Michael Jackson Movie ‘This is It’ is Definitely worth the price of Admission

Michael Jackson Movie ‘This is It’ is Definitely worth the price of Admission

by Davey D

As was the case with his death, the haters coming from places like the NY Post or so-called music critic Chuck Arnold of People Magazine, simply could not wait to find an opportunity to spit their venom on Michael Jackson the King of Pop. Lucky for us all of us got to see the movie at the exact same time as his critics, thus the negativity they spit will be overshadowed because folks who sat along side them have a vastly different opinion of the movie ‘This Is It’ and have been able to express it.  How does one go to a packed theater see, people clapping and dancing in the aisle and just feeling it and then go back and write some garbage about it was ghoulish??

The first thing I tell people is go see this movie is bring your kids. Michael is incredible . Yes, its rehearsal footage, but having covered concerts for the past 20 years from  U2 to Public Enemy and everyone in between, I can honestly say what you see with Michael is better than 90% of the folks have graced the stage. If you’re an artist, I strongly urge you to go see this movie, bring pen and pad, check your ego at the door and take notes so you can learn the real meaning of the word ‘ENTERTAINMENT“.

If I’m to believe the stories about Michael Jackson being a drug addict, out of shape and out of wack, unless this movie has some new special effects I never seen, than MJ puts that to rest. I want whatever it is he’s has, because he comes with a skill set very few will ever reach-and again this is just rehearsal. You can tell he’s hasn’t brought the entire package not by a long shot. MJ is off the chain. 

Several things stood out We know that his staff was working his young dancers day and night. They were doing everything from ballet to spending hours perfecting complicated and grueling routines. These men and women are half MJ’s age, but when they danced together, MJ who was supposedly on drugs was not only able to keep up, he  surpassed them.  Just to see how he did his routines is worth the 8 bucks. To see his incredible work ethic and desire for perfection is worth the 8 bucks. Just to see how he was dedicated to bringing entertainment to his fans is reason enough for anyone who is an artist from any genre or discipline to pay the price of admission. If you’re an artist this film is required viewing.

It’s ironic that I saw the BET Hip Hop Awards just before seeing this movie.  I gotta tell ya its gonna be hard to go back and see Gucci man or Souljah Boy  hit the stage after seeing MJ.. It’s not so much that he spent money on his stage sets, it’s the perfection he demanded of himself and the people around him. It’s the precision in his dance moves. It’s him knowing every note and lyric to his songs. It’s him unwilling to come up short in his executions. You really come to appreciate good artistry and might find yourself getting annoyed and upset the next time you see someone do a half baked bullshit show.  

What also stood out was the staging and sets he was going to unveil in concert. Wow. The way he flips Smooth Criminal, Thriller and my favorite Earth Song  are breath-taking. In fact the Earth Song scene is something that President Obama and his fellow politicians who are hedging on getting a comprehensive impactful Climate Change bill, should see.  Michael hits a home run with that and actually speaks to the issue in the film. He talks about the direction we are headed where we may do irreversible damage.

The film has a lot of bright moments. As I was watching it, I couldn’t help think about how Michael had saved and eventually transformed the music industry. His creativity especially when it came to videos  saved the music industry. After seeing this film, I think many will use his film as a template and follow suit. Yes, we’ve had movies of band concert footage and their backstage rehearsals, but they pale in comparison to Michael Jackson. He raised the bar on this one.  if the movie does well, I’m willing to bet that we will see the music industry rush to do similar films with other performers…

 for those of you into conspiracy theories here’s something to consider…

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(And: How to Get Away With Fake Murder)
By: Rhiannon | MJHD Forum Moderator

Now, we know in March of 2009 Michael Jackson announced his upcoming residency at London’s O2 arena.  This was an idea pitched to him initially by AEG in 2007, wanting him to kick off the “Grand Opening” of the O2.  At this time Michael had still been living like a vagabond, and after little consideration he turned down the offer.  His counter offer to Randy Phillips and Kenny Ortega was he would rather make movies.  Movies that he “produced, directed, and starred in”… shows “like the world has never seen”.  AEG, not in the market for filmmaking respectfully declined the offer and found a more than eager to oblige Prince to fill the opening dates.

Michael had long been in a self-fueled competition with Prince ever since the “Purple Rain” singer refused to record with him on the “Bad” album.  Michael is the type of person who always feels that he has to one-up himself, and one-up the world in the process.

Through whatever means, Michael re-approached AEG in November of 2008 again with his movie ideas.  What happened next is anybody’s guess.  This only brings us to March, the 10 shows turned 50, and the ensuing media silence that followed.

The shows were set to begin in early July then pushed back a week.  Taking in things as they were on June 24th, assuming the shows were legitimate and had every intention of actually happening, where was the pre-push?

Michael was set to take the stage in London in mere weeks for his “final performances” there.  This is some pretty big news, right?  We hear now that he had recorded a single entitled “This Is It”… why wasn’t this released to promote these shows?  From a traditional standpoint there was absolutely no marketing or advertising going on for the O2 shows, at all!  We know MJ wasn’t one to grant loads of TV interviews, but he was definitely a marketing genius (remember the statue floating down the Thames?) only here on the cusp of his career comeback and professional vindication… there is NOTHING?!  TV he may have stayed shy from, but he did do magazines, he always seemed to have some kind of “making-of” or “preview” leaked before whatever his next big thing was… but for This Is It we saw nothing.

