Michael Jackson is dead

[Kristatos]

Jackson has a bigger fanbase than Johnny Cash, but i'd still be surprised if it made more than $250m worldwide in today's dollars.

Jackson is bigger than anything in this world IMO.

Elvis and the Beatles were bigger than Jackson, but biopics of them have grossed less money than Walk The Line or Ray. The box office doesn't seem to be related to how popular the subject was.

[carl stromberg]

I think his fans would spend their cash on memorabilia. A biopic may upset some of his fans.

[Kristatos]

I think his fans would spend their cash on memorabilia. A biopic may upset some of his fans.

It would be certainly be controversial, due to the uncertainty over whether he was a paedophile or not. If it portrayed him too sympathetically, it would alienate those who believed that he was, and if it made him a monster, it would upset his fans. And if it fudged the question, it would probably end up satisfying nobody.

[FormerBondFan]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... owbWd2MxuA

Jackson too fast for his father's belt: brother

(AFP) – 1 day ago

LONDON — Pop legend Michael Jackson used to escape beatings from his father when he was a child by swiftly dodging and weaving his way to safety, according to his brother Tito Jackson.

Tito said the future King of Pop's footwork was so fast and so good that his belt-wielding father Joe Jackson was often reduced to laughter in efforts to catch him.

"Most of the time Michael was so quick my father couldn't hit him," Tito said in an interview with London's Daily Mirror newspaper.

"He'd swing the belt and Michael would be over there, he'd swing again and Michael would be over here."

"My father used to just stop and laugh because he couldn't hit him."

"Michael would just dance around him. My father would get tired and give up," he added.

Jackson died on June 25 aged 50 after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles, although investigators have been scrutinising the possible role of drugs in his death.

Joe, a steelworker in the industrial city of Gary, Indiana, reared his nine children into musical sensations starting from the Jackson 5 to the phenomenal careers of Michael and younger sister Janet Jackson.

Michael Jackson later said that his father would beat him when he missed a note and emotionally humiliate him, contributing to the future star's psychological fragility but also planting in him the will to succeed.

Tito said he held no ill feelings towards his father about the way he was raised, saying he was a "disciplining type of father".

"From those of us not raised in our generation they might not understand it. You got a big ass punishment or you got spanked for it. That's the way it was."

[FormerBondFan]

You guys better take a look at this:

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00025802.html

A Michael Jackson Movie Steps Closer to Materialization
July 20, 2009 07:09:14 GMT

Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox have come out as the front-runners in a Hollywood auction of film and home video distribution rights to Michael Jackson's rehearsal footage.

A recent update for the planned feature film for Michael Jackson's rehearsal footage has been brought forward by The New York Times. According to the publication, the proposed film project is rapidly moving forward into becoming a reality since Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox, as of Saturday, July 18, have emerged as the leading contenders in the bidding war for the filming rights.

The rights to the project have been battled over by major studios like Viacom's Paramount/MTV, NBC Universal, Sony Music and Sony Pictures, and News Corp's 20th Century Fox/Fox Broadcasting Co. ever since AEG Live, the concert promoter behind Michael's canceled O2 concert, offered the late King of Pop's rehearsal material. Other sources indicated that Sony would likely win the bidding, partly because Sony Music has rights to Michael's music.

Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily reported that the bidding for the movies rights was begun at a staggering $50 million, while the TV special rights at $10 million. Inside sources, in addition, claimed that the deals under discussion include revenue-sharing agreements and distribution fees for the movie studios. Still, outcome of the auction is expected to come out as soon as this week.

None of the reported Hollywood studios gave comments on this report. Michael Roth, a spokesman for AEG, also remained coy when asked about the matter. "We have not made any decisions on what we are going to do with the video," he stated.

Weeks following Michael Jackson's sudden death, AEG Live has considered to turn the legendary singer's rehearsal footage for his "This is It" concert into a feature film. The material, owned by the concert promoter, was said to contain over 100 hours of Michael rehearsing his back catalog for the tour scheduled to play at the O2 Arena, London, later in the year.

