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 Boston. Stars Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Clifton Collins (read my interview with Collins here).

“Gentlemen Broncos” – Offbeat story about a home-schooled kid who gets ripped off by a legendary fantasy novelist. Stars Michael Angarano and Jennifer Coolidge.

“The House of the Devil” – The title says it all. Stars Jocelin Donahue and Tom Noonan.

“How to Seduce Difficult Women” – Do men need to be reminded how to seduce women? Yeah, maybe.

“Labor Day” – A documentary about how Election Day was turned into Labor Day. Appearances by Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Ted Koppel and others.

“Looking for Palladin” – A comedy about an arrogant Hollywood talent agent (David Moscow) who’s sent to  Guatemala to find Oscar winning actor Jack Palladin (Ben Gazzara).

“Skin” – Story about a black child born in the 1950s to white Afrikaners. Stars Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill and Alice Krige.

Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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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.

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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 asked for a ticket or shown up to see the film, even though Sony has invited them.

The only family even remotely interested is his father, Joe Jackson, who’s charging $3,000 a ticket on opening night for fans to meet him and see the film!

Really?! I guess I’m not too surprised by that news. That pretty much spells out out where Joe Jackson fits into things — trying to capitalize on his son’s death. And when Joe appeared on Larry King’s show, he couldn’t string two sentences together and rambled incoherently.

“This Is It” opens in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, 2009. Watch the trailer here.

Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment; Source: Showbiz411

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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 It’ is outpacing ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,’ ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ and ‘Star Trek’ as one of our top pre-sellers this year.”

I’ll check out the movie when it hits theaters, but I can’t say I’m ultra-geeked over it or anything. I think people are just fascinated by this mysterious guy, especially now that he’s no longer with us. It’s set to open on Oct. 28, 2009, in select theaters.

Were you one of the manic ticket buyers? Looking forward to this documentary? Check out the trailer here.

Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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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 1977: "The family has forgiven him. The victim has forgiven him. The rest of the world has forgiven him. The LA judicial system is corrupt. It’s horrible." 

No, Brett, what’s horrible is Polanski drugging up a 13-year-old girl and raping her. That’s what’s horrible, and it shouldn’t be glorified or drawn attention to in any way, shape or form.

I don’t care how many years have passed; it’s still a horrific act.

Thoughts on this?

Image: INF

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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 pilot for American Airlines who’s on food stamps because his pay’s been cut so low, a judge who gets kickbacks for sending innocent kids to a private prison, and a Wall Street Journal reporter who states on camera that he doesn’t much care for democracy and that capitalism should be our only ruling concern.  You’ll meet all these guys in “Capitalism.”

2. I heard you talk about ‘sweetheart’ loans on Larry King the other night. What are those all about?

Well, another person you’ll meet in the film is a whistleblower who, with documents in hand, tells us about the million-dollar-plus sweetheart loans he approved for the head of Senate Banking Committee — the very committee that was supposed to be regulating his lending institution. People need to know what’s going on.

3. What about the people running things in Washington?

You’ll also hear from a bank regulator why Timothy Geithner has no business being our Treasury Secretary. And you’ll learn, from the woman who heads up the congressional commission charged with keeping an eye on the bailout money, how Alan Greenspan and company schemed and connived the public into putting up their inflated valued homes as collateral — thus causing the biggest foreclosure epidemic in our history.

4. Are you ever afraid to name names?

No, these are men who’ve ransacked the pensions of working people and plundered the future of our kids and grandkids. Somehow they thought they were going to get away with it, that we’d believe their Big Lie that this crash was caused by a bunch of low-income people who took out loans they couldn’t afford. And it’s no wonder Wall Street thought they could pull it off, because much of the mainstream media has bought into this story.

5. So the bad guys are wearing the suits?

Yes, it’s a tragicomedy crime story, a cops and robbers movie, only this time, the robbers are wearing suits and ties. And the cops?  If you’re willing to accept a guy in a ballcap with a high school education as a stand-in until the real deal shows up to haul ‘em away, then I hope you’ll come out to see this film at your local theater. It’s in New York and Los Angeles this weekend, and across the country next Friday, October 2.

Image: INF; Overture Films

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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, and see how it portrays Michael Jackson. I wonder if we’ll ever really get a true behind-the-scenes look into his life. Probably not. 

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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 explores its impact on America. He takes us into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and goes looking for answers in Washington, D.C., Manhattan, and elsewhere.

More after the jump, including a trailer…

In Moore’s words: "It’s a crime story. But it’s also a war story about class warfare. And a vampire movie, with the upper 1 percent feeding off the rest of us. And, of course, it’s also a love story. Only it’s about an abusive relationship. It’s not about an individual, like Roger Smith, or a corporation, or even an issue, like health care. This is the big enchilada. This is about the thing that dominates all our lives — the economy. I made this movie as if it was going to be the last movie I was allowed to make. It’s a comedy."

The film opens in L.A. and New York on Sept. 23, 2009; wide on Oct. 2). Check out the trailer:

© 2009 Overture Films, LLC All Rights Reserved.

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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 use the rope you give them to hang themselves, if you can make a buck.”

He adds, “I think this will be the last time they will give me that money.”

Even without financing, he hopes to continue making documentaries. “I’ve been saving up my money from “Sicko” to get to this day. I will always make my own movies, now I have the money to make them."

Image: INF; Source: Wenn News

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