Original Copies of Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalker' Discovered

(STUDIO CITY, Calif.) - A rare copy of Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker film featuring the iconic dance sequence of 'Smooth Criminal' was located this week in Studio City, California.

Amy Redman, a raw stock broker who worked with Moonwalker’s live action director, Colin Chilvers for a number of years, came forward Tuesday with three reels of film that contain over 30 minutes of footage.

“I have the only release print ever made for use in the USA. It consists of the live action portion of Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker. Michael had a dream and Moonwalker is the result of his visions,” said Redman.

Half of the film is live action (dance, acting, singing performances with Michael) directed by Chilvers and the other half is claymation.

Although Moonwalker had been theatrically re released in Europe in 1988, the film never made it to theaters in the United states. The film went on to huge success in the home video market.

Chilvers had this print made to screen for his TV commercial clients…a reel of his current work so to speak….after having spent years on Moonwalker’s production with Michael Jackson.

Redman had the print inspected by a local film historian/projectionist who verified the print is in good condition. Redman had worked closely with the Chilvers on the production.

The reels had been in Redman’s procession for years. It was not until Michael Jackson’s death that Redman decided to come forward with the reels.

As early as January, TMZ had reported that the Archlight theater in Los Angeles had been actively searching for a copy of this film. Michael Jackson’s estate was quoted in TMZ as saying “The estate has the rights but has no plans of renting the prints at this time.”

Redman is hopeful a deal can be worked out for the purchase of the print. “At this time I feel it’s the best opportunity to get this footage to parties that are willing to appreciate the vast talents of Michael Jackson, which I witnessed personally.”

Michael Luehring is a California based writer and documentary cameraman who began his pursuit of journalism early, when at the age of 13 he arranged and conducted a rare interview with baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. After graduating from Washington State University with a degree in broadcast journalism, Michael began working in the entertainment industry providing film stock to production companies. During his time working in Hollywood, Michael has conducted interviews with many celebrities and local politicians for production companies and local news outlets in Los Angeles.

Michael is also personally involved in co-ordinating the ongoing effort by missing photojournalist Sean Flynn’s family to resolve his fate and repatriate his remains to the United States. Sean was the son of the great movie actor Errol Flynn; one of several reporters and photojournalists who went missing during the invasion of Cambodia in 1970. In writing stories about Sean Flynn, Salem-News.com's Tim King began working with Mike, and the ensuing relationship has allowed access to Sean's sister Rory Flynn, to ensure that stories about Sean Flynn are accurate from a family perspective. In addition to his involvement with the investigation and recovery efforts in Cambodia, Michael also is actively covering entertainment stories in Los Angeles.

Mike is a welcome addition to the Salem-News.com writing team and brings an interesting, diverse Hollywood touch to our news product that is at times historic, and always compelling. To reach Mike Luehring, write to our newsroom, newsroom@salem-news.com and write 'attn: Mike Luehring' in the subject line, we will forward relevant emails his way.