By Jon Bream
Michael Jackson considered Prince his rival back in the 1980s when "Thriller" and "Purple Rain" were ruling the charts and both superstars were selling out concerts night after night.
As Jacko rehearsed for his 50-night comeback tour this summer at London's O2 Arena, he was still thinking about Prince, who had done 21 nights at the O2 in 2007.
In a cover story about Jackson's new farewell film "This Is It" (opening Oct. 28) in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, Randy Phillips of AEG Live (the tour promoter) recalls a discussion with Michael about adding another (expensive) special effect to the $24 million production. Jacko told his team that he wanted to recreate Victoria Falls in southern Africa, one of the world's largest waterfalls, on the stage. Kenny Ortega, director of Jacko's tour as well as all the High School Musical films, tried to talk him out of it.
Phillips told EW: "I was ready to jump off the balcony of my office. We went and met with Michael and Kenny said, 'Michael, you've got to stop. We've got an incredible show; we don't need any more vignettes.' Michael said, 'But Kenny, God channels this through me at night. I can't sleep because I'm so supercharged.' Kenny said, 'But Michael, we have to finish. Can't God take a vacation?' Without missing a beat, Michael said, 'You don't understand -- if I'm not there to receive these ideas,God might give them to Prince."