It also included the King of Pop performing his hits "Thriller" and "Beat It" in addition to production meetings and auditions. Some of the rehearsal footage was shot in high definition. At the time, AEG's president and CEO Randy Phillips revealed that they are waiting for Jackson's estate to be settled before proceeding with their plan.

[Dr. No]

the story behind it all keeps getting more and more sinister

[FormerBondFan]

http://new.music.yahoo.com/michael-jack ... --61720652

Michael Jackson's dad says burial set for August 29: report
Reuters, Aug 17, 2009 3:00 pm PDT

Michael Jackson's father has said the "King of Pop" will be buried at a Los Angeles cemetery on August 29, which would have been his 51st birthday, a newspaper reported on Monday.

Joe Jackson told the New York Daily News that the plan was finalized in recent days.

Media reports last week said Jackson, who died June 25 of cardiac arrest, was buried in a private ceremony in early August. But those reports were based on unnamed sources and never confirmed by Jackson family representatives.

A Jackson family spokesman was not immediately available Monday to comment on the Daily News story, nor was a spokesman at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn cemetery, where Joe Jackson said his son would be buried.

A public memorial for the singer was held in July, but there was never an official confirmation that the "Thriller" singer was buried after the event.

The reason behind Jackson's cardiac arrest remains a mystery. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office has completed its autopsy report but its findings remain sealed until police conclude their investigation.

Los Angeles police are looking into the role prescription drugs may have played in Jackson's death and the actions of doctors who were treating him in the weeks before he died.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Phil Stewart)

[FormerBondFan]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!

[Dr. No]

Well it could have been.

I am shock ,more and more as the story of his untimely death unfolds.

[FormerBondFan]

Do you own any MJ's CDs, Doc? I own 5 of them.

[Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry]

It's very sad to hear of all the hugh powered medical drugs Jackson was injecting himself with. The poor fellow must have been in agony.

[Dr. No]

Do you own any MJ's CDs, Doc? I own 5 of them.

I just own1 . Not a big fan of his later stuff, but it wasn't bad either just not as good as what got him started

[FormerBondFan]

Do you own any MJ's CDs, Doc? I own 5 of them.

I just own1 . Not a big fan of his later stuff, but it wasn't bad either just not as good as what got him started

Invincible sold the least.

[FormerBondFan]

Here are the MJ CDs I own.

[FormerBondFan]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 69/1/.html

Final farewell as Michael Jackson laid to rest
Posted: 03 September 2009 1007 hrs


LOS ANGELES : Family and friends of Michael Jackson will bid a final farewell to the tragic King of Pop here Thursday as the singer is laid to rest in a private ceremony at a star-studded Los Angeles cemetery.

More than two months after Jackson's sudden death from a drug overdose on June 25, mourners will gather for a sunset service in a mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park - a cemetery that is home to a galaxy of celebrity graves.

The service will be in stark contrast to the lavish public memorial held at Los Angeles's Staples Center in July, which was attended by 20,000 fans and beamed live around the world to an estimated audience of 1 billion.

Police in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale on Wednesday urged Jackson devotees to stay away from the funeral, warning that the neighbourhood surrounding the cemetery's entrance would be on lockdown.

"A special request would be to encourage fans to stay at home," a statement said. "The closure of the streets for the day will not afford anyone the opportunity to get anywhere near the gates."

Police helicopters and search dogs would patrol the 300-acre (120-hectare) cemetery, on the lookout for any fans trying to sneak into the service, which is due to take place at 7:00 pm (0200 GMT Friday).

Jackson will be interred inside Forest Lawn's Great Mausoleum, an elaborate neo-classical building inspired by Genoa's famous Campo Santo.

Jackson's gold-plated casket will be placed in a private section of the crypt that is also home to the final resting places of famous names from Hollywood's golden age such as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.

