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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Harriet Gibsone

Michael Jackson's Thriller contract to be auctioned

Michael Jackson’s Thriller
Michael Jackson’s Thriller Photograph: Sipa Press/REX FEATURES

A signed contract which stipulated the security and payment agreements on the set of Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller music video is to be auctioned.

The signed document between Michael Jackson’s Optimum Productions and the Screen Actors Guild covering requirements for two-dozen actors in the video will be sold by Nate D Sanders Auctions. The contract had to be signed prior to production, which Jackson did on 10 October 1983.

Michael Jackson's Thriller contract
Michael Jackson’s Thriller contract. Photograph: Nate D Sanders Auctions

As a result, his epic 13-minute video for his 9m-selling single was shot in downtown Los Angeles in October 1983. Winning the Grammy for best video album in 1984, as well as best long-form music video in 1985, the blockbuster work altered the boundaries for what a pop-music video could be – so much so, that in 2009, the Library of Congress added Thriller to the National Film Registry. It remains the first and only music video to be selected for the registry.

Those with a cool $25,000 (£16,000) or so lying around can place a bid at the auctioneers website.

Watch Michael Jackson’s Thriller – video
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