Movies
'HSM' helmer to make Michael Jackson movie
Published Monday, Jul 20 2009, 11:22 BST | By Simon Reynolds
WENN
According to Variety, Sony Pictures is paying more than $50 million (£30.3 million) to AEG Entertainment to secure rights to the 80 hours of rehearsal footage showing Jackson preparing for his London comeback gigs.
AEG screened footage to the major Hollywood studios last week, with Fox, Universal, Paramount and Relativity all impressed by what they saw. However, Sony emerged as the frontrunner because its sister company Sony Music Entertainment owns the publishing rights to Jackson's back catalogue.
Ortega, who filmed the rehearsal footage and was helping to choreograph the show until Jackson's death, has already started assembling the footage and is expecting to have the movie in cinemas before the end of the year.
Three videos will reportedly appear in the film, including an alternate 'Thriller' short which would have screened during the London shows.
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