The posthumous release of footage from Michael Jackson’s farewell tour rehearsals has always rubbed me the wrong way and to even think of who might be profiting from this stuff makes me a bit queasy, but some of the reviews are starting to resonate a bit, albeit begrudgingly, and now it’s looking like the Academy Awards could be taking notice.
Roger Ebert’s glowing review of This Is It was the first sign that a mainstream accolade avalanche was rumbling, but now Variety’s Steven Gaydos is claiming the film has a shot at landing a spot as one of the Academy’s 10 films to be nominated for Best Picture.
AP reports that in order to qualify for the sound, film editing, director and best picture Oscars, This Is It producers will need to “submit the proper paperwork” and put on a 7-day run of the film in LA County. I’m sure they can drum up some of the $20 million they grossed in the past day for all that.
Is this film, as Ebert put it, “one of the most revealing music documentaries” you’ve seen? If so, I should eat my words perhaps and go see if this is, in fact, “it.”