TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Around 500 FAMU students got the opportunity to see an early screening of the new Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael’ Monday night.
Students included members of the FAMU Marching 100, who kicked off the promotional launch for the ‘Michael’ movie in February.
Oluwamodupe Oloyede, the head drum major for the band says hearing the news about the promotion was surreal.
“Hearing that we had Michael Jackson, I thought the movie was done already,” she said. “So the fact we were even doing promotion for it was, wow, people want include HBCU’s in the culture and the chose our university first. That’s what’s up.”
Kaden Hall, another member of the FAMU Marching 100 said going to the screening is a memory he’ll never forget.
“This is something we’re going to look back when we’re 40, 50 and think remember when we were all on the red carpet for the Michael movie,” he said.
Actor Larenz Tate was the celebrity guest at the screening. He plays Berry Gordy in the biopic, the founder of MoTown records and a mentor to the king of pop.
Tate said he hopes the students find the passion Michael Jackson had, in themselves.
“Focus on whatever your dreams and your goals are,” he said. “This is someone who wanted to be the greatest entertainer ever, and through his ambition, through his dedication, through his focus, his talent and his skills and his gifts, he was undeniable. We hope that our students can definitely see that in themselves.”
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Tate said it was important to connect with universities to get that connection with younger audiences.
“To connect with this institution to recreate some of Michael’s music, something that has made us all very proud and I’m sure Michael would be proud as well,” Tate said. “To see their creativity, their dedication. FAMU is incredible, so we just wanted to make sure we could stay engaged with the younger demographic.”
While the screening was private for FAMU, ‘Michael’ is out in theaters on April 24.
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