Michael Jackson had barely breathed his last breath before the promoters of his O2 concert series, AEG Live, were talking about releasing a movie edited out of the 100 hours of rehearsal footage they had of the star preparing for his ‘This Is It’ comeback. While a few weeks ago we reported that Sony was close to signing a $50 million deal to distribute the film (that deal went through, although with a reported pricetag closer to $60 million), there were still some legal hurdles to jump before the movie could go ahead.
As Jackson’s estate is still going through the courts, a judge had to give permission for the movie’s release and approve the acquisition of the film rights (which are owned jointly by AEG and the Jackson estate). That’s now happened and the film’s projected October 30th release looks to be on track.
Along with rehearsal footage of Jackson, the film will also reportedly include three videos that were shot to be played during the This Is It concerts, including an alternate version of Jackson’s Thriller video. These shorts were shot in 3D and it’s believed that’s how they’ll be displayed in cinemas. High School Musical director/choreographer Kenny Ortega, who was working with Jackson on the concert and made the short films, is currently editing everything together to make it into a movie.