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Michael Jackson Hits No. 1 On Billboard 200 With 'This Is It'
To the surprise of probably nobody, Michael Jackson's "This Is It" will debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart released today (Nov. 4) with an eye-popping 373,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan -- the fifth-best sales week for an album in the U.S. this year.
The companion album to the musical documentary film of the same name is Jackson's sixth No. 1 on the tally and it arrives with his best sales frame for an album since 1995's "HIStory" started atop the Billboard 200 with 391,000 copies.
Jackson collected his first No. 1 with "Thriller" in 1983 and later notched toppers with "Bad," "Dangerous," "HIStory" and "Invincible." Earlier this year, Jackson also notched a No. 1 on the Top Comprehensive Albums and Top Pop Catalog Albums charts with the 2003 greatest hits set "Number Ones."
The "This Is It" film bowed with late-night showings on Tuesday, Oct. 27, before rolling out wide the following day. Through Monday, Nov. 2, the film had collected $36.9 million at the box office in the U.S. and Canada. It's already the second-highest grossing musical concert film in the U.S. and Canada behind "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" ($65.3 million).
"This Is It" is one of five albums to arrive in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart this week. The second-best debut comes from a reunited Creed, which sees its "Full Circle" enter at No. 2 with 110,000 copies. It's the band's first studio release since way back in 2001, when its "Weathered" started at No. 1 with 887,000 in its first week.
Taylor Swift's "Fearless" flies from No. 7 last week to No. 3 this week with 109,000 and a big 225% gain. The set was reissued in a "platinum" deluxe edition last week, with numerous additional bonus tracks and a DVD.
Rod Stewart's latest covers set, "Soulbook," sings out at No. 4 in its first week, starting with 84,000 while Trans-Siberian Orchestra bows at a career-high No. 5 with its new effort, "Night Castle." Sting's holiday-esque album "If On A Winter's Night" rings in the season at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with 80,000 copies. It also reaches No. 1 on our Top Holiday Albums chart.
Last week's Billboard 200 No. 1, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack slips to No. 8 with 69,000 copies (down 55%), while Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" falls from No. 3 to No. 7 with 71,000 (down 30%). Last week's biggest debut, Tim McGraw's "Southern Voice," falls from No. 2 to No. 9 with 59,000 (down 57%). Rounding out the top 10 is Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3," which slides six places to No. 10 with 41,000 (down 5%).
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Nov. 1) totaled 6.31 million units, up 10% compared to the sum last week (5.72 million) and down 9% compared to the same sales week of 2008 (6.96 million). Year to date album sales stand at 287.6 million, down 13% compared to the same total at this point last year (332.3 million).
http://www.billboard.com/news/micha...n-hits-no-1-on-billboard-200-1004032886.story
Michael Jackson: This Is It DVD Is The Gift For Jackson Fans
The movie Michael Jackson: This Is It is currently still in theaters, but will soon only be available on DVD.
This Is It is not released yet, but is already #3 on the Amazon Movie bestseller list. You can pre-order Michael Jackson: This Is It on Amazon.com for $17.99 now. The shipping date is still open, but it is for sure before Christmas.
This Is It is also available on Blu-ray.
Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, this film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show.
http://www.i4u.com/article28087.html
Entity FX Creates Visual Effects For Michael Jackson's This Is It
Press Release from Entity FX
Santa Monica, CA (November 2, 2009) - Film, television and commercial visual effects company Entity FX congratulates the makers of Michael Jackson's This Is It on the film's powerful worldwide debut.
The documentary movie, directed by Kenny Ortega and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures, is a behind-the-scenes look at Michael Jackson as he rehearses for his final concert. It includes complex visual effects sequences originally part of a series of mini-movies directed and VFX-supervised by Bruce Jones. These mini-movies were ultimately intended to be displayed -- some in stereoscopic 3D -- on a giant screen behind the live performers. Entity FX helped to create a number of these moments.
Among the effects Entity FX completed is a fantastical parade ground in which thousands of soldiers dance with military precision as the camera dollies by them. Entity FX digitally created the environment and turned nine dancers into multitudes while also co-directing the shooting of the necessary elements. Another vignette has Michael's character jumping through a window in a hail of broken glass as bullets whiz past him in super slow motion. In further shot, Michael and his dancers cast huge shadows on a stylized 1930s city skyline as they perform their routine.
