This Is It: Jackson's last bow

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WRITE STUFF: A fan shows off her face art during the Taiwan premiere of This Is It in Taipei.

BLONDE AMBITION: Actress Ashley Tisdale poses at the premiere of This Is It in Los Angeles.

BIG HAIR, BIG WAVE: Macy Gray waves as she arrives at the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

APING HER IDOL: Five-year-old Anna Tanaka poses for photographers before the Japan premiere of This Is It in Tokyo.

ALL SMILES: Paris Hilton poses at the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

DRESS UPS: A fan in a costume holds a Michael Jackson doll as he poses for photographers before the Japan premiere of This Is It Michael Jackson documentary in Tokyo.

PUT IT AWAY: Katy Perry poses with former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert at the premiere of This Is It in Los Angeles.

MAN IN THE MIRROR: Jermaine Jackson waves at the premiere of This Is It in Los Angeles.

FAN BOY: Will Smith attends the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

STAR POWER: Jennifer Lopez poses at the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

GLAMMED UP: Rosanna Arquette attends the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

SCREAM AND SHOUT: Michael Jackson fan Michelle Stevenson cheers as she waits at the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

DANCING SHOES: A Michael Jackson fan waits for the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

RED CARPET ROLLOUT: Michael Jackson fans waits for the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

FLYING THE FLAG: Michelle Stevenson holds a Michael Jackson flag while she waits at the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

YOUNG FANS: Jazmine and her brother Victor Chupina wait for the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

ALL WHITE: A Michael Jackson fan wearing a white glove waits at the premiere of the documentary This Is It in Los Angeles.

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Reuters

LAST SHOT: Michael Jackson's estate omitted his father Joseph Jacksonwith all of his assets going to his mother, his children and children's charities.

Stars arrive for This Is It premiere

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LATEST: Michael Jackson's hits played over outdoor speakers, and Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez joined the singer's brothers in Los Angeles for the worldwide premiere of This Is It, a concert movie billed as the King of Pop's final stand.

Culled from 80 hours of videotape taken of the pop star's final days of rehearsals for a series of London concerts in July, director Kenny Ortega has called the film "a story of a master of his craft".

Several hundred fans, many of them wearing a single sequined glove like the one Jackson donned in the 1980s, gathered for the Los Angeles premiere and at a simultaneous opening in London.

Some 150,000, including fans from Brazil and Australia, watched the LA event live on the internet.

Premieres were also held in 15 other cities including Seoul, Johannesburg, Rio De Janeiro, and Berlin.

Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, and Jackson's brothers Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon were among those who paid tribute to Jackson, who died in June, days before his concert comeback.

"You are going to see preparations for what would have been one of the greatest shows ever," Jermaine Jackson told reporters. But he warned, "You are going to see him going through the motions, not giving 100 percent."

Jackson's three children, his mother and his sisters appeared not to have attended the premiere.

Jackson, who grew up as one of Motown legends The Jackson 5 and still has the best-selling album of all-time with 1982's solo effort Thriller, died suddenly on June 25 in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest at age 50.

Officials have since ruled that his heart stopped due to an overdose of sedatives and the powerful anesthetic propofol, which is utilised in surgery.

The film does not delve into the details of his death, which could result in criminal charges being filed against his doctors.

"It's a privileged path to observe Michael as the creative architect and mastermind behind his work," Ortega told Reuters. He called it "unguarded" and said "it's a unique behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of putting a show together."

THE COMEBACK THAT NEVER CAME

The shows, 50 of them planned for London's 02 arena, had been dubbed Jackson's "comeback tour" by the media after the superstar left the stage in the 2000s after charges of child molestation.

After a 2005 trial, he was acquitted of all charges but the negative publicity took him out of the spotlight.

"I think this film is definitely a way to celebrate his legacy. It is the best way for all of us to say good-bye," said former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert before Tuesday's premiere.

Jackson was said to be as much as $400 million to $500 million in debt when he died, but the value of his assets - principally his music and his ownership of a song catalog that held rights to old Beatles tunes - outweighed his debts.

After his death, concert promoter AEG Live, which bankrolled the London concerts, struck a $60 million deal with Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures movie studio to use the videotapes and make the film.

Ortega, the shows' choreographer and a long-time Jackson friend, was hired to direct.

In London, fan John Taylor travelled some 70 miles to be at the premiere. "I've been a fan for over 30 years," said Taylor, 38, who bought tickets for the first and last of Jackson's London shows. "The man's a legend."

In the United States, online ticket seller Fandango.com said that more than 1,000 showings of the movie were sold-out and so far This Is It was the No. 3 top-selling advance ticket of 2009.

Global box office estimates vary from more than $600 million over its planned two-week run down to $100 million.

- Reuters

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Georgie   #1   10:46 am Oct 30 2009

Went to this movie last night...amazing. Would have been an epic show. Also had no idea he had such a wicked sense of humour or was so down to earth despite his fame. Did get annoyed though at his manager (?) who blatently agrees with everything he says. RIP MJ. You're the man