Jackson docu-concert movie poised to break through genre barriers

Will it be the biggest movie of the year? Online advance ticket sales for the Michael Jackson film This Is It have been setting records left and right, with some industry monitors indicating that as many as 700 showings of the film, which opens for a rare Wednesday preview on October 28, are already sold out.

Considering how Sony Pictures has been positioning and marketing the film, those numbers alone are staggering. It’s currently slated to run for only two weeks in a limited engagement. Some reports are highlighting the fact that, even among those who have already purchased tickets, few seem to know exactly what the movie is – concert film or documentary.

In fact, it’s both these things. Director Kenny Ortega, the man behind High School Musical, was overseeing the 50-date tour for which the film is named when Jackson died. After Jackson’s passing, Ortega at first was highly reluctant to take on the task of directing the film. "I am sorry there had to be a movie," he said. "This is not the way I wanted to tell this story."

Sony Pictures, which purchased the hundreds of hours of footage shot to accompany the tour, wanted Ortega in the driver’s seat, and he reluctantly agreed when, according to the Chicago Tribune, he realized that the film was going to be made regardless of his level of involvement. “This is sacred documentation of Michael Jackson's last theatrical endeavor. I am in it,” he told the Trib. “And to have put that in the hands of someone else, however fine and sensitive a filmmaker, would have been irresponsible."

What will emerge onscreen then is a somewhat lower-wattage Jackson than we might have seen had the concerts gone off as planned. After all, these are rehearsals, and in the clips that have been released thus far, we see Jackson relaxed, alert, confident and in control of both his own abilities and the production around him, but understandably more laid-back than he would be during a full-fledged performance.

Security around the project has so far been iron-clad, but some insiders are projecting huge sales numbers for This Is It, despite the fact that most films in the concert and documentary genre tend to be modest performers at the box office. One indication of future strong sales worldwide might be the fact that it’s one of 20-odd foreign films that annually are allowed to play in China.

Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live, promoter of the original concerts, gushed about the finished product. “Here, on film for all posterity, we have the greatest pop artist of all time showing his every move and thought process as he goes from describing his vision of the show to rehearsing the band and the dancers, to running through on stage what he told me was going to be his finest performance ever.”

What you won’t see is anything that might be construed as reflecting negatively on the late performer. Not only is that written into the contract, held jointly between AEG Live, Sony, and Jackson’s estate, but it’s something that Ortega would have insisted on, himself a heartfelt fan.

Reportedly, the family will get 90 percent of the film’s earnings once it’s passed $135 million in earnings, with the rest going to AEG Live, to help them recoup the costs of the cancelled concert series. But Sony will do well enough, even after a bidding war among all four major studios in which they paid $60 million for the footage. Since Jackson’s tunes are on Sony’s label, they are anticipating major catalogue sales as well as lots of interest in the title track.

The single “This Is It”, which will play near the end of the film, is meeting mixed reviews, with some finding it a fitting tribute to the fallen superstar, while others complain it’s devoid of groove.

With no advance screenings other than to upper-level Sony and AEG executives, and family members, the advance buzz for the film is all based on the few clips now viewable on Jackson’s official website. Almost all have been positive, with most adopting a wait-and-see attitude in anticipation of the movie’s release. Jackson’s mother and his sister LaToya have already said they won’t screen the film, saying it’s too soon after his death.

Come October 28, you’ll be able to decide for yourself.