Source: THR
Sony has secured the rights to release “This Is It,” a film using footage of Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his “This Is It” tour.
Sony is paying concert promoter AEG Live and Jackson’s estate $60 million for the footage, which will be presented in HD, with some sequences in 3D, when it hits theaters Oct. 30. The film is being directed by Kenny Ortega, who was directing the concert and who also helmed the “High School Musical” movies.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved the deal Friday and announced his ruling Monday during a hearing where a separate merchandising deal, on which he is yet to rule, was being considered.
The studio said the film will be drawn from hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage — most of which was shot in June at Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Forum in Inglewood — as well as interviews with friends and collaborators of the late performer, who died on June 25.
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