Fan Fare

“This Is It.” Michael Jackson’s final bow. … Or is it?

Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” finally opened in Los Angeles on Tuesday night to a packed house with many stars in attendance, including Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton and his brothers who formed the old Jackson 5.  You can read about the movie here and here.

The film had been described as a sort of mix between documentary of his last rehearsals for his “This Is It” concerts and a concert film. It was made from some 80 hours of videos made during those rehearsals that took place only days before his sudden death on June 25.

The movie shows Jackson working with his singers, dancers and musicians, showing them just exactly how he wanted each dance and each tune to play out onstage. At one point, director Kenny Ortega asks him how he’ll know a certain cue for a movement if he can’t see a movie screen behind him and at first Jackson seems surprised at the question. Then, he calmly answers, “I gotta feel it.”

And in the audience, you understand that, in fact, feeling it is exactly how he performed. Leaving the theater, several audience members were also struck by the notion that even though “This Is It” has been billed as the King of Pop’s final performance, somehow, there’s much more of Michael Jackson to come. He is said to have written numerous songs that were never recorded, and his songs like “Thriller” and “Billie Jean” and “Man in the Mirror” will no doubt be re-recorded and re-mixed and re-staged numerous times in the future.

So, really, is ”This Is It” really it? Or will the King of Pop live on?

August 29th = Jackson Squared

August 29 is a notable day in U.S. history — it’s the birthday of the late pop icon Michael Jackson (in 1958) and the day that Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, flooding 80 percent of the city and killing 1,500 people (in 1995).

A group of musicians who think the King of Pop has stolen the Crescent City’s thunder are seeking to combine the two through an art campaign called “Jackson Squared.”

The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund group has commissioned pop artist L. Steve Williams Jr. to paint “Jackson Squared,” which shows Jackson, with his signature white glove and epaulettes, astride the statue of Andrew Jackson in the city’s Jackson Square. In the background, a red hurricane warning flag flaps in the breeze.

“He’s probably going to get more press on his birthday than one of the worst disasters in U.S. history,” said musician Jeff Beninato, chairman of the group. “This is a way to forever tie the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, with the City of New Orleans, the cradle of rock and roll.”

Beninato’s group has secured charitable donations of money, furniture, and even band uniforms for Hurricane Katrina victims, with the support of musicians like Dr. John, Wilco and REM.

It’s not the only Jackson-related event. Actor Spike Lee is promoting an event in Prospect Park in Brooklyn to commemorate the “Thriller” singer’s birthday.

Fossett Entertainment Group will also throw a block party to commemorate Jackson’s birthday near his childhood home in Gary, Indiana, according to local media reports.

Recovering from Michael Jackson’s death as easy as A-B-C?

A Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist who says she has personally struggled with grief over Michael Jackson’s death on June 25 has created a special “therapeutic system” to help the King of Pop’s fans cope with the loss of their icon.

Elizabeth Farr calls her therapy “ABC” in tribute to the early Jackson 5 hit song and says she came up with the idea while treating some 10 grieving Michael Jackson fans in her practice in Los Angeles.

“When so many of my clients expressed difficulty dealing with the death of Michael Jackson I decided to formalize a therapeautic approach to help people move forward with their lives after losing someone that meant so much to them for so many years,” Farr said.

“Michael Jackson’s passing is not just another celebrity death,” Farr said. “Many people are having trouble coping with the sudden loss of Michael Jackson and are finding it difficult to perform every day life tasks.  This therapeautic approach helps people get back on track with their lives.”

Farr said that in treating clients who are depressed over Michael Jackson’s death she tries to encourage them to realize that their own feelings are tied up with the superstar and his tragic end.

“In many ways its as simple as A-B-C,” she said. “You Acknowledge what you’re feeling, that’s the A. You look at your Belief system, that’s the B, and the C is your Cognition, your thoughts. Its as easy as A-B-C. We can fix this. When we control how we think, we can alter how we behave.”

Photo: Michael Jackson fans mourn his death in Warsaw (Reuters/ Kacper Pempel)

from UK News:

Would you exchange your Michael Jackson O2 tickets?

