The only big new movie this week is Michael Jackson’s “This Is It,” which actually hit theaters on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.
It’s the documentary about Michael Jackson’s big concert tour, which abruptly screamed to a halt upon his death. Fortunately, there’s plenty of film of the rehearsals and his creative process putting the tour together. 
Check out the official site, the trailer, and all of Film Gecko’s coverage.
Also released today are several films in limited release, including:
“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” – Sequel to “The Boondock Saints” about  bloody murders in the underworld of …read more

The Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” hits theaters one week from today, and it’s already climbed into MovieTickets.com’s list of the Top-25 Advance Ticket Sellers of All-Time. Right now, it’s in the no. 22 spot, having just passed “Dreamgirls.”
Supposedly, it’s going to be in theaters only two weeks, which maybe accounts for some of the ticket sales. But I imagine it’ll be held over, or head quickly to DVD for the holiday sales. Are you seeing it? Here’s one of the latest trailers from Sony.

If you want a good reference for the Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It,” then Liz Taylor would probably be right up there. And she loves it, so there.
Sony screened the movie for Taylor, as well as Jackson peeps Miko Brando, Evvy Tavasci, and hairdresser Joe Eber. Jackson and his kids spent last Easter with Eber and Taylor. Kind of an odd crew, but I guess it worked for them.
Taylor said Jackson looked great and the film is “brilliant.” The film is causing quite a rift among Jackson’s camp. So far, no one from his family has …read more

No one can ever accuse Michael Jackson of doing anything small. Even from beyond the grave, the King of Pop is breaking records.
His forthcoming tour documentary, “This Is It,” has sold out worldwide. The movie has already sold out more than 1,000 showtimes on Fandango alone, and is currently the top-selling film on Fandango, representing 27% of weekly ticket sales on the site. Experts predict it’ll bring in nearly $250,000 million dollars.
Theater owners are adding extra showtimes to meet the demand, says Fandango’s Chief Operating Officer Rick Butler. “
"At this point in the film’s sales cycle, ‘This Is …read more

It sure didn’t take long for a film about Roman Polanski to start moving along. Ok, it’s probably been in the works for a while now, waiting for things to surface in the news again, as they have this week.
Filmmaker Brett Ratner has announced his plans to make a documentary about Polanski, possibly a sequel to Marina Zenovich’s 2008 doc, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.”
Ratner is in the “forgive and forget” camp (which I don’t agree with, by the way). He has said that Polanski has been “forgiven” for having unlawful sex with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer in …read more

Filmmaker Michael Moore’s new documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” hits theaters Oct. 2, 2009 (it opens in limited release this weekend). A veteran documentarian (“Sicko,” “Roger & Me,” “Bowling for Columbine”), this time he takes on Wall Street, greed, lies and lost jobs. I caught up with Moore on his whirlwind press trip, and he answers five pointed questions…
1. Why did you make this film?
There is now a foreclosure filed in the U.S. once every seven and a half seconds. I’m gonna show you the stuff the nightly news will rarely show you. I’ll show you a pilot …read more

It didn’t take long to get “This Is It” fast-tracked into theaters following Michael Jackson’s recent death. The film opens on Oct. 28, 2009, for a limited two-week run. It offers a behind-the-scenes look at the pop star as he developed and rehearsed for concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena.
Kenny Ortega, the man behind “High School Musical” and Miley Cyrus’ concert film, is directing this film, which is being produced by Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware. Executive producers are John Branca and John McClain.
I’m curious to see this film, …read more

Proof that Michael Moore will do just about anything to promote his movies, he sang the other night on “The Jay Leno Show.” Apparently, Jay has a thing where filmmaker guests have to do something demeaning in order to “earn” their trailer spot. In this case, that’s the trailer for his new film, “Capitalism: A Love Story.” Although, I have to say that Michael Moore is a pretty good singer! Really, nothing demeaning about it. See if you agree…

It’s been 20 years since Michael Moore’s groundbreaking documentary “Roger & Me,” came into our consciousness. I saw the film at the Traverse City Film Festival this summer, with Moore and filmmaker friend Larry Charles talking about the behind-the-scenes goings on. More on that here.
Moore’s latest film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” continues the probing of beaurocracy and corporate dominance in our everyday lives. But this time, the subject goes beyond General Motors and Moore’s bumbling filmmaking efforts from Flint, Michigan (even he admits that; read that post and you’ll see what I mean).

This time, Moore takes on capitalism and …read more

Could Michael Moore’s new documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” be his last? I’ve been wondering that myself, since the film will likely offend many companies who might offer financing for future films.
The film is a scathing critique of Wall Street, capitalism, and what some would call greedy bankers across America. Moore admits that many of the companies that financed this film will probably be unhappy with the final product.
“Why would these companies give money to me, a guy who is diametrically opposed to everything they stand for? One of the beautiful flaws of capitalism is they will …read more