It was recently announced that the Michael Jackson documentary ‘This is It’ will remain in theaters through Thanksgiving weekend. In a press release, the chairman of Sony Pictures, Jeff Blake, explained “In just 5 days, Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT has become the highest grossing concert film of all time and we are elated by the response to this special film by fans, critics and moviegoers from all over the world. With this kind of global response, it’s clear that the motion picture deserves an extended run and we are going to do everything we can to make the film available to everyone who wants to see Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT on the big screen.” Considering the weekend turn out, I think they are seriously over-estimating the public interest in the movie.
Director Kenny Ortega has recalled his memories of the last time he spoke to pal Michael Jackson before his death.
Ortega, 59, was working on preparations for Jackson’s This Is It shows in London when the star tragically died from a heart attack.
Talking about their final meeting, he said to the UK’s The Times Magazine: “He said: ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. That’s exactly what he said to me. Then he left, with a big smile on his face, waving goodbye to everybody.
“One of our movie producers ran over to thank Michael for the work we had done that night to finish the films.
“He came running back to me and said: ‘You won’t believe what Michael just said to me: ‘Make sure those ghosts come through the screen!’”
He added: “It was just funny, because with all the 3-D stuff, Michael was always insistent: ‘Make sure everything’s coming out at the audience so they’re ducking out of the way of it.’ The fan’s wouldn’t have known what hit them.”
Ortega worked on new movie This Is It, which recently had its world premiere, which shows footage of Jackson working on preparations for the shows.
A video of a postman doing a moonwalk to a Michael Jackson hit has become an internet hit.
Mike, 36, was filmed by colleagues doing the King of Pop’s legendary dance moves in a five-minute routine at his delivery office to the Jacko hit Billie Jean.
The footage was shot in St Albans, Herts, in the UK and has had over 3,500 hits since it was posted on the website YouTube.
DVDs of the hit routine have also been made and hundreds have been sold off to raise money for charity.
Mike, who filmed the smash-hit video before the star’s death, said: “Michael was my idol. The dance was a bit of fun, I’d no idea I’d get such a response.”
<p>Michael Jackson’s estate will pay half of the profits it reaps from his new song, This Is It, to Paul Anka.
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<p>Anka hit the airwaves immediately after the song’s release yesterday to claim his authorship as a co-writer with Jackson of a song with the title I Never Heard in the 1980s.
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<p>This Is It is a prelude to a movie and a two-disc album of the same title due out on October 26.
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<p>Anka, who declared the track was “exactly the same song” as I Never Heard, threatened to sue before the estate’s executors moved to assuage him. “We acknowledge that Michael and Paul wrote this song together,” said John Branca.
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<p>John McClain, the estate’s other executor and a co-producer of the album, said of the song: “[It] only defines, once again, what the world already knows – that Michael is one of God’s greatest gifts.”</p>
<br />Source: Splash News
The LAPD is reportedly on schedule to present the case against Dr. Conrad Murray to the LA County DA’s office this week. LAPD detectives planned to wrap up their case and present it by the second week in October and were only waiting for some written evaluations by medical professionals who reviewed the evidence surrounding Michael Jackson’s death. Sources say that Dr. Murray is still the sole target. One well-place law enforcement source says that there’s a 70/30 chance that the DA will take the case to the LA County Grand Jury rather than charge the suspicious doctor directly. As one source said, it can be a complicated case and a lengthy prelim hearing wouldn’t have a whole lot of good for prosecutors but a grand jury indictment would be easy to get.
For several weeks, Michael Jackson’s tomb at Forest Lawn Memorial Park was under maximum round the clock security. It’s now being said that the extra protection has been scaled back. Sources say that the mausoleum that house’s the late singer’s body was being monitored by a private security firm hired specifically to protect the King of Pop’s grave. As of last week, the extra protection was nowhere to be seen. Sources at Forest Lawn confirm the security change but insist that Michael’s resting place will still be under constant watch of the guards under their employment, 24-hour cameras and alarms.
Introducing Orianthi, the guitar phenomenon who is featured prominently in the upcoming Michael Jackson concert documentary, This Is It. Already a renowned musician, Orianthi has been playing guitar since the age of eleven and was discovered by legend Carlos Santana. After playing with artists like Carrie Underwood, ZZ Top, and Prince, she received a MySpace message from Michael Jackson’s musical director asking her to audition for his comeback tour. Following a test run with the King of Pop himself, she was selected as his lead guitarist for his O2 arena dates in London – a crowning acheivement for the 24 year old from Adelaide, Australia.
