There is a discrepancy in the hours of footage for This Is It which I find odd.
Here is Kenny Ortega's interview where he says 80+ at 1:17.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/77D8r4ssaRg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Here are articles which give different numbers:
http://www.lawattstimes.com/compone...-featured/1236-this-is-it-and-it-is-good.html
‘This Is It’ and ‘It’ is Good
User Rating: / 9
Poor Best
THE KING ON HIS COURT — “This Is It,” the filmed record of Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his series of 50 “comeback” concerts in London, opened Oct. 27.
November 05, 2009
BY DARLENE DONLOE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sitting in a theater on the Sony Studios lot, I had mixed emotions about seeing “This Is It,” the concert film documenting Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his now ill-fated 50 “comeback” shows at London’s O2 Arena.
I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I had a lot of hope.
Having worked with MJ on his last successful tour (The HIStory Tour), I hoped his brilliance had weathered his years-long absence from the stage. I hoped he still had the magic. I hoped I wouldn’t feel melancholy.
I wanted very much for Jackson, who died June 25, to succeed. I wanted the world to gain insight into his sometimes insanely intense work ethic — all for the love of his craft and his fans. I wanted everyone to know for him it was about the music, to understand that after 40 years, MJ was still very much in the game.
After viewing the 1-hour, 51-minute film, if there is one thing that it showed, it’s that the King of Pop was in rare form and ready to reclaim his throne.
The film is getting rave reviews and is setting box office records along the way. In its first week, the film grossed nearly $22 million in the United States, with an astounding $100 million take worldwide. The film is so successful Sony has extended the run through the Thanksgiving weekend.
I wasn’t sad at all. This show was hot. In fact, I bopped my way through the movie reminiscing about standing in the wings years ago and watching a master at work. It all came rushing back like it was yesterday.
There he stood on the stage at 50 years old, still wowing even his own band members and backup dancers and singers with his incredible stage presence and mystifying talent.
The show opens with emotional testimony by the dancers who, out of the 5,000 who auditioned, won a coveted spot in Jackson’s crew. They are choked up as they talk about what it was like growing up listening to Jackson’s music and now getting the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance on the same stage with him.
A vibrant, clear, focused Michael Jackson was in full command. With precision and classic Jackson style, he was orchestrating his re-entry into the all-too-familiar world of live performance.
With only three weeks from show time, Jackson, show director Kenny Ortega and assistant director Travis Payne and the rest of the crew were putting the final touches on a show that was primed to be the show of shows.
His vocal coach and backup singer, Dorian Holley, who has written a song (“Just One Dance”) about MJ that appears on his latest CD (“Independent Film”), said Jackson was “on fire” and ready to rock and roll.
After watching “This Is It,” I have to admit, Holley was on the mark.
The film, full of behind-the-scenes raw footage taken from more than 100 hours of rehearsals, is a touching tribute to an entertainer who set the bar high for neophyte and veteran performers alike.
Even as he went through the motions during rehearsals, Jackson was still dancing and singing circles around his several-decades-younger backup dancers.
Let’s face it, when he was in full effect, no one on the planet could touch him.
The show was going to be BIG.
The show included aerialists, a brilliant and elaborate 3D “Thriller” number, not to be outdone by a “Smooth Criminal” production, which featured MJ inserted into vintage Hollywood films including, “In a Lonely Place” and “Gilda,” reportedly two of his favorite films. The footage would show MJ playing opposite Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. What a kick!
For “Earth Song,” there is a video highlighting man’s atrocities on the planet – ending with Jackson standing defiantly in front of a full-size army tank (ala Tiananmen Square), which is rolled out center stage.
And, of course there were plenty of Jackson’s signature hits such as “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” a luscious “Human Nature,” “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Black or White” and more. There were also classic Jackson 5 hits like “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.”
What a triumph.
“This Is It” could not have really been “it.” “It” would have been just the beginning.
“This Is It,” rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for some suggestive choreography and scary images, is now in theaters worldwide.
http://somosdemocracia.org/dullahan/2010/04/28/what-leiweke-says-he-is-most-proud-of-is/
130 hours of footage
What Leiweke says he is most proud of is…..
