Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Examination by
om
For IRS Donna Hubert
n.c
Q: Good afternoon, Mr Nederlander, first I want to thank you for being here.
??????????????????????????????????????????
so
A.???? Los Angeles, New York, Chicago.????? And I grew up in>>>>>????
Q. So after you education, did you become involved in the family business
A. Yes
ck
lJa
Q. And so erm, Tell me a little bit about your grandfather and what he did?
A: He stayed in Detroit.
Q: Okay. And then did other family members become involved in the business?
am
A: Correct.
A/ No, my grandfathers siblings no, My father was the primary one and his brothers
were involved, as well.
om
Q: What was your father involvement would have been?
moving it to New York, producing shows. He would go the New york to get show to
n.c
come to Detroit,, extend to Los Angeles and Chicago.
so
A: Yes.
ck
Q: In what cities.
A. laughs
ae
Q. Approximately
ich
A: Yes
am
Q: ok. Can you name some of the shows that the Nederlander organization produced?
A: Annie, In Sympathy, Movin' Out, On Your Feet!, (????), Romeo and Juliet...more,
om
and others, as well.
Q: Okay thank you. Can you tell us a little about the process of deveopng a braodway
n.c
play or show?
A: Well there's a lot of different ways to do that. One, you can go see a show at a
so
particular venue around the world and say this is something I realy want to bring to
ck
Q: And have you done both of those?
lJa
A: Yes.
A: Umm, I saw The Man Bradley cooper up in Williamstown...went up there and told
Bradley , This is an amazing show production. Please come to New York. We talked
ich
about it, six months later he decided 'yes'. ..My father saw Nicholas Nickleby in London,
he thought it was something that may never make money but yet America probably
M
should see it..and it did come to New York and it was a masterpiece. Umm, I have
approached certain artists to ask to see if their catalog might be available to make a
am
musical, or certain books that may be interesting as a play or a musical. So, it really
expands from finding something that you really like, to creating something that you
really like.
Te
om
Q: Do you remember any of the names of the musicals?
A: On Your Feet!
n.c
Q: And what is On Your Feet! ?
A: On Your Feet! is the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. From where they began to
so
Q: Okay. And is that show is still playing?
ck
A: It is.
Q: Now, did there come a time in 2008 where you were approached to do a Michael
lJa
Jackson-themed Broadway show?
A: Correct.
ae
A: Peter Lopez.
A: Yeah, I knew him periodically, on and off, you we'd be in sort of places but I cant
remember
Te
om
Q: And what did he tell you when he called.. did he call you?
A: Yes, he did.
n.c
Q: Okay, and what did he say?
A: He said would you like to make a musical out of Michael Jacksons music?
so
Q: And what did you say?
A: Sure!
ck
Q: Okay, then what happened after that?
lJa
A: Well uhh, eventually I met Michael. And we talked a little bit about an idea. And
then...nothing, basically.
ae
A: No.
ich
Q: No. Okay. Did you come to Los Angeles to discuss a possible project this..for a
Broadway show?
M
A: Yes.
am
A: With?
Te
om
A: Um-hum.
n.c
A: Yes.
so
A: Yes, I did.
ck
A: Michael Jackson and Peter Lopez.
lJa
Q: And did you..Was Tohme Tohme at the meeting?
A: Yes, yes, he was there, as well. I actually met him before I met Michael through Peter
ae
Q: And did you work out a deal memorandum recording the proposed show?
ich
A: Eventually.
Judge: Yes.
am
Donna Hubert: Let the record reflect I have just given-Exhibit 19J. to the witness and it
A.Okay.
om
Q: Can you look at the page that's numbered page 10.
A: Um-hum.
n.c
Q: Is that your signature on the document?
A: It is, yes.
so
Q: Is this the deal memorandum that you were working on with Michael Jackson?
