Michael Jackson Film to Be Released in October

[FormerBondFan]

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/ ... ss&emc=rss

August 10, 2009, 3:54 pm
Michael Jackson Film to Be Released in October
By Ben Sisario


Hours after a judge in Los Angeles approved a deal for a movie using footage of Michael Jackson’s concert rehearsals, Sony announced that the film, “This Is It,” would be released on Oct. 30 in theaters around the world. Named after Mr. Jackson’s planned 50-date engagement in London, the film is to include scenes of Mr. Jackson rehearsing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, along with a career retrospective and interviews with friends and collaborators, and parts of it will be in 3-D, the announcement said.

Sony paid $60 million to make the film, as part of a deal between the studio, the Jackson estate and AEG Live, the concert promoter, which shot the rehearsals. Until permanent executors are confirmed, Judge Mitchell Beckloff of Los Angeles Superior Court must approve deals made by the interim administrators, John Branca and John McClain. The two were named as executors in Mr. Jackson’s will.

[FormerBondFan]

http://www.movietickets.com/news.asp?ne ... =8/21/2009

Michael Jackson Movie to Arrive Early

Friday, August 21, 2009 -

Michael Jackson is heading to the big screen sooner than expected - movie bosses are pushing the release date of the King of Pop movie up by two days.


The pop superstar was due to kick start a 50-date residency in London as part of his This Is It residency in July, but he died on June 25, just weeks before he was scheduled to make his live comeback.


Now a behind-the-scenes film featuring rehearsal footage of Jackson working with dancers, choreographers and special-effects experts is due to hit cinemas worldwide on October 28 - two days sooner than the scheduled release.


Fans will have a very short period to catch the movie in theatres - bosses at film studio Sony, who paid $60 million for the film rights, have announced a limited release of just two weeks.


But director Kenny Ortega, who was choreographing This Is It, is confident moviegoers will be impressed by the film.


He says, "This film is Michael's gift to his fans. It's a very private, exclusive look into a creative genius's world. For the first time ever, fans will see Michael as they have never seen him before - this great artist at work.


"It is raw, emotional, moving and powerful footage that captures his interactions with the This Is It, collaborators that he had personally assembled for this once in a lifetime project."

[FormerBondFan]

[FormerBondFan]

Anyone here planning to see this?

[FormerBondFan]

http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_gol ... ticle.html

Poll: Do you think Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' will be nominated for best picture at the Oscars?


Confusion reigns over whether the Michael Jackson concert documentary "This Is It" may compete at the Oscars. The answer is, well, complicated — like Michael Jackson himself.

As we reported a few days ago, "This Is It" may not compete in the next race for best documentary feature because it missed the deadline — it didn't play in a theater in New York and Los Angeles for seven days prior to Aug. 31.

However, "This Is It " may compete in other Oscar races this year, including best picture. Why not, eh? Reviews are strong. Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) calls it "extraordinary." Elysa Gardner of USA Today gave it three out of four stars, calling it "Equal parts thriller, off the wall, HIStory," adding that it "offers glimpses of Michael Jackson's bygone greatness, and poignant suggestions of what might have been."

But, alas, no documentary has ever been nominated in the past. Some quite famously tried and (disastrously) failed, including "Hoop Dreams" and "Fahrenheit 9/11." Michael Moore refused to enter "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the documentary category because he feared that its presence might dilute its chances of landing in the loftier category. That ploy revealed serious Oscar naivete, considering the two categories have vastly different voting systems. Nominees for best documentary feature are chosen by a relatively small screening committee, not the full academy electorate, which selects the best-picture lineup. In other words, it didn't run the risk of appearing twice on the average academy member's ballot, thus splitting its votes.

This year, there will be 10 nominees instead of the usual five, of course, so maybe this could be it for "This Is It"?