Filmmaker behind Thriller video sues Jackson for spin-off profits

Just days after the announcement of a stage show based on Michael Jackson's Thriller music video, it has come to light that the filmmaker behind the original landmark production is suing the beleaguered singer.

Hollywood director John Landis co-wrote and oversaw the production of the 14-minute Thrillermusic video. He also produced a behind-the-scenes mini-documentary about its creation that was sold during the 1980s.

Lawyers representing the director's company, Levitsky Productions Inc., filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 21 against Jackson and his now-defunct production firm Optimum Productions.

According to court documents, the lawsuit claims that Jackson owes Landis 50 per cent of the profits from a host of Thriller-related projects launched in the past few years. The suit calls for unspecified damages and accuses Jackson and his firm of "fraudulent, malicious and oppressive conduct."

After Landis released his film An American Werewolf in London, Jackson approached the director to make a new music video. Though his album Thriller had already been released a year earlier, the cinematic Thriller video made a major splash after it debuted on the still-young MTV network in 1983.

According to an interview he gave in 2008, Landis said the video cost $500,000 US to produce at the time (about 10 times the cost of a typical music video), and the duo had difficulty finding investors willing to pay for it.

However, they eventually prevailed, and it remains one of the most memorable music videos of all time, as well as inspiring parody performances even today.

In 2008, Jackson marked the 25th anniversary of the album by releasing an expanded edition with songs remixed by and featuring several contemporary music producers and performers.

Though his Thriller album is still revered, Jackson's personal and professional life has suffered greatly in recent years.

Following his acquittal on child molestation charges in 2005, he has been the target of many lawsuits, some of which revealed the 50-year-old singer's precarious financial state. His attempted musical comeback has also faltered.