Friday, June 25, 2010
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Friday, June 25, 2010
MICHAEL JACKSON
1958-2009
An Artistic Angel With Love
Aplenty, One Year Later
The King Of Love: He may be gone, but Michael Jackson is still here, exactly one
year after his untimely passing.
Sony Pictures
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday, June 25, 2010
"I stood there and I looked in his eyes and he looked back at me. And
I mean, something went through me that was so powerful. And he smiled, and
I smiled back. And it was the most power[ful] feeling in the world."
Those are the words of Tommy
Organ, a lead guitarist for Michael Jackson's "This Is It" London tour.
Mr. Organ described the wordless moment he had on the
day before he'd never see his dear friend again.
The day after --
June 25, 2009 -- may have been a forgettable day for untold numbers of
individual reasons. And when a newspaper's website solemnly proclaimed "Michael Jackson
Dead At 50", you'd have thought an awful, belated April Fool's joke was being
played.
The headline however, was not a joke.
Now, exactly a year later Mr. Jackson's untimely departure
on June 25, 2009 remains deeply resonant among millions of fans and casual observers
everywhere.
Mr. Jackson and his tour performers were readying for a July 2009 tour
that would have stretched throughout the mid-summer.
Last fall, Kenny Ortega and AEG Live via Sony Pictures released rehearsal
footage for The "This Is It" concert tour in a documentary of the same name,
with fans flocking to theaters to see it.
A recent re-watching of the film, released in January on Blu-Ray and DVD in the U.S.,
shows Mr. Jackson arguably at the pinnacle of his artistic prowess. A
creative genius is seen harnessing his talents, sharing a unique gift with
his colleagues and the viewing audience.
It is stunning to watch "This Is It" a year after the megastar's death. For this Michael Jackson fan
"This Is It" has taken on more profundity now than when Mr. Ortega's rehearsal footage
made its debut in movie theaters worldwide last October.
To that end,
"This Is It" is a reaffirmation of Mr. Jackson's infectious energy and
electricity. In the film's Blu-Ray extra feature
entitled "Memories Of Michael", Mr. Organ recalls those early hours of June 24,
2009.
(According to a
BBC
report, "This Is It" has made almost $400 million worldwide, and the estate
of the King Of Pop has made about a billion dollars since his passing.)
Had he not passed, Mr. Jackson would be displeased with the
current state of the environment, especially with British Petroleum causing what is now the largest
environmental disaster in American history, if not the world. In
"This Is It" Mr. Jackson shares his thoughts about addressing the
obstacles faced.
"We've got four years to get it right," Mr. Jackson says, implying that
U.S. President
Barack Obama's administration has an enormous opportunity to change
environmental policy to fight climate change and take steps to preserve the environment.
"Or else it's
irreversible."
The environment is the issue Mr. Jackson seemed most concerned about in the
latter stages of his life. His love for
people and love of the planet -- with his urgent call to stop the globe's
bleeding -- is underlined in another moment from the film "This Is It".
"'The government, they'll do something about it.' They who? It starts with
us. It's us!
Otherwise it will never be done."
On the big screen
Mr. Jackson's enduring popularity is evident in a number of film projects to come,
including Spike Lee's rumored upcoming film that may star
Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore,
tentatively titled "Brooklyn Loves Michael Jackson".
Last summer Mr. Lee organized a
celebration of the late Mr. Jackson at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Lee was a good friend of the Gary, Indiana-born entertainer. Several
years ago Mr. Lee directed the megastar's music video
"They Don't Care About
Us", shot in Brazil. Last November the New York-raised filmmaker
released
the music video he directed for Mr. Jackson's song "This Is
It".
Additional documentaries on Michael Jackson are reportedly planned for release
over the next year or two.
Throughout "This Is It" Mr. Jackson is heard saying, "I love you".
It's not a throwaway line. And unlike some entertainers, whose reputations
as prima donnas precede them, Michael Jackson remained humble, kind, generous
and gracious.
"We have to bring love back into the world, to remind the world that love is
important ... to love each other. We're all one. "
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