Movies & TV Discussions

You know, honestly, I have wondered that since the first reports of MJ's  "death" myself, being the cynic that I tend to be.  Mama always said "Never believe everything you see and only half of what you hear"...

Conspiracy theories, as we all know, have been around so long, surrounding people's "deaths".  And 200 hours of film from a rehearsal???  Yep ~ Something sounds wacky again in this case, that's for sure, IMHO.

There'll be too much of a crowd anywhere it's shown...but only 2 weeks until a DVD release?...more to add to the suspicion.  I just haven't read too much about it honestly, Patty, I saw a blurb on the news yesterday.

I WILL see that DVD, some how, some way.

Frankly, I don't thnk it's worth the money to see it in theatres. I probably will rent the DVD though.

I don't go to the movies that often due to the cost so I'll probably wait for the DVD too.  I don't want to see it that badly.

It's also fairly common for people to tape rehearsals, especially if they're perfectionists, like I think MJ was.  I've had a number of band directors and musical friends regularly tape rehearsals so they can go back and see things they need to correct. I've done it myself.  It's kind of like after a football game when the coach makes the team watch the previous day's game so they can see their mistakes or successes from a different perspective and correct them. 

I'll read about it with some interest and possibly rent the DVD at a later date.

Filming and Video-ing rehearsals is not un-common and having a camera constantly running to later be able to edit extras for a DVD is smart.  There was of course a planned multi camera movie, pay cable and DVD release planned for the concerts he was planning to do  and being able to put out several DVDs including one that includes over 2 hours of out-takes and never before seen un-edited rehearsal footage is a very smart idea.

We are waiting for the DVD.  As my mom pointed out, there's no way we'll want to be in that theater with what will probably be a lot of crazy screaming fans!  I'll rent it and watch it with no screams :)

I can only imagine the mayhem that will ensue at the theater. People are really intense. I am almost as interested in people's reactions as I am in what will be shown on the screen.

Thanks to those who explained the filming of rehearsals. I suppose since this was to be MJ's final tour ever, they wanted to get as much out of it as possible including rehearsal footage and stuff for subsequent DVDs.

I remember going to Dirty Dancing's 25th anniversary showing (pre-Patrick Swayze's death, of course) and people were NUTS! They sang, danced, screamed out the words and rooted for Johnny. But I'm used to all that since I saw Rocky Horror Picture Show 100 times. No exaggeration. I used to go weekly for years when in high school and college and after that even.

I don't think This is It can rival RHPS for craziest fans but we shall see!

If they did have to comb through 200 hours of rehearsals, I can only imagine the mayhem in the editing room~!

And Rocky Horror played a LONG LONG time here, as in many other cities.  I only went to a couple of them, waaay too rowdy and crowded for me.  I was usually working and it was a long way to drive from where I lived.  I do have the original vinyl/album that I will always keep.

I went to the 20th Anniversary of Woodstock ~ that was really good.

I've still not seen Dirty Dancing...all these years...

Nancy44-You haven't seen Dirty Dancing?! It's a great movie. Go rent it ASAP

In terms of Michael Jackson, I will be going to see the movie. I tried to get tickets for his show in London, but they sold out before I had the chance to buy them. I guess there is a reason for everything, but I'm still in shock that MJ is gone. 

Now, I don't want to be perceived as a crazy fan or anything, but I have always been a fan of MJ since I was little. I also have family in England that I wanted to visit, too. Regardless of his eccentric behaviors, he was the King the Pop. End of story.

DESPITE EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE READ AND HEARD ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON I WILL STILL SEE HIS MOVIE AND ANY OTHER THING THAT THEY BRING OUT SINCE HIS UNFORTUNATE DEATH. I LOVED HIS MUSIC, HIS DANCE,AND HIS SONGS. AS AN ENTERTAINER HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

An excellent ration regarding time it takes to edit, used to be 10 hours time spent for every 1 minute of finished product.   That's considered very good.

