FOOTLOOSE - JACKSON DOCUMENTARY TO BE "WALL-TO-WALL MUSIC," SAYS DIRECTOR

JACKSON DOCUMENTARY TO BE "WALL-TO-WALL MUSIC," SAYS DIRECTOR

The director of the Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It! has disclosed that it will feature "wall-to-wall music," but he did not indicate how much of that music will feature Jackson himself. In an interview with USA Today, Kenny Ortega, the choreographer who was staging Jackson's comeback concert production at the time of his death, said that "nowhere near the 80 hours [of footage that was shot during Jackson's rehearsals] did we have Michael in rehearsal. However, we had enough to be able to cut together a pretty big portion of what Michael was planning for the tour." The film, which is due to open on Wednesday, said Ortega, will show "a master of his craft, a great genius in his final theatrical work and creative process." At the same time, he said, "It's unguarded, and it's raw, and it's real and it's truthful, and it's not always pretty, and he's not always lit, you know. We weren't really overly protective." Meanwhile, Reuters on Sunday quoted one box-office analyst as predicting that the movie could earn $260 million domestically and $400 million internationally over its two-week run. It also said that Columbia may extend its run if ticket demand is high. And, in a related development, Daily Variety reported that Ortega has pulled out as director of the remake of the 1984 musical Footloose.

26/10/2009