Michael Jackson: This is It, Isn't It?

The anticipated frenzy over the posthumous Michael Jackson movie, This Is It, has arrived. According to The Associated Press, "Jackson, 50 when he died last June, kept pace with backup dancers half his age during rehearsals for such hits as "Thriller," "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Human Nature." (1) Many celebrities attended the premieres and even Elizabeth Taylor tweeted, " 'It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity. The 77-year-old actress added that she 'wept from pure joy at his God-given gift' and urged her fans to see the film 'again and again.' " (2)

In death, as in life, Michael Jackson is still surrounded by controversy. The This Is Not It web site blatantly accuses the promoters of the film as being involved in a cover up. The site proclaims, "In the weeks leading up to Michael Jackson's death, while this footage was being shot, people around him knew that he looked like he might have died. Those who stood to make a profit chose to ignore it." (3)

It is no secret that Michael Jackson had a long time drug problem. The site succinctly sums up Jackson's state as "debilitating insomnia and loss of appetite, the crippling pressure he was under, which led him to be over-prescribed and over-medicated by criminal doctors who kept him in an altered, drowsy state throughout the day and in an anesthetic coma at night." (3)

The testimonies page of the site offers a shocking side by side Michael Jackson comparison. One photo was taken during This Is It rehearsal in June 2009, the other was taken during Michael Jackson's HIStory tour in 1997 - view them here (scroll down to view).

A month before he was to begin his This Is It comeback concert of 50 shows at London's O2 arena, Michael Jackson, 50, died June 25 from a combination of the powerful anesthetic propofol and other sedatives. His death has been ruled a homicide and Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, remains the focus of the police investigation. He joins the company of Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe - celebrities who died from prescription drug overdoses

Rumors that a body double was used in This Is It to hide Jackson's frail condition surfaced and were refuted by a studio rep's who reassured fans that, "This story is pure garbage and there are no body doubles. Audiences will begin to see the film tomorrow and every time they see The King of Pop they will know that every frame is unquestionably and undeniably Michael as he rehearses and prepares for the London concerts that were to have begun this past summer." (4)

Of course the studio reps will dispute the rumor, but if you see Navi, perhaps the best Michael Jackson impersonator, in action, it may give you pause. Navi is eerily Michael Jackson-like - see him performing Billie Jean here.

You be the judge. View scenes from This Is It, a video advertisement for This it It, the official This Is Ittrailer, and video from Michael Jackson's final This Is It rehearsal.

All controversy aside, This Is It will surely be a thrilling (pun intended) entertaining movie and that's why we got to the movies. Here is one final link. It's back in the day before there were any controversies surrounding the King of Pop. It is simply Michael Jackson's best moonwalk ever.

Sources:

(1) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_en_mu/us_film_michael_jackson_movie;_ylt=AobkSWte9yxxCb1TVB19z8is0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNmNnAyb29xBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDI4L3VzX2ZpbG1fbWljaGFlbF9qYWNrc29uX21vdmllBGNwb3MDOARwb3MDNQRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA2phY2tzb25kZWxpdg--

(2) http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=438831>1=28101

(3) http://www.this-is-not-it.com/

(4) http://www.theinsider.com/news/2983578_Michael_Jackson_Body_Doubles_Used_in_This_Is_It