The Show Must Go On?? Michael Jackson's Concert-Not-To-Be May Soon Find Life As A Feature Film...

Merrick here...
In a decidedly shrewd and ghoulish money grab, AEG and Sony look to be forging a deal to release a movie built around the concert Michael Jackson was putting together before his passing. Seems much video material...as much as 80 hours of footage...was captured during pre-production and rehearsals, under the direction of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL director Kenney Ortega (who is already assembling said material into a feature length format).

Sony Pictures is close to a deal to make a feature film on Michael Jackson drawing on the 80 hours of rehearsal footage filmed for concerts Jackson was preparing to perform in London. The studio is expected to pay north of $50 million for worldwide rights to AEG Entertainment, which owns the footage and showed it to studios last week. The film will feature at least three videos, including an alternative version of Jackson's "Thriller," which were shot to be interstitial programming during the London concerts. The footage was meant to play in 3-D, but it's unclear as yet whether the feature film will present it that way.

...says Variety HERE. The idea/hope is to release the film before year's end. After finishing up this project, Ortega is expected to roll the FOOTLOOSE remake sometime in March. I'd always heard Michael was a Geek - which was clearly evidenced by Coppola directed, Lucas produced CAPTAIN EO...
...and the often unbearable MOONWALKER...
...but THIS VIRTUAL TOUR of his arcade nicely reinforces what a Geek Gone Wild he truly was.