Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' coming to MTV in 2011

Maria Elena Fernandez on our sister blog Show Tracker writes:

Michael Jackson's "This Is It" documentary is coming soon to a TV near you -- if you have basic cable.

But you're going to have wait a little while. MTV has acquired the rights to air the film in 2011, a deal that includes all of the domestic channels under MTV Networks, including VH1, VH1 Classic and Palladia. The arrangement also extends to Viacom's  BET Networks, according to a press release issued by MTV today.

Read the full post on Show Tracker.

Read the Los Angeles Times review.

On the charts: Michael Jackson leads 12 newcomers onto the top of the tally

Foretold to land atop the chart from the moment it was announced, the two-disc souvenir to the behind-the-scenes concert film "Michael Jackson's This Is It" has bowed at No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart. The hits collection can still be had for less than $10 at some major retailers, and fans were quick to pick it up, this despite the fact that Jackson's "Number Ones" has been a mega-seller since Jackson's death in late June.

All told, "Michael Jackson's This Is It" sold 373,000 copies for Sony Music, according to Nielsen SoundScan, leading a charge of 12 new albums on the U.S. pop 200. As of Monday, our sister blog Company Town reported that the film "This Is It" has grossed $34.4 million in the U.S. and $103 million worldwide.

Meanwhile, Jackson's "Number Ones" sold an additional 32,000 copies this week. After Jackson's death, "Number Ones" surged to the top of the charts. It sold more than 440,000 copies in the 10 days after his death, and may well end up as 2009's top-selling album.  

The 373,000 copies sold by "This Is It" made it one of the year's top debuts. Albums with better openings include U2's Interscope effort "No Line on the Horizon" (484,000 copies), Dave Matthews Band's RCA release "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" (424,000 copies), Eminem's Aftermath/Interscope release "Relapse" (608,000 copies) and Jay-Z's Roc Nation/Atlantic offering "The Blueprint 3" (476,000 copies). 

Billboard reports that this is Jackson's sixth No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart. It's also, reports Billboard, the artist's best sales week since "HIStory" debuted with 391,000 copies to lead the chart in 1995. 

Michael Jackson in IMAX: It's a thriller

If the documentary “Michael Jackson's This Is It” is the closest audiences will come to seeing the content of what Jackson had in mind for his comeback concerts at London’s O2 Arena, then viewing the film in IMAX is the closest analogy to the way 90% of fans would have actually experienced it had they scored a ticket.

During the screening I caught over the weekend at the IMAX theater in Burbank, I quickly realized that this is how most people would have seen him: on a huge video screen, as opposed to being close enough to the stage to watch him in the flesh.

In addition, the 12,000-watt IMAX sound system helped considerably to replicate the visceral impact of the sound he and his band wanted to put across in concert. The sultry pulse of “The Way You Make Me Feel,” the explosive rock funk of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin' ” and the sonic crackle of “Thriller” are all the more impressive in IMAX.

Yet, for all the extra square screen footage and audio wattage, it was the movie’s small moments that had the most impact on me. The real appeal of this documentary is showing how Jackson approached his artistry, not just the bedazzling finished product, which of course now will never be seen.

The most revelatory scenes for my money were those in which he spent time with the multitude of musicians, dancers and crew members to communicate his vision of his music and live performance.

As the band was working up the elegantly fluid “The Way You Make Me Feel,” the King of Pop gently coached the keyboardist in how to find the elusive but more seductive groove that falls behind the beat, rather than the obvious one that sits squarely on it.

In another number, he explained — admonished is too strong a word for the gentle band leader — to a guitarist that the riff he was playing wasn’t aggressively funky enough and, therefore, Jackson wasn’t feeling the funk. It became tacitly clear that Jackson needed to feel it to his core, rather than simply move in time with the beat.

Surprisingly, even on the giant IMAX screen, scenes of Jackson’s dancing were often framed in a way that eliminated his feet: a faux pas akin to filming Segovia or Jimi Hendrix from the elbows up, or Madonna from the shoulders up.

The many scenes where his feet were visible offer a priceless reminder of what an endlessly inventive dancer Jackson was — a fact that stayed etched in my mind since seeing him in his prime in the 1980s. As others have noted in reviews of "This Is It," it's impressive to see Jackson, at 50, displaying a grace and ease of motion that even the corps of dancers working with him — most half his age — couldn't come close to equaling.

It’s a huge part of what always made him such a thriller in concert.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: Michael Jackson during rehearsals for "This Is It" at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Credit: Kevin Mazur.

  
 

Getting to know Orianthi

She's performed with Steve Vai and Santana, and Pop & Hiss has already raved about her scene-stealing appearance with Carrie Underwood at this year's Grammy Awards.

