Michael Jackson movie “This Is It” has finally come, but it is not quite gone — not yet.

In fact Columbia Pictures, the movie studio behind the film that looks at Jackson’s rehearsals for the London concerts that were to have been his comeback, said on Sunday it would extend the run in theaters.

The movie turned in a solid, if less than spectacular, debut at theaters around the world this weekend. Its total ticket sales since its debut last Wednesday are $101 million — $32.5 million in the U.S. and Canada and another $68.5 million. You can read about the box office here and a review here. And if you want to watch what some moviegoers had to say about “This Is It,” click below.

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?

A lot of “Michael Jacksons” will be making the rounds this Halloween. It seems that dressing up as the “Thriller” singer is popular this year, at least with movie fans.

In a poll of visitors to its website, movie ticket seller Fandango.com found that 13 percent of respondents said they plan to dress up as Jackson, who stars in the concert movie/documentary “This Is It” just hitting theaters now.

Actor Hugh Jackman’s character Wolverine from this year’s movie of the same name ranked second after Jackson as the most popular movie-related costume on the Fandango poll, with 11 percent of respondents wanting to dress up as the Clawed One.

After that, the most popular characters were vampire Edward Cullen from upcoming “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” Snake Eyes from this summer’s “G.I. Joe” and Dr. Manhattan from “Watchmen.”

How anyone plans to dress up as Dr. Manhattan will prove interesting, because in “Watchmen” the god-like character spent half the movie walking around naked.

(updates with Elizabeth Taylor’s rave review)

After weeks of hype that the King of Pop would no doubt love, the Michael Jackson concert movie “This Is It” hits theaters around the globe on Wednesday.

The premiere from Los Angeles the night before will be webcast live on www.ThisIsIt-Movie.com and on www.crackle.com, and organizers said fans will be able to comment and discuss the event on the web.

One of the first reviews came from Jackson’s good friend Elizabeth Taylor, who attended a private screening last week and took to Twitter on Monday to reveal that it is “the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen.” We assume the two-time Oscar winner did not get around to seeing her last feature film, ”The Flintstones.” 

We’ve told you about the box office (here). We’ve interviewed the director (here). And we’ve even looked at record sales for the soundtrack (here).

Now, with the event film of the fall upon audiences (no disrespect to “Twilight” fans and the upcoming “New Moon”), we took some time to ask everyday moviegoers if they were excited about MJ’s movie. So, we were out at theaters in Las Vegas on Sunday — and even behind the stage of Harrah’s for a chat with a Michael Jackson impersonator — to ask their opinions. Click below to see what they think.

(video by Marc Price)

Administrators of Michael Jackson’s estate on Wednesday dismissed questions about whether his legal will is valid, after the celebrity news website TMZ reported that his brother Randy Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, a Jackson family confidant, raised questions about whether the pop star was in Los Angeles to sign the will on the date stated in the document.

Howard Weitzman, an attorney for administrators of the Jackson estate John Branca and John McClain, said in a statement, “Despite any claims to the contrary, we are confident Michael Jackson’s will is valid, that he signed it and that it reflects his wishes. All three witnesses listed on the will recall being present when Michael signed it.”

The will is important, because it names Branca and McClain as administrators of Jackson’s estate, and a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has relied on the will since Jackson’s June 25 death to put the Branca, an attorney, and McClain, a music executive, in charge of the estate.

The will, which is available to view here, bears Michael Jackson’s signature dated July 7, 2002. Another page of the will bears the words, “We declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on July 7th, 2002 at 5:00 pm, Los Angeles.” But TMZ has posted photos that show Michael Jackson was in New York the day before on July 6, 2002, where he publicly protested against Tommy Mottola, the former head of Sony Music Entertainment, in a dispute over how he was being treated as an artist.

TMZ has other photos of Jackson in New York on July 8, 2002. In several of the pictures, Jackson is appearing with the Rev. Al Sharpton. So far, no photos have surfaced of Jackson in New York on July 7, 2002, the date in question when he is believed to have signed the will.

Sharpton has weighed in on the question, in a statement through his spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger.

“We have reason to believe that Michael may have been in NY on the 7th and Rev. Sharpton will address this after he discusses it with the Jackson family,” Noerdlinger said in the statement. “Michael Jackson was with us in New York City on July 6th at our Harlem Headquarters and again for a summit with Rev. Sharpton, attorney Johnnie Cochran and others around the issue of artist rights a few days later on July 9th.”

There has been already been plenty of friction between the administrators and Jackson’s family over control of the estate, and the questions that Randy Jackson and Sharpton are raising appear to be the latest instance of that. Did Jackson simply hop on a plane from New York to sign the will in Los Angeles on July 7, 2002? It’s possible. But it’s also possible that the question will continue to be a point of contention in the coming days.

