porno

On Monday we learned that major studios were bidding big bucks for the rights to the 1,200 hours of rehearsal footage of the late Michael Jackson prepping his This Is It Tour in the hopes that it could be released in theaters as a movie. Last we heard, bidding was reported to reach as high as $50 million and Sony Pictures was the front runner in the bidding war. There was also talk that some footage might be sold to a TV network for around $20 million for use in a TV special. Today, Entertainment Weekly magazine reports that Sony ended up buying the footage for $60 million and plans to release a movie in October. On the TV side, according to the LA Times,no network seems interested in paying out $20 million for a TV special … so either the price has to come down or there may be no TV special:

Sony Pictures has paid $60 million for the rights to release a movie of footage shot during Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his This Is It concert tour, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film will hit theaters October 30. According to other reports, AEG Live, which is said to have 80 hours of rehearsal footage at its disposal, and Jackson’s family will split Sony’s money, with Jackson’s family receiving 90 percent of the fee and establishing a charity in the late singer’s name.

Wow. First off … $60 million … wow. Secondly, October 30 will be here in no time … it’s amazing how quickly these sorts of deals get hammered out. I understand that Kenny Ortega (the choreographer of the This Is It Tour) will direct the film as he worked very closely with MJ on his vision for the show. On the TV end, tho, the early report was that a TV special might air as early as September if a deal was struck … thus far, no deal … which means no TV special:

Frenzied international interest in all things Michael Jackson notwithstanding, it appears there won’t be a TV special this fall. AEG Live, the promoter behind Jackson’s 50 “This Is It” comeback concerts in London, has been negotiating for several days with movie studios for the film rights to the concert rehearsal footage as well as broadcast rights to a tie-in television special. Although NBC was interested in the project as recently as Monday, and other networks showed interest last week, all of the networks balked over AEG’s $20-million price tag for a show that would not include any new or exclusive footage of Jackson performing, several network sources said. Originally, AEG had tried to sell the special to air Aug. 29 — Michael Jackson’s birthday — which falls on a Saturday. But logistical problems — which include Saturday being the lowest-rated night of the week for TV — compelled AEG to stipulate that networks program the special in September when TV viewers return to their couches in high numbers, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on the matter. Some TV networks also feared that the TV special would be too similar in content to the documentary film that will be made out of the rehearsal footage … If AEG had gotten its way, the TV special would have been directed by Kenny Ortega (who had been working with Jackson as the director of the “This Is It” tour). The plans were for a superstar ensemble that could have included Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and will.i.am performing Jackson’s hits using the costumes, choreography, and special-effects-driven illusions engineered for the singer’s comeback tour. But no footage of the King of Pop. “And the cost of that thing is $20 million? With no Michael Jackson? Ha!” said one network source who requested anonymity.

I totally agree … $20 million dollars for NO footage of Michael Jackson? WTF? Unless a deal can be worked out soon, it looks like the only way we’ll see any of this MJ tour rehearsal footage is in theaters … on Halloween. Doesn’t that strike you as being … strange? Would YOU go see this movie in theaters?

[Source, Source]