Right now, filmgoers across the country are seeing her in "Michael Jackson's This Is It." Had Jackson's comeback concerts gone on as planned, Orianthi would be the guitar slinger next to the King of Pop. Her debut album, "Believe," was released this week, and she'll be featured in Friday's Calendar section.

Here is an excerpt of Orianthi discussing her time rehearsing with Jackson. Steve Appleford wrote the story. After the jump, view rehearsal footage of Jackson and Orianthi.

She had been drafted to re-create signature guitar parts originated by the likes of Slash and Eddie Van Halen, to stand beside Jackson onstage at the O2 Arena and deliver real playing ability through 50 sold-out nights. Then, on June 25, just weeks before opening night, Jackson was dead of heart failure.

Soon, footage of the striking 24-year-old guitarist and Jackson dramatically playing off each other in a windblown rehearsal at Staples Center was seen across the hungry media-sphere.

"It was a huge shock for all of us. Our hearts just sank," Orianthi said of getting the news at Staples, where the band already had gathered for another full day of rehearsals. "It felt like he hadn't actually gone. It was too much of a shock. He was with us the night before and he seemed so full of energy."

The guitarist (full name: Orianthi Panagaris) expected to be well into the "This Is It" concerts by now, while preparing to release her debut solo album, "Believe," which hit retailers this week.

Michael Jackson fans glimpse the man they miss in 'This Is It'

When Michael Jackson died in June, pop music lost its  last global megastar. But according to 12-year-old Sean Davis of Watts, who attended one of the first Tuesday night screenings of the new tour rehearsal movie, "Michael Jackson's This Is It," the death of the groundbreaking performer robbed the world of something more immediate.

"We're missing that move," he said, cutting a nifty rendition of Jackson's signature moonwalk across the floor of the AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 theater. "Music's boring without him. We miss him."

Comprised of footage shot from rehearsals for Jackson's planned run of comeback shows at London's O2 arena, "This Is It" offers a glimpse of a spectacle that never materialized in life. Some supporters used the Tuesday opening of the movie as an occasion to assert how personal their connection was to the man who was possibly the most famous musician on the planet.

"I want to get my opening night concert -- I was supposed to be there," said 21-year-old Cassandra Pertusio outside the downtown L.A. Regal Cinema. Dressed in a homemade Jackson T-shirt and sporting several tattoos of the singer (including his face on her shoulder and his signature on her arm), Pertusio had tickets for the opening night of the O2 shows as well as the last three dates, for which she took out loans totaling $20,000.

Ann Powers reviews 'Michael Jackson's This Is It'

Pop critic Ann Powers attended the premiere of "Michael Jackson's This Is It." Her review will run in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times, and is available online now. An excerpt: 

There's a sweet personal exchange near the end of "Michael Jackson's This Is It," the new concert film assembled from footage of the rehearsals for the London performances nullified by his death in June. Jackson is working out a dance sequence with Kenny Ortega, the director of the ill-fated concerts and of this documentary. Ortega lovingly mimics Jackson, overplaying his signature big hand gestures, and the superstar laughs.

"I love how the stewardesses do it," he says. "I love it!" 

It's a moment that illuminates not just the way Jackson danced or sang, but how he thought -- viewing the world in terms of movement, human semaphore.

"This Is It" offers only a few such insights into Jackson's artistic process, though enough surface to make this a useful document, as well as a beautiful one. Mostly it's a tribute to the power of Jackson's body and voice, which the film presents as surprisingly intact despite his age, 50 at the time of his death, and the various ailments that reportedly had plagued him in the preceding decades. 

Differing greatly from the rough, casual mood of many behind-the-scenes pop docs, this one is instead of a piece with Jackson's body of work: dazzling and strange, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.

As a tragic teaser for the shows that might have been, "This Is It" hurts. If Jackson had been able to perform as he frequently does during these scenes, he would have accomplished the comeback for which he was so hungry.

Read the full review here.

Credit: Sony Pictures

'Michael Jackson's This Is It': Live from the premiere

Pop & Hiss is live on the scene from the premiere of 'Michael Jackson's This Is It.'

8:32 P.M.: For a collection of Los Angeles Times photos from the premiere of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" click here. 

6:57 P.M.: Travis Payne, Jackson's associate producer/choreographer, was all smiles as he made his way across the red carpet. "Michael would have loved this turnout," Payne said. "It's time to celebrate Michael ... to rejoice in all his wonderful messages of peace and love. People are going to enjoy seeing the Michael I always got to see."

