Trivia / The Jacksons: An American Dream

• Adored by the Network: In the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death, VH1 aired the film a copious amount of times for the rest of the year. Even in the years before and since, it remains their most aired (and beloved) of all of their "Movies That Rock".
• Breakaway Pop Hit: Boyz II Men's cover of "In the Still of the Nite (I'll Remember)" became a worldwide smash when it was released as a single, and was added onto a reissue of Cooleyhighharmony a few months later. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who remembered their recording actually originated from this movie.
• The Cast Showoff: Any time he wasn't lip syncing to the original tracks, Jason Weaver's singing was genuinely his. Likewise, Wylie Draper, an accomplished dancer who had already been on Michael Jackson's payroll, was able to pull off many of Michael's famous moves effortlessly, and even assisted with the choreography for the various dance scenes in the miniseries.
• Creator-Chosen Casting: All of the Jackson siblings had final say over who portrayed them in the miniseries. Notably, Jermaine picked his son Jermaine II to play him as a teen, and Michael picked both Jason Weaver and Wylie Draper to portray him as a child and teen/adult, respectively.
• Reality Is Unrealistic: Joseph's abuse and manipulation is present, but it's severely toned down from much worse things he said and did to his children in real life.
  Randy Jackson (from American Idol): I worked with the Jackson family, and that film holds back. He was a way bigger bastard to those kids!
• Real-Life Relative: Jermaine Jackson's actual son Jermaine Jackson II portrays him as a teen.
• Role Reprise: Sort of. Kip Lennon, who had stood in as Michael Jackson's singing voice in The Simpsons two years earlier, dubs over Wylie Draper in certain scenes where Michael's original vocals aren't used.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: Even before being cast, Wylie Draper was noted for his resemblance to Thriller-era Michael Jackson. So when the time came for him to audition in front of Michael's mother Katherine, who helped oversee the auditioning process, she cried immediately upon seeing him, which all but sealed his place in the cast.

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