It should come as no surprise that the documentary detailing the final rehearsals for Michael Jackson's planned comeback tour, "Michael Jackson's This Is It," will make history when it debuts next month. In an unprecedented move, Sony Pictures will premiere the movie simultaneously in more than 15 cities around the world, according to a Reuters report.
While the movie will open to the general public on October 28 for a two-week run, it will first hit theaters on October 27 in cities around the world, including New York, Rio de Janeiro, London, Berlin and Seoul. Those cities will coordinate their screenings to begin three hours after the premiere at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Satellite transmissions of Hollywood stars' red-carpet arrivals will be broadcast to the other cities. Sony did not release the names of the other cities that will host the 15 simultaneous screenings, but Variety reported there will be premieres in Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney and Paris at a later date.
"Michael Jackson has an army of fans everywhere around the world," said Jeff Blake, chairman of worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony Pictures, in a statement. "We are giving the audiences an incredible opportunity to join together in celebration of Michael Jackson's incredible career."
The news came on the same day a new clip from the movie was released, showing Jackson rehearsing the song "Human Nature" for his planned series of 50 gigs at the O2 arena in London. Jackson died at the age of 50 on June 25 of an overdose of prescription medication while in final rehearsals for the unprecedented run of shows at the 20,000-seat arena. The movie is based on more than 100 hours of high-definition rehearsal footage.
OMD to record Absolute sessionMichael Jackson ‘This Is It’ Movie Opens October 28