Escrito por: dullahan
Within days of Jackson’s death, AEG started editing the rehearsal footage into a narrative at AEG’s L.A. Live facilities. “Under armed guards we had the editors working for three weeks collating 130 hours [of footage] and distilling it down to three-and-a-half hours in the first pass,” Phillips says. “And then we took 12 minutes of that and used it as a demo.”
Up until longtime Jackson associates John Branca and John MeLain , who had been named tiffany earrings for sale executors in Jackson’s will, were officially named administrators July 6, AEG had been able to act unilaterally. There was some doubt about who would control Jackson’s estate, and “we didn’t event know there was a will forover a week,” Phillips says. As those details were resolved, however, AEG began negotiating with the executors - Branca and MeLain, and attorneys Joel Katz and Howard Weitzman - to determine how to proceed.
Fortunately, AEG’s corporate cousins inelude Anschutz Film Group and its Waiden Media division (”Ray,” “The Chronicles of Namia”), So AEG Live hadAnschutz Film Group negotiate with potential distribution partners.
Four studios bid on “This Is It”: Universal, Fox, Paramount and Sony, which submitted the winning bid of $65 million, including $5 million for AEG’s editing costs, according to Phillips.
The driving force behind the film negotiations with Sony was Jackson’s estate - represented by Branca and McLain which had to grant permission; Branca’s firm, Ziffren Brittenham, negotiated the deal, in consultation with Phillips. Sony Music controls Jackson’s catalog, but AEG executives were also impressed by Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal, who was relentless in her pursuit of “This Is It.” “She had a great vision,” Phillips says. “She pursued it hard and she called everybody, all the time. She had to have this movie.”
One particular meeting stands out for Phillips. “The first marketing meeting I had at Sony Pictures, there were about 40 people in this conference room, and what blew my mind was the fact that this little movie, this HD footage of Michael Jackson, was getting th茅 attention of a whole studio. They just absolutely stopped to focus on this project,” he says. “And I was thinking to myself just how much Michael would have loved this, because it was so over the top.”
On Aug. 10, Los Angeles Superior Court approved a deal thattiffany necklaces on sale Jackson’s estate would get 90% of the film’s net revenue, with the remainder going to AEG. (AEG will also receive revenue from the soundtrack.) That’s a small percentage, considering that AEG put up the investment. “I’m sure some would argue that this is a small percentage to take for that much risk and that much work,” Leiweke says, “but we didn’t want there to be any doubt as to our priorities here, which is to try and protect the best interests of the estate.”
The “This Is It” film was created by the same team that had been working on the concerts, including manager DiLeo, director Kenny Ortega, choreographer Travis Payne, music director Michael Bearden and Concerts West co-producer/coCEO Paul Gongaware.
“The fact that [Kenny Ortega] is also a movie director is a good thing in terms of understand! n g what footage they had,” Stringer says. “I’m not sure we’d have gotten this done if it would have been someone else coming in to work on it.”
The film represents “unrestricted access to ari unguarded genius,” Phillips says. “There’s nothing in it other than the credits that wasn’t shot or recorded from March 5, when we did the press conference in London, to June 25, when he died. It’s completely authentic. Nothing has been doctored.”
DiLeo refutes a small but vocal group of fans who see the film as exploitative of Jackson, who they believe was in poor health at the end of his life, “it shows what kind of shape he was in, and he was in very good shape,” he says. “The reports of him dying and being 108 pounds are false. The autopsy came back and he was 136 pounds, and I can’t remember him being over 1 50 in all the years I worked with him. The film shows he had a dear head, that he was involved.”
Stringer says that “if I had watched a shock [or] tattle documentary,cheap tiffany accessories I don’t think we would have wanted to be associated. It’s really a behind-the-scenes look at Michael’s rehearsal for a huge comeback. He is wonderful in it.”
At press time “This Is It” was set for viewing on 18,000 screens worldwide, and it’s anticipated to become the topgrossing concert film of all time. It should handily beat “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” which earned $70.6 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, on just 700 screens.
For now, at least, the film’s run has been limited to two weeks. This qualifies “This Is It” for Academy Award consideration and should generate buzz for the upcoming DVD, which is expected to arrive in first-quarter 2010.
The “This Is It” soundtrack was conceived alongside the film project “when we saw the early footage, pretty much a few days after he died,” Stringer says.
