Ticket Sales Break International Records 'Michael Jackson's This Is It'

Even in death, Michael Jackson continues to be a guaranteed superstar. Just as the initial run of his planned concerts at the O2 arena in London sold out almost right away earlier this year, the posthumous documentary about the King of Pop's preparations for that residency, "Michael Jackson's This Is It," has broken advance ticket sales records for a movie.
According to Reuters, hundreds of screenings in North America have already sold out, a month before the film's October 28 opening.
Among the cities with the strongest sales are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and New York. Records were also set in Japan, where more than $1 million in tickets were sold on the first day they were available. In London, fans bought more than 30,000 tickets on the first day, eclipsing the advance interest in the "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" films, which were wildly popular in Britain. Record sales were also reported in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand.
The documentary will have a limited two week run, which might explain the rush on tickets. On Sunday, all 3,000 spots for a Los Angeles advance screening of "This Is It" on October 27 sold out within two hours.
The film follows Jackson as he rehearsed and prepared for a 50 date run of concerts, which were scheduled to begin in London just weeks after his death on June 25. Sony Pictures Entertainment paid $60 million for the more than 100 hours of hi-def rehearsal picture. The film, which was directed by Kenny Ortega, will feature behind-the-scenes capture as well as Jackson and his band and dancers rehearsing for the tour.
Last week, it was confirmed that a two disc album featuring a new song, "This Is It," will be released on October 27 to concur with the movie's theatrical release. The new single drops on October 12.

'Michael Jackson Tapes' details star's obsessions

ENGLEWOOD, N.J. – Pop superstar Michael Jackson feared the ravages of old age, sought the company of sycophants and appeared to be abusing prescription drugs and cosmetic surgery nearly a decade before his death, according to a new book by a former adviser.
"The Michael Jackson Tapes" breaks little in the way of new ground but the book by Shmuley Boteach, based on 30 hours of taped interviews, provides firsthand detail about the performer's excesses and obsessions.
"I don't want to be seen now," Jackson confessed. "Because I am like a lizard. It is horrible."
Jackson died June 25 at age 50. His death is being treated as a homicide.
The self-described "King of Pop" seemed to sense during the interviews in 2000 and 2001 that his life was winding down.
"I would like some way to disappear where people don't see me anymore at some point," Jackson said. "I don't want to grow old. I never want to look in the mirror and see that."
"He lost the will to live," Boteach said Friday on NBC's "Today" show. "I think he was just going through the motions of life toward the end."
Boteach is an orthodox Jewish rabbi who has written self-help books with names like "Kosher Sex" and "Shalom in the Home." He was introduced to Jackson in 1999 through Uri Geller, a British entertainer, and acted as his confidant for many years. At times, the transcribed tapes sound like counseling sessions.
Boteach said he and Jackson recorded the tapes with the idea of giving the public a more accurate image of the reclusive entertainer. Boteach said he soured on the book — originally slated for release in 2003 Boteach said Jackson began pushing him away as he criticized his departure from the recovery program they had set up — improvements that included waking up at a decent hour and not being alone with kids other than Jackson's own, for public relations purposes.
The friendship ended with Jackson's second arrest on charges of sexually abusing a child. Boteach said he resurrected the project after Jackson died because attitudes toward him had softened.
In conversations, Jackson is quick to see himself as a victim and quick to criticize relatives — especially his father, who, Jackson said, beat him with an electric cord.
"He was rough," Jackson says of his father. "The way he would beat you hard, you know, was hard."
Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for the Jackson family, said Friday: "We will not dignify this with a comment."
The book makes it clear Jackson was interested in women sexually but very shy. He tells Boteach he had never asked a woman out on a date, although he admitted to having sexually charged phone conversations with Madonna.
In recounting one conversation, he said: "Madonna laid down the law to me before we went out," saying, "'I am not going to Disneyland, okay? That's out.'"
Jackson said Madonna was jealous of him because his female fans screamed and swooned while her male fans were less demonstrative. He recalled her crying in admiration at one of his concerts.
When contacted Friday, Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, said, "Madonna has very fond feelings for Michael Jackson, and I don't think anything in the book is going to change that."
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Associated Press Television Writer Frazier Moore in New York contributed to this report.