Now Orianthi is preparing to release her solo debut album, Believe, on October 27th. In addition to her talent at guitar, Orianthi has a gorgeous voice and even sang at Michael Jackson’s Staples Center memorial service. Even before starting rehearsals for his tour though, she was hard at work writing and recording the album with her band. Believe is full of anthemic rock tracks with a sound reminiscent of Paramore or Evanescence, but entirely Orianthi thanks to her signature shreds and thunderous hooks. Her first single, “According to You” is a catchy tale of an ungrateful boyfriend, featuring a killer guitar solo.
To hear the story in her own words, watch Orianthi in this segment from Australia’s Today show. Visit Orianthi.com for updates on this rising star, and be sure to check her out in This Is It out on October 28th.
Orianthi Panagaris Interview On Today Show:
Michael Jackson boasted that he was the first black performer to make Scottish and Irish girls scream, according to a new book.
The singer allegedly said that he was a sex symbol to a whole generation of white girls – which he claimed angered the “white press” so much, they began to invent bizarre stories to discredit him.
Jackson made the claims in a series of taped interviews from 2000-2001, with his pal and former spiritual adviser, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, which have now been published in a new book, The Michael Jackson Tapes.
In one interview, Jackson said: “You had [Harry] Belafonte, you had Sammy [Davis Jr], you had Nat King Cole. People loved their music, but they didn’t get adulation, they didn’t get crying.
“I was the first one to break the ice, break the mould, where white girls, Scottish girls, Irish girls are screaming, ‘I’m in love with you, I want to…’ “And… the white press, they didn’t like that, and that’s why they started the stories – ‘He’s weird, he’s gay, he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber, he wants to buy the Elephant Man’s bones.’
“Anything that turned people against me. They tried their hardest.”
Boteach said on the Today show earlier today that Jackson had once told him that he didn’t want to appear in public anymore because “I am like a lizard. It is horrible”.
The new single from Michael Jackson, entitled ‘This is It’, will be released posthumously on October 12th followed by a 2-disc album of the same name on October 27th. The album release will also coincide with the worldwide premiere of the film documenting the King of Pop’s preparation for his comeback tour. The first disc will feature the original album masters of the late singer’s greatest hits arranged in the same order as they appear in the film, ending with 2 versions of the new song. The second disc offers unreleased versions of Michael’s classic tracks, including a spoken word poem from Michael called ‘Planet Earth’. It also includes a 36-page commemorative booklet with exclusive pictures of his last rehearsal.
Conrad Murray’s girlfriend, Nicole Alvarez, has testified before a grand jury in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors in LA sought a grand jury in determining their indictment in a homicide investigation of Michael Jackson’s death in June. That inquiry now centres on Murray, Jackson’s personal doctor.
Murray was with the singer in the early hours of the day he died and has admitted to administering drugs found in Jackson’s body to lethal levels.
The deliberations of a grand jury are sealed from the public. Joseph Low, lawyer for Alvarez, said his client co-operated in providing a statement.
He said: “The grand jury is a tool that a very professional and thorough prosecutor will use to conduct an investigation, and that’s what was done here. We willingly participated in that.”
Michael Jackson’s homicide case is almost complete. Sources say that the investigation itself is finished and is expected to be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney in about a month. Medical professionals have been called upon to pitch their thoughts about the evidence and the treatment that the King of Pop received from Dr. Conrad Murray, which should be complete into two to three weeks. LAPD detectives will then round up their report and organize the necessary facts before taking it to the DA. According to insiders, the late singer’s doctor will not be arrested until he’s officially charged with a crime.
Madonna was at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards which were held at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall last Sunday. The 51-year old singer spoke during the Michael Jackson tribute at the beginning of the show and even introduced for Janet Jackson’s performance. The Queen of Pop spoke about her love of Michael and the things that were parallel in their lives. She said that the late singer was “so unique, so original, so rare. He was a king.” I only have one comment for Madonna though. When talking about someone you’re supposed to be paying a tribute to, I don’t think talking about yourself more is an appropriate thing to do.
The past year has treated many artists in the music industry very well but there are also others that didn’t have as much luck with their new releases. The biggest albums of the year sales-wise are Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless’ which sold 3.7 million, Michael Jackson’s ‘#1’s’ which sold 3 million, Beyonce’s ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’ which sold 2.4 million and the soundtrack for the movie ‘Twilight’ which sold 2.2 million. However, not everyone can do well. The Jonas Brothers fever seems to be dying down because the boys only managed to sell 520,000 copies of their new album. Disney starlet Demi Lovato also bombed selling only 240,000 copies of her album. Jordin Sparks, Green Day and Kelly Clarkson are also on the list of so-called failures.
