Crowd Went Wild At Michael Jackson's This Is It Premiere
Posted on Oct 28, 2009 @ 12:00AM - 6 comments
This Is It director Kenny Ortega introduced the movie at the Nokia Theater in Downtown Los Angeles Tuesday evening and said that Michael Jackson was "all about love."
PHOTOS: Stars Arrive At World Premiere
The film started at 6:15 pm and opened with Michael's dancers explaining how much MJ meant to them. The crowd went wild with shouts of Michael Jackson we love you!
This Is It Director on Michael Jackson: “I Wasn’t His Caregiver”
Posted on Oct 28, 2009 @ 05:23PM - 4 comments
Kenny Ortega, the director of Michael Jackson’s new film This Is It, rejects the idea that the star was too weak for the demands of tour rehearsals prior to his death.
PHOTOS: Stars Arrive At This Is It Premiere
“Really? ... you really thought he looked frail? You’d use that word?,” Ortega asked RadarOnline.com, in response to a query regarding Jackson’s appearance in the movie.
“I’ll tell you when he looked frail,” Ortega said Wednesday. “When the media was beating him up. He looked frail when he was being persecuted without having been tried. He looked frail during that time in his life. He was nourished, invigorated [during rehearsals]. He was turned on, he was so excited about this project, this was his love project. The only other thing that meant more to him were his children, honest to God.”
Crowd Went Wild At This Is It Premiere
Regarding Jackson’s physical health during This Is It preparation, Ortega also discussed his view of his role as director. “Did I worry about him?,” he asked. “All the time. I’m a director. To get to the end of your goal you have to make sure that everybody’s in one piece, so I wouldn’t want him to fall off the stage, and I also encouraged him to take care of himself. ‘Please eat. Please sleep. Please drink. Stay hydrated.’ You even hear me [in the movie] at one point on the stage going, ‘Get some water.’ We were always like that.
“But at the same time, Michael’s 50 years old. A father for 12 years. A man who made the choice to do this in his life, believed that this was the right time to do it. I wasn’t his caregiver.”
Michael Jackson Movie Screenings Sell Out Fast
Michael Bearden, the tour’s music supervisor, also reframed media reports about Jackson’s sleep deprivation in the weeks before his death.
“Everybody takes it [sleeping problems] as something negative,” he told press. “When you’re creating, and trying to make this the biggest, best thing for ... the fans ... it’s difficult for anybody to sleep. I couldn’t sleep, we couldn’t turn if off.”
VIDEO: This Is It Trailer
Chuckling at a suggestion that This Is It rehearsals were “nine to five,” Bearden explained that prep days lasting 20 hours weren’t unusual, and that he and choreographer Travis Payne would often get feedback from Jackson at all hours of the night.
“But it was a good thing,” Bearden said, “because we were just so excited about what we were creating, and what the world was going to see and what MJ was capable of doing, still, at age 50. It was difficult to sleep because it was so exciting. It’s hard to turn that off, that adrenaline. ... Our muses often came at night ... so, insomnia: people have been talking about that. ... But it wasn’t really that. It was more that we were up, juices were flowing, we were creative.”
Movie Review: This Is It
Posted on Oct 28, 2009 @ 12:55PM - Add a comment
Behind his fame, behind his music and, most of all, behind his death: Who was Michael Jackson, really? This Is It, a new film assembled with rehearsal footage from what would have been Jackson’s eponymous, final world tour, doesn’t answer much about the man behind the icon. Instead, the film unfolds more like a feature-length concert movie -- arranged around the artist’s biggest songs and punctuated with wink-wink moments -- than a revealing documentary.
Stars Arrive At Michael Jackson This Is It Premiere
Posted on Oct 27, 2009 @ 09:05PM - 8 comments
It's the hottest ticket in town, a seat at the Michael Jackson This Is it World Premiere.
PHOTOS: Stars Arrive At World Premiere
The stars flocked to The Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on a blustery Tuesday night.
Michael Jackson Movie Screenings Sell Out Fast
VIDEO: Michael Jackson THIS IS IT Trailer Released
Posted on Sep 14, 2009 @ 09:56AM - 6 comments
Sony released a trailer Sunday for THIS IS IT, unseen footage from Michael Jackson’s final concert rehearsals, which is being turned into a film documentary.