Sony Music dealt with the estate, primarily Branca and McLain, to develop the project under pressure - “It would be strange not to have an accompanying piece to the movie,” Stringer says - but quality wasn’t sacrificed. “The packaging is expensive and really nice,” he says, noting that the booklet could probably be sold on its own. “We got it right.”
There isn’t any exclusivity for “This is it” at retail. “We’ve brokered deals with every single retailer in some way or the other, on a global basis,” Stringer says, which resulted in a complicated manufacturing schedule. The process of distributing the physical product reminds Stringer of earlier days. “I’ve done this a long time and I’ve worked on lots of Michael Jackson records, so in a way it’s how Michael’s records used to be distributed,” he says. “They were always delivered on short notice and there was always mass demand around the world.”
On the digital front, after much speculation about bundling “This Is It,” it will be sold on iTunes mostly, but not completely, a la carte. All the songs will be available as individual tracks except the single.
Limiting the a la carte option is a smart business decision. Jackson’s recorded tiffany for sale work has flown off the shelves since his death, with his catalog of solo alburns having sold 5.5 million copies in the United States since that time, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He has sold 9.2 million U.S. downloads since his death, compared with 1.3 million the year before that, and he will almost certainly be the best-selling artist of 2009.
Expectations run high for “This Is It,” though Stringer declined to offer a sales projection. “I’m pretty sure there will be a value-pack price; the package is a lavish booklet and a really nice cardboard packaging, so it’s a proper booklet, not just a jewel-case CD,” he says. “I think the retail pricing will be very interesting, because I imagine people will be very competitive.”
As AEG worked to put together the movie and its soundtrack, it took shots from Jackson family members and others that the company is more interested in profits than in promoting Jackson’s legacy. For his part, Phillips shrugs it off. “The problem with Michael is his death is as messy as his life was,” he says. “Everyone’s looking for a villain. Sometimes there isn’t a villain - there’s just bad circumstances and bad luck, and that is what this was, 1 personally got attacked a few times on national television, but my skin is thick and that’s part of my job.”
Stringer also feels strongly that Sony Music has taken the high road, saying the company’s actions have been “absolutely the opposite of exploitation. I’ve worked with [Jackson] for a long time - a lot of this people in this company have. We didn’t take adverts when he died. The catalog was made available but we didn’t do anything that we thought was remotely crass or overcommercial. We’ve been careful because we’ve been protective of that legacy and we’ve done things the right way.”
What Leiweke says he is most proud of is “under huge stress, huge media scrutiny, and a few people saying things about us that we were stunned people would think, we maintained the path. We did it with dignity. And when it’s all said and done, I believe more than the financial gains, people will look at the way we handled ourselves, and more importantly look at the way we gave back to the estate in doing the best we could for our partnership. Our reputation was at stake, and I believe from our darkest hour came our best moment.”
http://www.nme.com/news/nme/46211
80 hours of footage
Michael Jackson film details revealed
Plus new Motown 50 collection of singer's hits released
• July 20, 2009 | 1 Comments
• Buy Michael Jackson Music from Amazon UK
• Michael Jackson news RSS feed
• More Michael Jackson news, reviews, videos and tour dates
• Tweet
•
•
A film based on the 80 hours of rehearsal footage for Michael Jackson's London O2 Arenaresidency, which had been due to kick off earlier this month until the singer passed away, is set to be released by Sony Pictures.
The company is expected to pay over £30 million to promoters AEG Entertainment, who own the rights to the footage, reports Variety.
Kenny Ortega, who directed the hit film 'High School Musical', is expected to helm the project.
As well as rehearsal footage the film will reportedly feature at least three videos which had been set to broadcast during the late singer's shows in the UK capital, and will be released before the end of the year.
One of the videos will be an alternative version of Jackson's iconic music video for 'Thriller'. The videos were meant to be presented in 3D, but it has not been revealed whether the film will present them in the format.
Meanwhile, a new 'stripped-down' compilation album featuring 11 new mixes of Jackson's hits taken from original Motown session tapes, both solo and with The Jackson 5, has been released today (July 20).
