This Is It was a planned series of 50 concerts by Michael Jackson to be held at The O2 arena in London. They were scheduled to begin in July 2009 and continue through March 2010. Less than three weeks before the first show was due to begin and with all concerts being sold out, Jackson died after suffering cardiac arrest.
Jackson officially announced the concerts at a press conference held inside The O2 arena. AEG Live, the concert promoters, released a promotional video that took up an entire commercial break, setting a record for ITV. The shows were to be Jackson's first major series of concerts since the HIStory World Tour finished in 1997, and had been cited as one of the year's most important musical events. Over one million people would have attended in total. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, stated that the first 10 dates alone would have earned the singer approximately £50 million. Originally only 10 concerts were announced, however public demand resulted in a 50 date sold out residency. Ticket sales broke several records and AEG Live stated that Jackson could have sold more dates. Jackson's album sales increased following the announcement.
In preparation for the concert series, the pop singer had been collaborating with numerous high profile figures, such as fashion designerChristian Audigier, choreographer Kenny Ortega and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno. Prior to Jackson's death, Allgood Entertainment had planned to sue the musician for $40 million, claiming that he had breached a contract with them.
In light of Jackson's passing, AEG Live offered either full refunds to all ticket holders or a special souvenir ticket designed by the entertainer.Columbia Pictures acquired the footage of the show rehearsals and made a concert film entitled Michael Jackson's This Is It. The Jackson estate will get 90% of the profit made while the remaining 10% goes to AEG Live. Columbia Pictures guaranteed at least $60 million for the rights. To coincide with the release of the concert footage, an accompanying album (This Is It) is also scheduled for worldwide distribution.
Preparation and concert details
The 50-concert run was originally scheduled to start on July 8, 2009 and conclude on March 6, 2010. Each of the shows would have been performed at The O2 arena in London, which has a capacity of 23,000. Christian Audigier, a fashion designer (and personal friend of Jackson), worked on the clothing for the shows. Jay Ruckel from La Crasia Gloves created Jackson's iconic single glove for the concerts. The costumes he was set to wear during the shows were encrusted with 300,000 Swarovski crystals. In May 2009, thousands of dancers flew in from all around the world to audition for Jackson, who helped select the 12 finalists in person. Kenny Ortega, who had collaborated with Jackson previously, was to work on the overall design and direction of concerts. Ortega said that the final product would have been a "theatrical musical experience". According to Randy Philips, £13 million was to be spent on producing the concerts, which would have included 18-22 songs and 22 different sets. There also would have been aerial dancing similar to routines by Cirque du Soleil.Carla Ferrigno told Reuters that her husband Lou had been helping Jackson train in advance of the shows. Jackson and Ferrigno had previously worked together.
A 3-D video was made to be shown on stage on the tour as Jackson performed live. Shooting of the production occurred from June 1 to June 9, 2009. Jackson was present for most production days.
The video was shot at Culver Studios in Culver City, California using 3D technology developed by Vince Pace and filmmaker James Cameron. Pace claimed that "the audience would have felt like they were visiting the Thriller experience, like they were there". Production of the video was said to be "elaborate". Four sets were constructed, including one resembling a cemetery similar to that featured in the Thriller music video.
Jackson's death and refunds
Jackson died on June 25, 2009, following a cardiac arrest, eighteen days before his planned first show. AEG Live, who persuaded Jackson to sign up for the shows, is currently facing a liability of up to £300 million and an empty venue for the next nine months.
Posthumous film and album
Following Jackson's death, AEG stated that they had over "100 hours of footage of preparations and rehearsals for the shows".[50] On August 10, 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved a deal between film distributer Columbia Pictures and AEG Live for the former company to purchase and distribute rehersal footage of Jackson for a film entitledMichael Jackson's This Is It. According to court documents, Columbia paid $60 million (£35 million) for rights to the rehearsal footage.The papers filed in court had reportedly stated that Jackson's estate will get 90% of the profits and that AEG Live will get the remaining 10% from the film's revenue. The film is scheduled for release on October 28, 2009.
An accompanying album to the film will also be released. Titled This Is It, the compilation is set to be distributed internationally on October 26, and to North America the following day. The two-disc album will feature music "inspired from the documentary of the same name". Of the album, Sony said, "Disc one will feature the original album masters of some of Michael's biggest hits arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film" and stated that the "the disc ends with two versions of the 'never-released' 'This Is It' [...] This song is featured in the film's closing sequence and includes backing vocals by Michael's brothers, the Jacksons." Sony added that the second disc will feature previously unreleased versions from Jackson's "catalogue of hits", along with a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth" and a 36-page commemorative booklet with "exclusive photos of Michael from his last rehearsal".
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