Michael Jackson's posthumous  new single, "This Is It" began streaming online and playing on radio stations on Monday. The singer died four months ago from a prescription drugs overdose at age 50.

A series of 50 concerts scheduled at London's 02 Arena from July 2009 through March 2010 was also entitled "This Is It".

The single is part of a related package, which includes a two-disc album and a film based on rehearsals and preparations for the O2 Arena concert series.

The soulful track, which features backing vocals by Jackson's brothers, goes on sale on Oct. 26, internationally and on Oct. 27, in North America to coincide with the release of the film.

The "This Is It" film was the subject of a $60 million (38 million pound) deal between Jackson's estate and concert promoter AEG Live and Sony Pictures. Sony Music's Columbia/Epic Label Group will be releasing the album.

What do you think of the single?

Is this just an opportunity for stakeholders to make a cash grab or is it a legitimate tribute to the singer and his premature death?

After giving the world a first look at the upcoming Michael Jackson film “This Is It” at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Sony Pictures has now made it possible for fans to download the trailer of the much talked-about rehearsal footage, shot in the weeks before the singer’s death in June.

Fans can visit this Sony website to access the trailer, which runs for nearly three minute.

In the trailer, Jackson looks thin as always but appears healthy, as he dances around the rehearsal stage, in footage that comes complete with sound effects, such as “whoosh” and whip-like noises used to accentuate Jackson’s movements.

The trailer also accentuates the positive in Jackson, as Sony Pictures committed to do when it paid $60 million for the rights to the footage produced by concert promoter AEG Live before a series of comeback shows in London that were to start on July 13.

At one point in the trailer, a voice is heard saying, “Michael has a depth to him that people don’t really know.”

“This Is It” opens in movie theaters on Oct. 28, but it will only run for two weeks.

Will the massive public show of mourning that shot Jackson’s albums to the top of the charts after his June 25 death make “This Is It” into a blockbuster movie, a success along the lines of what Jackson was hoping to achieve with his comeback concerts in London? Or will the rehashed rehearsal footage fail at movie theaters?

And if it does, will that be “it” for the expected boon to Jackson’s estate from products tied to the “Thriller” singer?

German television station RTL has admitted to producing that video that emerged last month and appeared to show Michael Jackson alive and getting out of a Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office van, which spread quickly after it was posted on the Internet.

The station told U.S. news outlet CNN on Tuesday that the video was produced to show how easily rumors can spread online, such as the rumor that Jackson faked his death, used a coroner’s van as his private, incognito “taxi” service and then emerged in the bowels of a building, where he no doubt is hard at work cutting another album for later sale, Tupac-style.

Well, Jackson is definitely dead, in fact sadly his family will gather for his burial on Thursday in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale. But until then, his fans can always pretend he is alive by watching this German production. The video is below. In the meantime, do Fan Fare readers believe the German station was acting in good faith by producing this video, and claiming it was all for the good of public experimentation?

A newly unsealed search warrant issued in California suggests that bags of marijuana were found at Michael Jackson’s Los Angeles mansion after he died. The discovery may earn Jackson a new nickname: King of Pot.

The Los Angeles TImes reported on Thursday that authorities discovered the marijuana in Jackson’s home, after they searched it when his family members discovered what was initially believed to be tar heroin at the residence. Tests revealed the substance was not tar heroin, various media outlets reported.

There is little medical evidence that marijuana can cause death, so reports that it was discovered at Jackson’s home may not go far in determining what lead to his June demise. Authorities have already indicated that the pop star had lethal levels of the anesthetic propofol in his system, and a previous search warrant showed that Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, admitted to giving him the dangerous drug to help induce sleep.

Still, the discovery of marijuana raises questions. His former nurse, Cherilyn Lee, has said in media interviews, including this one with CNN, that Jackson did not use drugs recreationally, including marijuana.

Of course, in California it’s easy to get marijuana through medical dispensaries. In fact, it is probably easier to get marijuana than the prescription medications court documents indicate Jackson sought through various aliases.

And with so many security guards and other personnel circulating through Jackson’s famously well-staffed manor, it’s always possible that the pot belonged to someone else. Could Jackson be the victim of a puff-puff-pass that left him holding the baggie? Who knows, this story may just go up in smoke.

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.

The “Thriller” singer suffered cardiac arrest and died  on June 25 at age 50 in Los Angeles, where he was preparing for a string of concerts in London.

He died from a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol given in a cocktail of drugs, leading authorities to suspect his doctor of manslaughter, court documents show.

So what does 8/29 mean to you? Has U.S. media given just coverage to the horrible destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina? How will you mark Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday?