While browsing the web, I cam across this story:
Taken from Time.com
Michael Jackson would have turned 51 on Aug. 29, and the promoters of his planned This Is It tour are hoping to celebrate with a concert. It would take place in London and feature Jackson's rehearsal footage and appearances by members of his family. In other words, it would be a Michael Jackson concert - with all the ingredients except the King of Pop himself.
"This is more than a tribute, this is Michael's last masterpiece," Randy Phillips, CEO of AIG Live, told TIME. "The obvious date is August 29 - it's his birthday, and that's what we're shooting for." Phillips says the show would include "the brothers, possibly Janet" and the existing band against a backdrop of hours of Jackson video. The location: London's 02 Arena, where the tour was originally supposed to start on July 13. (See pictures of people around the world mourning Jackson.)
While talks with the family are still very preliminary, their initial response to involvement with the show has been "excellent," says Phillips. "They like the idea of taking their brother's last work and showing it to the world," he says. (The Jackson family spokesperson declined to comment on this story.) Phillips says that the Rev. Al Sharpton even mentioned Aug. 29 to him as a good date over drinks at the Four Seasons. (See pictures of places to honor Jackson's memory.)
Phillips, who plans to sit down this weekend with Jackson's choreographer Kenny Ortega to "figure it out conceptually," envisions it as a singular "pay-per-broadcast vehicle."
"This show would be This Is It, " he says. "The only thing missing would be Michael Jackson in person."
Taken from Time.com
Michael Jackson would have turned 51 on Aug. 29, and the promoters of his planned This Is It tour are hoping to celebrate with a concert. It would take place in London and feature Jackson's rehearsal footage and appearances by members of his family. In other words, it would be a Michael Jackson concert - with all the ingredients except the King of Pop himself.
"This is more than a tribute, this is Michael's last masterpiece," Randy Phillips, CEO of AIG Live, told TIME. "The obvious date is August 29 - it's his birthday, and that's what we're shooting for." Phillips says the show would include "the brothers, possibly Janet" and the existing band against a backdrop of hours of Jackson video. The location: London's 02 Arena, where the tour was originally supposed to start on July 13. (See pictures of people around the world mourning Jackson.)
While talks with the family are still very preliminary, their initial response to involvement with the show has been "excellent," says Phillips. "They like the idea of taking their brother's last work and showing it to the world," he says. (The Jackson family spokesperson declined to comment on this story.) Phillips says that the Rev. Al Sharpton even mentioned Aug. 29 to him as a good date over drinks at the Four Seasons. (See pictures of places to honor Jackson's memory.)
Phillips, who plans to sit down this weekend with Jackson's choreographer Kenny Ortega to "figure it out conceptually," envisions it as a singular "pay-per-broadcast vehicle."
"This show would be This Is It, " he says. "The only thing missing would be Michael Jackson in person."