Michael Jackson’s youngest son Prince Michael II, aka Blanket, 7, cries himself to sleep every night.
The child, who attended his father’s private burial service, calls out for his “daddy” repeatedly.
Blanket, along with his siblings, Prince Michael I, 12, and Paris Katherine, 11, is in the permanent custody of his grandmother Katherine.
According to a family friend: “He cries himself to sleep and keeps asking where his daddy is. His aunt Rebbie spent the first few nights sleeping on a cot bed beside him because he was scared to sleep alone. He acts pretty wild during the day.”
Paris has dealt with her grief by doing a lot of reading and watercolour painting. She also braids hair often with her cousins, the source said. The children’s cousins have often been mentioned as a boon in helping the children to cope with the sudden and sensationalised death of their only parent.
The source added: “Katherine makes sure that internet access is monitored and time-limited around the house.”
Tony Buzan, an education expert who was consulted by Jackson when he was alive, has spoken about how close and contented the Jackson three were while their father was alive.
He said: “I would watch them coming and going from the international school every day. They left happy, and came back happy. On their return, those three kids could not run any faster from the car to get to their daddy. The kids seemed to enjoy each other’s company. It’s unusual in groups of three, where tensions can often arise.”
Several members of Michael Jackson’s family say that they are already talking about lawyers who might represent them in a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Conrad Murray and others. However, the death of the King of Pop may prove to be such an economic bonanza that it can crush any lawsuit. In California, the late singer’s family could sue for the economic loss, i.e. the financial support that Michael could have provided if he were alive. But the thing is, his death may actually be an economic gain as it is pretty clear that his death is more profitable compared to the last couple of years of his life. There’s a whole lot more of legal jargon involved but the gist of it is, the Jackson family could still come up with goose eggs.
Michael Jackson’s family have agreed to turn Neverland into a spectacular Graceland-like amusement park, according to US reports.
The Jackson family has reached an agreement with the owners of Neverland, private equity firm Colony Capital – and the King of Pop’s famous home could be opened to the public as early as Christmas, according to the reports.
The driving force behind the ambitious plans to transform the 2,676-acre estate into a tourist attraction is thought to be Jackson’s brother, Jermaine, who had initially wanted the music legend to be buried at Neverland.
A Jackson family source said: “This is important to Jermaine – he is really pushing for this. He has a big vision for Neverland as a museum, tourist attraction and concert venue…
“Colony Capital wants to open it up as early as the Christmas holidays and no later than February, but the two obstacles will be the county and the Jackson estate.”
Jacko was finally laid to rest last week at the Forest Lawn cemetery, just outside of Los Angeles.
But despite his entombment being almost 150 miles away from the ranch, his family and Colony Capital are reportedly going ahead with their plans.
Jackson lived at Neverland for almost two decades. But, after he was cleared of child-molestation charges in 2005, he vowed never to return.
A rep for Colony Capital declined to comment.
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A former euthanasia practioner has weighed in on the death of Michael Jackson, saying the singer’s doctor Conrad Murray did not kill him.
Doctor Jack Kevorkian said: “I don’t think he [Murray] was malicious. Murder is defined as malice forethought. Did the doctor have forethought? I doubt it.”
Murray is at the centre of a manslaughter investigation in Jackson’s homicide. He has told police he administered intravenous drugs that were cited in the singer’s autopsy as being present to lethal levels.
Kevorkian said: “Maybe Jackson craved these things so much he pestered the doctor until he got it. The patient got what he wanted. He is the one who said yes or no to take a drug.”
Michael Jackson’s death from a heart attack was concealed for three hours in a bid to change the circumstances of his death, according to claims made in the UK Mirror newspaper.
Police suspect the singer’s body was moved as part of a bid to make circumstances show he killed himself with propofol.
Steven Hoefflin, a doctor and friend of the Jackson family, said after speaking to doctors involved: “They say he had lividity, which means his blood had already sunk to the back of his body. This indicates Michael’s heart had stopped hours earlier.”
Los Angeles County Coroner experts reportedly found the pattern of lividity, or livor mortis, was interrupted.
Forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht, who is not involved in the Jackson case, said: “If someone carried the body from one room to another, the livor would be broken where contact with the body was made. If one person held his ankles and the other held him under his arms, there would be corresponding white interruptions of livor mortis in those spots.
<p>Michael Jackson’s estate will pay half of the profits it reaps from his new song, This Is It, to Paul Anka.