These giant silhouettes were intended to serve as a projected background for live dancers during the performance. Other shots include additional synthetic environments and pyro effects (e.g. an exploding theater marquee and a little girl's final storybook embrace of the world).
This Is It incorporates these visual effects sequences as it follows Michael Jackson through the development of the This Is It tour, a planned series of 50 concerts for The O2 arena in London. Because the concert-film is currently being released in traditional mono, a mono version of the 3D footage is included.
Entity FX worked with a variety of tools to complete the project. Maya was used for 3D modeling and animation while Nuke, After Effects and Inferno were used for compositing and image effects. Stereo projection was accomplished with Real D active glasses and RV playback software on Entity FX-built hardware. Entity FX credits include: Mat Beck, Senior VFX Supervisor; Brian Harding, VFX Supervisor; Daniel Rucinski, VFX Executive Producer; Ellyn Lewis, General Manager; Trent Smith, VFX Producer; Krista Maryanski, VFX Producer; Jack Lilburn, VFX Associate Producer; Bob Hamel, VFX Coordinator; Eli Jarra, and Dave Franks, Senior Compositors; David Alexander, 3D Lead/Compositor; Rob Reinhart, Jeremy Renteria, Robb Ozaeta, Brandon Flyte, Brandy Handelman, Paul Santagada, and Martha Soehendra, Compositors; Mike "Pharoah" Barrett, Rik Panero, Kaz Yoshida, Junji Hirano and Andrea Shear, 3D Artists; Viet Nguyen, Systems Engineering; and Nate Smalley and Aaron Leichter, Data I/O.
About Entity FX
Entity FX specializes in visual effects for feature film, television and commercials. With facilities in Santa Monica, California, and Vancouver, British
Columbia, Entity FX delivers creativity on the demands of today's production with a range of services in pre-visualization, on-set supervision, virtual backgrounds, matte painting, environmental effects, compositing, CG animation, specialty photography and more.
http://www.awn.com/news/films/entity-fx-creates-visual-effects-michael-jacksons-it
To the surprise of probably nobody, Michael Jackson's "This Is It" will debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart released today (Nov. 4) with an eye-popping 373,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan -- the fifth-best sales week for an album in the U.S. this year.
The companion album to the musical documentary film of the same name is Jackson's sixth No. 1 on the tally and it arrives with his best sales frame for an album since 1995's "HIStory" started atop the Billboard 200 with 391,000 copies.
Jackson collected his first No. 1 with "Thriller" in 1983 and later notched toppers with "Bad," "Dangerous," "HIStory" and "Invincible." Earlier this year, Jackson also notched a No. 1 on the Top Comprehensive Albums and Top Pop Catalog Albums charts with the 2003 greatest hits set "Number Ones."
The "This Is It" film bowed with late-night showings on Tuesday, Oct. 27, before rolling out wide the following day. Through Monday, Nov. 2, the film had collected $36.9 million at the box office in the U.S. and Canada. It's already the second-highest grossing musical concert film in the U.S. and Canada behind "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" ($65.3 million).
"This Is It" is one of five albums to arrive in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart this week. The second-best debut comes from a reunited Creed, which sees its "Full Circle" enter at No. 2 with 110,000 copies. It's the band's first studio release since way back in 2001, when its "Weathered" started at No. 1 with 887,000 in its first week.
Taylor Swift's "Fearless" flies from No. 7 last week to No. 3 this week with 109,000 and a big 225% gain. The set was reissued in a "platinum" deluxe edition last week, with numerous additional bonus tracks and a DVD.
Rod Stewart's latest covers set, "Soulbook," sings out at No. 4 in its first week, starting with 84,000 while Trans-Siberian Orchestra bows at a career-high No. 5 with its new effort, "Night Castle." Sting's holiday-esque album "If On A Winter's Night" rings in the season at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with 80,000 copies. It also reaches No. 1 on our Top Holiday Albums chart.
Last week's Billboard 200 No. 1, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack slips to No. 8 with 69,000 copies (down 55%), while Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" falls from No. 3 to No. 7 with 71,000 (down 30%). Last week's biggest debut, Tim McGraw's "Southern Voice," falls from No. 2 to No. 9 with 59,000 (down 57%). Rounding out the top 10 is Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3," which slides six places to No. 10 with 41,000 (down 5%).