It's probably down to about 8 hours to 1 minute in professional work.   And that would be really fast and when you consider all the technical, creative and logistical considerations that go into editing something.. you'd probably understand why it SHOULD take an average of several hours for every minute that's 'finished'.

Dealing with 200 hours of footage?  Well you have a couple of assistant editors that log everything and make notes on everything they have.   You prioritize what you look at.  If you want to create good quality segments.. then you look at those segments where the notes tell you it's a good complete or nearly complete take of a song.   If you're looking for a mistake, a trip, a bad dance move... etc. etc.  You can see how you break everything down.  You look at everything once or twice...you could be on a deadline and not have the luxury of watching 200 hours.  So you know only 50 hours is useable for various reasons.  You concentrate on that.    

Have I bored you already?   Anyway... it's a process, editors work very hard and it's a craft, some are more gifted than others in terms of creativity but most have remarkable refined technical skills.

AEG seems to have put it all together very, very quickly. I hear they already have a DVD ready and other things.

I read the autopsy results. He was healthy with nothing life threatening and no other drugs or alcohol in his system (besides the two sedatives that doctor gave him and the anesthesia) when he died. He was very thin at 136 pounds and 5'9" but the coroner said that was within normal limits. That makes his death that much more needless. Too bad he couldn't have gotten the help he needed for whatever was happening to him long before he ended up a statistic.

Anyway, it will be an interesting show if nothing else and I do look forward to seeing it, mayhem and all!

Even my husband was shocked at the autopsy results, he was like "listen honey, can you believe??"  I saw a tear in HIS eye.  And when he looked at me, we both...ah, ok, never mind.  So incredibly sad indeed... 

Will be interesting to see what the final product is from AEG.  I think we might get or rent the DVD, like I said I WILL see it some way. 

I loved his music, but don't really care about his personal life. I don't think I'll see the movie.

Reality check.

Michael tried to control too many things in his life.  He isolated himself and made bad decisions about the people he kept close to him.  It is sad NOW, but he demanded that doctos give him drugs to help him sleep.  They obviously should not have done what he demanded, but Michael was responsible perhaps more than we will ever know,  for what happened to him. 

Remember too he was given a gift...it was a two sided gift, but it was a gift.  Not only did he have incredible talent, but he was able through circumstance and hard work to develop his talent and popularity.  He let his life get out of balance.  It may have been nearly impossible for anyone to deal with what he had to deal with, but... Michael Jackson is mostly responsible for his career, the path it took and what happened to him.

It is sad, it is tragic, it is time to mourn him and celebrate his talent... but not to turn him into some martyr or worship his celebrity or even his talent.

Have no plans to see it. May watch on DVD, but not going out of my way.

At the urging of another, I finally gave in and saw This Is It. I was pleasantly surprised! Forget about everything you've heard about Michael Jackson, just watch it for entertainment, and it's quite enjoyable.

onwaytozion said…

At the urging of another, I finally gave in and saw This Is It. I was pleasantly surprised! Forget about everything you've heard about Michael Jackson, just watch it for entertainment, and it's quite enjoyable.

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Exactly!  It wasn't about his life or a biography or anything.  Simply footage of the rehearsals and like a front row sneak peek of what the concert would have been like.  I had no plans to see if but my husband suggested it so we went and I'm so glad we did.  Peole were singing along and really getting into it and it was so fun.  The next best thing to actually going to a Michael Jackson concert.

I agree. No one tried to make Michael Jackson look like a saint or a martyr in the movie. They showed him rehearsing like every other performer does before a tour. The amazing part of the movie was how well he could still dance and move around and how great his voice remained. I also enjoyed watching him take subtle control of everything. I'm glad I saw the movie. I thought it was really good and I liked most of the songs and what I could see of the choreography. It would have been a heck of a tour had it came to pass.

We have no plans to see it , just not interested , guess we are "old fogies" .  lol