Tattle: MJ's 'This Is It' is off to a $2.2M start

M

ICHAEL JACKSON

may be dead, but he still has "It." And so do his adoring fans.

Late-night screenings of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" already have made $2.2 million at the North America box office, studio estimates say.

The film chronicles Jackson's concert preparations for what would have been 50 comeback concerts in London. He died in June at age 50, in the midst of rehearsals.

The film premiered to high praise from fans who applauded each number as though they were at a concert and marveled as the singer stepped nimbly through his moonwalk and other signature moves.

Jackson kept pace with backup dancers half his age during rehearsals for such hits as "Thriller," "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Human Nature."

Four of Jackson's brothers - Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Jackie - attended the Los Angeles premiere at the Nokia Theatre Tuesday, saying afterward that seeing their brother on film filled them with love and pride. The Nokia is across the street from Staples Center, where many of Jackson's rehearsals - and his high-profile public memorial - were held.

"It was closure for me," said Marlon. "And it was a moment where I just felt his spirit inside of me. And that made me feel good."

Reportedly, Jackson's three children - Prince, 12, Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7 - had a private screening Tuesday night. Neither Jackson's mother, Katherine, nor his sisters, Janet and LaToya, attended the public premiere.

"I don't think I can bear to look at it right now. But eventually in time, I will watch it," Katherine Jackson recently said.

His father, Joe, had no such apprehensions. He not only saw the show in Vegas, he reportedly headed to a nightclub afterward where a copycat Jackson in zombie garb did a "Thriller" send-up.

Now that's cold . . .

'Our leader and our friend'

Most of the material in the film was intended for Jackson's private use, but it now serves as the last bow of a performer who ruled the pop charts in the 1980s and later retired to a reclusive life amid allegations of child molestation. The film includes a medley of Jackson 5 hits the singer performed with his siblings.

The mood at simultaneous premieres around the world Tuesday and yesterday was tearful yet celebratory. At the Los Angeles premiere, "This Is It" director and longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega introduced the film as the "last sacred documentation of our leader and our friend."

The footage revealed just how elaborate and demanding Jackson's comeback would have been. One segment showed how Jackson would have made a grand stage entrance inside a mechanical spider. Another, intended as a 3-D film accompaniment on "Thriller," featured an expansive graveyard set.

Early reaction from critics was equally positive. "Looks like the world has missed one helluva concert," wrote Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter. And Nekesa Mumbi Moody of the Associated Press said, "The amazing performances Jackson delivers in this film are not a result of camera magic, but Jackson's own."

Before the Los Angeles premiere, Ortega wiped away tears as he greeted dancers and celebrity guests, including Paula Abdul. Among others attending were Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry, Adam Lambert and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr.

It was the biggest cinematic blowout ever for a music film as "This Is It" opened for paying customers immediately after the premieres, with evening and midnight screenings in North America to middle-of-the-night and morning showings in Europe, Asia and elsewhere.

Distributor Sony, which paid $60 million for the film rights, opened "This Is It" in 99 countries. It expands to 110 territories this weekend.

Michael's genius

Some of Jackson's family and friends saw the film in advance. Elizabeth Taylor, a longtime friend of the pop star's, posted her thoughts Monday on Twitter.

"It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen," she wrote. "It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity."

The 77-year-old actress added that she "wept from pure joy at his God-given gift" and urged her fans to see the film "again and again."

Clocking in at one hour, 51 minutes, the film was culled from more than 100 hours of footage that captures Jackson as a showman, a mentor coaching backup talent and a goodwill ambassador.

Near the film's end, Jackson and the crew hold hands as he gives them a pep talk about the London shows.

"It's a great adventure," Jackson tells his colleagues. "We want to take them places they've never been before. We have to bring love back into the world."

HOWARD GENSLER is on vacation.