Honestly, most people forget that Michael Jackson’s first real step toward becoming a solo global icon didn’t happen in a recording studio. It happened on a movie set in Queens, New York.
We’re talking about The Wiz, the 1978 cinematic retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It’s a weird, beautiful, and sometimes clunky urban fantasy that basically turned 1970s New York City into a dystopian Land of Oz. And right in the center of it, stuck on a pole and being teased by crows, was a nineteen-year-old Michael Jackson playing the Scarecrow.
You’ve probably seen the clips. The spindly legs, the face covered in heavy prosthetics, and that voice—soft but sharp. It was a massive gamble for him. At the time, he was still very much tied to his brothers in The Jacksons. He was looking for a way out, a way to prove he was more than just the kid from the Jackson 5.
Why The Wiz was a huge deal
The production was kind of a mess, but a spectacular one. It had a budget that ballooned from $10 million to somewhere between $22 million and $35 million, making it the most expensive film ever produced in New York at the time.
Director Sidney Lumet—known for gritty dramas like Serpico—was an odd choice for a musical. He decided to shoot everything on location or at Astoria Studios. They turned the World Trade Center into the Emerald City. They used the New York State Pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair for Munchkinland. It was huge.
Michael was obsessed with the role. He had seen the Broadway play six times. He didn't just want the part; he lived it. Reports from the set say he would stay in his Scarecrow makeup for hours, even when they weren't filming, just to stay in character.
The Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones connection
If you want to know why Michael Jackson and the Wizard of Oz (well, the Wiz version) matters today, it’s not just about the dancing. It’s about a conversation that happened during a lunch break.
Quincy Jones was the musical supervisor for the film. Michael, being the perfectionist he was, approached Quincy and asked for recommendations for a producer to work on his upcoming solo album.
Quincy looked at this kid—who was pulling quotes out of his "straw" and showing incredible discipline under pounds of makeup—and said, "I'd like to have a shot at it."
That was the birth of the partnership that gave us Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. Without the yellow brick road, we might never have gotten the Moonwalk.
What most people get wrong about the performance
A lot of critics at the time trashed the movie. They thought Diana Ross, who was 33, was way too old to play a believable Dorothy (the character was originally a schoolteacher in the film script to compensate, but it still felt off to many).
But almost everyone agreed on one thing: Michael Jackson was the best part of the movie.
His performance of "You Can't Win" is a masterclass in physical comedy and soulful singing. The song itself has a bit of a dark history. It was actually a replacement for a song called "I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday." Quincy Jones and the team felt the original didn't fit, so they dug up "You Can't Win," which had been cut from the stage version.
It’s a song about defeat and being held down, which, in hindsight, feels eerily prophetic for Michael’s later life.
The makeup and the "Reese's Cup" nose
Here’s a fun piece of trivia for the nerds: Michael's Scarecrow nose was actually modeled using a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup wrapper.
The makeup process was grueling. It took three hours every single day to apply the prosthetics. Michael mentioned in interviews that after he took it all off at night, his eyes would be red and watery, making him look "like a drug addict."
He also struggled with the cold. They filmed the Emerald City sequence at the base of the World Trade Center in the dead of winter. There were 650 dancers in thin costumes, and it was so freezing that people were quitting on the spot. Michael, however, stayed. He never complained. He just kept dancing.
Why the film failed (and why it survived)
The Wiz was a box office bomb. It only made about $21 million, which didn't even cover the production costs. Critics called it "leaden" and "joyless." They hated the "est" (Erhard Seminars Training) philosophy that screenwriter Joel Schumacher (yes, the Batman & Robin guy) baked into the script.
But something happened in the years that followed.
The film became a cult classic, especially in the Black community. It was a rare, high-budget showcase of Black excellence in a genre—fantasy—that usually ignored people of color. The soundtrack, featuring "Ease on Down the Road," became a staple.
Practical insights for fans and collectors
If you’re looking to revisit this era of Michael’s career, don't just watch the movie.
- The Soundtrack: The double LP is a masterpiece of 70s soul and theatrical arrangement. Quincy Jones’ influence is all over it.
- The "Ease on Down the Road" Single: This was Michael’s first real solo-ish success after the Jackson 5 era, reaching the R&B charts and proving his voice could carry a lead role.
- Museum of the Moving Image: If you’re ever in Queens, they actually have a collection of props and costumes from the film because it was shot right next door.
Michael’s time in Oz was short. He never did another major scripted feature film as a lead character (unless you count Moonwalker or the Ghosts short film). He became too big for the screen. As George Lucas later said when Michael wanted to play Jar Jar Binks, Michael Jackson was simply more famous than any character he could possibly play.
Next Steps for the curious:
Check out the 1979 The Jacksons Tenth Anniversary Special. It features Michael talking candidly about the "humiliation and helplessness" he channeled into the Scarecrow. Also, listen to the Off the Wall album immediately after watching the film; you can hear the exact moment his confidence shifted from a "kid in a group" to a "man on his own."