Kenny Ortega To Direct ‘Michael Jackson: This Is It’; 2-Week Limited Global Run

COMMENTS (43)

• I totally love Michael Jackson but even I’m getting way burned out on him at this point. All the fussing, arguing and tabloid stories are just too over the top. Won’t even go see this film at this point.

  Comment by Let MJ go... — Friday August 21, 2009 @ 6:07am PDT  Reply to this post

• Hey, all you blinded by celebrity MJ followers and I know this has been asked before, but would any of you have left MJ alone with your six year old? I’m sorry , but innocent people don’t pay millions to settle “false” claims. One less dead child molester is all.

  Comment by econeywaaa — Friday August 21, 2009 @ 7:11am PDT  Reply to this post

• Oh, dear. The Jacko fans are spreading their craziness in force.

  Let’s be realistic: Sony is hoping the same stunt Disney pulled for the Hannah Montana concert movie will make people rush to the theaters. But I think people are too savvy for that now. And concert films do not do big business; it’s been a long time since the concert film genre’s 1970s heyday.

  And the Michael Jackson hype turns out to be just that: hype. The millions expected to flood the streets outside the Staples Center memorial never showed up. People moved on. The media wants to whip up another Princess Diana frenzy, but Michael Jackson hadn’t had a hit in fifteen years when he died, and his sister Janet had eclipsed him as the family’s dominant culture shaper with Control.

  It’s not going to do the business media pundits seem to think it will, at least not in America. The reason Sony paid out for it was because they’re hoping it will boost sales for Jackson’s catalog, which is released by – you guessed it – Sony. The concert film will likely have its biggest day the Friday of release, slide down the first weekend, and drop off a cliff the second weekend.

  Comment by Name — Friday August 21, 2009 @ 9:14am PDT  Reply to this post

• What’s with all of the personal commentary on DHD lately?

  Shouldn’t we be talking about whether the investment was a sound one and whether the “Extra Features” that will be sold as a movie will be able to do as well as the Jackson Estate hopes?

  Reading the comments has made me think that there’s suddenly a lot of tourists here. There’s a fansite or blog somewhere that needs your comments guys and gals, but I for one think that DHD comments should stick to the industry.

  Comment by Business as usual? — Friday August 21, 2009 @ 12:34pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Business As Usual? – Thank you! I was surprise as I read down the comments. Yours made me laugh with relief!

  Comment by Nocturnal — Saturday August 22, 2009 @ 12:46am PDT  Reply to this post

• Hello,
  Thank you to all who are sticking by Michael after his death.
  I knew Michael intimately for 22 years,loving him for himself,the entire time.I thank God that there are still decent,unjudgemental people here who are not of the typical sheep behavior in believing what they read and hear. He was a great,loving,caring,and patient man whom I loved dearly.Thank God he knew that.
  Yes,I really did know him,due to a job I held as a Ride Operator at a famous Amusement Park,where he and I met for the first time,in 1987. He was kind,caring,loving,and very passionate about so many things.His interests were vast,and he and I shared so very many common interests. Please remember that you can’t believe most of what you read and hear,and that those bogus charges,were just that,bogus. Those mothers used their children to get money out of Michael,and when they couldn’t do it any other way,they fabricated those stories.Ever notice how they gave up so quickly? Any child who’s been molested,absolutely refuses to go near the person who did that to them.Just keep that in mind,ok? The next time you want to believe something about a person you’ve never met.You will have to answer for all your wrongs in the afterlife.

  Comment by Cynthia McGuire — Tuesday August 25, 2009 @ 12:27pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • Cynthia, please join us in our quest for retraction of the bogus charges against Michael Jackson. No links allowed here, so Google for Yahoo Groups Vindication Better Than Trbutes.

    Comment by Catherine Coy — Monday September 7, 2009 @ 11:53am PDT  Reply to this post

    • I will be there with you on this claim, I thing the justice have to be done, we have to make his detractors read the Afhrodite Jones book ‘Michael Jackson Conspiracy” I completly agree with you than vindication is better than tribute, thank you is a release to know there is a lot o people still loving the most nice and charming person ever exists.

      Comment by Anonymous — Sunday September 27, 2009 @ 10:36am PDT  Reply to this post

  • Anyone can say that they knew Michael, but until you have proof(after all, so many people have lied on him through the years, so you can understand everyones skepticism), why keep bringing up the Famous Amusement Park story on every single blog on the internet? It is so boring, so fake, and so not Michael! Get a grip Cynthia, and stop acting like a crazed teenager!!!

    Comment by maria — Thursday February 11, 2010 @ 8:03pm PST  Reply to this post

  • OMG Cynthia Mcguire, your rambling garbage about knowing Michael Jackson is so boring and tiresome. You are such a liar. This same story has been posted on about a dozen websites from you. It’s ridiculous.