The film draws on more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson rehearsing for his planned summer concert at London’s O2 Arena.
THIS IS IT is being released for a special, limited, two-week engagement in theaters worldwide on Wednesday, October 28th. In a news release, Kenny Ortega – director of THIS IS IT -- said: “This film is Michael’s gift to his fans. As we began assembling the footage for the motion picture we realized we captured something extraordinary, unique and very special. 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. This film shows a consummate performer working with and guiding singers, dancers, band members, choreographers, special effects creators and countless other creative members of the team as we all assemble this historic concert. I can think of many words to describe Michael as he rehearses for and creates THIS IS IT– inspirational, dynamic, generous, dedicated, loving and the guiding force—you see him as the true architect and driving force of this project – a true master of his craft, the Entertainer of Entertainers. I’m proud of the many years of friendship and creative association I shared with Michael and I’m happy that people will get a chance to see his spirit and drive in action. THIS IS IT may go down as the greatest concert that no one got a chance to see, but with this film, we get a rare portrait of Michael as he prepares for his final curtain call and what I believe was going to be his master work.”
Michael Jackson Movie To Be Released Two Days Earlier
Posted on Aug 21, 2009 @ 08:30AM - 1 comment
The Michael Jackson movie, This Is It, will arrive in theaters for a limited two-week run on October 28 - two days earlier than its original release date, Sony has announced.
The film includes more than 80 hours of behind-the-scenes and rehearsal footage shot in the lead-up to Jackson's sold-out London comeback concerts.
In an unusual move, the studio is putting tickets on sale September 27 -- more than a month before the film is released.
Coming Soon: Michael Jackson, The Movie?
Posted on Jul 20, 2009 @ 06:39AM - 4 comments
A feature film based on Michael Jackson -- using more than 80 hours of footage from his rehearsals for the 50-date London series the King of Pop was working toward before his death -- is in the works.
Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to Variety blogger Mike Fleming, is negotiating with AEG Entertainment, which has been showcasing the footage to studios; it is believed Sony will pay about $50 million for the footage. Kenny Ortega, the director of the High School Musical films, will reportedly direct.
New Photos: Michael Jackson’s Last Rehearsal
Posted on Jun 29, 2009 @ 06:30PM - Add a comment
Michael Jackson looked happy and energetic on June 23 as he went through his moves during what turned out to be his final rehearsal for his upcoming London concert series. As these photos from that night show, Michael didn’t give off a hint of feeling unwell as he commanded the stage for director Kenny Ortega.
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The rehearsal, at L.A.’s Staples Center, went on until nearly midnight. Michael was pronounced dead at 2:26 PM the next day.
“This was the most exciting collaboration of my life with a man who has inspired me like no other,” Ortega told RadarOnline.com exclusively. This was the world’s greatest performer and the world will miss him.”
EXCLUSIVE: Jackson Tour Director Kenny Ortega Calls Michael "The World's Greatest Performer"
Posted on Jun 25, 2009 @ 03:05PM - Add a comment
Kenny Ortega, the famed director/choreographer who was directing Michael's upcoming This Is It concert tour, was devastated at the news of his friend's death.
"Michael was a dear friend and a consummate professional," Ortega told RadarOnline.com exclusively. "This was the most exciting collaboration of my life with a man who has inspired me like no other. He will be deeply missed."
"I am terribly sad. We had a 25 year friendship," added Ortega, whose credits include all the High School Musical films and the upcoming Footloose. "This is all too much to comprehend. This was the world's greatest performer and the world will miss him.
My heart goes out to his family and fans."
Michael Jackson's Camp Denies Skin Cancer Rumor
Posted on May 21, 2009 @ 06:03AM - Add a comment
Michael Jackson, after delaying the first four dates on his sold out UK summer tour, did not stall the show because he has skin cancer, but rather to "get the same quality in staging and level of entertainment," his promoter, AEG Live president Randy Phillips, said Wednesday.
"I would trade my body for his tomorrow," Phillips said. "He's in fantastic shape... he's not dying of skin cancer."
The shows originally booked for July 10, July 12 and July 14 will now be held in March 2010, according to AEG Live.