The tracklisting of 'Michael Jackson: The Motown 50 Mixes' is:
'I'll Be There'
'Ben'
'Who's Loving You'
'Ain't No Sunshine'
'I Want You Back'
'ABC'
'We've Got A Good Thing Going'
'With A Child's Heart'
'Darling Dear'
'Got To Be There'
'Never Can Say Goodbye'
Here is Kenny Ortega's interview where he says 80+ at 1:17.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/77D8r4ssaRg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Here are articles which give different numbers:
http://www.lawattstimes.com/compone...-featured/1236-this-is-it-and-it-is-good.html
‘This Is It’ and ‘It’ is Good
User Rating: / 9
Poor Best
THE KING ON HIS COURT — “This Is It,” the filmed record of Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his series of 50 “comeback” concerts in London, opened Oct. 27.
November 05, 2009
BY DARLENE DONLOE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sitting in a theater on the Sony Studios lot, I had mixed emotions about seeing “This Is It,” the concert film documenting Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his now ill-fated 50 “comeback” shows at London’s O2 Arena.
I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I had a lot of hope.
Having worked with MJ on his last successful tour (The HIStory Tour), I hoped his brilliance had weathered his years-long absence from the stage. I hoped he still had the magic. I hoped I wouldn’t feel melancholy.
I wanted very much for Jackson, who died June 25, to succeed. I wanted the world to gain insight into his sometimes insanely intense work ethic — all for the love of his craft and his fans. I wanted everyone to know for him it was about the music, to understand that after 40 years, MJ was still very much in the game.
After viewing the 1-hour, 51-minute film, if there is one thing that it showed, it’s that the King of Pop was in rare form and ready to reclaim his throne.
The film is getting rave reviews and is setting box office records along the way. In its first week, the film grossed nearly $22 million in the United States, with an astounding $100 million take worldwide. The film is so successful Sony has extended the run through the Thanksgiving weekend.
I wasn’t sad at all. This show was hot. In fact, I bopped my way through the movie reminiscing about standing in the wings years ago and watching a master at work. It all came rushing back like it was yesterday.
There he stood on the stage at 50 years old, still wowing even his own band members and backup dancers and singers with his incredible stage presence and mystifying talent.
The show opens with emotional testimony by the dancers who, out of the 5,000 who auditioned, won a coveted spot in Jackson’s crew. They are choked up as they talk about what it was like growing up listening to Jackson’s music and now getting the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance on the same stage with him.
A vibrant, clear, focused Michael Jackson was in full command. With precision and classic Jackson style, he was orchestrating his re-entry into the all-too-familiar world of live performance.
With only three weeks from show time, Jackson, show director Kenny Ortega and assistant director Travis Payne and the rest of the crew were putting the final touches on a show that was primed to be the show of shows.
His vocal coach and backup singer, Dorian Holley, who has written a song (“Just One Dance”) about MJ that appears on his latest CD (“Independent Film”), said Jackson was “on fire” and ready to rock and roll.
After watching “This Is It,” I have to admit, Holley was on the mark.
The film, full of behind-the-scenes raw footage taken from more than 100 hours of rehearsals, is a touching tribute to an entertainer who set the bar high for neophyte and veteran performers alike.
Even as he went through the motions during rehearsals, Jackson was still dancing and singing circles around his several-decades-younger backup dancers.
Let’s face it, when he was in full effect, no one on the planet could touch him.
The show was going to be BIG.
The show included aerialists, a brilliant and elaborate 3D “Thriller” number, not to be outdone by a “Smooth Criminal” production, which featured MJ inserted into vintage Hollywood films including, “In a Lonely Place” and “Gilda,” reportedly two of his favorite films. The footage would show MJ playing opposite Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. What a kick!
For “Earth Song,” there is a video highlighting man’s atrocities on the planet – ending with Jackson standing defiantly in front of a full-size army tank (ala Tiananmen Square), which is rolled out center stage.
And, of course there were plenty of Jackson’s signature hits such as “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” a luscious “Human Nature,” “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Black or White” and more. There were also classic Jackson 5 hits like “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.”
What a triumph.
“This Is It” could not have really been “it.” “It” would have been just the beginning.
“This Is It,” rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for some suggestive choreography and scary images, is now in theaters worldwide.
http://somosdemocracia.org/dullahan/2010/04/28/what-leiweke-says-he-is-most-proud-of-is/
130 hours of footage
What Leiweke says he is most proud of is…..
Escrito por: dullahan
Within days of Jackson’s death, AEG started editing the rehearsal footage into a narrative at AEG’s L.A. Live facilities. “Under armed guards we had the editors working for three weeks collating 130 hours [of footage] and distilling it down to three-and-a-half hours in the first pass,” Phillips says. “And then we took 12 minutes of that and used it as a demo.”