Or did we?  …Hang on.

So now, we find ourselves in the present, less than a month away from the opening of the rapidly produced “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” in theaters worldwide.  And what do we have now?  There are a few radio spots, a random TV commercial, you may have even seen a banner or poster.  This is all totally normal for a movie.  Nothing to see here.  Right?
Wrong.  In promoting a film of this magnitude (let’s just say this will be the movie everyone remembers from 2009… unless you live under a rock) it would be especially commonplace to have a media circuit push in effect.  At this point, it would be the final push.

What you should see is Kenny Ortega, some of the dancers, anyone associated with the film promoting it by going on Letterman, Today, GMA, and giving quick 5-minute sit downs about the movie.  And trust me folks, it’s not like they’ve not been contacted to do these.  So why in the world would they turn down free publicity?  Why don’t they want to talk about Michael’s vision and L.O.V.E., etc?  Are they hiding something?

Meanwhile, the internet is hot with people talking, “buzz-bombing” is a term used sometimes for people planted by the company in question to litter sites and networks with information and keep the chatter going.  A common marketing phrase states, “There is no better advertising than word of mouth.”
So, that all said, let’s imagine the “what-ifs”.

The only major media talk surrounding the O2 shows in the weeks before they were set to happen were tethered to how Michael had just tragically and suddenly “passed-away”.  Then, how kindly, AEG volunteered the Staples center out to the Jackson family to have Michael’s public memorial, being as how they still had it rented out for rehearsals.
Wait… rehearsals for the show, on July 7th?  That’s cutting it dangerously close considering Michael had to move to the UK, the set had to be moved, the dancers had to move, and they’re all expecting us to believe this could be done in a week?  What seems more likely is they had a rental agreement still in place for the Staples Center through July 7th because the Memorial was a part of the plan all along.

Remember how Michael came around to AEG in November wanting to do movies?  What’s more foolish to believe, Michael was really going to do 50 shows in London like nothing… or that he said, “Ok, guys, here’s what I want to do… this might sound crazy but I’ve got it all planned out… this is my vision, you will make serious coin, and I get my public vindication and professional dignity restored.”  To say the latter is not possible is to sorely underestimate the genius that IS Michael Jackson.

AEG seeing an opportunity to make money hand over fist and be apart of the largest publicity stunt in history gladly signs on.  Michael then brings back his “dream team”, John Branca, Frank DiLeo, Karen Faye, even Kenny himself was around in the glory days.

The story of his “death” is believable because to the general unassuming public Michael was “odd” and most were aware he had issues dealing with prescription vices on and off for many years.  It’s easy to pin the tail on the donkey, Conrad Murray, because no one… still to this day… is entirely certain who he truly is, if he exists, and what his story is.  And shockingly, over three months have passed and we’re no closer to wrapping up the “investigation” than we were on June 25th.

So, how can this be?  Wouldn’t the officials involved risk professional demise once this is out?  Not necessarily, remember in Los Angeles, it’s not exactly difficult to obtain a filming/location permit or work out an agreement with hospital, coroner, and law enforcement higher-ups.  And to keep it quiet, all you need is one person in charge at each place to delegate information to his employees on a need-to-know basis.  They could be just as in the dark as we are!  Hence why the investigation is so flawed.  Hence why Chief Bratton is retiring in about 4 weeks.  For the hospital and coroner, you’ll notice you still don’t have any conclusive concrete, beyond shadow of a doubt, proof that they have been fraudulent.  In fact, Jermaine made the statement at UCLA, and after the announcement of an autopsy pending and the subsequent “security hold” on the findings, we have nothing official from them either.  All of the news people assume as factual has been leaked from sources “close to” or “involved with” the case.

Meanwhile, none of the insurance policies have been cashed in by Michael’s estate or AEG.  Some people mistakenly thought one had been, when actually all that happened was a judge granting Branca and McClain permission to use funds from the estate to produce TII and give Katherine and the kids some allowance money. And also, nothing official was ever decided about custody of the three kids… again, many people think this is wrong that Katherine was granted permanent and sole custody, but she still only has temporary guardianship.
And until anyone can see the original death certificate with their own eyes, you honestly can’t prove that it is real either.

Point being, with the right amount of money and the proper legal planning (confidentiality, non-disclosures, gag orders, etc.) Michael Jackson hoaxing his death wouldn’t be all that difficult.
Meanwhile, what we have is a two-week engagement in theaters (anyone else find that confusing?), teasers leaked to the public only *after* June 25th: demo clip, rehearsal footage, pictures, now a new single just in time for the movie… that has the entire world watching.  Michael’s catalogue can’t hardly be kept in stock anywhere, and his debts are being cleared a little faster than anyone presumed.  Leaving everyone without a loss on their investments.  So will he come back in the movie?  Before it?  After?  At all?

Well, I mean, they say This Is It, right?  …So if he’s not coming back soon then that can only mean This Is NOT It.  So which is it… Is This It, or Isn’t It?

By the way, has anyone heard from the children recently?  Odd that they were in the house the day their father was potentially “murdered” and they haven’t been interviewed by authorities at all

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