The invitation to Sony’s $60 million+ gambit read: “Doors open at 11:30PM Tuesday October 27, No admittance after 12:30AM on Wednesday October 28…Dress to Thrill.” And thrill they did. What at first appeared to be a reserved British crowd at the UK premiere of Michael Jackson’s This Is It last night ended up getting seriously excited – there was no dancing in the aisles, mind you, but laughter, hoots & howls and applause aplenty greeted the King of Pop’s last curtain call – in the wee small hours of the morning, no less.
From 10pm, on a rare clear and mild London evening, fans were already lined up in a cordoned off section of Leicester Square where a giant stage and screen had been built to welcome the celebrities who happened by. Celebrities is perhaps a bit of a misnomer. Apart from Harry Connick Jr., the biggest name I recognized was Mel B. (are the Spice girls having a renaissance? The other Mel was an answer in the NYT crossword puzzle on Sunday…). Also making appearances were Irish boy band Westlife, UK pop star Peter Andre and dance act Diversity. Paul Young snuck in late.
Inside the Odeon auditorium, fans, industryites and said celebs watched footage from the LA premiere and, curiously, anytime Paris Hilton appeared on screen, applauded like mad.
Sony UK chief Peter Taylor welcomed the crowd at 1am saying, “It’s not often you open a premiere by saying thank you for coming out ‘this morning’.” He called the evening a “bit of Sony history” and told audience members they were “to the minute concurrent” with 18 other countries that would be seeing the film for the first time. I’ve heard Sony is indeed very excited and has great expectations following last night’s events.
The film itself is a marvel. I didn’t see any of the freakishness that has been associated with Jackson in the past – just glimpses of the man as performer, perfectionist and all-around love guru. At one point, not wanting to criticize the concert team too harshly, he reminds everyone what he’s saying comes from “l-o-v-e.” Each time Jackson made such a remark in the film, whether it be about ‘the love’ or about his own performance – “I’ll feel it,” “That’s why we have rehearsal” – the comments were met with heartfelt laughter and applause.
Applause, in fact, was a huge part of the screening – and not reserved solely for Ms. Hilton. The set pieces from “They Don’t Care About Us” to “Human Nature” to “Man In the Mirror” to “Smooth Criminal” to “Beat It” to “Billie Jean” were met with thunder claps. In the film, Jackson makes it clear that he wants to give the people what they want. He is playing to his fans – indeed many of the songs come with dance routines that are straight out of his MTV videos circa the mid-80s.
The overall sense emanating from the film is that the 50 dates at London’s 02 Arena would have indeed marked the comeback Jackson so desired. He looks very skinny in the film and almost always sports sunglasses, but he appears to be in fine fettle. His passion for the performance, his interaction with his fellow dancers and singers and with director Kenny Ortega – although director is a bit of a stretch in this case, Jackson was clearly in charge – are evident in every frame.
It struck me that he could at times appear a bit ethereal or even cartoonish – though I don’t mean that in a bad sense, perhaps more like a caricature of himself – when not performing. But, when he starts to sing – albeit in softened tones so as to preserve his voice for the real thing – and especially when he starts to move, he is a vision.
“This Is It” really drives home the fact that it’s easy to forget, amid all the media craziness that surrounded him, what a true, pure talent Jackson was. That’s not mawkishness, it’s just that even at 3:30am when I got home, all I wanted to do was play his videos over and over again.
The film let out at about a quarter to 3 with Odeon personnel hustling everyone off so they could prepare for their first public screening at 4am. Leicester Square was a bit quieter, but not by much. It will be interesting to see what happens for Sony. Some protesters, calling their movement “This Is Not It,” are accusing concert promoter AEG of having unduly pressured Jackson and of not giving him adequate medical supervision during the rehearsals that make up the film. Although they are not calling for a boycott, there’ll probably be the inevitable backlash after all the huzzahs die down from last night and the next initial days – it’s par for the course.
“This Is It” is slated to play for the next two weeks all across the globe and Sony may extend that run if demand dictates – and, backlash or no, it very likely will.