    Comment by anonymous — Sunday February 20, 2011 @ 5:18pm PST  Reply to this post

• Dear Mr. Ortega,

  I’m not sure if you will ever see this letter or not, but I wanted to express my deepest thanks to you for producing the movie “This Is It!” How hard it must have been for all of you working on his London come back, to be devastated by the news that he was so suddenly gone, so close to the opening in London. (Gone Too Soon) All the long hours, the costumes, the anticipation, it all came crashing down. A shockwave that exploded worldwide, shattering the hearts of you all as well as millions of fans. How hard it must have been to put the footage for “This is It” together for you and the team.

  As I sat through the Movie “This is It” watching this incredible man doing what he was created to do, tears ran down my face. I felt so honored to see him, even for this one last glimpse. My heart ached for all the pain and suffering he went through at the hands of the media throughout his lifetime. I ached for his 3 children who now have to miss their father, for the family who misses their child and sibling, anguished over the addiction that held him prisoner, felt angry for the carelessness that killed him, and for the loss of the most creative and incredible entertainer the world had ever known. And also, selfishly mourned for myself, just a fan, who would never know him personally, but someone who saw his heart and soul through the words he wrote in his songs and did not want him to be gone. His music touched the heart in ways that made one sit up and take notice of all that is good, beautiful, spiritual, bad, wrong, righteous and unrighteous, and self–life-examining. Such an empty feeling filled me when I left the theater, as once again, reality slapped me in the face that he was really gone.

  I never ever had the privilege of seeing Michael Jackson in concert (I was born in 1958 also). From the time I was 10 years old, I was dealing with family illnesses (My Mother suffered for 16 years with heart and lung problems before dieing), my older Brother got Cancer at age 19 and suffered for many years before dieing at age 32 from a second bought of Cancer, my Father went through Colon Cancer. I went through some physical issues of my own. Maybe that is why loss strikes my heart so hard, even the loss of Michael Jackson, someone I never even knew personally. I know how hard it is to lose someone and to have to let them go. Death is like a fire that burns a hole in your heart, where only ashes remain. But time (and God) can heal that wounded heart and help you get back up and move forward again. The hard part is wanting to put forth the desire and effort to get back up again.

  The world had waited for years for MJ to think about stepping back into the spot light. I wanted to see him Shine again. I had been trying to work out a way to get to London to see him in concert, but the news of his death blew that dream away. After seeing “This is It”, I just could not get MJ out of my mind, so I sat down and wrote the below poem. I wanted to share it with you. Thank you again, for letting us have one last glimpse of the KING OF POP, this extraordinary man who humbly radiated his heart of love out to the world, exposed his soul for us to see the light shining within him, generously gave with the purpose of wanting a world of peace and to help heal the world through all his charity work, and who only wanted and hoped to feel loved back in return. Love you MJ!

  A TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON. WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!
  Written by a true fan (JMO)

  With mournful hearts, we cling to you, selfish though it may be.
  Immortalized forever to the world, is your music, your dancing, your beautiful face.
  The KING OF POP you will always be, there will never be another you.
  Remembered always in the hearts of your fans, is your tender and caring soul.

  We just can’t seem to let you go, to rest in heaven’s peace.
  We want you back among us here, to keep you for ourselves.
  But now transformed in the City-Of-Light, inside Heaven’s beautiful gates,
  Your light and love will shine forever, and in the world, will permeate.

  We mourn with your three children, who miss their father so dearly.
  For they are a true, extension of you, that the world can cherish and treasure.
  We pray for their aching hearts to heal, so we can again see you clearly.
  For you live in their hearts; in the lights of their eyes; embedded within their souls.
  And the love you instilled shines outward, with your beautiful heart of gold.

  Thank you Michael, for the gift that you were. Your talent was beyond measure.
  Your music taught us to live together, no matter what race or color.

  The world stood ready to welcome you back, as your London performance approached.
  No others ignited the fire of their fans, the way your performance enthralled us!
  The KING OF POP, would again rule the top, as if you had never left it!
  Your screaming fans, would have told the tale, of the legendary, Michael Jackson!

  I express my thanks to Kenny Ortega, who couldn’t contain his grief.
  So he gave the world one last glimpse of you, in our hearts to always keep.

  So rest in peace now, sweet Michael. For your work on earth is done.
  We will never, ever forget you, of that, you can be sure.

  WE MISS YOU, MICHAEL!
  OUR HEARTS WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE FOREVER

  Comment by Jeannie Oxendine — Thursday January 14, 2010 @ 7:02pm PST  Reply to this post

• thanks for this dvd, i will watch it many times, the rest of my life.
  The idea MJ still could preform like that, make’s me happy!!Iam so happy that i’ve seen him in Amsterdam with the History tour, what a show!!
  L.O.V.E to his kids and everybody that was close to MJ

  Comment by Sander v. Geldere — Saturday March 13, 2010 @ 4:45am PST  Reply to this post