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Nov. 1) totaled 6.31 million units, up 10% compared to the sum last week (5.72 million) and down 9% compared to the same sales week of 2008 (6.96 million). Year to date album sales stand at 287.6 million, down 13% compared to the same total at this point last year (332.3 million).
http://www.billboard.com/news/micha...n-hits-no-1-on-billboard-200-1004032886.story
Michael Jackson: This Is It DVD Is The Gift For Jackson Fans
The movie Michael Jackson: This Is It is currently still in theaters, but will soon only be available on DVD.
This Is It is not released yet, but is already #3 on the Amazon Movie bestseller list. You can pre-order Michael Jackson: This Is It on Amazon.com for $17.99 now. The shipping date is still open, but it is for sure before Christmas.
This Is It is also available on Blu-ray.
Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, this film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show.
http://www.i4u.com/article28087.html
Entity FX Creates Visual Effects For Michael Jackson's This Is It
Press Release from Entity FX
Santa Monica, CA (November 2, 2009) - Film, television and commercial visual effects company Entity FX congratulates the makers of Michael Jackson's This Is It on the film's powerful worldwide debut.
The documentary movie, directed by Kenny Ortega and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures, is a behind-the-scenes look at Michael Jackson as he rehearses for his final concert. It includes complex visual effects sequences originally part of a series of mini-movies directed and VFX-supervised by Bruce Jones. These mini-movies were ultimately intended to be displayed -- some in stereoscopic 3D -- on a giant screen behind the live performers. Entity FX helped to create a number of these moments.
Among the effects Entity FX completed is a fantastical parade ground in which thousands of soldiers dance with military precision as the camera dollies by them. Entity FX digitally created the environment and turned nine dancers into multitudes while also co-directing the shooting of the necessary elements. Another vignette has Michael's character jumping through a window in a hail of broken glass as bullets whiz past him in super slow motion. In further shot, Michael and his dancers cast huge shadows on a stylized 1930s city skyline as they perform their routine.
These giant silhouettes were intended to serve as a projected background for live dancers during the performance. Other shots include additional synthetic environments and pyro effects (e.g. an exploding theater marquee and a little girl's final storybook embrace of the world).
This Is It incorporates these visual effects sequences as it follows Michael Jackson through the development of the This Is It tour, a planned series of 50 concerts for The O2 arena in London. Because the concert-film is currently being released in traditional mono, a mono version of the 3D footage is included.
Entity FX worked with a variety of tools to complete the project. Maya was used for 3D modeling and animation while Nuke, After Effects and Inferno were used for compositing and image effects. Stereo projection was accomplished with Real D active glasses and RV playback software on Entity FX-built hardware. Entity FX credits include: Mat Beck, Senior VFX Supervisor; Brian Harding, VFX Supervisor; Daniel Rucinski, VFX Executive Producer; Ellyn Lewis, General Manager; Trent Smith, VFX Producer; Krista Maryanski, VFX Producer; Jack Lilburn, VFX Associate Producer; Bob Hamel, VFX Coordinator; Eli Jarra, and Dave Franks, Senior Compositors; David Alexander, 3D Lead/Compositor; Rob Reinhart, Jeremy Renteria, Robb Ozaeta, Brandon Flyte, Brandy Handelman, Paul Santagada, and Martha Soehendra, Compositors; Mike "Pharoah" Barrett, Rik Panero, Kaz Yoshida, Junji Hirano and Andrea Shear, 3D Artists; Viet Nguyen, Systems Engineering; and Nate Smalley and Aaron Leichter, Data I/O.
About Entity FX
Entity FX specializes in visual effects for feature film, television and commercials. With facilities in Santa Monica, California, and Vancouver, British
Columbia, Entity FX delivers creativity on the demands of today's production with a range of services in pre-visualization, on-set supervision, virtual backgrounds, matte painting, environmental effects, compositing, CG animation, specialty photography and more.
http://www.awn.com/news/films/entity-fx-creates-visual-effects-michael-jacksons-it
Today in
Michael Jackson History
Michael Jackson History
1972 - The Jackson Five appeared on "Soul Train."
1995 - Michael Jackson premiered his single "Earth Song" on the German game show "Wanna Bet?".
1996 - Michael Jackson announced that he and a friend, Debbie Rowe, were expecting a child, but he denied that the couple had used artificial insemination and that Rowe had been paid to carry the baby.
