:clapping:MORE "GOOD" CONCERT NEWS :clapping:
Michael Jackson eyes $50 million London payday
Wed May 13, 2009 2:45am BST
By Ray Waddell
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Michael Jackson could take home more than $50 million (32.6 million pounds) from his much-anticipated 50-show stand at London's O2 Arena, his first shows in 12 years, according to Billboard calculations.
The concert series begins July 8, and the so-called "King of Pop" has been busy rehearsing at a soundstage in Burbank, Calif., for the past four weeks.
Tickets average about $115 and capacity will be about 15,000 per show, taking the gross for the run to about $90 million. Premium and VIP packages and secondary market sales will boost the gross to more than $100 million. Merchandise sales could bring in another $15 million.
The deal is set up where Jackson shares in net ticket revenue which, according to Billboard calculations, would make Jackson's take on ticket sales alone north of $50 million, though producer/promoter AEG Live would not confirm this.
The company has footed the bill for a $20 million production, and the show layout is coming together.
"Originally we tried to keep the show down to 90 minutes, but Michael has so many must-do songs in his repertoire that the shows now will be two-plus hours," AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips tells Billboard.
Phillips would not reveal details of the production, but one could expect a multi-media experience that would be "the most cutting edge ever employed on a tour. We're using technology that's never been used before in live entertainment."
Phillips says AEG Live is well-insured for the event, and 50-year-old Jackson passed a physical "with flying colours." Jackson is now working out specific songs, though a top-to-bottom dress rehearsal won't be ready for a month.
"Michael's in incredible physical shape, he's got tremendous stamina, he's been working out aerobically preparing for this, and he is totally engaged," Phillips says. "He sounds like Michael Jackson. He is laser-focussed on making this the greatest entertainment event that fans have ever seen."
The Jackson camp is not worried about a possible lawsuit seeking to derail the shows. A music promoter said on Monday that Jackson had previously contracted to perform in July 2010 along with his brothers from the Jackson Five and sister Janet Jackson. The terms prevent him from giving a concert before then.
Phillips said the claims were "completely meritless and have not impacted rehearsals in any way. We have a bona fide contract, the deal's in place, he's performing, we're performing."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE54C09V20090513?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
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Scoop: Michael Jackson’s tour will be a ‘Thriller’
msnbc.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30708151/
If Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” tour at London’s O2 arena was as doomed as some reports would indicate, you’d think fewer people would want to have their names attached to the project.
According to reps who spoke to the L.A. Times, Usher choreographer Todd Samms is collaborating on the show, and Chris Brown choreography duo Rich and Tone Talauega were on hand during a recent casting call for dancers.
A person who is involved in the planning and execution of the tour disputes this. “Todd, Rich and Tone are all great artists in their own right who have amazing talents,” said the source. “But they aren’t involved in the production.”
“There is so little that anyone is allowed to say about the tour, it’s shrouded in secrecy,” says the source. “All I can say is anyone would want to be attached to this. There are some big things that will happen and amaze.”
As for the idea that Jackson isn’t going to be healthy enough to pull off the tour, the source says, “Michael is focused, dedicated, healthy beyond belief. All rumors that indicate the opposite are bullsh--. Michael wanted to rehearse seven days a week, even, and we had to talk him into rehearsing six days a week.”
Jackson’s tour, his first extended concert run in 12 years, begins July 8.
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FROM the LA Times:
Contrary to reports of impending concert disasters, frail health and nagging legal problems, the King of Pop is alive and well and gearing up here in Los Angeles for a series of career-defining shows in London.
In mid-April, producers held a two-day casting call at downtown Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre to staff backup dancers for “This Is It” -- Michael Jackson’s performance swan-song: his 50-date, seven-month concert residency at London’s O2 Arena.
Maya and Nandy McClean, who performed with Prince during his 21-date concert residency at the O2 Arena in 2007, were among the throng of professional dancers who turned up. According to the Australian-born twin sisters, some 400 men tried out for just six to eight male roles and around 200 women vied for two female parts. Moreover, the scene was something straight out of a Jackson video with people popping their pelvises, moonwalking and waving sequin-covered gloves everywhere you looked.
“These were serious fans,” said Maya McClean. “A lot of crazy Michael Jackson fans who grew up watching him.”
The McCleans did not land the gig but were debriefed about their contracts, which would have
committed them to the production for two years. They recalled producers asking if they had background “doing aerial stuff like Cirque du Soleil” — an important component of the stage show as evidenced by the aerial dance choreographers on hand. And before being dismissed into the hard afternoon sunlight, the sisters encountered Jackson, their childhood hero, who was overseeing Day 2 of the auditions from the Nokia’s bleachers.
“It was really dark in the auditorium,” said Maya McClean, “but his skin was definitely glowing in the dark.”
A story in today’s paper sheds more light on Jackson’s latest moves – such as hiring “High School Musical” mastermind Kenny Ortega to direct “This Is It.”
-- Chris Lee
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/mus...on-ready-for-his-50date-london-residency.html
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MJ mentionings
Ticketmaster 1Q profit falls on lower ticket sales
Forbes -
Excluding the currency impact, international revenue was up 13 percent, with stronger performances in the UK and Ireland due to the Michael Jackson comeback ...
Oprah "community organizes" for capitalism
Huffington Post -
High fuel prices have caused celebs like Diddy and Michael Jackson to fly commercial. And if Diddy and MJ can put up with the hassle of late flights and ...
...commercial flights?
Today in
Michael Jackson History
1974 - A Jackson 5 concert ended in violence when fans began throwing bottles outside the venue. Fifty people were hurt and 43 were arrested.
1991 - "Michael Jackson: The Magic & the Madness" went on sale.
2004 - Michael Jackson's lawyers issued a document that claimed that prosecutors in Jackson's case had been withholding witnesses and more that 300 items seized in November 2003 raids on Jackson's Los Olivos, CA, home and other locations. The motion requested that the prosecution turn the items over under basic discovery obligations.
2005 - Mark Geragos, a former attorney of Michael Jackson, testified at Jackson's child molestation trial.
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