requirement under the Globes’ musical definition. That move puts the blockbuster on a collision course with likely drama heavyweights, including The Odyssey .
- Best Picture path — now in Best Motion Picture — Drama, not musical/comedy.
- Lead actor slot — Jaafar Jackson moves into Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama.
- Supporting races — unchanged; the Globes don’t split supporting categories by genre, so names like Colman Domingo remain unaffected.
- Appeal window — Lionsgate is weighing an appeal the committee could review before the Oct. 31 deadline.
The Globes have gotten stricter about musical placements since biopic winners Ray and Walk the Line triumphed in those fields. In recent years, high-profile music biopics — Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis, and the Bob Dylan film A Complete Unknown — all ran as dramas instead.
Michael has topped $1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing biopic ever.
Sequel plans
Looking past awards chatter, Jaafar Jackson told GQ Middle East that a sequel, Michael 2, is being envisioned to cover the years the first movie didn’t touch. The initial film ends around the 1987 release of Bad; a follow-up would move into the 1990s, addressing the criticism and the child-abuse allegations that emerged in 1993, with an emphasis on presenting his uncle’s perspective.
Jackson added that he doesn’t control the screenplay, but he hopes the next chapter examines those later years in detail and keeps the sense of humanity he sees at the core of Michael Jackson’s story — a response to what the family feels are outside narratives with their own agendas. For now, though, the current movie’s awards road runs through the drama side at the Globes, with a possible studio appeal due by Oct. 31.