Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 12, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The film, based on material from the final rehearsals and behind-the-scenes footage, will reach German cinemas on October 29 in high definition with digital sound.
THIS IS IT is being produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson. The concert film will be assembled from many hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes material recorded in high definition and state-of-the-art digital sound as the late singer prepared for his series of concerts in London. The film, which will also include selected sequences in 3-D, will be a unique and comprehensive retrospective of Michael Jackson’s career and contain interviews with some of Jackson’s closest friends and colleagues.
Michael Lynton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment; Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of the studio; Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, Chief Executive Officer of Sony Music Entertainment; and Rob Stringer, Chairman of Columbia/Epic Label Group, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment, announced this. These companies form the principal entertainment cornerstones of Sony Corporation.
The Estate of Michael Jackson, administered by his long-standing attorney John Branca and veteran music executive John McClain, a close friend of the Jackson family for more than 40 years, announced this jointly with Sony. The revenue the Estate earns from the film’s theatrical exploitation will flow into the Michael Jackson Family Trust, which Mr. Jackson designated in his will to receive his entire estate.
The rights to the exclusive material were acquired from AEG Live and the Estate of Michael Jackson. Sony Pictures and Sony Music will act as co-producers together with AEG Live and the Estate. Sony Pictures will release the film in cinemas worldwide. Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware of AEG Live will serve as producers of the film.
Most of the footage was created in June 2009 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, and The Forum in Inglewood, California, where Jackson was preparing for This Is It, a series of 50 concerts he intended to present at London’s O2 Arena.
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