More than 50 million pounds worth of tickets were sold to see Michael Jackson perform at London's O2 Arena where he was scheduled for a series of 50 concerts before his death.

The King of Pop's run at the O2, scheduled to kick off in July, would have been the highest-grossing single concert engagement.

Fans have the choice of returning their ticket, or receiving it as a souvenir instead of getting a refund up until August 14. The tickets, which at face value cost 50 to 75 pounds, will show the concert date and seat location of the ticket as originally purchased.

If you had bought a ticket to see him perform, would you exchange it for face value, or would you hold onto it and hope to strike it rich by selling it as a collectors' item in years to come?

Michael Jackson WILL have a funeral, right??

Its been a full week since Michael Jackson died.  So …. When is the King of Pop’s funeral? And where?

So far, the answers have proven surprisingly elusive.

Though Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, has had time to turn up at the BET awards and plug his new record label, the family hasn’t uttered a word about the possibility of a funeral or memorial service.

With solid information scarce, the rumors have been flying. For several days last week, media reports said that the family was planning to bury Michael at his once-beloved Neverland Valley Ranch — following an elaborate motorcade four hours up the coast of Los Angeles with the pop star’s body carried to its final resting place in glass-sided, horse-drawn carriage.

That news touched off a stampede to the central California estate by reporters and devoted fans — who were then told there was nothing happening after all. Meanwhile the mayor of Gary, Indiana, piped up to say that Jacko’s hometown was also planning some kind of memorial service.

Then came a new story: A massive Jackson celebration would be held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.  Or maybe at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On Sunday. Or maybe on Tuesday night. Wait, make that Tuesday morning.

Stay tuned …

Michael Jackson’s dad — Back in business?

Michael Jackson’s fans are still in a state of shock over the King of Pop’s sudden death on Thursday.

So some were a little rankled when Michael’s father, Joe, turned up at the BET awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night and worked the red carpet, speaking of his late son AND plugging his latest business venture: a record label.

In a red carpet interview with CNN reporter Don Lemon, Joe said of the funeral arrangements: “We haven’t gotten to that yet.”  When Lemon asks about how his bereaved wife and children are doing, Joe responds curtly “they’re all doing fine.”

“But I want to make this statement, this is a real good statement here,” Joe says next as he introduces his business partner, Marshall Thompson.  “Marshall and I we own a record company called Ranch Records.”

Thompson then steps forward to explain that Ranch Records, which will employ Blu-Ray technology,  is the “next step” for Joe Jackson. A seemingly confused Lemon then changes the subject.

At a Monday morning press conference to address his son’s second autopsy and plans for a funeral, Jackson explained that he only brought up the record label because he was asked.

“I was asked a question last night about the record company,” Joe said. “What I’m doing is I established a record company with Marshall and the company is called Ranch Records …,” he said. “So we have a lot of good artists fixing to come out.”

Joe Jackson speaks about son at BET Awards

The family of Michael Jackson began to appear in public Sunday night at the BET Awards. Father Joe Jackson and sister Janet Jackson turned up at the Los Angeles awards show, sponsored by the BET television network, that annually gives out honors to African American singers, actors, actresses and athletes.

Janet Jackson did not answer any media questions or even approach the media. She appeared on stage, thanking the audience for turning out and showing their love for her brother. You can read about that here.

But Joe Jackson did walk the red carpet and talked to a few reporters, and he came backstage to answer two questions in front of cameras. Below is a two-minute video of Joe Jackson.

Where were you when Michael Jackson died?

The events of Michael Jackson’s death, the fan outpouring of emotion, and autopsy results all have played out in rapid succession since Thursday. But by late Friday, the day after he died, some people began saying they knew they would remember where they were the day he died.

Since then the question seems to linger, will the King of Pop’s death be remembered like the King of Rock, Elvis? Will it resonate like Princess Di’s, like Kurt Cobain’s, John Lennon’s or James Dean’s.

Will you be saying, years from now, I remember where I was when I heard Michael Jackson died?

Or, better still, do you remember where you were when you heard the musical icon of a generation and dynamic performer had passed on to another stage?

We were at Graumann’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame Saturday, and here’s what some of the people walking past Jackson’s star had to say.