Memorabilia set to thrill fans to Michael Jackson

From Rolls-Royce for his sequined gloves, Michael Jackson's personal memorabilia is going on gig at the London venue where he would have performed his comeback concerts.
"The Official Exhibition, Michael Jackson", which opens Wednesday at the O2 arena, has more than 250 items from the late King of Pop's private collections, allowing fans an up close look at some of his most treasured possessions.
"We don't have the concerts, we don't have the man any more but what we do have is his legacy and that's what this celebrates," exhibition curator Robert Santelli told AFP.
Jackson died on June 25 aged 50 after taking a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs. He had been rehearsing for his "This Is It" run of 50 shows at the O2, formerly the Millennium Dome, in southeast London.
The glittering exhibition features clothes, jewellery, paintings, awards, instruments, props and iconic memorabilia such as his sequined white left-hand glove, first worn in 1983.
The collection, drawn largely from warehouses where Jackson resolutely kept costumes and props, also includes the singer's patented anti-gravity lean shoes, plus handwritten lyrics to his 1983 hit "Beat It", written without corrections in black felt tip pen.
Items from his Neverland ranch in California are on show, including the entrance gates and the 1967 Rolls-Royce Phantom luxury car he used for driving round Los Angeles with actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Also on display are the costumes prepared for the "This Is It" shows, including a variety of sequined jackets, his favoured loafer shoes with MJ monogrammed inside and ghoulish outfits for the "Thriller" routine.
Hats, jewellery, paintings, a throne, a crown, an ornate golden antique piano, a 1984 letter from US president Ronald Reagan and an original Jackson 5 contract are among the other items featured.
The exhibition ties in with Wednesday's launch of the film "Michael Jackson's This Is It", taken from rehearsal footage of the star preparing for his O2 dates, and the tie-in album.
"It actually was an attempt to allow fans to connect to the memory of Michael Jackson and we couldn't have picked a better place than to open it here," said curator Santelli, executive director of The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
"This is something that will be emotional for some fans because not only does it seek to honour and illustrate his creative genius, but also there's an emotional connection here that fans will find very touching.
"There will be a few tears shed in this exhibition, I'm sure."
Rather than chronicle Jackson's life, the exhibition galleries show off aspects of Jackson, such as his dancing, home life, awards and fashion.
The musician's close friend Miko Brando, son of Oscar-winning US actor Marlon Brando, helped pick out the exhibition items.
"It's great that we're here with his memorabilia stuff where he would have performed the 50 shows," Brando told AFP.
"I think he'd like his fans to see what he had, to show off his stuff. You see another side of Michael: his taste in art, his wardrobe and cars.
"He kept almost everything. He didn't believe in throwing anything away, thank God. This is just a fraction of the pieces he has."
Jackson, Brando's best man and the godfather to his daughter, is sorely missed, his fried said.
"I'm still numb. I don't think I'll ever come to terms with it," said Brando.
"It's been horrendous. It's not something I'd want anyone to go through. Nothing can bring him back. It's still a shock."
The exhibition runs for three months in London, and will then visit two other cities outside Europe, yet to be announced. Tickets cost 15 pounds (24.50 dollars, 16.50 euros).

Michael Jackson's Money suddenly

Michael Jackson's finances weren't exactly sterling before died. Now, everything he—or rather his legacy—touches is gold.
The latest example: Last night's Dancing With the Stars.
A Tuesday the result gig scored season-high audience of 14.2 million, ABC said, based on preliminary Nielsen estimates. So either people actually wanted to look swimmer Natalie Coughlin take a dive—or they really, really wanted to see Derek Hough et al. do the "Thriller" line dance.
The show's much-anticipated Jackson tribute drew not only viewers but Jacksons, too—including mother Katherine, who appeared onstage.
Somehow, CBS' M.J.-free NCIS managed to maintain its top-flight status as the night's No. 1 show (20.6 million viewers).

New Single Released Michael Jackson's

"This Is It" Michael Jackson's posthumous single debuted the late singer's website and began hitting airwaves Monday, ahead of an upcoming album and film of the same name.
Reportedly recorded by Jackson in 1991, the mid tempo lay features backing vocals from his brothers, a sweeping orchestra and finger snaps. A sample lyric: "This is it, here I stand/I'm the light of the world, I feel grand."
Jackson's the song is off two disc album, This Is It, which hits U.S. stores Oct. 27, a day before the release of his concert film, This Is It. A vinyl version of the album will be released Nov. 10.

Movie Will Make Its Debut Online Song From Jackson

NEW YORK, Oct. 9 -- Michael Jackson the first song from the upcoming music documentary will make its debut online.
Sony Music says "This Is It" will have its premiere late Sunday, at midnight, on MichaelJackson.com.
The song plays during the closing sequence of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" and will be included on a companion two disc CD set.
The unreleased single features backup vocals by the late singer's brothers.
The documentary opens Oct. 28 for a two week limited run and was built around rehearsal picture for Jackson's planned London concerts.
The controversial pop star died in Los Angeles on June 25.
The CD features original album masters of some of Jackson's biggest hits, including "Thriller" and "Billie Jean."

