This is for personal, noncommercial use only.
Today's Front Page
Gas Buddy
'This Is It' for Jackson fans
The anticipation is high as new film featuring the late King of Pop hits theaters at midnight
Print this Article- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
Sean Mulry couldn't read at age 3, but he could recognize the picture of Michael Jackson on the cover of the singer's 1982 blockbuster album "Thriller."
Mulry would open his parents' record cabinet and ask his mom to play the LP, so he and his older sister could dance.
"Growing up, I was dazzled by everything (Jackson) put out," said Mulry, now a 22-year-old Linwood resident.
The impact of Jackson's music hasn't diminished for Mulry. If anything, it's grown over the years.
Mulry owns Jackson books, CDs, DVDs, videotapes, posters, his mother's original albums and a solid-black fedora hat and sequined glove.
On Wednesday, he'll be among the first fans lining up to see "This Is It," a film featuring footage of Jackson that was shot just before the singer died June 25.
"I'm excited. In a way, I get to see the shows, to see what Michael wanted to give to fans," said Mulry, who purchased advance tickets for him and his mother to attend the 1 p.m. Wednesday screening. "It's really a shame that he is not with us anymore. My biggest regret is that I didn't meet him in person."
The movie "This Is It," is only scheduled to be in theater, for two weeks. It features footage of Jackson rehearsing for a planned 50-show engagement at London's O2 arena. These concerts were supposed to be a spectacle to end all spectacles. Jackson died before performing any of the shows. Whether any of that planned spectacle will be apparent in the rehearsals is something fans won't know until the theater lights dim and the movie starts to run.
The screening of the film at southern New Jersey movie theaters will likely be the largest gatherings of the singer's most hardcore local fans since his death.
Deborah Frank, managing partner of the Frank Family Theatres, based in Egg Harbor Township, said advance ticket sales are going very well.
"There has been a lot of publicity and interest. Not everything does well with advance sales," said Frank, who added the movie will be shown at 11:59 p.m. today. "There are midnight shows across the country. It's a young audience. They go out late."
The fascinating thing about Jackson's popularity is how it transcends generations.
Some of his fervent fans now were not born when he rose to fame as a member of the Jackson 5 in the 1970s. Neither were they alive when he became one of music's pre-eminent pop stars with the release of "Thriller." Most never had the chance to see him perform in person.
Jackson meant so much to so many people that the initial shows of "This Is It" could produce smiles and as well as tears among his fans.
Twin sisters Lisha and LeQuicha Hughes, 24, of Pleasantville, purchased advance tickets and will be attending the 7:45 p.m. Wednesday show at the Frank's Towne Stadium 16 Theatre in Egg Harbor Township with their older brother.
Lisha Hughes said she is excited to see "This Is It," but also dreading it. She plans to bring a box of tissues with her to the theater.
"To say how much I love and respect Michael Jackson the person, or Michael Jackson the entertainer is impossible. Words couldn't even begin to convey what I feel for him inside," said Lisha Hughes, who with her sister visited the Jackson memorial at Darkchild Studios in Pleasantville a week after he died.
The girls were introduced to Jackson's music through their parents. As toddlers, they watched Jackson's "Moonwalker" so much the tape popped.
"It's going to be bittersweet. We will be getting to see him doing what he loved to do and the behind the scenes of his genius and perfection," said LeQuicha Hughes, who added Madonna's tribute speech to Jackson at the MTV Video Music Awards last month had her in tears.
"This Is It" will serve as a bonding ritual for fans, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office division of the Web site hollywood.com. Tickets to Jackson's movie are selling extremely well nationwide, Dergarabedian said. Jackson's admirers know that if they want to see the film on the big screen, they only have two weeks to do so, as of right now, the movie box office analyst said.
"It's a movie made out of whole cloth out of a situation no one could have anticipated at the start of the year," said Dergarabedian, who added "This Is It" might turn into a surprise box office smash - there's just no telling. "It's a very unique situation. I can't find a comparison to this situation."
Sophia Atherly bought an advance ticket for "This Is It." She will see it at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Regal Hamilton Commons Stadium 14 in Mays Landing.
"The 'This Is It' tour, I would have loved to have gone and seen it live. I knew I couldn't afford it. My dad wanted to see it," said Atherly, whose father first introduced her to Jackson's music. She will be watching the movie with a friend. "I can't wait. I just bought my ticket."
As a 5-year-old, Atherly was so terrified of Jackson's song "Thriller" that she would run out of the room when her father played it.
Now, Atherly, 17, will be singing a trio of Jackson 5 and Jackson solo songs during the "Tribute to Michael Jackson" show that will be performed for the public at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Charter Tech High School of the Performing Arts in Somers Point. Atherly will sing Jackson's "Rock With You" solo, will recreate Randy Jackson's part in the rendition of the Jackson 5 song "The Love You Save" from the 1983 TV special "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" and will join the senior girls in singing the Jackson 5's "ABC."
"You can listen to his music over and over again," said Atherly, a Pleasantville resident. "Everyday, I listen to his music."
Contact Vincent Jackson:
609-272-7202
In theaters
'This Is It'
Starring Michael Jackson. Directed by Kenny Ortega. Opens at 11:59 p.m. today.
Posted in Life on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 6:15 am Updated: 6:25 am.
No comments have been posted. Be the first poster!
Click here to report a comment as abusive.