Jackson's This Is It Album Set for October Release

This is it or at least the beginning of it. Sony Music announced on Wednesday that on Oct. 12 it will release the single "This Is It," the first of what promises to be an onslaught of posthumous Michael Jackson songs, followed by a full two-disc album, Michael Jackson's This Is It, supposedly "inspired" by the Sony film of the same name. The album will be out internationally on Oct. 26 and in the U.S. on Oct. 27, a day before the worldwide release of the movie.
From Elvis Presley to Tupac Shakur, posthumously released music has long been a record industry staple, and with good reason: death sells. Tupac has had five Top 10 albums since his shooting death in 1996, while the Elvis catalog is among the most valuable assets in entertainment. Of course, most music bearing the description "previously unreleased" was kept in a storage locker for a reason. But the words still have a seductive power for fans who are desperate for a little more music from a departed favorite and for record labels that are looking for one (or more) final cash cow.

Deep voice Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson "talked tough" and had a deep voice.
According to one of the late pop superstar's closest guys, concert promoter David Gest, Jackson's real voice was heavy and powerful and nothing like the high-pitched whimper he used when speaking publicly.
Gest said: "I'm showing an interview I did with Michael that shows him talking in his actual voice, like, 'C'mon David, let's get it done now.' "
Mimicking Jackson's famous high pitched tone, he added: "You know he doesn't talk like, 'Hi, how are you?' He talks very, very tough. I'm telling you the truth."
Fans were shocked earlier this year when Jackson announced his This Is It London residency in an unusually deep voice which prompted speculation as to whether an imitatory had appeared instead of the 'King of Pop'.
Gest, 56, is making a documentary called My Best guys Michael which he promises will gig this actual side of the Thriller singer.
Since his untimely passing in June, Gest has been in regular contact with the Jackson family, and revealed Jackson's mother Katherine is struggling with the loss of her son.

Appearing on British TV show Live From Studio Five, Gest who had Jackson as his best man when he married Liza Minnelli in 2002 said: "I went to the funeral about two months ago and I speak to his mother about every week.
"It's very hard on Mrs Jackson, to bury a son when a son's supposed to bury a mother. She's trying to cope, but she's a very strong woman, she helped raise me when I was a kid."

Michael Jackson admitted: I took painkiller medication' in lawsuit evidence

Michael Jackson spoke about his alleged addiction to prescription drugs during video evidence taken during a lawsuit involving his ex manager Dieter Wiesner, it has been reported.

In the video, Jackson is said to have talked about how a doctor had prescribed medicine throughout 2003.
The video was shot by a lawyer who was interviewing him on behalf of Mr Wiesner, who managed Jackson for seven years to 2003.
Wienser had filed a £45million civil case, claiming fraud and breach of contract, according to The Sun.

The date of video is unknown but in it he reportedly talks about how a doctor had prescribed medicine throughout 2003.
Wearing a black jacket, reading glasses, reading glasses, Jackson looked distracted during the interview, according to the paper, which had viewed the exchange.
During one exchange, the lawyer asks him: “Were you under the influence of drugs or alcohol that impaired your ability to understand what you were doing?”
Jackson replied: “It could have been medication, yes.”
The lawyer responded: “OK, what medications were you taking in about January of 2003?”
Jackson replied: “It could have easily been pain medication because I had some serious injuries on tour.”
The lawyer then asked: “And so is it your testimony that you gave power of attorney to Dieter Wiesner and Ronald Konitzer when under the influence of prescription medication?
Jackson then responded: “Could have been probably. Probably, yes.”
According to the paper, he could not recall how long he had been taking the drugs, adding that he used them to numb the pain caused by injuries suffered while performing and at home.
“I had a serious fall,” he said.
“I am not sure it was a tour. It was a show we did, a benefit. And I had an accident also at home.” Mr Wiesner has said Jackson’s drug use increased after he saw Martin Bashir's 2003 television documentary, in which the pop star revealed he slept in a room with children.
The video emerged a day after Jackson fans were given their first look at the trailer for This Is It, the movie featuring footage from his final days.
The film is a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals for Jackson's London comeback shows, which were scheduled to take place this summer.
He died on June 25, shortly before the run was due to commence at the O2 Arena.