Up until longtime Jackson associates John Branca and John MeLain , who had been named tiffany earrings for sale executors in Jackson’s will, were officially named administrators July 6, AEG had been able to act unilaterally. There was some doubt about who would control Jackson’s estate, and “we didn’t event know there was a will forover a week,” Phillips says. As those details were resolved, however, AEG began negotiating with the executors - Branca and MeLain, and attorneys Joel Katz and Howard Weitzman - to determine how to proceed.
Fortunately, AEG’s corporate cousins inelude Anschutz Film Group and its Waiden Media division (”Ray,” “The Chronicles of Namia”), So AEG Live hadAnschutz Film Group negotiate with potential distribution partners.
Four studios bid on “This Is It”: Universal, Fox, Paramount and Sony, which submitted the winning bid of $65 million, including $5 million for AEG’s editing costs, according to Phillips.
The driving force behind the film negotiations with Sony was Jackson’s estate - represented by Branca and McLain which had to grant permission; Branca’s firm, Ziffren Brittenham, negotiated the deal, in consultation with Phillips. Sony Music controls Jackson’s catalog, but AEG executives were also impressed by Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal, who was relentless in her pursuit of “This Is It.” “She had a great vision,” Phillips says. “She pursued it hard and she called everybody, all the time. She had to have this movie.”
One particular meeting stands out for Phillips. “The first marketing meeting I had at Sony Pictures, there were about 40 people in this conference room, and what blew my mind was the fact that this little movie, this HD footage of Michael Jackson, was getting th茅 attention of a whole studio. They just absolutely stopped to focus on this project,” he says. “And I was thinking to myself just how much Michael would have loved this, because it was so over the top.”
On Aug. 10, Los Angeles Superior Court approved a deal thattiffany necklaces on sale Jackson’s estate would get 90% of the film’s net revenue, with the remainder going to AEG. (AEG will also receive revenue from the soundtrack.) That’s a small percentage, considering that AEG put up the investment. “I’m sure some would argue that this is a small percentage to take for that much risk and that much work,” Leiweke says, “but we didn’t want there to be any doubt as to our priorities here, which is to try and protect the best interests of the estate.”
The “This Is It” film was created by the same team that had been working on the concerts, including manager DiLeo, director Kenny Ortega, choreographer Travis Payne, music director Michael Bearden and Concerts West co-producer/coCEO Paul Gongaware.
“The fact that [Kenny Ortega] is also a movie director is a good thing in terms of understand! n g what footage they had,” Stringer says. “I’m not sure we’d have gotten this done if it would have been someone else coming in to work on it.”
The film represents “unrestricted access to ari unguarded genius,” Phillips says. “There’s nothing in it other than the credits that wasn’t shot or recorded from March 5, when we did the press conference in London, to June 25, when he died. It’s completely authentic. Nothing has been doctored.”
DiLeo refutes a small but vocal group of fans who see the film as exploitative of Jackson, who they believe was in poor health at the end of his life, “it shows what kind of shape he was in, and he was in very good shape,” he says. “The reports of him dying and being 108 pounds are false. The autopsy came back and he was 136 pounds, and I can’t remember him being over 1 50 in all the years I worked with him. The film shows he had a dear head, that he was involved.”
Stringer says that “if I had watched a shock [or] tattle documentary,cheap tiffany accessories I don’t think we would have wanted to be associated. It’s really a behind-the-scenes look at Michael’s rehearsal for a huge comeback. He is wonderful in it.”
At press time “This Is It” was set for viewing on 18,000 screens worldwide, and it’s anticipated to become the topgrossing concert film of all time. It should handily beat “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” which earned $70.6 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, on just 700 screens.
For now, at least, the film’s run has been limited to two weeks. This qualifies “This Is It” for Academy Award consideration and should generate buzz for the upcoming DVD, which is expected to arrive in first-quarter 2010.
The “This Is It” soundtrack was conceived alongside the film project “when we saw the early footage, pretty much a few days after he died,” Stringer says.
