MJ Funeral Cost over a $1 Million

The Forest Lawn crypt cost $590,000, and $35,000 was spent on the pop star’s clothing. On Tuesday, his mother dropped her objection to two associates of her son being named executors of his estate.

The cost of Michael Jackson’s private funeral topped $1 million, with more than half that amount going to buy a crypt in a celebrity-studded Glendale mausoleum and $35,000 spent on clothes for the singer, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.

Jackson, who died in June, was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in September in a nighttime ceremony arranged by his family and paid for by his estate. The probate judge who signed off on those expenses made public the funeral costs at a hearing in which he also appointed two longtime Jackson associates, entertainment attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, as executors of his estate.

Read More at LA TIMES

‘This is It’ rakes in $25 Million in one day

The Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It earned $20.1m at worldwide box offices in its first day, the studio that made the film has said.

The movie, which is based on rehearsal footage for the star’s ill-fated comeback shows, was premiered around the world on Tuesday.

Steve Elzer from Sony Pictures said the movie is a “reaffirmation of the global appeal of Michael Jackson”.

The film made $7.4m in the US and $2m in the UK.

“The studio believes that the worldwide launch, with very strong performance across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia, represents an amazing beginning for the film,” Mr Elzer said in a statement. He has also revealed that the studio will submit the movie to the Academy Awards for consideration this year in the best picture category.

To be a contender for Oscar shortlisting, the film must complete a seven-day run in Los Angeles County and film-makers would need to “submit the proper paperwork,” Academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger said.

Read More at BBC

MJ’s ‘This is it’ Debuts

When Michael Jackson died, he was days away from launching comeback concerts. Now, video footage of preparations for those performances has become “Michael Jackson’s This Is It.” Ben Tracy reports.

Protest planned at MJ Premiere

A group of Michael Jackson fans are planning to protest about a new film showing his final weeks, claiming it covers up his declining health.

Some are planning to hand out leaflets later at simultaneous global premieres of This Is It, a movie made by piecing together concert rehearsal footage.

A small circle of loyal followers say they saw his health go downhill.

Talin Shajanian, from Los Angeles, said: “A couple of weeks before he passed, we saw him change drastically.”

Read more at BBC

MJ’s Kids in Hit & Run

Michael Jackson’s kids are okay after one of the Jackson cars was rear-ended by a paparazzo. The King of Pop’s children were feared to be in the car a pap allegedly rear-ended Wednesday.

Police have confirmed that a photographer and a vehicle owned by the “Thriller” hitmaker’s family were involved in a minor car accident in Los Angeles around 2:20 p.m. Wednesday.

The cars collided while the unnamed paparazzo was trailing the kids - Prince, Paris, and Blanket. According to TMZ, the car that was hit was their security car, which was following the vehicle carrying the kids.

Witnesses said that the driver who stuck the car fled the scene after the accident. Cops have taken a hit-and-run report on the scene.

All Head Line News

MJ’s: ‘This is it’ has been done already

Hours after the pop singer’s first posthumous single “This Is It” was released amid great hype on Monday, it emerged that the tune had been recorded 18 years ago by an obscure Puerto Rican singer.

Moreover the co-author of that tune, “My Way” songwriter Paul Anka, threatened to sue Jackson’s estate for proper credit and his share of royalties.

The administrators of the estate quickly acknowledged Anka’s claims and granted him 50 percent of the copyright, a potentially massive payday for the 68-year-old Canadian crooner. And an equally massive loss for the estate.

“They realize it’s a mistake, they realize it’s my song, they realize it’s my production of his vocal in my studio and I am getting 50 percent of the whole project, actually, which is fair,” Anka said in a video posted on the TMZ gossip Web site.

Read the full article REUTERS

Michael Jackson Doctor Threatened With Warrant Over Child-Support Issue

A Nevada court has recommended that a bench warrant be issued for Dr. Conrad Murray — the cardiologist at the center of the Michael Jackson murder investigation — over more than $13,000 in unpaid child support.

According to the assistant for Clark County Family Court District Attorney David Roger, Murray has until Wednesday to appear in Las Vegas court to answer the charges; if he does not appear before that date, a bench warrant will be issued for his arrest. If Murray does appear and objects to the warrant, a new date will be put on the calendar for the hearing on the child-support matter. As of September 17, Murray was reported to be $13,311.47 in arrears in support payments to former girlfriend Nenita Malibiran, who now lives in California with the couple’s 10-year-old son.

Read Full Article at MTV

Jackson Autopsy Info

The coroners report came out today announcing that Michael Jackson’s shouldn’t have died of any complications due to his health directly. He went on to say that his death was contributed by an overdose and that overall Jackson was healthy.

He did state that Jackson has scars on his arms and neck from needles and that his eyebrows and lip color was tattooed on.

BBC

‘Michael Jackson’s Ticket Sales Break International Records

Documentary has sold out hundreds of screenings across U.S. a month before its release.

Even in death, Michael Jackson continues to be a guaranteed superstar. Just as the initial run of his planned concerts at the O2 arena in London sold out almost instantly earlier this year, the posthumous documentary about the King of Pop’s preparations for that residency, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” has broken advance ticket sales records for a movie.

According to Reuters, hundreds of screenings in North America have already sold out, a month before the film’s October 28 opening.

Among the cities with the strongest sales are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and New York. Records were also set in Japan, where more than $1 million in tickets were sold on the first day they were available. In London, fans bought more than 30,000 tickets on the first day, eclipsing the advance interest in the “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings” films, which were wildly popular in Britain. Record sales were also reported in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand.

The documentary will have a limited two-week run, which might explain the rush on tickets. On Sunday, all 3,000 spots for a Los Angeles advance screening of “This Is It” on October 27 sold out within two hours.

The film follows Jackson as he rehearsed and prepared for a 50-date run of concerts, which were scheduled to begin in London just weeks after his death on June 25. Sony Pictures Entertainment paid $60 million for the more than 100 hours of hi-def rehearsal footage. The film, which was directed by Kenny Ortega, will feature behind-the-scenes footage as well as Jackson and his band and dancers rehearsing for the tour.

Last week, it was confirmed that a two-disc album featuring a new song, “This Is It,” will be released on October 27 to coincide with the movie’s theatrical release. The new single drops on October 12.

MTV

Jackson Documentary sells out in 2 hours

Michael Jackson is still playing to sellout crowds.

Advance screenings to the music documentary “Michael Jackson: This Is It” sold out within two hours early Sunday as fans who began lining up three days earlier snapped up all 3,000 tickets to the Los Angeles shows.

The documentary opens nationwide Oct. 28, but fans will get a sneak peek the night before in screenings at the new Regal Cinemas Stadium 14. For the theater’s grand opening, the cinema will show “This Is It” on all 14 screens that night.

Directed by longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega, “This Is It” draws on hundreds of hours of footage as Jackson prepared for a series of London concerts for which he was rehearsing before his death on June 25.

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