The music video Thriller wasn't the product of a brilliant idea but was made because Michael Jackson wanted to be a monster, director John Landis has revealed.
Landis was at the Venice film festival to present the 3D version of the video, which was made 35 years after the original. It was screened as a special event in the out-of-competition section.
"(Thriller) was nobody's good idea, it was no brilliant business plan," John Landis told journalists.
"It was a vanity video because Michael wanted to be a monster. And everything that came, evolved from that, was spectacularly successful and I was totally surprised."
Landis said Jackson first approached him about making the video because he liked his work on An American Werewolf in London and the two, along with make-up artist Rick Baker, met to look at photographs from old monster movies.
"Turns out he hasn't seen many horror films, they were too scary. I found him great," Landis said, laughing. "He wanted zombies, but the big thing for Mike was turning into a monster."
Landis, an American film director, screenwriter, actor and producer, jumped at the idea of converting Thriller into 3D, because "I really wanted you to experience it the way Michael wanted you to experience it".
"We went through the whole movie frame by frame, and it was not intended to be in 3D, so we are not throwing anything at you or anything like that, but it does enhance certain parts of it tremendously ... the dance is much improved," he said.
"My only disappointment is that Michael is not here to see it and hear it because I think he would love that," he said.