Other entertainment icons buried at Forest Lawn include Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn and Jimmy Stewart.

Although open to the public, the funeral home is renowned for its strict privacy, and unlike many other Hollywood cemeteries does not provide maps.

"The Great Mausoleum where he is going is like the Holy Grail of grave hunters," Scott Michaels, who runs a sightseeing tour specialising in the macabre side of Hollywood, told The Los Angeles Times.

"There are cameras all throughout it, and if you are just wandering about, they will find you and kick you out."

One of Jackson's brothers, Marlon, meanwhile revealed in an interview with a British newspaper that the singer's children - Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7 - would leave notes in their father's coffin.

Jackson said messages reading "Daddy we love you, we miss you," would be placed in the casket alongside the singer's trademark single white glove.

On Wednesday a Los Angeles judge supported a request from Jackson's mother, Katherine, that the cost of the service should be paid for by her son's estate.

A lawyer for the two entertainment industry figures who control Jackson's fortune said the costs of the service would be steep.

"The expenses will be extraordinary, but Michael Jackson was extraordinary," Jeryll Cohen said, without specifying the anticipated bill.

Los Angeles coroners said last week Jackson's death was being treated as homicide and revealed the star had six drugs in his body when he died, including propofol, a powerful anesthetic.

Propofol is used to induce unconsciousness in patients undergoing major surgery in hospital. Medical professionals say it should never be used by private individuals at home.

The coroner's announcement fuelled speculation that authorities may charge Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, in connection with the death. Cardiologist Murray was the last person to see Jackson alive.

Jackson, one of the most influential figures in pop music history whose four-decade career included the highest-selling album of all-time, "Thriller," had been preparing for a July concert comeback at the time of his death.

- AFP/il

[FormerBondFan]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 820912.ece

From Times Online
September 3, 2009
Three months after his death, Los Angeles prepares to put Michael Jackson to rest

More than three months after he was killed by a lethal cocktail of anasthetic and sedatives, Michael Jackson was tonight due to be laid to rest in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

The private service for family and friends only, with press coverage limited to one pool photographer and one TV camera, was expected to begin at 7pm local time (3am BST).

By this afternoon, police had set up a perimeter outside the cemetery, and the Federal Aviation Authority had restricted all flights within a three-mile radius.

Although the cost of the service has been redacted in court documents, a lawyer representing the administrators of Jackson’s estate has called it “extraordinary”.

Nevertheless, the estate was this week given permission by a judge to cover the burial expenses - including the purchase of 12 burial spaces, instead of one - but only after proving that it could afford them.

“Mrs [Katherine] Jackson and her family wish to honor her son by a funeral that seeks to offer solace to his multitude of fans and by which the family also may be comforted,” wrote Burt Levitch, a Jackson family lawyer, in documents submitted to the court.

It is thought that the biggest expense is the fee charged by Forest Lawn for Mr Jackson to be interred within its 300-acre, lavishly landscaped and decorated grounds.

Designed in the early 1900s as an antidote to “unsightly, depressing” traditional graveyards, Forest Lawn’s theme park approach to death was infamously satirised by the British writer Evelyn Waugh in his 1948 novel The Loved One.

Mr Jackson, whose death at the age of 50 has now been officially ruled a homicide with his former doctor expected to be charged with manslaughter, will be laid to rest in the cemetery’s Great Mausoleum, alongside such Hollywood icons as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and WC Fields.

The singer’s remains will be stored in crypt in the Holly Terrace section of the mausoleum, surrounded by newly installed statues and stained glass windows.

With Mr Jackson’s burial site likely to become a major draw for tourists, negotiations over where he should be laid to rest caused some friction within the singer’s family.

Mr Jackson’s brother, Jermaine Jackson, lobbied for the singer’s body to be buried in a Graceland-style museum at his former Californian ranch, Neverland. But those who live near Neverland objected - the property is located in rustic 'wine country’, north of Santa Barbara - and the singer’s 79-year-old mother decided on Forest Lawn instead.

