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
Thriller (viral video) motivation. The convicts marched and danced to several songs, including "In the Navy" and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People. Garcia posted the prisoners' dance regimes onto the internet in April 2007. The most popular of the presentations was their "Thriller" performance. The video showed over 1,500 male inmates emulating Michael Jackson's dance moves from the original "Thriller" short film. Jackson fan Crisanto Nierre played the role of the pop star, with the openly gay former pizza chef Wenjiel Resane playing his girlfriend. The video became one of the most viewed on the internet, receiving 300,000 views per day at its