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Sony Pictures finalized a deal Monday to release a musical film composed from 80 hours of rehearsal footage shot in preparation for the 50 London concerts Jackson was preparing when he died June 25.
Named after the title of those concerts, which Jackson had vowed would be his last, the movie This Is It is scheduled for release Oct. 30.
The film will open simultaneously nationwide and around the world on that date, Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer says. It's a quick turnaround for a movie, but Elzer says editors have been at work on the footage since before the deal was struck, and the remaining two months will be plenty of time to complete the project. "We're not rushing it, but we do want to get it out there," he says.
Sequences will be in 3-D, and new interviews are planned with those who knew and worked with Jackson on the incomplete project.
Negotiations to acquire the footage for theatrical release began in mid-July, roughly three weeks after Jackson's death. A bidding war between the major Hollywood studios broke out then for the still-unfinished film.
The release announcement came shortly after Sony's final bid of $60 million for the film rights was approved Monday by a Los Angeles County probate court administering deals between Jackson's estate and concert promoter AEG Live, which had to refund $85 million for ticketholders to the London shows. But AEG is poised to benefit from the renewed passion for all things Jackson.
Tune in at 7PM EST TODAY to see
Sony Pictures finalized a deal Monday to release a musical film composed from 80 hours of rehearsal footage shot in preparation for the 50 London concerts Jackson was preparing when he died June 25.
Named after the title of those concerts, which Jackson had vowed would be his last, the movie This Is It is scheduled for release Oct. 30.
The film will open simultaneously nationwide and around the world on that date, Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer says. It's a quick turnaround for a movie, but Elzer says editors have been at work on the footage since before the deal was struck, and the remaining two months will be plenty of time to complete the project. "We're not rushing it, but we do want to get it out there," he says.
Sequences will be in 3-D, and new interviews are planned with those who knew and worked with Jackson on the incomplete project.
Negotiations to acquire the footage for theatrical release began in mid-July, roughly three weeks after Jackson's death. A bidding war between the major Hollywood studios broke out then for the still-unfinished film.
The release announcement came shortly after Sony's final bid of $60 million for the film rights was approved Monday by a Los Angeles County probate court administering deals between Jackson's estate and concert promoter AEG Live, which had to refund $85 million for ticketholders to the London shows. But AEG is poised to benefit from the renewed passion for all things Jackson.
