This Is It Premieres to Positive Reviews
This Is It
From Will Smith to Neil Patrick Harris, Hollywood's A-listers came out in droves to attend the lavish red carpet premiere of Michael Jackson's This Is It, which is already receiving positive reviews.
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Distributor Sony, which paid $60 million for the film, pulled out all the stops for the premiere, transforming the plaza in front of Nokia Theater with an elegant array of crystal chandeliers, displays of Jackson's costumes and "This Is It" spelled out in giant letters, according to The Associated Press.
Producers created the theatrical concert film using more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage for the tour on which Jackson was about to embark at the time of his death.
Watch a clip from Michael Jackson's This Is It
Four of Jackson's brothers — Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Jackie — attended the premiere and expressed great satisfaction after watching it.
"To see him up there doing his performance like that has brought a lot of tears to my eyes, sitting there watching him. Because I love him so much," Jackie Jackson told The AP.
"It was closure for me," Marlon Jackson said. "And it was a moment where I just felt his spirit inside of me. And that made me feel good."
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Other celebrities who attended the premiere included Paula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Katy Perry and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr.
Prior to the screening, longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega introduced the film to the audience, calling it the "last sacred documentation of our leader and our friend."
The film revealed the extensive comeback Jackson had planned for the concerts — including an entrance in a mechanical spider and an expansive graveyard set for his "Thriller" performance.
The film, which has received positive reactions from critics and fans, opened to the public immediately after the premiere in 99 countries, expanding to 110 this weekend.