A: Yes.
ck
Q: Now I believe that when we met in New York ..you would ask about shows, correct?
lJa
A: I do believe that one should talk to a neighbor or someone and try to explain to them
what a show's about because that gives you a decent sign whether they're interested in
it or not.
ae
Q: Okay. Now if you would look at page 6 of the deal memorandum, the section that
M
says 'credit'. Just take a minute and look that over. ..So, did this agreement, are you
A. ..No. Okay
Q. Albright so did the deal memorandum provide for Michael Jackson to be listed in the
Te
om
Q: And did it also require the use of his moniker: 'The King Of Pop'?
n.c
Q: Well, okay. Let me rephrase that. And was it required that all press releases include
A: It says it here, but you know, we never had a deal so nothing was really
so
authenticated from this.
ck
Q: Did any money change hands because of this deal memorandum?
A: No.
lJa
Q: At the time that you were talking to Michael Jackson, Tohme Tohme and Peter
Lopez and signing this deal memorandum, did you have any concerns about Michael
ae
Jacksons image?
ich
A: No.
Q: And at the time that you were signing this deal memorandum, were you concerned
A: No.
am
Q: Why not?
Son, no one can pick a hit or a flop. So.. I have no idea if this would have been
om
successful or not. HE would have no idea if it would be a success or not. He was alive
when they were doing this and HE didn't know. No one knows.
n.c
Q: What about with respect to other Broadway shows? Do you ever know?
A: No.
so
Q: What about something like Hamilton--
ck
A: (Congratulations????)
Q: I didn't mean to cut off your answer, what did you say?
ae
A: No um, we were just an investor. But I didn't know what it was going to be.
ich
A: No. ..Look, no guarantees. My father, again, would say, How do you become a
M
(laughter in court)
am
Q: So, did anybody else in your company have a concern about Michael Jacksons
image or allegations?
Te
A: No.
Q: At the time that you entered this deal memorandum, if you remember, was there
om
A: Yeah, there was a Michael Jackson musical that was going on.
n.c
A: A little bit, a little bit. But then I saw it, and it was not really concerning.
so
Q: So that didnt deter you.
ck
A: No.
Q: Alright. And did any complications arise as you started to consider this deal, were
lJa
there any problems with Rod Temperton, or..?
A: No, we were just in the negotiation process with him. You know, how he feels, We
ae
Q: Okay, so what happened after that? Did the deal proceed, did it consummate?
A: After what?
M
A: No.
am
A: Correct.
Q: When he died did it cancel the project or put it on hold or what happened?
A: I dont actually remember, it just, there was.. I dont know. I dont remember, it just
STOPPED.
om
Q: Alright. After he died you were still interested in producing a Michael Jackson-
n.c
A: Yes.
Q: Did you discuss it with with the Michael Jackson's Estate, at all?
so
A: ..Not really, I mean, no.
ck
Q: Did the Estate seem interested in moving forward with a Michael Jackson Broadway
show?
lJa
A: I dont know if they did it or not, everything kind of just went to a standstill. ...A lot of
Q: Do you remember if your, if the Nederlander Organization filed a lawsuit against the
Estate?
ich
A: I think that was our attorney at the time..and I don't recall exactly what the lawsuit
Q: Let the record reflect, exhibit 31J, to the witness and to the Court in the first
stipulation of fact. If you could just take a moment to look at the document and see if it
om
A: It looks familiar but I dont remember any details here.
n.c
A: I dont remember.
Q: Okay. ..Would you still be interested in doing a Michael Jackson Broadway show
so
today?
ck
A: Sure. Yes.
Howard Weitzman: Just so you know, I can tell you what happened in the lawsuit. If you
ae
Judge: ...No.
(laughter in court)
M
Q: So um, this Broadway deal memorandum for the potential Broadway play was for a
am
musical stage play based on Michael Jackson and others' catalogs of music, correct?
A: Correct.
Te
Q: I don't have any further questions, thank you. ..Nice to see ya.
Judge: This broadway show was going to have songs and other performers?
om
A: Correct.
n.c
Judge: Oh he is
(Break)
so
ck
lJa
ae
ich
M
am
Te