During Mr Jackson’s life, Neverland became synonymous with the child abuse allegations which dogged the singer’s career, and it is thought his mother came to the conclusion that her son wouldn’t have wanted to be laid to rest there.

In addition, Forest Lawn is only a 20-minute drive from Mrs Jackson’s home in Encino, a wealthy part of the San Fernando Valley. She lives there with Mr Jackson’s three children, Prince, Paris, and Blanket, after a custody arrangement was reached in July with their biological mother, Debbie Rowe.

The cost of security for Mr Jackson’s funeral is expected to be $150,000 at the most, with the Glendale police department providing everything from sniffer dogs to air support. A spokesman said that the burial would not divert resources away from the wildfires still burning in the northern canyon suburbs of Los Angeles.

Mr Jackson’s burial comes a month after his public memorial concert in downtown Los Angeles.

But it will not end the controversy over how he died. Ever since Mr Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide - after his brain was temporarily removed from his body for testing - there have been rumours that the singer’s former doctor, Conrad Murray, is facing imminent arrest. Dr Murray had been giving Mr Jackson a hospital-grade liquid anesthetic to help him sleep at night.

Dr Murray, who was paid $150,000 a month to treat Mr Jackson ahead of his comeback tour at London’s O2 arena, was also giving the singer’s sedatives. The doctor’s lawyer has said that his client did not give Mr Jackson anything that “should have” killed him.

[FormerBondFan]

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/dat ... story.html

Key dates after Michael Jackson's death

Agence France-Presse
September 3, 2009 4:02 PM

LOS ANGELES - Key dates following the sudden death of pop star Michael Jackson, who was to be buried later Thursday:

— June 25: Michael Jackson dies at age 50 in his Los Angeles home of an apparent cardiac arrest.

— June 26: The Los Angeles coroner says after an initial autopsy that there was "no indication . . . of foul play" in Jackson's death. A final ruling is deferred pending toxicology tests.

— June 27: Jackson's family says it wants a second autopsy. The doctor who was at Jackson's home on June 25, Conrad Murray, says he is not a suspect in the death.

— June 29: A Los Angeles court names Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, 79, temporary guardian of his three children, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7, as well as of his estate, which includes his Neverland ranch and rights to songs by The Beatles.

— June 30: A former nurse who cared for Jackson says the pop star pleaded with her to provide him with a powerful anesthetic in the last months of his life to help him sleep.

— July 4: Reports surface saying investigators had found the powerful sedative propofol at Jackson's home.

— July 7: Jackson is honored by a televised, star-studded memorial celebration in Los Angeles watched by millions around the world.

— July 12: Jackson's sister La Toya alleges, in interviews with British newspapers, her brother was "murdered" by a "bad circle" of hangers-on.

— July 22: Federal agents search Murray's offices in Houston, Texas, as his lawyers say police are treating the star's death as possible manslaughter.

— July 28: Police raid Murray's Las Vegas home.

— August 3: A Los Angeles judge names Katherine as permanent guardian of the star's three children following an agreement granting visitation rights to his ex-wife Debbie Rowe for Prince Michael and Paris.

— August 10: The Los Angeles County coroner's office says it has completed the autopsy, but will not release the results until police complete their investigation.

— August 24: Court documents are unsealed revealing Murray told investigators two days after Jackson's death that he had been giving him nightly propofol injections for six weeks to treat chronic insomnia.

— August 28: Coroners rule Jackson's death a homicide, saying "acute intoxication" from propofol was the primary cause of death but that his body also contained five other powerful prescription drugs.

— August 29: Fans around the world mark what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday.

— September 3: Jackson is to be buried in a sunset service in a mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

© Copyright (c) AFP

[Skywalker]

The guy was simply unique and immensly talented. I keep playing his songs on my ipod when driving to work and there is no doubt he's by far the greatest pop star ever.

[bjmdds]

Also quite strange and troubled from his youth. It all led to his demise.