Sony Music dealt with the estate, primarily Branca and McLain, to develop the project under pressure - “It would be strange not to have an accompanying piece to the movie,” Stringer says - but quality wasn’t sacrificed. “The packaging is expensive and really nice,” he says, noting that the booklet could probably be sold on its own. “We got it right.”
There isn’t any exclusivity for “This is it” at retail. “We’ve brokered deals with every single retailer in some way or the other, on a global basis,” Stringer says, which resulted in a complicated manufacturing schedule. The process of distributing the physical product reminds Stringer of earlier days. “I’ve done this a long time and I’ve worked on lots of Michael Jackson records, so in a way it’s how Michael’s records used to be distributed,” he says. “They were always delivered on short notice and there was always mass demand around the world.”
On the digital front, after much speculation about bundling “This Is It,” it will be sold on iTunes mostly, but not completely, a la carte. All the songs will be available as individual tracks except the single.
Limiting the a la carte option is a smart business decision. Jackson’s recorded tiffany for sale work has flown off the shelves since his death, with his catalog of solo alburns having sold 5.5 million copies in the United States since that time, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He has sold 9.2 million U.S. downloads since his death, compared with 1.3 million the year before that, and he will almost certainly be the best-selling artist of 2009.
Expectations run high for “This Is It,” though Stringer declined to offer a sales projection. “I’m pretty sure there will be a value-pack price; the package is a lavish booklet and a really nice cardboard packaging, so it’s a proper booklet, not just a jewel-case CD,” he says. “I think the retail pricing will be very interesting, because I imagine people will be very competitive.”
As AEG worked to put together the movie and its soundtrack, it took shots from Jackson family members and others that the company is more interested in profits than in promoting Jackson’s legacy. For his part, Phillips shrugs it off. “The problem with Michael is his death is as messy as his life was,” he says. “Everyone’s looking for a villain. Sometimes there isn’t a villain - there’s just bad circumstances and bad luck, and that is what this was, 1 personally got attacked a few times on national television, but my skin is thick and that’s part of my job.”
Stringer also feels strongly that Sony Music has taken the high road, saying the company’s actions have been “absolutely the opposite of exploitation. I’ve worked with [Jackson] for a long time - a lot of this people in this company have. We didn’t take adverts when he died. The catalog was made available but we didn’t do anything that we thought was remotely crass or overcommercial. We’ve been careful because we’ve been protective of that legacy and we’ve done things the right way.”
What Leiweke says he is most proud of is “under huge stress, huge media scrutiny, and a few people saying things about us that we were stunned people would think, we maintained the path. We did it with dignity. And when it’s all said and done, I believe more than the financial gains, people will look at the way we handled ourselves, and more importantly look at the way we gave back to the estate in doing the best we could for our partnership. Our reputation was at stake, and I believe from our darkest hour came our best moment.”
http://www.nme.com/news/nme/46211
80 hours of footage
Michael Jackson film details revealed
Plus new Motown 50 collection of singer's hits released
• July 20, 2009 | 1 Comments
• Buy Michael Jackson Music from Amazon UK
• Michael Jackson news RSS feed
• More Michael Jackson news, reviews, videos and tour dates
• Tweet
•
•
A film based on the 80 hours of rehearsal footage for Michael Jackson's London O2 Arenaresidency, which had been due to kick off earlier this month until the singer passed away, is set to be released by Sony Pictures.
The company is expected to pay over £30 million to promoters AEG Entertainment, who own the rights to the footage, reports Variety.
Kenny Ortega, who directed the hit film 'High School Musical', is expected to helm the project.
As well as rehearsal footage the film will reportedly feature at least three videos which had been set to broadcast during the late singer's shows in the UK capital, and will be released before the end of the year.
One of the videos will be an alternative version of Jackson's iconic music video for 'Thriller'. The videos were meant to be presented in 3D, but it has not been revealed whether the film will present them in the format.
Meanwhile, a new 'stripped-down' compilation album featuring 11 new mixes of Jackson's hits taken from original Motown session tapes, both solo and with The Jackson 5, has been released today (July 20).
The tracklisting of 'Michael Jackson: The Motown 50 Mixes' is:
'I'll Be There'
'Ben'
'Who's Loving You'
'Ain't No Sunshine'
'I Want You Back'
'ABC'
'We've Got A Good Thing Going'
'With A Child's Heart'
'Darling Dear'
'Got To Be There'
'Never Can Say Goodbye'
