14 DAY TRIAL // The footage made during rehearsals for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” is certainly going to be turned into a long feature film that will run in theaters and will probably also come out on DVD. Sony Pictures is in the final stages of acquiring the material put up for sale by AEG Live, with Variety reporting that Sony is eyeing a release date for October 30, this year.
At the beginning of this week, AEG Live confirmed that a bidding war had begun between the biggest movie studios in Hollywood, for the rights to turn the rehearsal footage, including backstage images amounting to close to 100 hours of tape, into a film. Even back then, Sony was a favorite in the run, reportedly aiming to bid more than its rivals to secure the rights. Now, Variety says that the studio has upped the bidding to $60 million, which makes it the winner – but not officially yet, since nothing has been put to paper until this moment.
“Michael Jackson may be thrilling audiences in theaters around Halloween. Sony Pictures, which is finalizing a deal to acquire concert rehearsal footage from the singer’s ‘This Is It’ tour from AEG Entertainment, is eyeing an Oct. 30 release date for the film. The opening bid for the performance footage started at $50 million, and Sony is said to be ponying up close to $60 million for the 80 hours filmed. Fox, Universal, Paramount and Relativity were also interested in putting in bids. Sony made more sense, however, considering Sony Music Entertainment owns music publishing rights to Jackson’s songs.” Variety writes.
If all goes according to plan, and even in the situation Sony does not get the rights, not all the money will go to AEG Live, the organizer of what was supposed to be Michael Jackson’s big comeback in London with “This Is It.” The same movie-oriented publication says 90% of the money will go to the Jackson estate (meaning, Michael’s three children, his mother Katherine and whatever charity they set up in his name), whereas AEG will only get ten percent of the negotiated amount. As a side note, AEG is also negotiating for the television rights for the same footage.
As we were also telling you the other day, the entire footage now on sale is multi-camera HD and 3D, while it also includes videos that would have played during breaks in the actual concert and images of the King of Pop the very night before his death. Neither AEG nor Sony has yet commented on whether the film released will also be in 3D. Moreover, Sony is yet to confirm it’s the winner of the aggressive bidding on the rights. Stay tuned here for more on this.