LONDON - Late pop legend Michael Jackson was preparing to make his debut as a moviemaker after signing up to co-direct and finance a drama about foster children just three months before his death.

Filmmaker Bryan Michael Stoller has claimed that Jackson, who died June 25, was planning to move into Hollywood as a director, reported femalefirst.co.uk.

Stoller says that Jackson had agreed to be his partner in the film company Magic Shadows and they were preparing to co-direct They Cage The Animals At Night, a project they had been working on for the last seven years.

Stoller claims the movie, based on a 1985 autobiography by author Jennings Michael Burch, was the brainchild of Jackson, who wanted to highlight the plight of foster kids because he felt he could relate to their circumstances.

“He was very excited about making movies and wanted his hands on everything, from working on screenplays to producing, to writing the music. However, he never showed any interest in acting, said Stoller.

Jackson had once turned to acting in The Wiz in 1978.