29 June 2009 3:21 AM, PDT | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »
The final rehearsal for Michael Jackson’s planned concert tour will likely be broadcast internationally, Chicago Sun-Times entertainment columnist Bill Zwecker reported today (Monday), citing a source at Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Los Angeles-based concert promotion and touring company that was staging Jackson’s comeback. A similar report appeared on Sharon Waxman’s blog, TheWrap.com. It was not immediately clear whether the company intends to distribute the rehearsal performance to theaters or whether it is planning a television special. According to the reports, the rehearsal was shot with multiple “state-of-the-art” cameras (presumably meaning high-definition equipment) and the audio was captured in SurroundSound. Besides Jackson, the material also included performances by dancers, musicians and aerial performers.
Last week, Kenny Ortega, the show’s choreographer and director, told the Los Angeles Times that during the rehearsal, “Michael stood at my side and we looked at the stage together and were just beaming with gladness that we had arrived at this place. ... And he was happy. We all felt that and shared that. We were four or five days from finishing in Los Angeles and heading to London and feeling in really good shape.” Aeg Live CEO Randy Phillips added: “It was fantastic, he was so great.” Others who watched Jackson on stage commented that he appeared to be performing “at his peak.”
The rehearsal was reportedly taped at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 24, the day before Jackson’s death. The Aeg source told Zwecker and Waxman that the video could also be released as a DVD and the audio, as a live CD. “We have a live album in the can,” an Aeg official boasted to a colleague over the weekend, according to Waxman’s account.
Timing of the concert broadcast and CD and DVD releases is apparently still up in the air. Zwecker said that they may not materialize before September when a proposed tribute to Jackson is likely to be staged. He said that the special will include performances by Madonna, Diana Ross, Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, although he did not indicate whether the tribute would be staged as a live concert or a television special.
Meanwhile, the New York Post, citing a source close to the Jackson family, reported today that the singer had recorded “a treasure trove of songs for his three children” instructing that the songs not be released until after his death. »
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