Thriller (Michael Jackson album) video that would appeal to the mass market ended up influencing the way that professionals now market and release their songs. John Landis' production of a mini-movie, rather than the usual short music video, would raise the bar for other directors and producers. Before the success of "Thriller", many felt Jackson had struggled to get MTV airing because he was black. In an effort to attain air time for Jackson, CBS Records President Walter Yetnikoff pressured MTV and declared, "I'm not going to give you any more videos and I'm going to go public and fucking tell them about the
Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video) to destroy the "Thriller" negatives. Jackson, who was a Jehovah's Witness, had been told by church leaders that the video promoted demonology and he would be excommunicated. The production team agreed to protect the negatives and locked them in Branca's office. Branca mollified Jackson by suggesting they include a disclaimer at the start of the film stating that it did not reflect Jackson's personal convictions. The "Thriller" video makes many allusions to horror films. The opening scene parodies 1950s B-movie films, with Jackson and Ray dressed as 1950s teenagers. The metamorphosis of the polite "boy next door" into a werecat