Michael Jackson's This is It, China welcomes

Michael Jackson's , the concert film This is it showing rehearsals for his 02 arena gigs, will screen across China later this month after securing official blessing from the Chinese authorities, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Each year, only 20 or so films made outside China are allowed into the country, though there is a roaring trade in pirated DVDs. This Is It has obviously taken one of the last slots available for 2009, and will open on 28 October, in line with the rest of the world.
A digest of interviews, rehearsals and backstage capture of Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold out shows in London, High School Musical's Kenny Ortega This Is It is directed, a long time collaborator with the late singer. Jackson suffered a heart attack at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, on 25 June.
While only a few Western films screen legally in China each year, the number of cinemas in the country is mushrooming, and appetite for Hollywood fare is enormous. Earlier this year Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen took over 400 million Chinese yuan to break the box office record previously held by James Cameron's Titanic.
But a homegrown epic, China's Foundation of the great cause, released last month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic of China, looks on course to challenge that figure.

JACKSON EXECUTORS WIN LEGAL AUTHORITY

A U.S. judge overseeing MICHAEL JACKSON's estate has handed power of attorney to the executors of the star's will.At a hearing on Friday (02Oct09), Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff gave Jackson's administrators lawyer John Branca and music executive John MCClain the authority to consider challenges to the singer's will. The group can also enter into business deals that Katherine Jackson, the King of Pop's beloved mother, does not oppose. They also have the right to represent Jackson's estate in a number of cases that were pending at the time of his death in June (09). Beckloff declared Branca and MCClain will retain their control until the end of the year (09), despite objections from an attorney representing Katherine. The pair is said to have raised $90 million (£60 million) in posthumous profits by negotiating merchandising and film deals, and predict they will earn another $90 million before the end of the year (09). The Thriller legend died with debts amounting to approximately $398 million (£265 million).

At Time Of Death Michael Jackson Was Reportedly Healthy

Despite reports that he was painfully thin and frail and allegedly had a unhurt addiction to prescription medications, a Los Angeles County coroner's office report on Michael Jackson claims the 50 year old singer was in excellent health at the time of his death in June.
According to a copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press, Jackson's arms were covered with puncture wounds and the autopsy showed that his lungs were chronically inflamed and had a reduced capacity that might have left the once energetic performer short of breath. But the result claims that the singer was in fairly good condition at the time that he died of an overdose of the anesthetic propofol in June. Though some stories claimed he was around a skeletal 105 pounds at the time of his death, the autopsy document says he weighed 136 pounds, which is in an saticfactory range for a 5 foot 9 man. The report also said his heart was strong with no sign of plaque buildup.
The official results of the autopsy on Jackson have not been released, pending the completion of the police investigation into his death, but officials have concluded that he died of "acute propofol intoxication." The AP claimed it had obtained a copy of the autopsy report but did not reveal how it came into possession of the document, which coroner's officials told MTV News is under a security hold until police finish their probe. It was unclear from the AP story if the document is the final autopsy report or a preliminary document. The spokesperson for the L.A. County coroner's office could not be reached for comment at press time, but an employee told MTV News the office would not be making any comment on the report.
The report said Jackson's kidneys and most of his other major organs were normal and that the lung condition, while notable, wasn't serious enough to be a direct or contributing cause of death. Jackson did have some other chronic conditions that were notable but also not life threatening, including arthritis in the lower spine and some fingers and mild plaque buildup in his leg arteries.
Jackson died at a rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25 shortly after his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, gave him propofol and two other sedatives to help the singer get to sleep. Murray is at the center of a manslaughter investigation by the Los Angeles police that has included raids on his home and offices in Las Vegas and a storage unit and clinic in Texas. Murray's attorney has stated that the doctor did not give Jackson anything that "should have" killed him.
The autopsy report detailed the heroic efforts employed to try and revive Jackson, including chest bruising and cracked ribs from CPR and the use of a mechanical device called a balloon pump that was inserted into Jackson's heart to try and restart it, according to the AP.
The autopsy findings appear to head off a potential defense for Murray should he be charged in the case: that Jackson had serious pre-existing conditions, which increased his risk of death from the drugs he willingly took. Jackson was in the midst of vigorous rehearsals for a planned series of 50 comeback concerts at the O2 arena in London at the time of his death. While some reports claimed the singer was too frail and unhealthy to pull off the shows, the autopsy results indicate that, aside from the lung issue, Jackson did not have any serious physical problems that might have hampered his ability to perform.
Among the other details in the autopsy report:
» Jackson had a 3/4-inch scar behind his left ear and another apparent scar behind his right ear, a scar beside each of his nostrils and another 4-inch scar on his right shoulder. He also had a pair of scars about 3 inches long at the base of his neck and smaller scars on his arms and wrist, a small scar in the region of his naval and a 2-inch scar on the right hand side of his abdomen. A doctor not affiliated with the case told the AP that most of the scars appeared to be from plastic surgery, though some, such as the one on the knee, could have been from a different medical procedure.
» The medical examiner found numerous punctures on both arms and on a knee and ankle.
» Jackson had a number of cosmetic tattoos, including dark tattoos around his eyebrows and under his eyes and a pink tattoo around his lips.
» The singer was going bald at the front of his head, with his remaining hair described as short and tightly curled. The bald portion of his scalp was darkened with what appeared to be a tattoo that stretched across the top of his head from ear to ear.