MJFC: How exactly did this auction come about?
Darren Julien: We were contacted in July of 2008 by Tohme Tohme who represents Michael Jackson. He informed us that Michael Jackson was familiar with our company and wants us to conduct a first class auction of his items from Neverland and his personal collection.
I personally spoke to Michael Jackson and he wanted to make sure that the auction would be a first class operation and we assured him that it would be. The catalogs were very important to him and that is why we put more money in designing and producing them than we have for any other celebrity we have ever worked with.
Tohme Tohme informed us that Michael had his manager Joe Marcus remove all the items from Neverland that he did not want to be included in the auction. He said that everything else that we feel has value should be taken back to our facilities to be photographed, cataloged and included in the auction.
MJFC: What was your personal impression when you visited Neverland to get all these items out?
Darren Julien:: The magnitude of Neverland was very impressive and to be honest, very overwhelming. I was disappointed to see that the property was rundown and overgrown and it was a mere shell of its former glory. When I asked Joe Marcus why this was he said that Michael had abandoned the place in 2005 and never returned.
When I talked with Michael the second time during the process, I assured him that when we produced the catalog and the exhibition in Beverly Hills, that we would preserve the history of his items and that we want to make it something that he and his fans will forever be proud of.
MJFC: Which item was most complicated to get out of Neverland?
Darren Julien: This is a tough question because there were so many tough items to get out of Neverland. Tohme Tohme wanted us to remove the chandeliers, light switches and anything that was removable but we informed him that this would make Michael’s auction look cheap and we only want to do what is best for Michael Jackson.
The gates required us to rent a crane and it took 10 guys to remove but the most difficult was the 360 machine that was in the game room. We have to take out the wall in order to remove it from the building. Unfortunately for us, Michael’s likes marble, bronze and has many heaving things so it there were a lot of items that took multiple men to move.
MJFC: What was the most astonishing or interesting item?
Darren Julien: This again is a difficult question because there are so many amazing things that Michael collected over the years but I have to say, the clothing was the most astonishing items to me.
Michael kept most of his iconic pieces like the “Thriller” jacket which we understand but we were excited when he gave us many of the costumes and clothing from his life and career.
MJFC: Which item(s) do you think will draw the most bid attention?
Darren Julien: I think that the gates and his white glove will be the items that have the most bids and interests. The gates are iconic to Neverland and his white glove is iconic to his career. It is hard to pinpoint just a few items since there are so many iconic pieces in the auction. We are selling not only items from Michael Jackson but Neverland which will forever be part of Pop Culture History.
MJFC: Do you have a personal favourite item?
Darren Julien: I do. It is not what you might expect but my personal favourite item is the castle from the living room. When I walked into the main house for the first time at Neverland it was overwhelming and to see this amazing massive castle in the living room gave me a sense of where I really was. There are very few living rooms where a massive replica of a castle would fit in and it made me realize that Michael really wanted it to be a magical place.
MJFC: Is there anything else about the exhibition in Beverly Hills that fans should know?
Darren Julien: I don’t think that the fans or anyone else for that matter really understands the magnitude of the exhibition that we are creating adjacent to The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills (April 14th – 21st). It is costing us more than $500,000 to mount the exhibition alone.
When I spoke to Michael he said that he wants the exhibition to be amazing and for us to pull out all the stops so to honor his wishes, that is what we are doing.
I can honestly say that there has never been and never will be an exhibition of someone’s collection like this ever again. One reason is that there will never be anyone who will compare or accomplish the achievements of Michael Jackson. It will be an exhibition that will forever be remembered by his fans.
MJFC: What’s the best way for fans from countries worldwide – who mostly won’t be able to attend the auction in person – to bid for their favourite item?
Darren Julien: If they are not able to attend, the best way for them to participate is to either place proxy bids online (which means their max bids in advance of the auction) or to bid in real time through LiveAuctioneers. They will need to make sure they are registered in advance and as soon as the auction starts they can see how the bidding works so that they are prepared when their lots come up.
MJFC: What’s your impression of the Michael Jackson fans in general so far? Many describe them as the most loyal fans of any artist worldwide.
Darren Julien: We work with many high profile celebrities and I would have to agree that Michael has the most loyal fans out of any celebrity we have ever seen.
The other thing that I really like and appreciate about Michael’s fans is that they are fair and honest. We have received so many great emails from his fans thanking us for doing a first class job honoring his life and career. We take a lot of pride in our events and auctions and we feel very honored to have the opportunity to conduct this event and auction for Michael Jackson.
MJFC: Recently, there unfortunately have been some legal complications regarding the auction. Can you please give us your point of view? Will the auction now definitely go ahead?
Darren Julien: We are very disheartened and disappointed at what has happened and to be honest with you, we don’t understand it. We were hired to do a first class auction by Michael Jackson and Tohme Tohme and that has only been the intent for both sides. We are an auction house and that is all that we do.
We are trying to understand why the change of heart and have asked for someone to please communicate with us what they want and how to resolve this but have yet to hear anything back. We want a solution to make everyone happy especially Michael Jackson but someone needs to communicate with us before this can happen. Because no one has tried to resolve this with us, we must continue with the world class exhibition and auction that we were hired to do.
It is our greatest desire that this is something Michael Jackson and his fans are proud of and that Michael Jackson will look back and feel as though he made the right decision in choosing us to conduct his auction.
12th October 2009
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