The Wiz old for the part. However, she contacted Rob Cohen of Universal Pictures, who offered to have them finance the film if she were to play Dorothy, at which point he acquiesced. The resulting film version of "The Wiz" also starred former Motown star Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man, Richard Pryor as the Wizard, jazz singer Thelma Carpenter as Miss One (the name "Addapearle" was not used for this production) and Lena Horne as Glinda. Ted Ross and Mabel King reprised their roles of the Lion and Evillene from the Broadway production. Sidney Lumet served
Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland was watched by 2 million viewers. Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland is an American television biopic based on the 2014 book, "Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days", written by Jackson's personal bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard. The film follows Jackson in the final years of his life. On January 13, 2017, Lifetime announced that it had ordered a television biopic of Michael Jackson, which would be based on the book "Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days". Production was scheduled to begin in February in Los Angeles.