Film of Jackson's rehearsals due in theaters Oct. 28
-
• Photo gallery: In The Spotlight
Advertiser News Services
| |||
| |||
| |||
A Michael Jackson film built around rehearsal footage left behind after his death will be released in a limited two-week theatrical engagement worldwide.
Distributor Sony announced yesterday that the release date for "Michael Jackson: This Is It" has been moved up to Oct. 28, two days earlier than previously announced. Tickets go on sale Sept. 27.
The studio also announced longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega is directing "This Is It," which offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Jackson preparing for a series of London shows he was rehearsing when he died June 25.
Ortega had been working with Jackson on the "This Is It" concert tour, which had been planned as a colossal 50-show engagement at London's O2 Arena. His other credits include the "High School Musical" movies and an upcoming remake of "Footloose."
ROURKE CREDITS SPORTS FOR COMEBACK
Mickey Rourke blames himself for being out of the spotlight for more than a decade but says his early interest in sports gave him a spirit that allowed him to pick himself up.
The 57-year-old actor confessed to an audience at the Sarajevo Film Festival yesterday that he was out of work for almost 14 years because he did "not behave properly, like a professional, I wasn't real responsible." He said he blames himself for ruining the first part of his career.
His comeback came with "Sin City" and was followed by Darren Aronofsky's "Wrestler." The role brought Rourke an Oscar nomination.
As a teenager, Rourke took up self-defense training, switched to boxing and decided on an amateur career before turning to acting.
"I think sports gave me a mindset to keep moving, that I'm not dead," he said. "You learn to pick yourself up and keep going. ... For me, the game was not over," he added.
NO LIE, OPRAH REALLY LIKES THAT PIE
Oprah Winfrey is fessing up to her love of a Massachusetts pie company's creations.
A spokeswoman for her production company initially denied that Winfrey had purchased a pile of pies from the Centerville Pie Co. while on Cape Cod for Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral last week. But on Wednesday, the talk show mogul called the Cape Cod Times to say, yes, "the pie-gate escapade actually did happen."
Pie company owner Kristin Broadley says she delivered a chicken pot pie to Winfrey's traveling party last week, then followed with two more orders. Broadley says she delivered a total of 20 pies, including chicken, custard and banana cream, to Winfrey's crew.