"This Is It" director Kenny Ortega echoed those sentiments. "You see Michael's vision for 'This Is It' ... You see him onstage as if he were standing in front of a full house. I hope the fans find satisfaction, that fans [who had tickets to the tour] will understand what Michael had planned for them."

6:46 P.M.: "American Idol" winner David Cook bobbed his head during interviews as some of Jackson's songs filtered out of the speakers. "We're here kind of celebrating the life of one the greatest entertainers of all time," Cook said. "It's a circus."

The singer, who credited Jackson as an influence, was eager to get inside to see the movie. "I'm expecting a Michael Jackson show. I think anything short of that, they wouldn't put it out. Without Michael Jackson, the bar is definitely lower for everyone else."

Another "American Idol" alum, Adam Lambert, cited the "Thriller" video as his fondest Jackson memory and was excited to get a glimpse into the "artistic genius. I'm really curious to see what went behind the creative process."

Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer of "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance," commented on Jackson's legacy as seen through the thousands of contestants who audition in both reality competitions: "He's more of an influence than all the greats-- Gene Kelly, James Brown. He is it. He wasn't so much a brilliant dancer, but a brilliant mover. It's sad that it takes tragic circumstances to create a legend... but he was always a legend in my eyes."

Grammy Museum and Michael Jackson: Don't stop, fans can't get enough

In conjunction with the premiere of the Michael Jackson concert film “This Is It,” the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles has expanded the temporary exhibit of Jackson memorabilia installed immediately after the singer died in June.

“Michael Jackson: A Musical Legacy” includes a new interactive exhibit tied to his “Billie Jean” video, as well as his fedora and gloves, six embellished jackets, original song lyrics, a Jackson 5 costume and other items, including some that have never been exhibited in a museum before, according to Grammy Museum officials.

The facility earlier this year had hosted “Michael Jackson: HIStyle,” which was being dismantled on the day he died. Some of the items were quickly moved into a new space to accommodate fans.

“The overwhelming response to our earlier exhibits speaks to Jackson’s unparalleled place in music history and the public’s deep connection to his music,” said Robert Santelli, the museum’s executive director, in a statement issued today. “We’re excited to share even more of Jackson’s life and legacy with his fans and we hope it serves as a fitting tribute to one of the most significant entertainers in music history.”

The new exhibit is scheduled to remain on display through next summer.

--Randy Lewis

Michael Jackson: He was channeling God

COUNTDOWN TO 'MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT'

It’s no secret that Michael Jackson went to his grave in search of sleep.

The pop icon's death was linked to his use of the powerful anesthetic propofol and sedatives, according to the autopsy report.

Less scrutinized, however, are the circumstances that led up to Jackson's chronic sleeplessness. Turns out that toward the end of his life, Jackson burned the midnight oil in large part because he said he was channeling God and didn’t want to affront his creator or miss out on divine inspiration by clocking off too early.

“He’d say, ‘When the phones stop ringing at night, that’s when I can have really, really great thoughts. I’m not being interrupted. I can just be one with God. And then the ideas would come to me,’” recalled Travis Payne, associate director/choreographer of “This Is It,” the sold-out series of 50 comeback concerts at London’s O2 Arena that Jackson was preparing for at the time of his death June 25. “In his mind, if he went to sleep, he would miss those ideas.”

To be sure, nearly $400 million in debt without having toured for a dozen years at the time of his comeback, there were also financial and personal pressures associated with “This Is It” (a movie made up of rehearsal footage for that tour, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” reaches theaters Wednesday for a limited two-week engagement).

Michael Jackson fans say 'This Is Not It'

With the feature-length concert documentary “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” reaching theaters Wednesday for a limited two-week engagement, a group of concerned fans has started an “awareness campaign” to bring to light what they see as certain dark truths about the King of Pop. Namely, the campaign seeks to highlight what one fan describes as the “blatant lies and attempted cover-up by those around Michael in his final months.”

On the website this-is-not-it.com and a dedicated This Is Not It Facebook page, the fans allege that Jackson felt overworked and overwhelmed in the buildup to his 50 sold-out concerts at London’s O2 Arena. Testimonies by fans who claim to have interacted with Jackson in his final months describe how he was filled with anxiety, wracked with back pain and looked severely undernourished.

Moreover, the fans accuse executives at Jackson’s concert promoter, AEG Live, of being more concerned with making money than with the performer’s well-being.

A representative for AEG Live did not respond to requests for comment. 

“[W]e believe we can inform people and help them see the movie with different eyes,” reads a statement of purpose on this-is-not-it.com. “We can tell you this did not have to be IT and you could be watching Michael Jackson alive on a stage instead of a celluloid picture.

“It is our hope that many fans around the world will agree to join us and to unite one last time to do something that will shed light on the lies that are being said.”