MICHAEL JACKSON - SONY THINKS THIS IS IT! DESERVES A BEST-PICTURE OSCAR

SONY THINKS THIS IS IT! DESERVES A BEST-PICTURE OSCAR

Sony said Thursday that it plans to promote Michael Jackson's This Is It! concert documentary for a best-picture Oscar. The film, which received mostly solid reviews from critics when it was released on Wednesday, is not eligible in the documentary category since the deadline for submissions was August 31, but once it completes a seven-day run in theaters it automatically becomes eligible for consideration in the best-film category (and also in the sound and editing categories, too, where it will likely be a strong contender). Meanwhile, Sony, which is distributing the movie in the U.S., said that This Is It! grossed $20.1 million worldwide on Wednesday, including $7.4 million in North America. And the Los Angeles Times reported that the studio's plan to release the movie on DVD in time for the holidays was nixed by theater owners, who have made it clear that they will fight any studio that tries to release a film on DVD less than three months after its theatrical run.

30/10/2009